How Long Has Square Enix Planned This FFXIII Sequel?

Every Final Fantasy title takes quite a few years to develop and produce. Square Enix will try to have Final Fantasy XIII-2 out by the end of 2011, which, when compared to the Japanese launch of FFXII, comprises only a one-year gap.

So our question is- exactly how long has the team known they'd create a follow-up title? And another question- what does it mean when you say that FFXIII was "growing too big?" Some will say the move to multiplatform forced Square Enix to cut content from FFXIII, but perhaps that's too narrow of an accusation. What I'd like to know is whether or not FFXIII was a lesser production than Square Enix initially intended. And then, when the Japanese game market began to tank and Square Enix's products weren't exactly burning up the charts, some executive said, "hey...we need more FF."

Annual blockbuster franchises are huge. Call of Duty, Madden, and now Assassin's Creed are a few examples. Is it too absurd to assume that Square Enix might want to place their flagship franchise - the very same series that has given the company in question its fame and notoriety - in the public eye as often as possible? Plus, consider the possibility of Final Fantasy Versus XIII dropping in 2012, thereby cementing this new annual trend. For the fans, it may seem out of the realm of possibility, but I would really like to know when the sequel was first decided upon...

What do you guys think?

Related Game(s): Final Fantasy XIII-2

Tags: ffxiii-2, final fantasy xiii-2, square enix, ffxiii sequel

6/15/2011 9:09:28 PM Ben Dutka

Put this on your webpage or blog:
Email this to a friend
Follow PSX Extreme on Twitter

Comments (37 posts)

Toggle Scrolling | Reload Comments

gangan19
Wednesday, June 15, 2011 @ 9:45:05 PM
Reply

they made it for the xbox, so it's pretty much ruined, like the did with ff13

7 up, 0 down

godsman
Wednesday, June 15, 2011 @ 10:12:24 PM
Reply

They wasted their time and money churning out those Wii and DS FF games. Now even with just 2 PS3 Final Fantasy game it feels one too many.

Last edited by godsman on 6/15/2011 10:12:35 PM

4 up, 0 down

SvenMD
Wednesday, June 15, 2011 @ 10:40:32 PM

I agree that they are just doing too much in too many places. The idea of the Fabula Novela Crystalis kind of annoys me - trying to somehow link 4 games - XIII, XIII-2, Agito XIII or Type-0, and versus XIII just seems weird and out of place. And again, makes me feel like each game is less than what it could have been if they were solely focused on one game at a time.

4 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, June 15, 2011 @ 10:15:45 PM
Reply

I think it's a mix of the two, they admitted they had to cut things out for the xbox, admitted there was a ton on that cutting room floor, and knew that fans disliked FFXIII overall for falling way short.

When you add a bunch of cut content to a poor reception and personal economic collapse you get a scheme to squeeze money out of gamers.

I'd say they decided this when it became clear they screwed the pooch with XIII and their profits were in the hole.

Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 6/15/2011 10:16:13 PM

7 up, 0 down

Highlander
Wednesday, June 15, 2011 @ 10:36:24 PM
Reply

Alternately they could make a compelling game with tons of content, random missions and encounters and then ship episodic content for it on a quarterly basis to maintain cash flow...

2 up, 0 down

Riku994
Wednesday, June 15, 2011 @ 10:37:33 PM
Reply

I think since they promised to not put out any DLC for FF13, they knew right away that even with 3 discs on the 360, it wouldn't be enough to make a full game. Remember that "game's worth of content" that got cut? HELLO, FF13-2. I have a feeling if SE spent more time developing FF13, instead of ridiculous amounts of FF spin-offs, DS remakes, and other titles most people have never heard of, FF13 could've turned out SO much better.

In addition to this, making FF13 multi-plat was a bad idea for another reason. SO many gamers were willing to throw down the cash for a PS3 just to buy FF13, though not many would admit it now. The game could've been pushed to its fullest, and although it may not have sold as well, it would've been a better product and PROBABLY would have been easier to release sooner giving more time for FF14 and our beloved Versus XIII to be dveloped.

FF14 would be a much better product if more time had been put into its development, SE would be making oney from paid subscriptions, and it would probably even be on the PS3 by now. In that case, even more development work could be going into Versus XIII and Type-0, giving them release dates probably by the end of this year, meaning KH3 by the end of 2012-mid 2013.

TL;DR- I blame the delayed release of many games on the 360 version of FF13.

