The director and producer of Final Fantasy XIV Naoki Yoshida has again commented on a possible release of the MMORPG on Nintendo Switch and Xbox One.
What was said? Yoshida stated in a conversation with GameSpot that Square Enix continues to have discussions with the console developers and he finds it quite likely that these versions will be coming soon.
However, this should also be viewed with some skepticism, as there have been discussions for 2 years regarding the expansion of the game to new consoles. So far, it has only remained discussions without implementation.
What Yoshida said about the ports to other consoles
This is how Yoshida sees the situation: In the interview with GameSpot, Yoshida was directly addressed about the issues with the Switch and the Xbox. He said:
Discussions have been held with the platform holders. The fundamental philosophy of Final Fantasy XIV is that we want to have it with cross-play across all devices, as long as the regulations of the respective hardware companies can actually be adhered to, then the likelihood is quite high that Final Fantasy XIV will come to Xbox and Nintendo systems.
Naoki Yoshida in the interview with GameSpot
What does this mean? At the moment, Yoshida is not confirming the release on the other consoles. However, both Nintendo and Sony are working on entering into cross-play agreements with competing firms, as seen with Fortnite.
As both sides are now working on solutions, there is a chance of success. From the past, we also know that this probability can quickly decrease.
Work is also being done on this: With the introduction of Google Stadia, the developers are also in talks with Google. Thus, it could be that Final Fantasy XIV will also run on Stadia. However, this remains to be seen.
This is what Yoshida says about Free2Play: GameSpot also asked the director of Final Fantasy XIV about a future Free2Play model. There, Yoshida was quite firm and rejected an upcoming Free2Play model.
If we were to switch to a F2P model, we would have to completely overhaul the game design from the ground up. A simple switch to F2P is not a good decision for game design. That is not a good direction.
Naoki Yoshida
Naoki Yoshida also commented on the gender lock in Final Fantasy XIV:
