Final Fantasy 14's Yoshi-P confirms Square Enix remains committed to its multiplatform strategy, but hopes more Xbox fans actually play its new JRPGs
Fantasian: Neo Dimension is the publisher's next multiplatform experiment
Square Enix seemingly remains committed to its newfound multiplatform approach and will continue releasing games across PC and all consoles in the future, according to Final Fantasy 14 director Naoki 'Yoshi-P' Yoshida.
Square Enix has gained somewhat of a reputation as a publisher with generally odd platform exclusivity deals. For example, the first Octopath Traveler eventually came to every platform except for PlayStation, while its sequel Octopath Traveler 2 came to every platform except Xbox at launch, before both crossed the multiplatform divide together. Its exclusivity approach seems to have hurt initial launch sales for some of its biggest games, though, so the company recently announced it would "aggressively pursue a multiplatform strategy."
Speaking to 4Gamer, Final Fantasy 16 producer and longtime Final Fantasy 14 lead Yoshi-P said that it was still looking to shift away from frequent platform exclusives, and that fans can expect "Square Enix titles will be released simultaneously on each platform more and more."
With Final Fantasy 14's long-awaited Xbox port in the rearview mirror, the company's plans to support more platforms continues this December with Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi's Fantasian: Neo Dimension, a fancy re-release of an underplayed Apple Arcade gem that's coming to PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox simultaneously. "Of course, we want you to play it a lot on other platforms as well," Yoshi-P said of the game. "This time, we will also release the Xbox Series X|S version at the same time."
He then hoped enough Xbox players would check it out as it's a platform where JRPGs sometimes struggle to find an audience due to how infrequently they used to come to the console. "Since [Fantasian: Neo Dimension] is close to the first release, we would like Xbox users to play it as well."
Elsewhere, Sakaguchi confirmed that he's making an all-new game with iconic composer Nobuo Uematsu back in the studio, and Yoshi-P wandered why Monster Hunter Wilds beta players were recreating him as a tired dude.
Can Fantasian: Neo Dimension make it onto our best JRPG games list?
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Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.
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