We ask Kitase if, as he settles into his 40s, he ever thinks about those members of the Final Fantasy audience who have also grown up with the series. After all, even those players who only joined the fanbase with the seventh game in the series, the first to make a truly global impact, are now entering their 30s. Surely the expectations of these players and the things that they look out for in games are different now to what they were ten, 15 years ago. Is Square Enix interested in changing the tone or theme or style its output to meet these changing needs of the audience?
I actually think that its a very natural thing for players to grow out of the Final Fantasy series, he answers. In terms of the age group we target with each new game, it remains the teens to 20-somethings. That said, youre right in saying that some of our staff have been working on the series for many years. They are having new experiences and growing and they inevitably do bring those new ideas and perspectives to their work. In Final Fantasy XIII, for example, we have a greater spread of older characters in the story than we have had in the past. Satzu is older, has a family and is not really the kind of character one would normally encounter or play as in the series. But, that said, I think its better that we keep the focus on the young generation rather than ageing the series appeal. If players choose to stick around and continue playing the games as they grow older then thats great, but hopefully new generations will find the appeal, grow up with the series and then pass that down to the next generation as they themselves grow older.
The decision to aim the series towards younger game fans is one Square Enix has had to consciously take in the past. In Final Fantasy XII, Yasumi Matsuno originally intended for Balthier, a much older member of the core cast, to take on the role of lead protagonist. Reportedly, it was felt that casting players as a 40-year-old man would alienate a large slice of the fanbase, so the decision was taken to focus on the much younger character of Vaan.
