In an interview with Kotaku at E3 2017, Final Fantasy XIV producer and director Naoki Yoshida had something interesting to say about the future of Final Fantasy XIV , in the context of expanding the game’s reach to other platforms. Yoshida’s response was surprisingly candid for a videogame interview; he straight-up said he has spoken to Microsoft’s Phil Spencer and had meetings with executives at Nintendo. Yoshida wants the game (currently only on PC and PlayStation 4, with a since discontinued PlayStation 3 version in the past as well) to exist on other platforms, namely the Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, and ostensibly so do those platform holders.
However, there’s a catch. MMOs are about community, and the teams behind the games being able to support the game and that community. Cross-platform play has been a hot topic in games, especially coming out of E3 and games like Minecraft and Rocket League going (mostly) cross-platform. But Sony has been the major roadblock, and Final Fantasy XIV started on Sony platforms.
Yoshida said that MMOs require community-minded infrastructure, and many console have online regulations and structures in place that don’t lend themselves well to that philosophy. Basically, they’re locked down by default, as we all know. He said he asks those he meets with, “Do you have the capability to prepare for that, do you have the resolve that you’re going to make sure to take responsibility and take care of those, do you have that willingness?”
Basically, the ball is in the court of Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony. Final Fantasy XIV probably won’t be going multiplatform anytime soon, unless these companies can play ball with what’s required to keep Final Fantasy XIV a singular community and support base.
We’ll see what happens.
Source: Kotaku