• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Hironobu Sakaguchi is making 3 iOS games [Update: More Info, Confirms All For iOS]

Wario64

works for Gamestop (lol)
http://andriasang.com/comzzy/sakaguchi_ios/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Since The Last Story's release early last year, we've all been wondering what Final Fantasy father Hironobu Sakaguchi has been up to. Out of nowhere today, he provided an update. It appears that Sakaguchi may be working on iOS games.

That's games, plural. A follower at Twitter asked Sakaguchi for details on his next game. Sakaguchi responded that his new game is for iOS, and he's making around three titles.


In the hours since the brief Tweet, Sakaguchi did not provide additional details.

The Last Story was released to Japan in January of last year. Sakaguchi is currently making the rounds in Europe promoting the game. He says he'll return to Japan on March 1.

Update:

Eurogamer said:
Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi will abandon home consoles for his next project, an iPhone game centred on his hobby of surfing.

The legendary developer told Eurogamer at a BAFTA event in London last night he now had three iOS projects in the works, but remained tight-lipped on the details.

The trio of titles will be "small projects" and "platform" games, following his work on expansive Wii role-player The Last Story.

"The first one is a surfing game," Sakaguchi added.

"He's not joking," his translator confirmed.


Sakaguchi mentioned how he often dreamt up ideas for games "while taking a shower or waiting for a wave while surfing".

But why develop on iOS? Sakaguchi claimed it was because he was "an Apple fan" and remarked how the smartphone market was "increasing rapidly". Whether traditional console gaming would ever be overtaken by mobile devices "remains to be seen", however.

"Images outputted by PCs or consoles will always be of higher quality," Sakaguchi reasoned, "so they will never disappear off the face of the Earth."

The developer was speaking at an event to mark the UK launch of The Last Story, the latest game from his Mistwalker studio, which also created Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey.

Before that, Sakaguchi masterminded the Final Fantasy series from its creation until his departure from Square around the time of Final Fantasy X.

Sakaguchi admitted he has now grown tired of people asking him about the Final Fantasy series. "I had six interviews this morning and afternoon and there were so many questions about Final Fantasy," he said. "I am really tired of it!"
Source: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...reators-next-project-is-a-surfing-iphone-game
 

Takao

Banned
Yep, Mistwalker is pretty much done at this point. Ducky and I guessed he'd likely fall into social gaming because they wouldn't have the money to do anything else. Though I expected GREE.
 

djtiesto

is beloved, despite what anyone might say
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Another great developer bites the dust :(
 
I do think he and Square both need each other A LOT right now.

His Final Fantasy at Square is falling into irrelevancy while he himself is also falling into irrelevancy

The solution is clear as day...but it can never happen can it?
 

Takao

Banned
I do think he and Square both need each other A LOT right now.

His Final Fantasy at Square is falling into irrelevancy while he himself is also falling into irrelevancy

The solution is clear as day...but it can never happen can it?

THE FINAL FANTASY

COMING 2019
 

kuroshiki

Member
I do think he and Square both need each other A LOT right now.

His Final Fantasy at Square is falling into irrelevancy while he himself is also falling into irrelevancy

The solution is clear as day...but it can never happen can it?

Square doesn't need sakaguchi. Square needs to get rid of Wada and toriyama, and that's it. Sakaguchi in other hand, he just needs to retire.
 

mclem

Member
Given it's Sakaguchi, I have to admit that it strikes me as possible that he actually means one game... with three titles.
 

Takao

Banned
RIP?? This just in: nobody has ever made a good game for iOS, evidently.

No one said that. But it's a huge downgrade for a studio who used to make HD games to go to making Wii games, and then to making iOS games. Mistwalker has obvious financial problems, and this is likely all they could afford to do without putting the studio on the brink of death.
 

Chinner

Banned
i like how when it comes to ios gaming, nintendo and sony babbies can join hands and hate on it.

deal. wid. it.
 

hsukardi

Member
Fuck this world.

Man leaves Square Enix, gets fed by Microsoft while living a chillout lifestyle travelling between work and Hawaii, heavily subsidized titles based off Final Fantasy (Lost Odyssey) & Dragon Quest (Blue Dragon), games didn't do that well and same went for Last Story.

Pretty much deserves it, is a has-been right now.
 

XxP8w.gif
 

Shig

Strap on your hooker ...
I hope the games fail miserably and he makes stuff for the Vita.
That's some logic. "If his low-risk games do awful, surely he'll go make more high-risk ones."

If these do poorly, the next progression is for him to just stop making games at all.
 
it was not called LAST STORY for nothing

It wasn't called Final Fantasy for nothing, either. I'm OK with him doing whatever he wants to do. Blue Dragon (all of them) were asstons more fun than I thought they'd be, and I haven't finished Lost Odyssey yet, but I like it.

I just hope that they don't get ignored because of the platform they're on. RIP Mistwalker, but here's hoping for success in the new ventures.
 

monome

Member
remembering the joy and awe of playing a japanese imported copy of FFVI and contemplating getting a propable JRPG iOS game is probaly not comparable, but damn it hurts, yes!

If Apple makes buttons, works on better gaming ergonomics, we'll talk business. Until then, leave the pros do the job.
 

Takao

Banned
A simple, classic jRPG on iOS would be cool.

We know absolutely nothing about the iOS games, but given there will be 3, Mistwalker's perceived financial issues, and the platform I don't think they'll be very high concept. It seems like they're trying to hedge their bets.
 
No one said that. But it's a huge downgrade for a studio who used to make HD games to go to making Wii games, and then to making iOS games. Mistwalker has obvious financial problems, and this is likely all they could afford to do without putting the studio on the brink of death.

Uh, but they always also made DS games (ASH, Away, BD+, BDAS). Wouldn't this be a big step up for their handheld development?
 
Top Bottom