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Hajime Tabata

It’s been a strange past few weeks in terms of Final Fantasy XV potentially coming to Switch. Director Hajime Tabata originally seemed to tease some sort of Switch version at Gamescom, but things have changed regularly since then.

Our latest update comes from an interview with Famitsu. Officially, there are no plans to release Final Fantasy XV for Switch. Square Enix is conducting technical examinations to learn what sorts of things they can create on the platform. They are trying to see if optimizing their own engine would be better or if using Unreal Engine makes more sense on Switch. Also, somewhat similarly to what we recently heard, they are sharing their status with Nintendo and Epic. That’s what Tabata told the overseas media, but it turned out to be reported as they are planning to port Final Fantasy XV to Switch.

Tabata isn’t ruling anything out for the future. For now though, he’s focused on Final Fantasy XV for PC, the game’s new DLC, and the PC version.

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Ever since Gamescom, we’ve heard about Final Fantasy XV potentially coming to Switch in some fashion. Director Hajime Tabata has now commented on the situation once again in an interview with Eurogamer.

Some have thought that Square Enix would look to bring the recently-announced Pocket Edition of Final Fantasy XV to Switch. However, the company has been instead trying to determine if the original game can be put on Nintendo’s console.

Tabata said:

It was last month at Gamescom when Square Enix’s Hajime Tabata hinted at something Final Fantasy XV-related for Switch. He’s followed up on that initial tease since then, and Kotaku is the latest outlet to have asked him about the system.

One thing to note is that someone from Nintendo called Tabata after what he said at Gamescom. However, he wouldn’t reveal what was discussed.

As for that Gamescom tease and Switch, Tabata explained:

Back at Gamescom, Final Fantasy XV director Hajime Tabata seemed to hint at something relating to the game coming to Switch. Tabata has since clarified what’s actually going on at the moment.

Right now, a definitive decision has not been made. Square Enix has been experimenting with Switch to see what sort of specs the system can provide and what it’s capable. The Luminous Engine was tested, but it seems that Square Enix can’t “bring out the most of the engine” on Switch.

Square Enix’s Hajime Tabata stirred up quite a storm this week. When he appeared on a Twitch stream to promote Final Fantasy XV, he strong hinted that the game will be ending up on Switch in some form.

To recap, Tabata teased:

You asked the question, what other things do we have planned in the future? We can’t give you any complete, solid details right at the moment but for our policy writers we very much do want to move out and do as much as we can with the game, with the franchise. There’s another certain console out there people may be thinking of; sounds little bit like you guys, your name, “Twitch”… I think we’ll just leave it there.

Everyone on Final Fantasy XV, they love this specific console that sounds a lot like “Twitch” – you may want to think something about that in the future.

According to Final Fantasy XV director Hajime Tabata, the developers working on Square Enix’s RPG have interest in Switch. Unfortunately though, there aren’t any plans to port the game over at present.

Tabata is unsure as to whether or not Final Fantasy XV would run on Switch. He says that tests really haven’t been done to see if it would be possible.

Here’s the full exchange between DualShockers and Tabata:

Hajime Tabata, the director of Final Fantasy XV, has significant interest in Switch.

Speaking about Nintendo’s console with French outlet Gameblog, Tabata talked about how he is looking forward to the platform as both a developer and a player. This is also the first time in awhile that he’s has had interest in creating titles for a Nintendo platform.

Tabata’s words in full:

The Legend of Zelda Wii U

In one of its issues earlier this month, Dengeki PlayStation spoke with a ton of recognized game creators ranging from Keiji Inafune to Tetsuya Nomura. This feature was published to celebrate the magazine’s 600th issue.

One of the developers Dengeki PlayStation reached out to was Final Fantasy XV director Hajime Tabata. To start out with, Tabata was asked which company’s title he would like to work on as a member of their staff. Here’s how he responded:

“The Legend of Zelda series. I’m not quite sure why myself, but a Zelda game made with the technology and know-how of Final Fantasy XV is the game I wish to create as of this moment.”

Of course, you shouldn’t make too much of Tabata’s words – it was just a harmless comment after all! Still, it’s an interesting choice on his part. It almost makes you wonder what a Square Enix-made Zelda game would look like.


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