Final Fantasy isn't as popular with younger gamers as older ones. That's not exactly a revolutionary statement. Anecdotally, I've heard accounts of friends mentioning the name to teenagers, even twenty-somethings on occasion, and the response is, "Wait, they still make those?" It's a problem.
And it's a problem Naoki Hamaguchi knows well. He's now the head of Creative Studio 1 at Square Enix, meaning he's overseeing a good deal of the franchise's production pipeline (as well as Kingdom Hearts). As such, the responsibility rests in part on Hamaguchi to do what can be done in order to maintain Final Fantasy's commercial viability in the years to come. No pressure.
Hamaguchi has helped to spearhead the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy, serving as co-director on Remake, Rebirth, and the upcoming, as-yet-untitled, grand finale. Now, he'll be looking at umpteen further projects, including—perhaps—the inevitable Final Fantasy 17.
Speaking with Spanish website Nintenderos, Hamaguchi responded to an inquiry concerning his next big move. He's spent over a decade (!) working on the Remake trilogy, which might not sound quite right at first glance when the initial installment is only six years old. But getting things off the ground was...
