Yoshida Uncensored. How Were We Able to Remake Final Fantasy Xiv?
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YOSHIDA UNCENSORED. HOW WERE WE ABLE TO REMAKE FINAL FANTASY XIV? NAOKI YOSHIDA 1 “A Candid Preface” My name is Naoki Yoshida, Square Enix Executive Officer, Business Division 5 Executive, and FINAL FANTASY XIV Producer and Director. Those are my official titles. I joined Square Enix 12 years ago. The company has its strengths and its flaws, and taking both into consideration I’d say that it’s a company where “you get what you put in.” As an aside, “Executive Officer” is simply one of the titles that can be given to a full-time employee. Please remember that... “FINAL FANTASY XIV” (hereafter abbreviated to “FFXIV”) was announced as a follow-up to one of the first console MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game), “FINAL FANTASY XI”, which took the world by storm. It promised to be a revolutionary MMORPG. However, as it drew closer to the September 2010 release date, alpha tests and beta tests went by with players and the media expressing doubts about the quality of the product. FFXIV was released nonetheless, eliciting disappointment and criticism from many outlets. Some people even proclaimed that “Final Fantasy [was] dead.” In December of 2010, Yoichi Wada, the president of Square Enix at the time, announced to the players that the development team would be restructured, which eventually lead to the currently- operating FFXIV: A Realm Reborn (hereafter abbreviated to “ARR”). This book will “candidly” detail what went on in Square Enix and the FFXIV development team between the original FFXIV and FFXIV: ARR. ...Or so I say, but actually this is a novelization of my biweekly “Yoshida Uncensored” column in Weekly Famitsu. This book covers the 44 entries leading up to the completion of ARR, plus one bonus story. (The series itself has already reached 60 entries; perhaps we will publish a sequel?) Moreover, this column came about when Famitsu approached me right after ARR was finished, asking “Could you write a column for us about the path leading up to ARR?” I told them “I won’t get paid for this, and I’m very busy with development and management so it’s not possible.” “Okay then, what if we always allot 4 pages or so in the magazine to FFXIV for as long as the column continues?” “Now we’re talking; I can’t do it every week but biweekly is doable.” That’s the kind of “candid” writing I’m talking about. For the record, I don’t earn any royalties from this book (our company prohibits side jobs). I’ve noticed that a lot of people read the “preface” and “afterword” of a book these days, so I want to make a disclaimer from the very start that this book gets derailed a lot. The game development and PR stories aren’t so bad, but some of the entries are more like essays than columns, and there’s a lot of digressing and meandering around. Please keep that in mind as you read, although it’s not like warning you will allow you to avoid it... 2 Also, there are notes explaining terminology that the general populace may not be familiar with. These are also written by myself, Yoshida, so they are probably quite subjective. I take no responsibility for their correctness, so please be aware of that before blindly believing them 100% and talking to other people about them. They’re probably about as accurate as what Google will tell you (so, surprisingly good?). Now then, up until there was 545 words. I think that’s sufficient for a preface, but what does Kikuchi-san1 think? As for the rest of you, I’ll see you again in the afterword! Translator’s Note: The Japanese title of this book translates to “Yoshida’s Everyday Candid [Stories]”, which is why you will see the word “candid” a lot. I put the title as “Yoshida Uncensored” because that was the English translation shown on Live Letter presentations, making it at least slightly official. Aside from that, this will be a fairly literal translation because of the nature of the subject matter. Some parts have been slightly modified to match Western terminologies (for example, we often refer to the re-release of FFXIV as just “2.0” or “ARR”. Also, Yoshi-P often flips between first-person and third-person, but I changed it to consistently be first-person. Anything not marked with “TL Note” is present in the original book. This book was published in 2016, so there are a few statements that are now out of date. Anyway, please enjoy! Disclaimer: This is an unofficial fan translation and I am not in any way affiliated with Square Enix or other rights holders. I think it is unlikely that this book will receive an official localization (hence why I’m doing this), but in the event that it does, please cease distribution of this file. If you’re interested in purchasing the original book, it’s available on Amazon Japan and ships overseas: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4047331546 (Please note that Yoshi-P does not get paid royalties) If you have any questions or feedback regarding this translation, you can contact me on Twitter (shininyan) or Reddit (Shini-tan). 1 Opone Kikuchi, an editor for Famitsu. Said to be a huge fan of FFXI, FFXIV, and the Metal Gear series. In charge of the FFXIV articles in the magazine, and always puts up with my messy columns... I’m sorry. 3 Table of Contents “A Candid Preface”...................................................................................................................................... 2 #1: “Please Look Forward to Yoshida’s Next Work!” ................................................................................. 6 #2: “The Importance of Knowing What We Didn’t Know (Not an Important Column)” ............................ 8 #3: “There’s No Guarantee that Yoshida Is Right.” .................................................................................. 10 #4: “Yoshida?” ........................................................................................................................................... 12 #5: “Ideal - Reality = Problem” .................................................................................................................. 14 #6: “It Doesn’t Even Have to Be FFXIV! (Huh?)” ....................................................................................... 17 #7: “Where Fantasies and Wild Ideas Lead.” ............................................................................................ 19 #8: “The Virtual World and the Real World, Part 1” ................................................................................. 22 #9: “The Virtual World and the Real World, Part 2” ................................................................................. 24 #10: “The Work of a Producer”................................................................................................................. 26 #11: “There’s a Limit to How Oblivious You Can Be” ............................................................................... 29 #12: “My Hands Were Shaking”................................................................................................................ 32 #13: “Past and Future.” ............................................................................................................................. 34 #14: “End of an Era” .................................................................................................................................. 36 #15: “My Mother and China, Part 1” ........................................................................................................ 38 #16: “My Mother and China, Part 2” ........................................................................................................ 40 #17: “Product = Service? No, It’s Not Necessarily a ‘Service’, Because Development Is Required” ........ 42 #18: “Kikuchi-san, Please Take Care of It Somehow... (Commonly Referred to as ‘Passing the Buck’)” . 44 #19: “The Definition of Humanities” ........................................................................................................ 47 #20: “Something Candid” ......................................................................................................................... 49 #21: “Skip-Brag” ........................................................................................................................................ 51 #22: “Blackout” ......................................................................................................................................... 53 #23: “Producer and Director” ................................................................................................................... 55 #24: “Maintaining High Spirits” ................................................................................................................ 58 #25: “Lifeless Eyes” ................................................................................................................................... 60 #26: “To My Comrades!” .......................................................................................................................... 63 #27: “Plans Are Uncertain, Not Set in Stone.” .......................................................................................... 65 #28: “When This Battle Is Over, I’ll...” ...................................................................................................... 67 #29: “The End of 1.0” ................................................................................................................................ 69 4 #30: “I’m Not Saying This to Get More Players (Although We Do Want Them)” ..................................... 71 #31: