[SolidSnakex]

"Losing your fans' trust is very easy thing to do. Regaining it is very hard," Yoshida said. "We believe Final Fantasy 14 is a starting point, and that players joining us will think 'oh wow, this is great, I'll see what they can do with Final Fantasy 15 or 16'. "Over a long time we'll try and regain their trust, but it is something we as a company must put effort into, long-term. "That doesn't mean we're not going to try to get people's trust back with this one game," he added.

"In the 25-year history of the Final Fantasy series, there hasn't been a Final Fantasy that has failed. We can't - we just can't - let this game end in failure," Yoshida declared. "At the original launch, we let down a lot of our fans. Fans around the world were expecting something great, and we feel like we let them down and we lost their trust. To regain that trust we have to show them we're still behind the project, and that Square Enix is dedicated to making something that's great. It's kind of a crazy idea, but we've got to do it."

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...-producer-says

[Pie and Beans]

Yet another Final Fantasy 13 sequel will certainly help speed things along!

[Aeana]

Yet another Final Fantasy 13 sequel will certainly help!

It will help make back some of the money they've lost, yes.
And then they can continue to try to earn trust back with that money.

[Perfo]

Yet another Final Fantasy 13 sequel will certainly help speed things along!

In those same lines he doesn't refer to XIII at all. He's speaking of XIV only. You people...

It's a topic about XIV, the fail of XIV, what they're trying to do to resurrect it and how fans will look forward to the next FF after XIV has been adjusted.

In one word? PR.

This is not a topic about XIII nor Motomu Toriyama. Especially because Yoshida would not dare to speak bad of other collogues' games.

[Khold]

Well that seems like the right attitude to have.

[The Mana Legend]

Not really.

Just make good games next time. MAke a good FFXV and release it in two-ish years. If it's good, you've got your fans trust back.

Not exactly rocket science.

Get Eidos to make it.

[rvy]

A Versus trailer would probably help you a lot.

[ffdgh]

Best of luck to you square.

anyway FF13-7 will be the best in the series.

[Muramasa]

He implies that ff13 is not a failure?

[Meisadragon]

That explains why they aren't giving up on FF14. Good stuff.

[Raging Spaniard]

He implies that ff13 is not a failure?

It sold a lot, so no, its not.

Not really. Just make good games next time. MAke a good FFXV and release it in two-ish years. If it's good, you've got your fans trust back. Not exactly rocket science. Get Eidos to make it.

Making an RPG in 2 years = death

I mean it honestly does. People will work 18 hour days for two years.

Why would you want that.

[Mxrz]

The "Welp, mmo. When's the next main title coming?" mindset has its benefits.

[Forever]

"In the 25-year history of the Final Fantasy series, there hasn't been a Final Fantasy that has failed."

So FFXIII was a success now? Well I suppose it didn't bomb like FFXIII-2.

It sold a lot, so no, its not.

It sold on its name, not on its merits, and the sequel proved that it damaged the brand considerably. Not sure I'd label it as a success, though he seems to be talking about abject failure here; the path FFXIV was headed down.

[LiK]

first step: stick FF7 stuff into your game to appeal to their nostalgia.

[Toodles]

I think they handled the FFXIV debacle really well, all things considered. From them straight away not being willing to charge their players the intended subscription fee for -- how long was it? -- the initial year and a half after release, through how they've interacted with the community afterwards and holding their hands up, to how they're now appealing to people's understandable sense of apprehension upon the relaunch. They made a mistake but I'm impressed with how they went about trying to fix it.

[SatelliteOfLove]

In before FF list wars.

"In the 25-year history of the Final Fantasy series, there hasn't been a Final Fantasy that has failed. We can't - we just can't - let this game end in failure," Yoshida declared.

That's what they say, but is it going to work (aka "make money")?

And that list wars comment is up there for a reason. Many gave up on specific games in the past. FF changes too much too often for this not to happen.

