Nomura on FFVIII and Versus

[Sullla]

OK guys, can we leave the silly exclusivity arguments and "Final Fantasy__ is better than Final Fantasy___" debates aside for a minute? There was some very interesting information in this article that I'd like to highlight.

Next, the PS3 Final Fantasy games. The two were first asked to comment on the changes the move from the PS2 to the PS3 brings to the series.

"On the hardware side," said Kitase, "thanks to the storage space of Blu-Ray and the inclusion of a hard drive, we're able to deal with load times. Regarding the production side of things, because it's a next generation machine, any and all sections require multiple times more work, so it's difficult. 

The first thing that jumps out at me is the mention of using Blu-Ray to improve loading times. Notice, Kitase doesn't say that Blu-Ray allows the team to create bigger, more detailed worlds... but that it's being used to speed up loading. It sounds to me like that extra space is being used in the exact same way that other PS3 titles have used it: for uncompressed audio and visual files. Too early to say anything with certainty, of course.

It's also very noteworthy that the transition from PS2 to PS3 means that "all sections require multiple times more work". Although we've been hearing that for a while, it's not a good sign. And again:

As for Nomura, the Versus XIII director said, "Compared to the move to the PS2, the move to the PS3 is more difficult. Planning and so-forth haven't changed much as far as work is concerned, but overall, the amount of graphics work has gone up considerably. You can show tiny details, so you have to make put tiny details in your illustrations."

 

That's about as clear-cut as it gets. The higher graphical requirements of the PS3 are causing the extensive delays in creating Final Fantasy/Versus XIII. We've assume this for quite some time, but didn't have actual confirmation from the development team. No doubt these games will look great when they come out. The tradeoff is that we won't be seeing them for quite a long time yet.

I wouldn't take this as a particularly good sign either:

"The other day," said Nomura, "I saw a test of an airship flying over the world map. I felt that I was seeing a Final Fantasy-like screen for the first time in a long time. However, the fact that things have become realistic made us concerned about what to do about the scale. It's the same scale as past FF games, but even then, it's so wide that you can't make out the first town." (my emphasis added)

It sounds like Nomura is still trying to figure out exactly what kind of a game Versus XIII is going to become. (You can practically feel the confusion in that little quote.) That implies that this game is still in planning stage, meaning it's not even remotely close to completion. If even the designers don't know what this game is going to be, after over a year of development... well, we may have a problem.

I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade here; it just seems as though no one is bringing up these issues. I did not think that was a particularly positive interview.