Final Fantasy XIV Reimagined, to Respect Players' Time
Naoki Yoshida hints at the game's possible future evolution
Final Fantasy XIV is a benchmark in the field of MMORPGs, and in the future, it could bring fundamental innovations to the sector, starting with its relationship to the factor of time: as you know, this genre is usually very demanding in terms of hours spent in front of the screen, and often the activity devolves into grinding, even though users may not have much free time available.
Naoki Yoshida and Players' Time
The topic was addressed by producer Naoki Yoshida, interviewed by the Korean portal Inven. Yoshida speaks of a second iteration of Final Fantasy XIV, which will be reimagined from scratch to evolve the game towards new goals. According to Yoshida, the many hours required by MMORPGs are not in line with the needs of today's audience, to which games should adapt. From this point of view, FF XIV already represents a step forward, but Yoshida proposes a further change.
As an example, the producer hypothesizes that the game could ask the user how much time they have available for the session and what they intend to do, for example, become stronger or follow the story. Depending on the answers, the game could then guide the experience, suggesting activities to undertake. In this way, the service would evolve in a direction that would guarantee the user enjoyment even when available time is limited.