8 up, 0 down

Jawknee
Wednesday, June 15, 2011 @ 11:37:09 PM
Reply

I do not understand what Square's obsession with this game it. They completely ruined the franchise with this installment and only seem to be ruining it even further with this so called "follow up".

5 up, 0 down

Scarecrow
Thursday, June 16, 2011 @ 2:22:51 AM

I don't understand it either. This game is nothing special.

I could understand it with FFX. That game was a classic from beginning to end. But FFXIII?

They're just using what they cut out from the original FFXIII and using it as a sequel.

What's sad is that it will sell.

Fans, speak with your MONEY, don't buy this at full price (or at all). Show them that you want real jrpg-ish FFs.

4 up, 0 down

Jawknee
Thursday, June 16, 2011 @ 11:52:00 AM

Yea, I won't be getting this one. It looks blagh.

1 up, 0 down

Russell Burrows
Thursday, June 16, 2011 @ 2:00:17 AM
Reply

Square who???

On the PS3 the RPG games have been for me :

Oblivion by Bethesda
Fallout 3 GOTY by Bethesda
Fallout NV by Obsidian

Waiting for SKYYYYRRRIIMM!!!! by you guessed it:
Bethesda

Oh and also waiting for RAGE by gee wonder who??

BETHESDA!!

So as far as Square who??
Its not!! buying any FF garbage be it FFXIII-2 or Versus.

3 up, 5 down

Lawless SXE
Thursday, June 16, 2011 @ 2:26:48 AM

I feel sorry for you. Oblivion and FO3 were great games, but Valkyria Chronicles was better than both, IMO, and Demon's Souls is vastly superior. Though I'm guessing you're more into open-world RPGs than the closed format of those two. :D

3 up, 1 down

Dancemachine55
Thursday, June 16, 2011 @ 4:23:23 AM

I agree with Lawless.

Did you try Demon's Souls? Or White Knight Chronicles? Eternal Sonata? Valkyria Chronicles?

Since you like Westernised RPG's, how about Dragon Age Origins? Or Mass Effect?

There are HEAPS of better RPG's out there than the stuff Bethesda makes. Don't get me wrong, Fallout and Elder Scrolls are great games, but Fallout is HARDLY an RPG when compared with hardcore RPG's out there.

If that's just a personal preference, you might want to point that out though, cos calling Bethesda the greatest RPG developers out there is kinda demeaning to Bioware and Level 5. Even Squaresoft, in the old days.

(edit: just like to point out, Bioware is my personal favourite Western RPG developer. Level 5 is my fave Japanese RPG developer now, used to be Square)

Last edited by Dancemachine55 on 6/16/2011 4:25:00 AM

1 up, 1 down

Fane1024
Thursday, June 16, 2011 @ 6:24:11 AM

@ Dance

Heaps?

Can't agree.

0 up, 0 down

Highlander
Thursday, June 16, 2011 @ 9:38:36 AM

White knight, Valkyria, among the chronicles you appear to have missed in your search...

I suspect you don't favor JRPGs so although they are worth a look, I would suspect you won't like Ar Tonelico Qoga and Aterlier Rorona - or even Eternal Sonata.

WKC would appear to be in the realm of games you like though since it maintains a near open world with some online persistence.

0 up, 0 down

karneli lll
Thursday, June 16, 2011 @ 2:13:39 AM
Reply

They decided to go with the sequel after one of the team made a commment a while back about cutting enough content to make another game, its probably already done but releasing it too soon could raise questions...doesn't matter though,we sheep will still buy it *sigh*.

1 up, 0 down

darxed
Thursday, June 16, 2011 @ 10:29:21 AM

ehmm... yeah, same here... baaahhhhh

0 up, 0 down

Jawknee
Thursday, June 16, 2011 @ 11:52:58 AM

Speak for yourself. I won't be buying this sequel.

1 up, 0 down

MyWorstNightmar
Thursday, June 16, 2011 @ 7:01:48 PM

I dunno Jawk, it is easy to say now, but once the hype train starts up as the release approaches, I wonder if you will have a different tune. After all, FF13 WAS a good game. If FF13V is as good, I'll buy and play it. It is not as if there is going to be a proper FF game to wet your appetite, so why deprive yourself of a good game? Is it that you don't think it will be good, or that you are taking a moral stand against SE by withholding your dollar from them?

0 up, 0 down

Lawless SXE
Thursday, June 16, 2011 @ 2:24:44 AM
Reply

Eh? Wasn't FFXII released years ago? And what relevance does it have here? Or is that a typo in the opening paragaph and you actually mean XIII? I'm going with the last option...

