Final Fantasy XVI Producer and Square Enix Game Director Naoki Yoshida spoke on the AIAS Game Maker's Notebook Podcast and stated that younger people should be considered to head new FF games. Read on to know more.
Naoki Yoshida Might Not Be Involved in the Direction of FFXVII
New FF Games Should Be Taken Over by a Younger Generation Says Yoshi-P
In an episode of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) Game Maker's Notebook Podcast, Sony veteran Shuhei Yoshida spoke to Naoki Yoshida, widely known as Yoshi-P. The discussion touched on various aspects of Yoshida's career, the development of FFXVI, and the potential direction of the Final Fantasy series.
One notable topic emerged during the podcast when Yoshida was asked whether he'll be directing Final Fantasy XVII. Responding cautiously, he stated, "I’m on the board of directors now, so I have to be careful of what I say here. For the moment, I’ll just say that nothing’s been decided yet."
Yoshi-P further shared, "That said, if I had to say anything about that (FFXVII)... maybe it’s time for someone new, you know." Although nothing definitive has yet been decided, he claimed that bringing in a younger generation to take the helm of creativity is the right direction. He added, "I think, in some ways, it would be good to look to the future and bring in a younger generation with more youthful sensibilities to make a new FF with challenges that suits today’s world."
Naoki Yoshida Wants to Make More Action Games
Looking ahead to Square Enix's future endeavors, Yoshi-P expressed a desire for the studio to explore the action genre further. The game producer and director acknowledged that Square Enix originally had a poor reputation when it came to action games, and he saw that as a challenge they had to take on. He stated that he wanted the studio to "continually challenge ourselves in the action genre, to make what we haven’t made yet, with even greater storytelling, emotion, and impact."
