Yoshi-P comments on Final Fantasy franchise’s waning relevance

Final Fantasy is one of the biggest and longest-running franchises in gaming, with its roots stretching all the way back to the 1980s. Despite this, the IP has fallen in popularity somewhat over the past few years. According to Square Enix’s Yoshi-P, one of the reasons for its fall in cache is due to the “release intervals for new titles” having “gotten longer.”

Taking part in a mini video documentary discussing the release of the free-to-play mobile battler ‘DISSIDIA DUELLUM FINAL FANTASY’ long-time franchise producer/director Yoshi-P spoke pretty candidly on where the series is at currently, stating:

“The Final Fantasy series has an incredibly long history. I'm 53 now, and I've been playing since Final Fantasy 1 in real time. But for younger generations – people who grew up naturally accustomed to action-based combat and online competitive play – the recent entries in the series may have been harder to engage with.”

Yoshida continued, “Part of that is simply because I'm sorry to say . . . the release intervals for new titles have gotten longer, so some players haven't really had the chance to connect with the series the way older fans did. My hope is that both long-time Final Fantasy fans and those who love the characters themselves can enjoy this as a completely new kind of game.”

While it’s hard to imagine that the free-to-play DISSIDIA DUELLUM FINAL FANTASY will be what brings the series back into the limelight, it is encouraging at least to know that Square Enix themselves are aware of just how long their Final Fantasy games have been taking. It will be interesting to see how long we will have to wait to hear about a potential Final Fantasy XVII.

KitGuru says: What do you think of the Final Fantasy franchise currently? Will it ever rise back up to the top, or have too many other franchises surpassed it? Let us know your thoughts down below.

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