In a recent interview published by Push Square, it seems that Square Enix has succeeded in achieving one of their major goals: bringing in younger players and fans to the Final Fantasy series.
In the interview, The Rising Tides DLC director, Takeo Kujiraoka, stated, “In recent years, players of the Final Fantasy series have tended to skew towards a higher age range. However, this time there are survey results showing that more people in their teens and twenties played Final Fantasy XVI.” He continued, saying, “I think this shows that, to a certain extent, we’ve achieved one of our initial goals – to have players of all ages play the latest Final Fantasy game.”
Although Takeo Kujiraoka clarifies that this won’t dictate how the series will look in the future, to see the Final Fantasy series finally break out of its shell and appeal to a wider audience than its fans, who are notorious for being gatekeepers, is such an accomplishment.
Final Fantasy XVI has been through many discourse campaigns, with the Golden Age Final Fantasy loyalists accusing it of being the “shadowbringer” of the series. However, seeing how it has successfully attracted new, younger fans is a statement that cannot be taken lightly.
The Rising Rides DLC is due in a few days, and with it comes a new chapter that returns us to the world of Final Fantasy, which we at Ermis Gaming have come to love.
