When it comes to the MMORPG landscape, most players will mention World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy 14. The two games are intertwined as the two powerhouses of the MMO landscape and will always be compared to each other due to their popularity. The respect paid to WoW or Final Fantasy 14 is often shown on social media and through media sources across the internet.
Final Fantasy 14's true hero has often been shown as Naoki Yoshida (known by fans as Yoshi-P), the game director and mastermind of the revamp of Final Fantasy 14. In an interview with PCGamesN, Yoshi-P shows exactly how he feels about World of Warcraft and the landscape of MMORPGs.
In the interview, Yoshi-P describes that World of Warcraft took MMORPGs like Everquest and Age of Ultima headfirst and did the unthinkable. He goes on to say that without World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy 14 would never have been possible, especially after the failure that was the initial release. Yoshi-P mentions that the game was a mentor of sorts. Yoshi-P went on to say that he wanted the game to be story-driven that can often be to the benefit but also push away the hardcore players. However, with this direction, the game was able to reboot and prosper.
Yoshi-P went on to mention that he's actually a pretty big fan of Blizzard across the spectrum, whether it's World of Warcraft, Diablo, or Overwatch. With all of the influences that Blizzard has made on the landscape of gaming, these are some of the obvious games that other developers would look to as fans across different genres.
Game development has always been full of different types of relationships, and the one between World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy 14's has been one of respect and competition. Whether it's been one pulling players from the other for, or just the acknowledgment of the other, both games continue on in the specter of the other and drive the developers for each title to greater heights.
Yoshi-P ended the interview with an incredibly simple statement of developers should just create a game that everyone can enjoy, and that will know no boundaries to any region or country. For gamers looking towards the next expansion Endwalker, this is positive news and will continue to drive the development of the game. While games have their struggles, recognizing those and adjusting is an important role that all developers take upon themselves. Yoshi-P appears to be on dev who faces it headfirst.
Final Fantasy 14 is available now on PC, PS4, and PS5.
Source: PCGamesN