What consumers expect of a FF-title

[Seif]

I've said in the past to those who defend XIII by referencing it's massive sales that the game sold well because it was branded "FF".

They did not know all the gameplay and exploration was streamlined out of it to make way for a 30hr soap opera.

I do like FF games but I'm not blind to the lack of content or interactivity in modern games. I think the sales reflect the fact that I'm not the only one who feels this way:

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/3..._Franchise.php

Public is not making the same mistake twice it seems.

In summary my assumption(totally subjective mind you) is that the general public has caught on the fact that Motomu Toriyama can not direct a good game to save his life.

Please SE bring forth new designers that can design games without streamlining everything we love away from this franchise.

In the end money talks and right now people are voting with their wallets.

[LuciBlack]

All my favorite FF titles came with an in depth story that kept me going till the end.
Final Fantasy II (IV) was my very first FF game. The story and yes the 2bit graphics stole my heart.
It continued with FFIII (VI), FFVII, FFVIII and FFIX.
Each had its own unique story as well as keeping the same FF Theme. With the magic, swords, chocobos and the good vs evil plot. But in the end you find out that the one your thought was the bad guy really wasnt and you eventually meet the true boss.
The other most important aspect of a FF title that kept me going was the adventure. All the added "extra" stuff you can do throughout the game. Sidequests to get rare gear or spells that you dont have to get to beat the game. Side bosses that tell a story, which also you dont need to do in order to finish the game. Having options is great. But exploring to find those secrets was the best.
The reason why FFXI had me playing for 7+ years was because it had all of that in it. (sure people can argue about the difficulty). But every expansion had its own unique story which built off of the main theme.
Final Fantasy was always a Role Playing Game, we play to loose ourself in it, like we do a good book. We become our character and follow their life through it all. But what keeps us going is not knowing the surprises around the corner. The feeling of achievment when finishing a mission gives you that warm feeling of acomplishment inside of yourself.
If the game can give you a rush and make you smile as you trek on, then its a game worth playing.

[Jinko]

I don't think SE are capable of making good games anymore, you will notice most of the good stuff is made by external companies such as Edios and Level 5 these days.

My faith in SE drops lower with every internal project they release.

Strangely I still have hope that 2.0 will be a good game.

[Betelgeuzah]

Customers expect Nostalgy injected directly into a game. This can be seen behind any and all opinions regarding where the franchise should be headed.

Through countless different ways to state the same thing, fans have come up with no other approach but to hide the true meaning behind their opinions in the most creative of ways.

Everything they have and will ever say can be summed up in one word: nostalgy. Sometimes with added flavor of "b'awww" and "in my day".

[Xoo]

What's interesting is that they seem to think that if they screw up a game, they can re-release it under the name of Original Title-2 and that's an acceptable way of keeping a consumer base. It's not working.

[Jinko]

What's interesting is that they seem to think that if they screw up a game, they can re-release it under the name of Original Title-2 and that's an acceptable way of keeping a consumer base. It's not working.

Its yet to be seen if this will work, its pretty well known that you only get one chance to impress with an MMO though so its unlikely that 2.0 will do very well either.

I only hope they don't screw up Dragon Quest X, otherwise they may as well close up shop.

[AdvancedWind]

"One spin off game sold less than the main series game. Final Fantasy is finished!"

[wiremeshi]

Final Fantasy art work is one the best in my humble opinion. I've enjoyed the series as whole. Not one fan or follower of the series tend to see eye to eye e.g (some love FF9 while others hate it) its kind of funny in that sense, even some my friends that like the series have very different likes and dislikes. That being said I've always like the risks it takes not many game franchises do that. This is a bit obvious and big generalization in all in all but worth a mention.

I have to say I'm a Chrono trigger and Vagrant story kind of guy

[Seif]

I think it's worth mentioning the obvious. XIII-2 has had more marketing than XIII which itself had marketing campaign budget unheard of in SE's history of FF titles.

I think this helps to clear up what can be seen from the sales of these 2 games. I honestly wonder though if SE sees it at all as they we're pretty frank about the fact that they don't want to do regular towns and exploration in FF games anymore:

"The game’s linearity was just because depicting towns and so on like we did before was impossible to do on an “HD” console – it was too much work."

Guess what there will only ever be HD consoles in the future.

[KiriA500]

Whaaaaaaaaaat? A sequel nobody asked for didn't sell as well as people had hoped, the same weekend the new Sony handheld was released?

DAMN YOU TORIYAMA!!!!