RUMOUR: FFXIII Versus apparently cancelled.

snausages

http://ie.ign.com/articles/2012/07/20/report-final-fantasy-versus-xiii-cancelled

There's some speculation going about that Versus XIII (which has been in development since before the PS3 even launched) has been canned. Resources from the project may be diverted to the development of FFXV. According to other rumors from a while ago FFXV may not actually be a new installment in the series but a relaunched version of FFXIV, also called FFXIV 2.0 or FFX|V (yes, that line is part of the title).

In other news, Square are apparently getting ready to show off FFXIII-3, the new sequel to everyone's least favourite Final Fantasy game.

Original article from Kotaku

http://kotaku.com/5927645/rumor-final-fantasy-versus-xiii-is-dead

Square Enix, this source added, has also decided to let Final Fantasy Versus XIII die quietly on the vine and fade away, instead of officially announcing its cancellation. This would likely be due to the fact a public acknowledgement of a Versus' cancellation could impact things like Square Enix's stock prices.

Another source tells Kotaku that, a few months back, Final Fantasy Versus XIII's development and resources had actually been folded into another game, which is to be the next numeric Final Fantasy title, Final Fantasy XV. Whether this meant actual game assets and code or simply the movement of staff was unclear. This information was independently corroborated by yet another source, though it's important to note both had learned of the "folding" prior to the more recent news of its outright cancellation.

There was another rumour a few weeks back that Versus would actually be rebranded as FFXV. There was even a spurious looking youtube 'announcement' to this effect. But now it looks like it's well and truly dead. Shame.

ancapailldorcha

How long was it in development for? I suppose putting "XIII" label on it might remind people of FFXIII and FFXIII-2.

carbonkid

Its all just rumours till TGS. If there isnt a single word about the game, than yea looks like at least the title of versusXIII is canned.

Depressing situation Final Fantasy has gotten itself into. The mmo XIV has been a complete flop and really dont see how they can save it at this stage. The last core title XIII-2 has done really bad sells in Japan for a FF title.

Typo-0 has done well from what i heard, but its not getting localised straight away as their PSP titles have done in the past. Theres this really stupid push for FFVII on PC.

Can the name alone, Final Fantasy, provoke interest anymore?

Retr0gamer

It's the new Duke Nukem Forever.

ride-the-spiral

I wish they put most of their effort back into the single player numbered titles. It was rather depressing when 13 came out, because I couldn't think that 14 or 15 might be good, because we had to wait until they got through all the sequels and spin offs.

ancapailldorcha

carbonkid wrote: »

Can the name alone, Final Fantasy, provoke interest anymore?

I honestly don't think so. While Square have gotten complacent and greedy, other companies have been producing quality RPGs. It's a bit of a shame, especially as I enjoyed the last 3 numbered titles in the series.

seraphimvc

carbonkid wrote: »

Its all just rumours till TGS. If there isnt a single word about the game, than yea looks like at least the title of versusXIII is canned.

Depressing situation Final Fantasy has gotten itself into. The mmo XIV has been a complete flop and really dont see how they can save it at this stage. The last core title XIII-2 has done really bad sells in Japan for a FF title.

Typo-0 has done well from what i heard, but its not getting localised straight away as their PSP titles have done in the past. Theres this really stupid push for FFVII on PC.

Can the name alone, Final Fantasy, provoke interest anymore?

SE seriously pissed off too many true fans throughout the years. Now i wanna see how will the newer/younger players (who like ff13) support the next FF title.

Not too surprised on the rumour tbh, I doubt SE gives a flying fck to anything at this stage - anything that is possible leading to money loss will be axed straight away.

megaten

Surprise surprise.
Whatever is salvageable of vsXIII is just going to be amalgamated into XV.

Retr0gamer

Well the kingdom hearts fans should be happy because if the KH team is taken off this then they are almost certainly salvaging the engine for KH 3.

FLOODY777

Update:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-07-24-final-fantasy-versus-13-still-alive-square-enix-confirms

Final Fantasy Versus 13 is still alive, Square Enix has confirmed.
Last week Kotaku claimed the long in development PlayStation 3 action RPG had been cancelled. But Square Enix boss Yoichi Wada said on Twitter today (via Andriasang) that the rumour was "false".
"There's someone making a false rumour that Versus was cancelled," he said. "Haha... just a minute ago, the regular Versus meeting ended. If you saw the presentation of the city, it'd knock you off your feet - lol."
Concern about the game had been brewing after a no-show at E3 last month. Versus 13 was announced in May 2006.
Now, all eyes turn to the Tokyo Game Show, where fans will hope Square Enix re-reveals the game.