[RomanticHeroX]

The turnaround in FF14, along with Bravely Default and some other bright spots, is honestly giving me more confidence that Square can recover. Just a year or two ago I would've said their decline is going to be permanent, but I see plenty to be hopeful about again.

[MrChocolate]

Best of luck to you square. anyway FF13-7 will be the best in the series.

Dohoho, I like you.

[Goldenroad]

And "a long time" is usually what Square likes to take between its main final fantasy entries, so I guess they stand a chance. I think they like to wait until people have forgotten everything that was wrong with the previous game and then show some amazing tech demo with little to no real gameplay footage, and then people play the game eventually and the cycle continues.

[Meisadragon]

He implies that ff13 is not a failure?

They've acknowledged that the fans were disappointed with the game and tried to change things with FFXIII-2. I think they'll give it one more shot and then move on to Versus or 15.

Sales wise, it did pretty well -- 4.5 to 5 million. They probably weren't happy with its performance but its definitely not a failure.

[SolidSnakex]

So FFXIII was a success now? Well I suppose it didn't bomb like FFXIII-2.

Financially speaking? Absolutely. FF14 has been a disaster for them from a financial and brand standpoint.

[Pai Pai Master]

Yoshi-P and his team are really driven, like nothing I've seen out of Square Enix in a while. A Realm Reborn looks really special and I hope enough people at least give it a fair shot.

[Zwei]

I'll see what they can do with Final Fantasy 15 or 16'.

And both of these titles will be released before Versus.

[kuroshiki]

Screw 14. It was 13 that totally destroyed my faith in Square.

12 was just OK. It started with awesome promise and fizzled REALLY QUICK. Don't even let me go over that disaster called FF12-2.

FF was almost a grand gaming event for me. Not anymore. I entirely skipped FF13, gave 14 a chance and then quickly retreated.

and I have, zero, absolutely zero interest in FF15 now.



if I was told 10 years ago that I would treat FF as irrelevant piece of shit, I would laugh my ass off and tell him/her fuck off. I'm not laughing anymore.

[Aeana]

Yoshi-P and his team are really driven, like nothing I've seen out of Square Enix in a while. A Realm Reborn looks really special and I hope enough people at least give it a fair shot.

It's going to be interesting to see how they plan to get people to give it a second look. That will be really, really hard.

Screw 14. It was 13 that totally destroyed my faith in Square. 12 was just OK. It started with awesome promise and fizzled REALLY QUICK. Don't even let me go over that disaster called FF12-2.

There's nothing called FF12-2!

[Bulzeeb]

make the game free to play or buy to play (like guild wars 2) and I am in

[Dreamwriter]

It's going to take an *especially* long time if they keep marketing FFXIV 2.0 the way they are doing now. The two trailers they've revealed so far just make it look like 2.0 is a minor expansion to the old crappy game, not an entire rewrite from scratch revamping all systems in the game. Most people who haven't been following the redevelopment of XIV will watch those two trailers, and then ignore the rest assuming they will be more of the same. Square may have already blown their chance to get people to give the game a second look.

[kuroshiki]

There's nothing called FF12-2!

Of course not. It was called reverent shits, I mean wings.

[SolidSnakex]

It's going to be interesting to see how they plan to get people to give it a second look. That will be really, really hard.

It seems like he's banking on word of mouth

Final Fantasy fans will also be vital in helping spread word of A Realm Reborn, which Yoshida is certain will have a more positive reaction. "We'll take our time and make something we feel lives up to the series' name and then let other people play it. And when they realise 'wow, this is really great game', their voice will be heard and word will get out there," he concluded.

[Forever]

It's going to be interesting to see how they plan to get people to give it a second look. That will be really, really hard.

I think a lot of people are persuaded by what they've seen so far. The free trial period after relaunch should get folks to give it a shot; if they deliver, word of mouth will spread. Though even if they succeed in winning trust, it will be difficult with the MMO market being over saturated and contracting to boot...

[kuroshiki]

FF14 is going to fight against mist of pandaria.

and some other Korean MMORPG (blades and soul, etc).

and lots of F2P, like Sega's PSO2.



