Naoki ‘Yoshi-P’ Yoshida has been making games for almost 30 years, more than a decade of which has been spent turning Final Fantasy 14 into one of the world’s most beloved MMOs, but the iconic game dev doesn’t plan on retiring anytime soon. In fact, he apparently has a bunch of game ideas still tucked away in his back pocket, including one that confusingly “combines AI and servers.”
When asked by Famitsu about his future plans in a chat translated by TheGamer, Yoshida says, “There are still many things I want to try,” alongside ongoing updates and expansions to Final Fantasy 14. “So I have no intention of retiring any time soon, and will continue to run at full speed.”
The 52-year-old’s last project unrelated to the adamantoise-sized MMO was Final Fantasy 16, for which he served as a producer, but other ideas orbit his brain as well. “There are still many game ideas that are stored away as project proposals, and I would like them to see the light of day someday,” he adds.
And one of the proposals he details concerns “a game design that combines AI and servers.” What that looks like isn’t entirely clear, since Yoshi-P doesn’t specify generative AI, and even if he did, I don’t think I’d have a better understanding of what he was getting at.
Although he does attempt to explain that the idea could somewhat help to alleviate the game industry’s worsening problems. “It’s a tough world out there,” he says. “With soaring development costs, accelerating technological advancements, decreasing consumer disposable time, and rapid market changes. Though that’s precisely why I feel like it’s one of the most exciting times for the industry.”
Square Enix is no stranger to the worlds of AI and MMOs colliding. The Japan-exclusive MMO Dragon Quest 10 recently welcomed a character called Oshaberi Slimey, a chirpy little creature that’s powered by Google’s Gemini AI model and comments on player activity with AI-generated text. Needless to say, it didn’t go down well with players.
As for Final Fantasy 14, the all-encompassing digital world isn’t succumbing to similar tools for now. It’s actually just as jolly as ever. The MMO recently patted Japanese taxpayers on the head with an in-game Shiba Inu mount – now who’s a good boy? – as it gears up for its next expansion, Evercold.
Yoshi-P himself recently said he can’t see an end in sight for Final Fantasy 14, either. That doesn’t exactly close the door to other projects set in its world since Yoshi-P also revealed he’s considered making a single-player Final Fantasy 14 project, as well, due to some fans’ aversion to online games.
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