Famed FFXIV producer helped straighten up Final Fantasy XI

Notably, he modernized the launcher

Famed FFXIV producer Naoki “Yoshi P” Yoshida’s influence has extended beyond just that one project, as we’ve learned this past year. Not only has he risen in the ranks in Square Enix these past few years, but he’s also a producer and essentially the face of Final Fantasy XVI; and apparently, helped shore up Final Fantasy XI for a new generation of players.

, Square Enix caught up with Yoshida and current XI producer Akihiko Matsui, to talk a bit about how synergistic the two current Final Fantasy MMOs are. Interestingly, Matsui actually worked on the original incarnation of Final Fantasy XIV before swapping back to XI. So their paths have crossed multiple times!

While the chat is massive, one of the biggest takeaways for Final Fantasy XI. This actually took place in 2019, when Matsui asked Yoshida personally to investigate the game’s archaic launcher, and bring it into a new era. Matsui even admits that it needed the upgrade, and Yoshida muses on how some of the technological terms therein were outdated. The aim was to eliminate paralysis when folks jump back into the game for the first time or after a long break.

Yoshida also talks about his approach, and how in business terms, it was way easier to approach this as a limited-time project. He explains that Square Enix does have two active MMOs in service, but if he and his engineering team were able to sell “just three months of work” to the company, it was easier for Square Enix to acquiesce, knowing that they’d be back to working on XIV after that time frame. Yoshida credits prior MMO experience on making the whole process more expedient, as they’ve been around the block before.

Although it’s in Japanese, the whole thing is worth reading in a translated fashion (which gets the point across) if you have any history with either game.