Naoki Yoshida, the man who is currently keeping Final Fantasy alive and steering the series forward, believes that the future looks rather uncertain and that young players simply don't care about the legendary franchise.
In an interview, Naoki Yoshida discusses how the gaming world has fundamentally changed and that younger players don't connect with Final Fantasy in the same way older fans have for decades. He believes that today's audience has grown up with always-online, action-oriented, and more competitive games. This means that the classic JRPG structure no longer engages them or feels as natural.
But there's an even more concrete villain in this story: the pace. Or rather, the lack thereof. In the past, Final Fantasy games were released much more frequently, which meant players grew up with the series in a completely different way. Nowadays, the development of new titles takes an incredibly long time, resulting in fewer games and several years of gaps between releases. This means many never get the chance to build that connection to the series that players used to have.
Yoshida hopes, however, that future initiatives, including new mobile games, will serve as gateways for a new generation of fans. But is it enough, or is it too little, too late?
What do you think about the future of Final Fantasy? Has time begun to run out on the series, or is it still as relevant as it used to be?
<social>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leKFwPNDdKQ</social>