Why Lightning Returns isn't called 'Final Fantasy XIII-3'

While the upcoming Lightning Returns is effectively "Final Fantasy XIII-3," there are many reasons why Square Enix opted to avoid that title. Yoshinori Kitase, producer of the franchise, told us that one of the reasons for the unconventional title is to bolster sales numbers.

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Fans that have followed the franchise know that Final Fantasy is no stranger to odd titles. Heck, it's called Final Fantasy after all. While the upcoming Lightning Returns is effectively "Final Fantasy XIII-3," there are many reasons why Square Enix opted to avoid that title. Yoshinori Kitase, producer of the franchise, told us that one of the reasons for the unconventional title is to bolster sales numbers.

According to Square-Enix, the original Final Fantasy XIII shipped 6.6 million copies worldwide. However, its sequel, Final Fantasy XIII-2, only shipped 3.2 million copies. While there are many reasons for that drop, Kitase told us that "one of the elements we think that contributed" was "the way we named the title." He said that XIII-2 "may have given the impression to players that you needed to play the first game to enjoy the second."

By breaking convention, Kitase believes they can avoid "excluding [those] who didn't play the previous installments. Our title naming reflects that."

In fact, Kitase believes that Lightning Returns has the potential to beat the original games in terms of appeal. "We're also aiming for this installment to surpass the previous two," he told us. "The core fans of Final Fantasy XIII will enjoy it, as well as new players that are jumping in for the first time."

Andrew Yoon was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    January 17, 2013 5:00 AM

    Andrew Yoon posted a new article, Why Lightning Returns isn't called 'Final Fantasy XIII-3'.

    While the upcoming Lightning Returns is effectively "Final Fantasy XIII-3," there are many reasons why Square Enix opted to avoid that title. Yoshinori Kitase, producer of the franchise, told us that one of the reasons for the unconventional title is to bolster sales numbers.

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      January 17, 2013 5:03 AM

      Ugh, stop making Final Fantasies based on this shitty world. No installment of the series has diminished the fanbase more so than the XIII line.

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        January 17, 2013 9:19 AM

        It's like they are going to keep making them and not improving what people really dislike about it until we just give up and say "yeah, its great, you're geniuses"

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      January 17, 2013 5:10 AM

      [deleted]

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        January 17, 2013 5:28 AM

        Versus XIII is still in the works, in theory.

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          January 17, 2013 9:43 AM

          I actually asked Kitase about Versus XIII, and he simply told me that "I'm glad to hear your enthusiasm, but we have nothing to share about Versus XIII at the moment."

          My question was: does Versus XIII still exist? Really, a yes or no question.

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            January 17, 2013 9:53 AM

            At this point, I figure if we see Versus at all, it'll be FFXV.

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      January 17, 2013 5:18 AM

      Or it could be that XIII sucked ass and half of fhose that bought it and got burnt had no interest in XIII-2 XIII-3 or Lightning Returns, regardless of title.

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      January 17, 2013 5:36 AM

      They should outsource the next FF to CD Project RED.

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        January 17, 2013 6:50 AM

        Please, don't make CD Project RED wastes its time on this license.

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      January 17, 2013 6:14 AM

      [deleted]

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      January 17, 2013 6:16 AM

      [deleted]

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      January 17, 2013 6:28 AM

      why would anyone who hasn't played FFXIII or FFXIII-2 want to play FF Lighting Returns? Are they expecting people to just pick this one up blind without knowing any of the backstory?

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        January 17, 2013 7:01 AM

        You didn't really need to know much of the back story for the jump from 13 to 13-2. It helped to know it, but it wasn't necessary by any means.

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          January 17, 2013 7:15 AM

          yeah but if I don't know who the hell Lightning is, why the hell would i want to buy a game called Lightning Returns.

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            January 17, 2013 7:17 AM

            Heh, can't argue with that...good point.

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            January 17, 2013 8:49 AM

            I'm sure there will be a trailer; or knowing Square, multiple trailers that will tell us who Lightning is for those that didn't play the first two.

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      January 17, 2013 12:21 PM

      "Our game sucks, but we might be able to sell it if we don't call it what it is."

      Oh-kay.

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