Final Fantasy XIV's Hiromichi Tanaka on the goals of the game
Hiromichi Tanaka has been making the rounds of late -- while we had our own chance to interview him during E3, he's been giving several different interviews on a multitude of topics as Final Fantasy XIV nears its launch date. The most recent translated interview from JeuxVideo has Tanaka talking in brief about the upcoming game, but also about his own play experiences. Among the more quotable parts of the interview is a simple statement: Square-Enix isn't trying to compete with World of Warcraft, but to draw in players who might not have looked at the genre before.
As Tanaka puts it, the game is designed to be accessible to fans of the long-running franchise who may never have considered playing something multiplayer. He also stresses the emphasis on allowing players to use their time in the game as effectively as possible, citing the Guildleves and the Armory system as two examples wherein players can maximize the useful time spent in-game. Lastly, when asked about other games he's enjoyed, he somewhat happily admits that he's been too focused on developing Final Fantasy XIV to enjoy much since Final Fantasy XI. The full translation is transcribed here, with the embedded video in French (if you happen to be fluent).