Aurongroove

If I order beef in a restaurant and slowly but surely each week I'm given more and more carrots and less and less beef until eventually what I'm being served when I order beef is carrot soup flavored with beef stock and croutons in the shape of cows. it's not that I'm being a traditionalist; it's that I ordered beef and I except to get beef not a references to past beef in a dish which pushes the boundaries of beef in bold new directions.

It would be a shame to see FFvsXIII go.
but it is increasingly obvious that SE are starting to reap what they've sown from amputating their roots and they're discovering that basically using the name "Final Fantasy(number)" for what these games are have only hoodwinked the hopeful for so long but possibly no longer. "hang on!, yes those are chocobos, but this isn't a FF, these haven't really been FF's since IX & X".

You take the name and tack it onto a new game complete with superficial reference to prequels (moogles and "firaga") and people will eventually say "enough is enough, these aren't sequels to the games I enjoyed playing this is a new genre of game which would be fine if it was what I ordered but it isn't what I ordered.

And before I hear screams of "fan boi, games move on, get with the times etc" Imagine if Assassins creed did the same thing?
Assassins creed 4 introduced Kobald-type android creatures and turn based battles, maybe duals like the Suikoden 1v1? Just a few, but enough that you have to sit through them and see them and try your best to overlook it before getting back to the real game. Then maybe AC5, a racing mini game, then Assassins creed 6 comes out, the racing element is now mandatory, the battle system is now fully turn based with elements of tactical RPG, and it's cell shaded.

Assassins creed 7, it's now a racing simulator with a bow gun out the window for wip3out stlye battle in cell shaded graphics, the half a dozen fights not on the race track are completely text based like a court room drama in Ace Attorney and the character you're controlling is half man half cat.

It wouldn't be Assassins creed anymore, and it's not that you;re a "fan boy" or a traditionalist. Wither or not the game is OK aswell is besides the point; it just that it isn't Assassins creed. call it something else, call it "Catman racer"

I say this every-time, but FFvsXIII is the last chance I'm giving SE.

Retr0gamer

Aurongroove wrote: »

You take the name and tack it onto a new game complete with superficial reference to prequels (moogles and "firaga") and people will eventually say "enough is enough, these aren't sequels to the games I enjoyed playing this is a new genre of game which would be fine if it was what I ordered but it isn't what I ordered.

Strange you would say that considering that in terms of RPGs FF is one of the most dynamic in terms of gameplay. Each FF game hasn't rested on its laurels and nearly all have changed the gameplay up drastically with the exception of FFVII. If there's one thing I can't complain about with FF it's that it never becomes complacent and even if it's not always successful at least it tries something new each time.

FFXIII's flaws aren't really anything to do with the people over it it's more a total failing of management making the development process so unproductive.

I didn't feel FFXIII was all that bad to be honest. The battle system was enjoyable. It's only fault was the pacing was way off making the game a chore if you played it in long stretches without a break. As for the story, if you are playing FF games for the story you are playing the wrong games.

I'm pretty disappointed with most of Squares output lately but I'm not going to totally write off a company because of it, I'll leave that to the fanboy over reactions and boycott petitions. Even if I won't buy everything with the Sqaure logo on it anymore they are capable of gems and even my hated Nomura is capable of creating something great like TWEWY.

ancapailldorcha

Don't think FF has gone that far away from the original games. They've been altering the battle system for every installment I played. I'm quite impressed that they've been so willing to experiment with their flagship franchise as opposed to, say Capcom with Resident Evil.
As far as FFXIII-2 goes, the main thing that annoyed me about it was that it was so unnecessary. Say what you will about FFX-2 but at least the ending of FFX left room for exploration. FFXIII just didn't need a sequel.

carbonkid

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

Say what you will about FFX-2 but at least the ending of FFX left room for exploration. FFXIII just didn't need a sequel.

Also FFX-2 didnt take its self that seriously compared to FFX. Felt more like a spin-off than a sequel...which i think worked in its favor.

ancapailldorcha

carbonkid wrote: »

Felt more like a spin-off than a sequel...which i think worked in its favor.

Something had to....

megaten

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

Don't think FF has gone that far away from the original games. They've been altering the battle system for every installment I played. I'm quite impressed that they've been so willing to experiment with their flagship franchise as opposed to, say Capcom with Resident Evil.
As far as FFXIII-2 goes, the main thing that annoyed me about it was that it was so unnecessary. Say what you will about FFX-2 but at least the ending of FFX left room for exploration. FFXIII just didn't need a sequel.

