The Metaverse is designed to replace reality, says Final Fantasy XIV director


Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIV MMO is seen as the current pinnacle of social interaction. With massive companies like Meta aiming to one-up MMOs with an all-encompassing metaverse, FFXIV director Naoki Yoshida gave fans his take on the technology.

Simply put, Yoshida is not sold on The Metaverse. When asked about his thoughts on the metaverse, and how it compares to his hit MMORPG, he explained that The Metaverse will simply not be entertaining to the vast majority of people.

Yoshida says the metaverse isn’t entertainment

During an interview with Weekly Bunshun, Yoshida explained that the current metaverse pitch isn't designed around fun. Unlike video games, the VR virtual world is simply a product to sell headsets, and even then the product is pushed to sell virtual products.

Yoshida said that the metaverse aims replaces reality with the virtual world, and doesn’t that doesn't lead to fun or entertainment. In contrast, Final Fantasy XIV is a video game where you can kill giant monsters with your friends, which is definitely entertaining.

“To me, I see the Metaverse as ‘a system that replaces reality with a virtual world.’ So I don’t think the Metaverse has anything in common with entertainment.”
Naoki Yoshida via Weekly Bunshun (translated by Siliconera)

Continuing his dunking on the metaverse, Yoshida continued to explain that the platform will basically let you do mundane things virtually. He used shopping in Shinjuku as an example, an entirely mundane activity for Japanese citizens.

“In the Metaverse I’m thinking of, people will be able to use an avatar in virtual reality, and take a stroll in Shinjuku or do shopping, just like in real life. Though it might be fun, there’s no entertainment there. ‘What’s so interesting about the systems of our real world?’ is how I feel.”
Naoki Yoshida via Weekly Bunshun (translated by Siliconera)

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Can the metaverse be entertaining?

The metaverse continues to be that one thing corporations want to be mainstream, even though most people don’t know what it is. Yoshida did say that he wouldn’t mind making something fun as part of the metaverse, though doesn’t think he will be making his own version of it. Right now, he doesn’t have plans to do it but it’s good to know someone is going to try and make it fun.

We don’t know when the metaverse is going to be coming out but fans who want fun with a lot of friends can play Final Fantasy XIV. Admittedly, the multiplayer game was filled with bugs in its earlier state but numerous patches and the Realm Reborn rebrand helped it become a great MMORPG. Yoshida is also working on Final Fantasy XVI, which is a single-player RPG coming to PS5 and PC in the near future.

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