I was literally shaking with anger during that presentation. Tears formed in my eyes and my fists were clenched. "Announce something," I shrieked at my computer. My mom knocked on my bedroom door and had to ask if I was ok. Then, they started showing me a bunch of losers drinking beer and I just turned it off. It was actually unbelievable.
Now, I'm 31 years old and this was, without a doubt, the worst presentation I've ever seen in my life. It's clear that SquareEnix is not just done with this game but done as a company. There is no recovering from something this bad. They'll talk about Final Fantasy XV at another conference, but people will ignore it after remembering what they did to poor Stella.
I loved this company and put my heart and soul into dedicating my gaming life to them. But now, I have nothing. I'm an empty shell.
This was the reaction of a loyal Final Fantasy fan, who did grow up waiting for the final release of Final Fantasy XV, so far back that he remembers when it was still Final Fantasy XIII-2. As you can imagine, he was not the only one unhappy with the lack of a committed release date from the Final Fantasy team, and not everyone was this angry. Still, the fact that they got a fan this upset after waiting so long was an indication that their post E3 Gamescom presentation was not as well received as they expected.
But, give the Final Fantasy team credit for recognizing the problem when they saw it. Almost immediately, director Hajime Tabata has assured fans they would not have to wait forever. The game will not be releasing this year, unfortunately, but Tabata would also be disappointed if it took 2017. Therefore, the developers are going for 2016.
Tabata also shared these comments:
I understand why people are feeling that way after coming to Cologne and speaking to a lot of the media. We really do get the feeling that people are a bit worried. Certainly, one thing I would like to say to them to reassure them, is that we've set down the release date, we know when it is, and we've got a complete road map lined up, right up to launch, and we're proceeding along that as planned.
A Square Enix representative clarified that Tabata's comments did not confirm a 2016 release, and they would share more details soon.
Unfortunately, the Final Fantasy team will still have to contend with other criticisms, including the recent confirmation that it won’t be made using the Luminous Engine after all. Tabata and the Final Fantasy team may be conciliatory, but in the face of high expectations, that may not be enough.
Final Fantasy XV is in development for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. How do you feel about the Final Fantasy XV team’s statements? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
Note: this post has been updated.