WFFXIII came out at the end of '09 in Japan, and the sequel is set for a late 2011 release. There's a two year gap, which really isn't that extreme when you look at most games. Granted, FF should be an epic RPG experience, but with many of the assets in place and reportedly a great deal of content cut from the original game, they may not have been planning it as long as it may seem. Even if they decided six months before release that they wanted to offer a follow-up as they knew that some people would be unhappy with the ending, that's a good long period of time to work on it, cut content or not.

I don't think they'll take the annualisation route with Final Fantasy. They're already on the verge of losing a lot of fans forever. FFXIII-2 is ultimately more of the same and Versus XIII is too different to consider a part of the main series. It's a very fine line for S-E to walk. I think that it may just take FFXV for them to get anywhere, and it'll have to be, not only a return to form, but better than any other FF to date in order to succeed.
Peace.

0 up, 0 down

Highlander
Thursday, June 16, 2011 @ 9:41:31 AM

I think that what Ben is getting at is that FFXIII was cut down from what it could have been and a lot (if not all) of that content has gone into making FFXIII-2. With FFvsXIII still to come, could it be that SE plans to make FFXIII an iterative game like Madden or even Call of Duty (the way it's going now at least), with regular installments on a regular basis almost like clockwork?

0 up, 0 down

Scarecrow
Thursday, June 16, 2011 @ 2:24:52 AM
Reply

It's disgusting to see what they're doing to FF.

Tbey need to let go of the failure XIII series and move on to FFXV already.

0 up, 0 down

Excelsior1
Thursday, June 16, 2011 @ 3:11:50 AM
Reply

believe it or not some people did get enjoyment out the game and it did sell a lot of copies.

as for how long a sequel has been planned...who knows? it is odd that 13-2 will appear before ffv13. ffv13 was announced years before 13-2. i imagine square is bringing ffv13 over to the 360 as we speak, and that's why it's taking so long.

1 up, 0 down

Highlander
Thursday, June 16, 2011 @ 9:43:27 AM

It sold a lot of copies on the name. Yes it may well qualify as a good game, but not a goof FF game. It breaks too far from the path trodden by the franchise and abandons too many of the elements that made FF what it was. So FFXIII sold a bunch of copies on the name - especially in Japan where the majority of the sales were rung up. I don't know how well a sequel will do considering the way in which many former FF fans reacted to it.

1 up, 0 down

Excelsior1
Thursday, June 16, 2011 @ 11:21:34 AM

i thought it was way more of a ff game than the ff12 was. hated ff12's dull story, characters, and mmo type battle system.

1 up, 1 down

Jawknee
Thursday, June 16, 2011 @ 11:56:42 AM

A great many more people were disappointed in the game. It sold well, but most of those people who bought it were asking themselves what the hell happened to their favorite RPG. The Amazon Japan reviews tore the game to pieces. When it released in Japan it got 2 stars out of 5 based on over 800 reviews. A majority clearly disliked the game.

1 up, 0 down

Excelsior1
Thursday, June 16, 2011 @ 12:09:54 PM

i don't care about the reviews. for me it was a major improvement over ff12. ff13 had its problems, but i liked it more than 12. i know some who feel the exact same way. i bet f13-2 sales a lot of copies, too.

1 up, 1 down

___________
Thursday, June 16, 2011 @ 4:36:10 AM
Reply

they talk the talk, they say there bringing the series back to how it use to be.
but they say lots of things!
if this turns out to be a proper JRPG instead of a crappy action game with RPG elements ill eat my nacho hat!

0 up, 1 down

Ultimadream
Thursday, June 16, 2011 @ 5:06:06 AM
Reply

Oh this has to be the last XIII title, I liked XIII but after this I don't want another one, the charm of FF is that each advenutre follows different characters, storys and so on. With another sequel... that would be silly.
Start FFXV I say.

0 up, 0 down

Gamer4Life
Thursday, June 16, 2011 @ 7:40:14 AM
Reply

As someone mentioned above, Ben, you made a mistake. It's been 2 years since XIII was released which seems to be the typical cycle nowadays.

Anyway I'm fine with it. I enjoyed XIII for what it was, an entertaing game. I'm not a hardcore FF fan like alot you people here. But let's be honest anything other than a total VII HD remake and the 'fans' will bitch. Of course I use 'fans' in the same since as the Sonic 'fans' you know the whole 'his eyes are green' crowd. I guess the FF equivalent would be 'It's not EXACTLY like VII' crowd.

