Square Enix focusing on 'shorter turnaround' for Final Fantasy series

In spite of the franchise having reached the Roman numeral XIV, Square Enix's Yoshinori Kitase thinks there isn't enough Final Fantasy in the world. Kitase says that the company is trying to adopt the quicker development cycle of its western peers, aiming to release games as quickly as a Call of Duty or Assassin's Creed game.

"The current generation console, Final Fantasy XIII, was obviously the first game, and personally I think we took a little too long getting it out," Kitase said. "When you think of Western triple A titles like Call of Duty, Battlefield, and Assassin's Creed, they seem to work with a lot shorter turnaround--they make a new game in 1-2 years."

Final Fantasy XIII released in 2010, four years after Final Fantasy XII on PS2. The long delay between the two iterations, Kitase believes, has hurt the franchise. "That is something we need to follow up, because that seems to be the best way to keep our fans interested and attracted to the franchise," he told Gamereactor UK (via VG247).

Saying that the company learned a lesson with FFXIII, he said the team behind Final Fantasy XIII-2 was determined to produce the sequel in a short time. According to Kitase, "actual development took about 1.5 years," which explains the game's quick turnaround.

While Square Enix may be working on making Final Fantasy games at a quicker pace, there are a few games currently unaccounted for. For example, Final Fantasy Versus XIII was announced shortly after Final Fantasy XIII, and has only received vague updates since. "I think it's going to be a great game," Kitase said. "But we haven't got updated information to release at this point."