Final Fantasy XIV is immensely popular, so plenty of publications want director and producer Naoki Yoshida’s thoughts on the gaming landscape. The metaverse is a different thing to him though — a thing he doesn’t find entertaining.
Yoshida was interviewed by Weekly Bunshun (via Siliconera), where he was asked about comparisons between the metaverse and Final Fantasy XIV, an MMO. There is a distinct, if simple, difference for many: the metaverse is largely for experiencing parts of our world through virtual reality, while MMOs are game experiences in fictional worlds. Yoshida sees the same distinction. “In the metaverse I’m thinking of, people will be able to take a stroll in Shinjuku or do shopping, just like in real life,” he mused. “Though it might be fun, there’s no entertainment there. What’s so interesting about the systems of our real world?”
While there is something to be said for folks who cannot travel using virtual reality to get a similar experience, there is a clear difference in what the metaverse can provide versus MMOs. Yoshida is not opposed to VR, but he’d rather “make something entertaining within virtual reality” instead of the metaverse itself.
MMOs are the only way to experience the Dragon’s Reprise Ultimate raid, for example. In fact, the latest Final Fantasy XIV dungeon is so challenging that many players are turning to third-party tools and mods to get through it.