If you ask me the real problems with XIII were the economy system, the leveling system and the whole leader dying game-over bs. I could see legit complaints about that. But the whole 'it's linear and no towns' honestly for the story it wouldn't make since. If you guys where on the run from a government that wants to kill you and the people fear you more the death itself would you stop and walk carelessly around some random town or would you keep going until you reached safety? Seriously, though SE needs to fixed the 3 complaints I mentioned earlier especially that damn economy system. I'm tired of farming these damn turtles!

Last edited by Gamer4Life on 6/16/2011 7:40:43 AM

1 up, 0 down

Excelsior1
Thursday, June 16, 2011 @ 9:41:06 AM

didn't even catch that. it's been way over a year since ff released. it's no 1yr gap. have no idea where the author is getting a 1yr gap from.

Last edited by Excelsior1 on 6/16/2011 9:45:58 AM

1 up, 0 down

Red 5
Thursday, June 16, 2011 @ 9:08:09 AM
Reply

Hi:

Well, I didn't see this. I always dislike DLC content (For Me, only Morons buy DLC released few months or weeks after release Date). But WHAT we got here?? Square Enix decided to release a "-2" sequel.. WONDERFUL! But you know what, I smell DLC with a disguise.
In other hand.. WHAT'S going on with Versus XIII? Squaresoft was BIG, with games like Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy X. Square Enix only with Final Fantasy XII.
Red 5.

0 up, 0 down

Zaviex
Thursday, June 16, 2011 @ 10:23:46 AM
Reply

Can you count? Ffxiii came out in december 09 and Ffxiii-2 will be in December 11 that is 2 years... Not annual at all.

Also versus xiii will not be next year. It wasnt even far enough along for an e3 showing this year we have seen 10 seconds of gameplay... I bet it's still in early beta phases

0 up, 0 down

Riku994
Thursday, June 16, 2011 @ 11:36:17 AM

We saw upwards of 5 minutes of Versus gameplay...

0 up, 0 down

DarthNemesis
Thursday, June 16, 2011 @ 7:14:01 PM
Reply

Square needs to get it together.How can 132 be coming before VS13?

0 up, 0 down

cadpig
Thursday, June 16, 2011 @ 11:08:46 PM
Reply

Square has lost their way. They screwed up FFXIII with that stupid combat system.

I will take Mass Effect 2 over Valkyria Chronicles any day of the week.

0 up, 0 down

AnonymousPoster
Friday, June 17, 2011 @ 1:05:00 AM
Reply

People need to play more Resonance of Fate. That is the only JRPG this gen which has maintained my faith in the genre.

1 up, 0 down

Underdog15
Friday, June 17, 2011 @ 10:50:47 AM

Really? I thought it had the illusion of complexity, and was otherwise underwhelming.

0 up, 0 down

Please login or register to leave a comment.

Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories cheats	PSP
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas cheats	PS2
Kamen Rider Kabuto cheats	PS2
Legion: The Legend of Excalibur cheats	PS2
D1 Grand Prix cheats	PS2
Asura's Wrath cheats	PS3
Buzz! Quiz TV cheats	PS3
World of Outlaws: Sprint Cars 2002 cheats	PS2
Army Men: RTS cheats	PS2
Army Men: Sarge's Heroes cheats	PS1

Do you plan to buy a PlayStation Vita this year?
	Yes, I'll definitely get one in 2013.
	No, but I'll get one eventually.
	No, I have no intention of buying the Vita.
	No, I've already got one.

Playstation 3

Playstation 4

PSP

Playstation Vita

Playstation 2

Playstation

Other

PSX Extreme

Site Stats

How Long Has Square Enix Planned This FFXIII Sequel?

Comments (37 posts)

Leave a Comment

Latest Updates

Popular Cheats

Recent Reviews

Recent Previews

Popular Sections

Extras

Sponsor

Our Poll

Resident Evil: Revelations review	PS3
Metro: Last Light review	PS3
Zombie Tycoon II: Brainhov's Revenge review	PS3
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon review	PS3
Star Trek: The Video Game review	PS3
Injustice: Gods Among Us review	PS3
Dead Island: Riptide review	PS3
Defiance review	PS3
Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 review	PS3
Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel review	PS3

The Bureau: XCOM Declassified preview	PS3
Time and Eternity preview	PS3
Ride to Hell: Retribution preview	PS3
Call of Juarez: Gunslinger preview	PS3
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon preview	PS3
Spartacus Legends preview	PS3
Payday 2 preview	PS3
DUST 514 preview	PS3
Dynasty Warriors 8 preview	PS3
Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness preview	PS3