Final Fantasy Is ‘Struggling.’ Where Does the Series Go From Here?

by crissly | Aug 19, 2022 | Uncategorized

At the height of its popularity, Final Fantasy was the JRPG franchise, a must-have that sold PlayStation consoles through the ’90s and beyond. But the cornerstones that defined the Final Fantasy games of the past have fading relevance—something even one of the series’ most lauded developers has acknowledged.

In the world of Final Fantasy, veteran game developer Naoki Yoshida is considered something of a savior. He’s credited with reviving Final Fantasy XIV, an MMO once so infamously bad even publisher Square Enix’s former president has acknowledged it as a black mark. But while Yoshida is attached as a producer to Final Fantasy XVI—the next big entry in the series—even he admits that the franchise has failed to keep up with the times.

“In terms of whether Final Fantasy is successfully adapting to industry trends, I believe the series is currently struggling,” he told Inverse.

There’s a golden era when it comes to Final Fantasy games, though fans will hotly contest when it begins and ends (Final Fantasy VI to X, if you ask me). Its most iconic game to date, 1997’s Final Fantasy VII, is so beloved to this day that it inspired spinoff games and even a movie; Square Enix is painstakingly remaking it today as a blown-out experience split into three games. But, as Yoshida’s comments indicate, the franchise cannot coast forever on past glories.

It’s been a tricky decade. Final Fantasy XIII was the series’ jump to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 generation, and—due to its linear design, dull story, and one-note characters—stands as both one of the franchise’s weaker entries and indicative of its lackluster entry into more recent console generations. Its successor, Final Fantasy XIV, was objectively bad, bogged down with clunky gameplay, a chore of a battle system, and a tedious story. Yoshida’s ambitions for a fresh slate were clear even in the name of the game’s relaunch: A Realm Reborn.

While the earliest games in the series were consistently released every few years, development times have stretched enormously. It took a decade to get Final Fantasy XV out the door. And even with all that time and energy, the series no longer sets the standard for the genre. The field is more competitive than ever, with franchises like Persona or Yakuza continuing to innovate, and indie games recreating the feeling of old-school RPGs.

Now, Final Fantasy is grappling with what players want in the modern era. Yoshida says the turn-based gameplay, foundational to the series, feels dated and slow to some players. “I’m from a generation that grew up with command and turn-based RPGs,” Yoshida said in a July interview translated by VGC. “I think I understand how interesting and immersive it can be. On the other hand, for the past decade or so, I’ve seen quite a number of opinions saying ‘I don’t understand the attraction of selecting commands in video games.’” It’s a growing sentiment, he adds, especially with younger players.

Games like Final Fantasy XV and Final Fantasy VII Remake offer a look at how Square Enix is thinking about its evolution—pushing away from strategy that involves patiently waiting for your turn, and jumping into more action-oriented experiences. Yoshida told Inverse that Square Enix gets a wide variety of requests about what each new game should be, adding “it’d be impossible to satisfy all those requests with a single title.”

Instead, he suggests the way forward is to “create multiple games,” while staying true to the core tenets of Final Fantasy: “​​a deep story, rich game design, the best game audio to accompany those aspects,” he tells Inverse.

Is that—set against a high fantasy background where the main characters are puzzlingly named Joshua and Clive–enough to keep Final Fantasy relevant today? Square Enix is still figuring that out.

The Activision Blizzard Union Win Is Only a Beginning

by crissly | Jun 13, 2022 | Uncategorized

Pencil in another win for collective bargaining efforts in the video game industry: On Monday, Microsoft and the Communications Workers of America formed a labor neutrality agreement, one that will allow workers to explore their right to unionize freely and without fear of retaliation. The agreement kicks in 60 days after Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard closes.

It’s an unprecedented deal for the game industry, which has been notoriously hostile to worker collectives since its inception. Nowhere has this been more evident than at Activision Blizzard, where workers have struggled for months to unionize amidst the company’s hiring of union busting firms and use of anti-worker rhetoric. The first union to form under the company’s umbrella are workers from Call of Duty developer Raven Software—a feat they managed to push through with a small QA unit and 19 “yes” votes.

Under the neutrality agreement, employees will be able to talk with their fellow workers about union membership and maintain confidentiality on those subjects. “If a disagreement arises between the CWA and Microsoft under the agreement, the two organizations will work together promptly to reach an agreement and will turn to an expedited arbitration process if they cannot,” the CWA said in its announcement.

