Yoichi Wada On FFXIII's Reception

[Squirrel Emperor]

Now that Final Fantasy XIII has launched globally, in the end were you satisfied with its performance and the audience reaction to the title?

YW: Looking at the numbers alone, it is pretty good, because we were able to release the latest Final Fantasy in all three markets of Japan, United States, and Europe in a very short period of time, and we were able to reach 5 million units rapidly -- and I think this product will grow further. But when it comes to the customers' reaction to the quality of the game, some value it highly and some are not very happy with it.

What do you think about how the game turned out?

YW: I think this is a product that was able to meet the expectations for those who know Final Fantasy. There are all kinds of games around in the market today. Should Final Fantasy become a new type of the game or should Final Fantasy not become a new type of game? The customers have different opinions. It's very difficult to determine which way it should go.

Source: Gamasutra

Interview has a lot more stuff. (Not all about FF)

[PhantomMemory]

YW: I think this is a product that was able to meet the expectations for those who know Final Fantasy. There are all kinds of games around in the market today. Should Final Fantasy become a new type of the game or should Final Fantasy not become a new type of game? The customers have different opinions. It's very difficult to determine which way it should go.

Is it me or does anyone else sense a bit of contradiction? He says it meets the expectations for those who know Final Fantasy (lol) yet he says he's unsure which way it should go. Also, he said

"But when it comes to the customers' reaction to the quality of the game, some value it highly and some are not very happy with it."

Hmm, sounds like PR talk to me.

[кaтya]

It met expectations of those who know Final Fantasy? It seems to me only a few of such people actually liked the game. I guess at least he admits to not everyone liking the game for once.

[Oji]

I mean, it shows that he's finally coming back to reality. The game wasn't as sucessful as previous ones and the criticism in Japan has been heavy (apart from the big magazines like Dengeki, Famitsu and Gemaga) and if you think of Final Fantasy as a more western kind of RPG you see how bad it did, I mean IX which didn't sell well (for FF standards) received better reviews and is actually more "liked" than XIII is.

I still stand by my point of view that Wada is a prick. It's good to know that we won't see a Toriyama directed FF game for sometime now it seems.

[Clifa]

I still stand by my point of view that Wada is a prick. It's good to know that we won't see a Toriyama directed FF game for sometime now it seems.

I doubt that, with as many projects as SE is taking on, the more directors available, the better for SE. Toriyama is already working on his next project most likely... While the game was viewed with mixed results, I think the happy fans outnumbered the sad fan. Its just that the sad fans are more vocal on the internet.

[Squirrel Emperor]

I think the happy fans outnumbered the sad fan. Its just that the sad fans are more vocal on the internet.

That's something we'll never know for sure. Not all haters are vocal on the internet.

I think forums give a good idea on what those who are not vocal on the internet might think though.

[Zephyr]

Sounds like a recipe for disaster lol, not knowing which direction to go. If Versus fails, I'm giving up on SE.

[The Lightning]

Should Final Fantasy become a new type of the game or should Final Fantasy not become a new type of game?

Final Fantasy should just stay Final Fantasy, like how Dragon Quest stayed Dragon Quest.

Somehow, I would reckon that the change in X had such a good reaction that Square got motivated (in a cocky way) to introduce more change into the system. For XII, they introduced Gambit. It's neat (still not exactly my cup of macha though), and the thing is that, XII is very Final Fantasy - big towns, races, big world map for you to run around. XIII, they went back to ATB, this time fast paced, but they focused too much on beautifying graphics. So far, I like what I see about XIII. It's a beautiful game. But from what I heard in this community, reviews doesn't seem too good.

..it's good that the change is existing and constant. But the change has to be good. For now, I'd very much prefer if they take a break, and let the next Final Fantasy be a 'new' classic like IX.

[Zephyr]

I think SE is losing it's focus and its direction in the gaming world.

[Clifa]

That's something we'll never know for sure. Not all haters are vocal on the internet.

I think forums give a good idea on what those who are not vocal on the internet might think though.

I would disagree, the people who take the time to go on video game forums are not a good representation of the whole population. My friends all stated they loved the game, and they have all been long-time final fantasy fans. the internet is not a good representation of the overall population.

[кaтya]

^ Your friends are not a good representation of the whole population either. It depends where you are and who you're talking to. This even relates to the forums and what you said earlier about them. Here may be there are more people who like this game, but this is a FF13 forum after all. On a bunch of other sites I noticed more people hating the game than loving it. It all varies, and you'll never know for sure.

[Eixip]

Change can be a good thing, but some of the changes in XIII weren't for the better. They should change back to the exploring/open-world game that made the past FF's so great.

It would also be cool if the next FF had a more medieval type setting like in 9 or 12, as opposed to a futuristic or modern setting. but that's just my opinion :P

[Squirrel Emperor]

I would disagree, the people who take the time to go on video game forums are not a good representation of the whole population. My friends all stated they loved the game, and they have all been long-time final fantasy fans. the internet is not a good representation of the overall population.

I'm not factoring in how many people hate or love the game on the internet. Putting numbers aside, I'm saying that the opinions you read on the internet give a good idea on what those who are not vocal on the internet might think about the game.

Yes, the internet is not a good representation of the overall population. Yet, you seem to think that, "The happy fans outnumbered the sad fan. Its just that the sad fans are more vocal on the internet." Which goes back to what I said earlier. "That's something we'll never know for sure. Not all haters are vocal on the internet."

[Kaos24X]

My thoughts about this is that SE might have tried doing and changing too much about the FF formula. Therefore it didn't resonate well with part of the fan base while others were in favor of the changes and liked it. I personally liked it. End of story.

Its really hard to tell if more people liked the game then hated it or vice versa. It all depends on where you go and considering that ALOT of people have left these forums its still a crap shoot to tell on this site what the verdict would have been 3 months ago after all those people finished the game. Other sites have a lot of people that like it, other don't. Who knows. It always work out that way. I know a lot of people that liked it and I know others that where not big fans of it though I cant tell you if the majority of the world like it or not based on that.

I do feel that most JP developers should pay more attention to the community in general. Not just SE. Capcom seems to stays pretty close to the community if im not mistaken. They might have not made great games in the past year with the exception of street fighter 4 but they seem to be in pretty good touch with the world and the community. Even if they didn't succeed every time they at least tried or listened.

[Mr. Gorilla]

It's all about depth. People want substance in their games, and FFXIII did not have substance. I'm all for changing up the battle system and going off in new directions, as long as the game's level of depth remains acceptable.

Here's what all Final Fantasy games had that FFXIII lacked: a certain level of exploration (FFXIII's terrible level design stands in stark contrast to the open environments of FFXII), quality sidequests, an acceptable "gamplay to story" ratio, and a relatively deep combat system. If Wada wants FF to satisfy more customers, then, well, it's a good idea for the next FF game to contain those things.