This is going to be an uphill battle. I do not count on it.

[Sho_Nuff82]

Well that seems like the right attitude to have.

This.

To have your project leads be not only contrite, but then dedicated to making the game enjoyable, is a pretty good sign. As long as Square realizes how much they've possibly fucked up the brand, they can make big strides towards fixing it before it's too late.

[Toodles]

Don't even let me go over that disaster called FF12-2.

Buh!?

EDIT: Oh. Egh, Ivalice gave birth to as many pretty babies as it did poop out lumps of stink.

With regards to getting people to take a second look at the game, I hope that, coupled with some straight-talking and 'honest' PR, the game manages to simply make ripples solely by virtue of gamer word-of-mouth. We just have to wait and see if the game plays well. I'm hopeful.

[Muramasa]

There's nothing called FF12-2!

Yeah, it is called revanent wings.^^ But if FF13-2 is square enix way of "bug" fixing, i don't see a bright future.

[Sophia]

I think a lot of people are persuaded by what they've seen so far. The free trial period after relaunch should get folks to give it a shot; if they deliver, word of mouth will spread. Though even if they succeed in winning trust, it will be difficult with the MMO market being over saturated and contracting to boot...

Well, they have one significant advantage that'll help them in the MMO market: The game apparently (I haven't played it beyond an old beta that's not relevant anymore) has the same touch that made FFXI so amazing. Which means there's not much in the market like it.

[Aeana]

I think a lot of people are persuaded by what they've seen so far. The free trial period after relaunch should get folks to give it a shot; if they deliver, word of mouth will spread. Though even if they succeed in winning trust, it will be difficult with the MMO market being over saturated and contracting to boot...

That's not going to reach the kind of audience that the game needs, though. Only a very small fraction of people are paying any attention whatsoever to the game now after the failed launch.

Yeah, it is called revanent wings.^^ But if FF13-2 is square enix way of bug fixing, i don't see a bright future.

So it's called Revenant Wings and not FF12-2.

[Exentryk]

I like Yoshi-P. I am gonna give this game a good shot, and I don't even play MMOs.

[kuroshiki]

I like Yoshi-P. I am gonna give this game a good shot, and I don't even play MMOs.

Think again. MMORPG is not something that should be touched lightly. It can be incredible time sink.

[SatelliteOfLove]

There's nothing called FF12-2!

It's from the awesome alternate Earth where Lord Matsuno & co were allowed to make FFXII like it was supposed to be and spawned sequels from the same team.

[Chacranajxy]

Well, it's not going to be FF14 that fixes anything.

[Dreamwriter]

Screw 14. It was 13 that totally destroyed my faith in Square. I entirely skipped FF13

This is the big problem with most people who harp on how crappy 13 was - they never played it. The people who DID play through at least a large chunk don't complain about how crappy the game is. It has its flaws, true, but its combat system is just as fun as any other Final Fantasy game (once you get enough of the system unlocked), and while much of the game is linear, it's still got a great environment, is actually less linear than FFX, and it still has a huge open environment to explore. A lot of people didn't try the game because they heard "The dungeons are all straight lines, with the occasional short dead-end offshoot that always leads to a chest", but really that's only a couple dungeons towards the beginning of the game.

And 13-2 fixed many of the flaws the first game had.

[The Praiseworthy]

Talking about myself, I can totally see them earning my COMPLETE trust with FFXIV 2.0, what I've seen so far was really awesome and I can't wait for more media about that game.

[LuchaShaq]

My trust in FF has been gone for over a decade despite 4/6 being two of my favorite games ever.

This is the big problem with most people who harp on how crappy 13 was - they never played it. The people who DID play through at least a large chunk don't complain about how crappy the game is. It has its flaws, true, but its combat system is just as fun as any other Final Fantasy game (once you get enough of the system unlocked), and while much of the game is linear, it's still got a great environment, is actually less linear than FFX, and it still has a huge open environment to explore. A lot of people didn't try the game because they heard "The dungeons are all straight lines, with the occasional short dead-end offshoot that always leads to a chest", but really that's only a couple dungeons towards the beginning of the game.

