“The amount of resources to be allocated increases exponentially”
In November 2019, Phil Spencer said that Microsoft will bring Final Fantasy XIV on the Xbox platform.
It was a nice decree and, if it could really interface with PC and PS4 (now also PS5), it would mean that even more people could venture together in Eorzea. But it seems to be too big an order for Square Enix, at least for now.
Speaking to The Washington Post, producer and general personality Naoki “Yoshi P” Yoshida explained that it is a matter of resources. He says it quite clearly, stating: “We offer content on a fairly regular basis, and our cycle is quite condensed. And it’s a pretty steady pace that we’re still following … we need to think about long-term planning with platforms, we need additional testing for that platform. So the amount of resources that need to be allocated increases exponentially. ”
Of course, Yoshi P talks about the recently unveiled PS5 edition, which had priority. Like any potential PC graphics enhancement, Square Enix burns for each expansion release.
I contacted both Square Enix and Microsoft last year to see how the discussions were going, and we both offered an emphatic “no comment” on the situation. Now, at least we have a clue as to why the partnership might not happen in the end. This is on and off since 2016: it would be nice to see it finally resolved at some point.
It’s weird to think about all the MMO issues Microsoft has had over the years: we should have received them True Fantasy Live Online!
The director of “Final Fantasy XIV” discusses the challenges of building a game that is always online [The Washington Post]
