Naoki Yoshida interview @Gamescom

[MicahZerrshia]

It's not the first time and we always tell him our concerns about the game because we love it. It was the same with Tabata-san last year at Gamescom about FFXV.

Our goal is not to put him on the spot, but to address our concerns, what the community feels (or what we've been hearing). That's my feeling but he likes when we're interviewing him (it's my 4th time) because it changes from basics questions.

It's just that most interviewers have very tame questions where it is almost like it's scripted and ok'd beforehand. This seemed like a "we have him cornered, ask him now" sort of thing, which is good. But reading some of those questions I sat back and literally laughed out loud because I was imagining him squirm and laugh uncomfortably. And I really did even say to my roomy "these 2 won't ever be able to interview him again" lol.

But it was a good one, thanks for not asking what felt like scripted questions again.

[Mugiawara]

It's just that most interviewers have very tame questions where it is almost like it's scripted and ok'd beforehand. This seemed like a "we have him cornered, ask him now" sort of thing, which is good. But reading some of those questions I sat back and literally laughed out loud because I was imagining him squirm and laugh uncomfortably. And I really did even say to my roomy "these 2 won't ever be able to interview him again" lol.

But it was a good one, thanks for not asking what felt like scripted questions again.

Esp. the one where he asked about his favourite meal.
Them: What's your favourite meal?
Yoshi:
Yoshi: Meat! Meat and ramen! *-Wipes of sweat- Dodge the bullet.*

[Greaf]

It's just that most interviewers have very tame questions where it is almost like it's scripted and ok'd beforehand. This seemed like a "we have him cornered, ask him now" sort of thing, which is good. But reading some of those questions I sat back and literally laughed out loud because I was imagining him squirm and laugh uncomfortably. And I really did even say to my roomy "these 2 won't ever be able to interview him again" lol.

But it was a good one, thanks for not asking what felt like scripted questions again.

Esp. the one where he asked about his favourite meal.
Them: What's your favourite meal?
Yoshi:
Yoshi: Meat! Meat and ramen! *-Wipes of sweat- Dodge the bullet.*

Haha thank you. The interview has been filmed. We're putting subtitles at the moment so you can still watch how he reacts

PS : The food idea was mine

[Chessala]

Some of those questions were loaded.

I see two people who will likely not get direct access to Yoshida again lol

They really put him on the spot.

GOOD! This is not done enough and he tends to weasel his way out by changing the topic. I loved how they used the food question to demonstrate to him that too much of something you like is not making you like it more.

I like to grind to a certain extend (I love gathering for example) but that doesn't mean it's all I want to do. I tire of the "yet another new tomestone" grind. Only having 2 dungeons in the ex roulette does not make it better. This game has so much potential and it is making me indefinitely sad to see it wasted to only invest in the same things over and over again. I am not saying drop the tomestone system but give people more alternatives. Stop putting retarded limits of 450 on a new tomestone. It does not make the content last longer. All it does is make people not log in after they cap because there is nothing else they enjoy.

And don't drop the "there is so much else to do" argument. Not everyone likes everything. People should not be forced into content they don't enjoy simply because there is nothing else. As for the changes, 3.0 was 2.,0 all over again. There was NOTHING new in the expansion, nothing that made you go "wow, THIS is a game changer". They should strive to wow their players at the very least with an expansion. But why would they? Even on my 5 months break I kept subbing, so they get their money anyway. Even if people only play one day a week, they get their money. The name "Final Fantasy" will carry them for along time and attract new players. They will enjoy the game for a while, eventually get tired of it and leave.

No MMO is perfect. All of them have things that people don't like and things that could be improved. Complaining about the state of a game means you care about it. You want to see it improve so that you can enjoy it too. Even if a game is perfect for you, you will tire of it at some point. That's normal, there is only so much that can be done.

I work with MMOs every day and while I have recently leveled up from being a GM, I know that dealing with communities isn't easy. The are demanding little pricks and everyone thinks they have the best ideas that should be in the game. One of the tasks of a GMs is to gather that feedback and forward it and more often than not, the feedback gets ignored for various reasons (time, money, level of effort etc.).