This is nonsense.

I played 15-20 hours and know plenty of others who have as well even some that finished it that fucking hate that game and are baffled by the praise it gets on any level besides cutscene graphics on Ps3.

[GuardianE]

This is the big problem with most people who harp on how crappy 13 was - they never played it. The people who DID play through at least a large chunk don't complain about how crappy the game is. It has its flaws, true, but its combat system is just as fun as any other Final Fantasy game (once you get enough of the system unlocked), and while much of the game is linear, it's still got a great environment, is actually less linear than FFX, and it still has a huge open environment to explore. A lot of people didn't try the game because they heard "The dungeons are all straight lines, with the occasional short dead-end offshoot that always leads to a chest", but really that's only a couple dungeons towards the beginning of the game.

I didn't finish playing through it because the characters were all obnoxious. That's probably the most important thing for me in a Final Fantasy game.

Square hasn't been able to competently write deep characters in a very long time. Once they've established that they can do that, then I'll turn around.

[Bravocado]

As skeptical as I am, part of me hopes it's sincere. The part of me that bought every one of their SNES and PS1 games oh-so-long ago.

[Sophia]

This is the big problem with most people who harp on how crappy 13 was - they never played it. The people who DID play through at least a large chunk don't complain about how crappy the game is. It has its flaws, true, but its combat system is just as fun as any other Final Fantasy game (once you get enough of the system unlocked), and while much of the game is linear, it's still got a great environment, is actually less linear than FFX, and it still has a huge open environment to explore. A lot of people didn't try the game because they heard "The dungeons are all straight lines, with the occasional short dead-end offshoot that always leads to a chest", but really that's only a couple dungeons towards the beginning of the game.

This is a fallacious argument. You're speaking for people you have no knowledge of, which invalidates the rest of your opinion and post.

And for the record, I've played it. It was still pretty mediocre by RPG standards.

[kuroshiki]

This is the big problem with most people who harp on how crappy 13 was - they never played it. The people who DID play through at least a large chunk don't complain about how crappy the game is. It has its flaws, true, but its combat system is just as fun as any other Final Fantasy game (once you get enough of the system unlocked), and while much of the game is linear, it's still got a great environment, is actually less linear than FFX, and it still has a huge open environment to explore. A lot of people didn't try the game because they heard "The dungeons are all straight lines, with the occasional short dead-end offshoot that always leads to a chest", but really that's only a couple dungeons towards the beginning of the game.

Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa. hold on a second. Maybe I did not elaborate this. I entirely skipped means I didn't see the ending. I gave up on Chapter 8, and said fuck it, and sold the copy.

I NEVER EVER SOLD copy of FF before this. (I still have copy of original 3, 5, 6)

Combat system alone was just not enough to save the game.

[-Pyromaniac-]

This is the big problem with most people who harp on how crappy 13 was - they never played it. The people who DID play through at least a large chunk don't complain about how crappy the game is. It has its flaws, true, but its combat system is just as fun as any other Final Fantasy game (once you get enough of the system unlocked), and while much of the game is linear, it's still got a great environment, is actually less linear than FFX, and it still has a huge open environment to explore. A lot of people didn't try the game because they heard "The dungeons are all straight lines, with the occasional short dead-end offshoot that always leads to a chest", but really that's only a couple dungeons towards the beginning of the game.

I played it and beat it and it's one of the most disappointing games of the entire generation. I expect a lot more from the series. The sequel fixed some things but none of the huge annoying things. Genuinely not surprised that xiii-2 lost so much in sales compared to the first. imo it's hurting the brand far more than FF14 ever did.

[Celegus]

Squenix is still the best. Especially after news Konami not patching Silent Hill because it's too hard, it's nice to see a company doing the right thing and admitting their mistakes. I don't care much for MMOs, but this and DQ X both look pretty good.

[Forever]

Well, it's not going to be FF14 that fixes anything.

It could certainly help.