Square Enix recently raised a lot of eyebrows when it sold off most of its Western studios and properties to Embracer Group — a move that would, apparently, allow the company to invest in "blockchain, AI, and the cloud". Not necessarily the kind of thing that fans of Square Enix's games want to hear, is it? Not when the publisher had previously expressed interest in things like the 'Metaverse'. After all, chasing trends can often be a slippery slope for publishers who are already making questionable decisions.
Thankfully, it sounds like Naoki Yoshida's a little more down to earth. The Square Enix producer — often referred to by his nickname, Yoshi-P — has shared his thoughts on the Metaverse, and it's safe to say that he's not a huge fan right now.
The concept of the Metaverse has actually been compared to games like Final Fantasy XIV, the MMORPG that Yoshida and his team have transformed into a colossal success over the last decade or so. The Metaverse itself is usually billed as a kind of online world that mirrors our own — but that's where Yoshida doesn't quite get the appeal.
In an interview with Japanese publication Bunshun (as translated by Siliconera), Yoshida says: "To me, I see the Metaverse as ‘a system that replaces reality with a virtual world.’ So I don’t think the Metaverse has anything in common with entertainment."
He continues: "In the Metaverse I’m thinking of, people will be able to use an avatar in virtual reality, and take a stroll in Shinjuku or do shopping, just like in real life. Though it might be fun, there’s no entertainment there. ‘What’s so interesting about the systems of our real world?’ is how I feel."
No doubt a reassuring take for fans of Yoshida's projects, which includes the upcoming Final Fantasy XVI. It seems as though escapism is paramount for this particular producer.
[source bunshun.jp, via ryokutya2089.com, siliconera.com]
Comments 13
Sounds like FF16 is in good hands at least. Hopefully its out in 2023 at the latest.
Worried about the direction Square-Enix as a whole is going in.
“ In the Metaverse I’m thinking of, people will be able to use an avatar in virtual reality, and take a stroll in Shinjuku or do shopping, just like in real life.”… considering I don’t live in Japan… sounds fun to me!
@danzoEX Yeah, virtual tourism is a pretty valid source of entertainment.
@Gaia093 Yeah, same. Imagine visiting real world locations at different time periods. Really cool if possible! Or another planet!
@Gbarsotini or just the fact you could visit another area of the world through the Metaverse without having to actually fly out to that area. Sounds entertaining enough to me haha
SE is a mess right now but Yoshi-P being at the helm of 16 is the only reason I still have any excitement for it.
Broke: Sony acquiring Square
Woke: Sony acquiring Yoshi-P
While Metaverse admittedly has potential for the future, the way it is now I don't see the appeal of it either (beside the virtual tourism part as a few users above mentioned) so I get what Yoshida is coming from.
Right now I'm just intrigued to see what Yoshida and his team will bring to the table with FFXVI, hopefully the S-E high-ups hasn't/will not get in the dev team's way and screw everything up.
@Gbarsotini @Gaia093 @danzoEX Hmm so like Sword Art Online, dot Hack, or Log Horizon, but without the drama/worry of being trapped in a MMO and the looming danger of real life death?
Imagine virtual visiting Shinjuku and then get attacked! That could be fun
Maybe the good news that we all need is “Sony acquires Square Enix and promotes Naoki Yoshida to CEO of the company”.
Most people probably have zero interest in the "metaverse", and to be honest, companies aren't doing a very good job as demonstrating why "metaverse" is good.
Just look at Facebook's billion dollar project so far. Looks like a tech demo, an incredibly unimpressive tech demo.
That's because he is an artist, as opposed to squeenix CEOs who just want to make money as much as possible, with very little effort.
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