I'd say X-2 was far less necessary than XIII-2. I thought X was very much a complete story. I did like X-2 though. The light-heartedness of it made it feel like it was a holiday for Yuna after going through everything in X.

seraphimvc

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Strange you would say that considering that in terms of RPGs FF is one of the most dynamic in terms of gameplay. Each FF game hasn't rested on its laurels and nearly all have changed the gameplay up drastically with the exception of FFVII. If there's one thing I can't complain about with FF it's that it never becomes complacent and even if it's not always successful at least it tries something new each time.

FFXIII's flaws aren't really anything to do with the people over it it's more a total failing of management making the development process so unproductive.

I didn't feel FFXIII was all that bad to be honest. The battle system was enjoyable. It's only fault was the pacing was way off making the game a chore if you played it in long stretches without a break. As for the story, if you are playing FF games for the story you are playing the wrong games.

I'm pretty disappointed with most of Squares output lately but I'm not going to totally write off a company because of it, I'll leave that to the fanboy over reactions and boycott petitions. Even if I won't buy everything with the Sqaure logo on it anymore they are capable of gems and even my hated Nomura is capable of creating something great like TWEWY.

The story is absolutely **** and the soundtrack doesn't blend in with the game at all. All characters are empty due to almost 0 character development. And where the fck is my fcking town and unique/memorable npc. The fcking gold saucer is a lie

I am not going to give SE another chance after i played xenoblade and Last story. The sincerity of the dev put into the games made the games great and as a player I want to play that kind of game. Sakaguchi+nobuo so good.......

Retr0gamer

seraphimvc wrote: »

The story is absolutely **** and the soundtrack doesn't blend in with the game at all. All characters are empty due to almost 0 character development. And where the fck is my fcking town and unique/memorable npc.

Wow, here comes the hyperbole train. I didn't mind the story of FFXIII. It was far better than a lot of games in the series, FF is not a series with good storylines for the most part, and my only problem with it was the last act and the bull**** Deus Ex Machina they pulled at the end. I thought the characters were one of the better things about the writing. Even the really annoying ones like Vanille and Snow managed to redeem themselves by the end and become likeable. What it didn't lack in was character development and every character had a satisfying character arc. As for the soundtrack being crap? Have to strongly disagree there, I think it's fantastic and one of the bets soundtracks for a game in the last 5 years. Just like with all those 'Boycott CoD' campaigns they'll all buy the next installment anyway.

As for the towns and NPCs, in most RPGs they are filler and I commend Square for trying something new by cutting them out even if it wasn't wholly successful. At least they tried something new.

For me FFXIII felt like Square streamlining FFX, which was a game that already streamlined the traditional RPG to close to it's bare minimums. They might have went too far in places but just like with most other FF games at least they tried something new. It's just one disappointing game in the series but some of the fan whining is laughable.

You'd swear FFXIII was something as offensive as Legend of Dragoon the way some people go on.

seraphimvc

retro tell me how much do you remember about the characters from xenoblade, last story and ff13. There. RPG is role playing game. I cant remember sh!t about ff13. I can even remember alot about ff12.

Retr0gamer

I remember plenty and remember being pleasantly surprised with how each grew throughout the game, it was very well handled. I've not played Xenoblade but it's unfair to compare it to that game considering how brilliantly written the characters and their relationships were handled. Even the central love triangle was handled with a level of maturity and for want of a better word 'balls' that I've not seen in any videogame let alone RPG. It was totally different from anything I'd seen previously but was so much more believable especially by leaving the ridiculously over the top emo angst behind, something which has blighted a lot of RPGs especially Final Fantasy.

In a way FFXIII was similarly restrained although not to that level, it still had the Snowe/Sera love story.

ancapailldorcha

megaten wrote: »

I'd say X-2 was far less necessary than XIII-2. I thought X was very much a complete story. I did like X-2 though. The light-heartedness of it made it feel like it was a holiday for Yuna after going through everything in X.

The battle system wasn't horrific in fairness, it just wasn't for me. Especially after playing FFX.

I don't get this obsession with town's, airships and world maps. There was no reason to re-visit any areas at all aside from Blitzball and rounding up your scattered characters. I thought the soundtrack of FFXIII matched the game perfectly. Say what you want about Vanille and Hope but at least they contributed to the story as opposed to the usual duds Square added to games like Yuffie, Vincent and the entire cast of FFVIII.

Aurongroove

We're getting side tracked.
The point I was making is new FF games are no longer sequels to the FF series are they haven't been since FFX.

