Epic stream – April 15, 2016 – For nearly three decades, it’s been a running gag in videogaming that Final Fantasy doesn’t exactly live up to its namesake. How can a series with over fifteen main entries have the gall to be called “final”? Sadly, these days, that might be the case.
The video game world is changing, especially in Japan. Mobile games are taking over the market, and high-end consoles are not as big as they used to be. Franchises like Castlevaniaand Metal Gear Solid are done, but Final Fantasy remains to be one of the few major “non-Nintendo” Japanese gaming franchises that is trying to survive.
How long can the franchise last? Not very long, says director Hajime Tabata during an interview with Game Informer.
“If the Final Fantasy brand is on its demise in terms of its numbered mainline series in Japan, then I feel like it would also follow suit globally. The Japanese console game market is definitely getting smaller and that directly connects
to the fact that the demand for consoles and console games are declining. At the same time that means a decline in the Final Fantasy IP.”
A world without Final Fantasy is a chilling thought, but the good news is that it looks like Final Fantasy XV has what it takes to save the epic franchise and perhaps the Japanese role-playing video game industry from extinction.
Final Fantasy XV will be released for the Playstation 4 and Xbox One on Sept. 30, 2016. Last week, the Uncovered event unveiled a lot of things Final Fantasy XV, including a 5-episode anime, an animated CGI feature length film, and more.