That agreement, CWA president Chris Shelton said in a statement, “provides a pathway for Activision Blizzard workers to exercise their democratic rights to organize and collectively bargain” once the Microsoft acquisition concludes. In other words, Shelton continued, employees now have a seat at the table.

The CWA’s wariness over the impending merger has been months in the making. In March, it urged the FTC, along with 14 other organizations, to “closely scrutinize” the deal ahead of closing: “The potential takeover by Microsoft threatens to further undermine workers’ rights and suppress wages.” The neutrality agreement relieves those concerns. Microsoft president Brad Smith said in a statement that the impending acquisition is the company’s “first opportunity” to enforce the guidelines it’s already set when it comes to labor organizations.

Microsoft has been open to employees unionizing. Xbox head Phil Spencer told staff the company would recognize Raven’s union once the merger was complete, overriding the reticence Activision Blizzard has repeatedly shown in response to worker efforts. On top of accusations of union busting, the National Labor Relations Board said in May it found merit for allegations that the company threatened employees who talked about work conditions. Activision Blizzard refused to voluntarily recognize Raven’s union, forcing workers to win their rights legally by way of election.

On May 23, a group of quality assurance developers made history after winning that vote, forming the first AAA union at one of the biggest game companies on the planet. Activision Blizzard’s response was pushback: “We believe that an important decision that will impact the entire Raven Software studio of roughly 350 people should not be made by 19 Raven employees” spokesperson Kelvin Liu told WIRED.

But Activision Blizzard can no longer continue that fight. CEO Bobby Kotick sent an email to employees June 10 with news that the company will negotiate with Communications Workers of America and the 27 QA workers in the unit: “We will meet CWA leaders at the bargaining table and work toward an agreement that supports the success of all our employees, that further strengthens our commitment to create the industry’s best, most welcoming and inclusive workplace, and enhances our ability to deliver world class games for our players.”

Microsoft’s willingness to work with the CWA bodes well for future efforts to organize at the company, but the road ahead to better working conditions is still long. Agreeing on a contract is a prolonged, intensive process that requires compromise and repeated negotiations on behalf of both parties. Kotick claims that bargaining will take place in good faith, but at this point the company has a legal obligation to come to the table. He has no choice.

Still, Kotick’s promise is a “positive step toward high road labor relations at Activision,” CWA’s secretary-treasurer Sara Steffens told WIRED. “[We] hope,” she says, “[Kotick’s announcement] is the first of many steps toward full collaboration between Activision Blizzard leadership and employees to positively shape the future of Activision through a strong union contract.”

Summer Game Fest’s Biggest Announcement Was a Remake

by crissly | Jun 9, 2022 | Uncategorized

The Last of Us Part 1 is coming. Again. Naughty Dog copresident Neil Druckmann announced the news today during Summer Game Fest, the kickoff event of this year’s pseudo-E3. The game is making the jump from its PlayStation 3 origins to a “complete remake” for PS5.

Unfortunately, Druckmann is a little late to the party. Sony leaked the news via PlayStation Direct ahead of today’s reveal.

Leaks happen all the time in games. And for Naughty Dog, leak lightning has struck twice. Back in 2020, ahead of its highly anticipated sequel, The Last of Us Part II, leakers spread key information about the game, including major plot points.

What’s especially notable in this case is not the leak, but that the remake was still the biggest news of the event. Summer Game Fest’s otherwise tame kickoff shotgunned through a variety of titles, including Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Gotham Knights, Aliens: Dark Descent, and Stormgate, a new game from former StarCraft 2 devs. Smaller titles, like Neon White, got release dates (June 16), and Coffee Stain Studio showed off a new Goat Simulator. Compared to bombastic events of previous years, it was an oddly muted showcase.

If it seems a little soon to remake The Last of Us—it’s not even a decade old—consider the timing. An HBO adaptation of the game is currently underway, starring Game of Thrones stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey. And, according to Sony, its sequel, The Last of Us Part II, has sold more than 10 million copies. Naughty Dog also has more plans to expand the franchise with a stand-alone multiplayer game—a task requiring the studio to grow “significantly” to make it.

Anyway, if you somehow missed the original game on PS3, or then again as a PS4 remaster, you’ll get your chance to play a modernized version on PS5 on September 2. It’s also in development for PC, because you certainly haven’t seen the last of it.