Yes we all love change, but answer me this; what qualifies FFXIII or FFXIV as sequil Final Fantasy any of the the first 9/10 games besides the name? What elements of the game?

boarder294

What, and they waste all their money abandoning it. I treat this as still rumor until someone in higher up does the talking..

Retr0gamer

Aurongroove wrote: »

We're getting side tracked.
The point I was making is new FF games are no longer sequels to the FF series are they haven't been since FFX.

Yes we all love change, but answer me this; what qualifies FFXIII or FFXIV as sequil Final Fantasy any of the the first 9/10 games besides the name? What elements of the game?

This is almost as ridiculous as the claims you make that a retrospective on FFVII is pointless and you restaurant analogy. As said before one of the defining characteristics of the series is how each game takes a totally different approach to the JRPG formula than the last. The only thing that is constant are some enemy designs and naming conventions.

So is Dragon Quest IX not a real dragon quest because it ditches random battles and has local co-op? Is your problem with FFXIII because it changed too much because if so I'd put you in with the crowd that don't think Resi 5 is a real entry in the Resi series and you don't want to know what I think of those people.

However I think your real reason for saying this is you have a problem with the quality of the game. You think that it's a bad game and not worthy of the name FF. So would you consider a game that doesn't live up to the FF brand name not part of the series because then you'd have some weird ideas about the awful FF2.

As for FFXII in case you didn't realise all they really changed was adding auto attack and movement to the same ATB battle system, subtle changes that changed the feel of the game entirely. I didn't like the game but the system had merit and I still would class it as part of the series because for one thing I don't own the IP, Square does and they can do what they like with it.

boarder294 wrote: »

What, and they waste all their money abandoning it. I treat this as still rumor until someone in higher up does the talking..

Happens all the time. A recent survey of japanese developers showed that there was an average project abandonment rate of about 80% of projects in the industry. Now many of them might be in the early stages but there's a lot of carts of old games being discovered of near complete to complete games that never got released.

Taylor365

FFXIII Versus should be good.

A Good Theme and a main character that's not overly enthusiastic about everything.

Now just if you can get it in Japanese with English subtitles

I hate American voice actors.

Aurongroove

I see what you mean and I disagree, but at the same time I accept that I'm not making my point properly.

snausages

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

The battle system wasn't horrific in fairness, it just wasn't for me. Especially after playing FFX.

I don't get this obsession with town's, airships and world maps. There was no reason to re-visit any areas at all aside from Blitzball and rounding up your scattered characters. I thought the soundtrack of FFXIII matched the game perfectly. Say what you want about Vanille and Hope but at least they contributed to the story as opposed to the usual duds Square added to games like Yuffie, Vincent and the entire cast of FFVIII.

The thing about FFX was that even though it was linear, the towns and blitzball served to break up the monotony of travelling in a straight line killing flans and bite bugs. The problem with XIII was that all the side-diversions were crammed in at the end, so even when you got to the 'good part' it got boring really quickly. At least with XII they spread the hunts out throughout the game and had them as an extra challenge for whenever you wanted to do them. XIII is a dull grind from beginning to end. It might sound silly but even if they just included a few towns and allowed you to do hunts earlier it would have made a huge difference imo.

ancapailldorcha

Given the game's story, wandering into a town for a bit of a shop would have been weird. It definitely could have done with a few sidequests and some exploring and not with the half arsed slop we got with the sequel.

Alactric

I was secretly hoping this would rise from the ashes like Metal Gear Rising with a different dev.

Can you imagine this game being handled by From Software? But meh, whatever I suppose. What's the worst it can be? Kingdom Hearts? Fine by me.

snausages

It's still in development, supposedly. It's been such a long ride though that I'm not optimistic. Although FFXII had a troubled development cycle as well and came out (mostly) ok.

Aurongroove

actually if you think about it, it's a bit of a win win.

games with turbulent build histories are in three variants: those which fail and are abandoned projects.

those which are released and are crap.

and those which are released and every one agrees the time was needed and that the wait was worth it.


To be honest I love the kingdom hearts series and my money says if FFvsXIII is being delayed it's because the guys in-charge of vsXIII want to fix something, or make a time consuming addition.

On the other hand if it gets cut in the meantime, then it's no loss: SE games in the past 5 years or so have been consistently mediocre. I won't go crying over one of there new big budget titles getting the axe.

the only option that I fear is it gets pushed out and winds up being mediocre.

It gets cancelled: who cares?
It gets released after some much needed extra development time? great! lets hope it's worth the wait.