But that doesn't mean people should stop making suggestions and in Yoshi's case it seems he does not care a lot about feedback that doesn't fit in his concept. He is not very flexible and doesn't like to stray from his ideas. As a producer, he should take all sides into account and make content that enhances the game instead of keeping it at the level it is.

He mentions that if there suddenly there would not be new content, people would miss the predictable and regular content. Of course they would, an MMO cannot live forever without content updates. His way of avoiding the question for variety in content shows that he does not understand MMO players at all. An MMO that doesn't get content dies eventually. It will hang on for a while but eventually the pool of new players is exhausted. A small hardcore fanbase will always stay and in case of F2P MMOs, these hardcore players can keep a game up and running if their pockets are deep enough (we have a few of those games).
FFXIV is a sub game, that means that they need a certain amount of players to have it make a profit. Keeping those players means delivering new content in regular intervals or the players leave eventually. We don't pay a sub to stand in Idyllshire and not do anything (not saying some people don't).

TL;DR: I hope there will be more such interviews, maybe Yoshi wakes up from his bubble and tries to think as a player instead of following his script without variation.

[Kosmos992k]

in Yoshi's case it seems he does not care a lot about feedback that doesn't fit in his concept. He is not very flexible and doesn't like to stray from his ideas. As a producer, he should take all sides into account and make content that enhances the game instead of keeping it at the level it is.

I think you are misreading Yoshida-san and applying a fairly harsh filter to your reading of him as well. I do think he cares pationately about the game and the players. He's very much a MMORPG player, and cares about how things play. I think this is clearly evident in many of the interviews and presentations he's given over the years.

That care and attention translates to sometimes excessive transparency and perhaps attempts to cater to the whims of the loudest forum voices. But because he is open about most things, people on this forum and elsewhere play "Monday morning quarterback" with his every word, and when things do not work out as expected (not uncommon in game development) folks are quick to jump on him about it and use prior interviews against him.

Perhaps if he were like most game producers and really never talked much about the game or what they are trying to do people might be less apt to second guess everything, or be pre-critical about every change before it's even made. On the other hand, if Yoshida-san did that, we would not have the level of communication from the developers that we do currently.

I prefer the current situation and am realistic about how things can change during development. Heck if I was held to every conceptual discussion or prototype I ever made during development, I'd never deliver a thing because I'd be too busy chasing the ephemeral goals created by others' perceptions and expectations.

[Greaf]

I think you are misreading Yoshida-san and applying a fairly harsh filter to your reading of him as well. I do think he cares pationately about the game and the players. He's very much a MMORPG player, and cares about how things play. I think this is clearly evident in many of the interviews and presentations he's given over the years.

That care and attention translates to sometimes excessive transparency and perhaps attempts to cater to the whims of the loudest forum voices. But because he is open about most things, people on this forum and elsewhere play "Monday morning quarterback" with his every word, and when things do not work out as expected (not uncommon in game development) folks are quick to jump on him about it and use prior interviews against him.

Perhaps if he were like most game producers and really never talked much about the game or what they are trying to do people might be less apt to second guess everything, or be pre-critical about every change before it's even made. On the other hand, if Yoshida-san did that, we would not have the level of communication from the developers that we do currently.

I prefer the current situation and am realistic about how things can change during development. Heck if I was held to every conceptual discussion or prototype I ever made during development, I'd never deliver a thing because I'd be too busy chasing the ephemeral goals created by others' perceptions and expectations.

The interview has been filmed so you can check soon. But I agree from the feeling I had, it's been since 2013 I met him and he still cares about the game and everything else. He really listens to what we've said. Before being "journalist" (we're just a fansite), we're also fan. We care about the series, we care about the game, we want the best for the game. Our disappointment shows that we care. It was my feeling (about the food metaphor), and I suppose a lot of people is feeling the same. Maybe he knows, maybe not, but it has to be said in an interview. He's open-minded and when it comes to that feedback, he's very careful.


He's going to make mistakes. You can't make something perfect. It's ok to do mistakes, as long as you learn about them and change it to make something better. I hope that what we're living at the moment on Heavensward will be that "mistake", because if it wasn't now, it would be in a near future. Better to make that mistake now.