Final Fantasy 14’s director says there’s a distinct difference between MMOs and the metaverse
The metaverse isn’t “entertainment,” MMOs are.
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Naoki Yoshida has said he doesn’t believe that the metaverse is “entertainment,” adding how he doesn’t see the concept as being similar to MMOs like his own Final Fantasy 14.
Comparisons have been drawn between the two since the wholebullshit metaversecraze exploded last year. Our own Nathighlighted virtual worldslike Second Life and Habbo Hotel as superior versions of the idea, whileGabe Newellsaid he doesn’t understand the fuss when MMOs have been serving a similar purpose for decades. But for Yoshida, it seems as though he’s trying to put some distance between his MMO and the metaverse.
In an interview withWeekly Bunshun, translated bySiliconEra, the director and producer said: “To me, I see the metaverse as ‘a system that replaces reality with a virtual world.’ So I don’t think the metaverse has anything in common with entertainment.”
“In the metaverse I’m thinking of, people will be able to use an avatar in virtual reality, and take a stroll in Shinjuku or do shopping, just like in real life. Though it might be fun, there’s no entertainment there. ‘What’s so interesting about the systems of our real world?’ is how I feel.”
When asked if he would ever consider working on something metaverse-related, he said he would rather “make something entertaining within the virtual reality rather than a metaverse itself,” but doesn’t have any plans to do so right now.
The comments are a far cry from Square Enix’s sad stance on the entire crypto and blockchain situation. It recentlysold off a bunch of its Western studiosfor a paltry amount to fund a desperate attempt to enter the market, with the company president admitting that heknows many gamers are against NFTs.Despite that, he wants to faff around with them anyway.
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Mollie spent her early childhood deeply invested in games like Killer Instinct, Toontown and Audition Online, which continue to form the pillars of her personality today. She joined PC Gamer in 2020 as a news writer and now lends her expertise to write a wealth of features, guides and reviews with a dash of chaos. She can often be found causing mischief in Final Fantasy 14, using those experiences to write neat things about her favourite MMO. When she’s not staring at her bunny girl she can be found sweating out rhythm games, pretending to be good at fighting games or spending far too much money at her local arcade.
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