Topic: Final Fantasy IV: The After Years Website Launches

[Crimm]

The new website reveals the existence of multiplayer modes.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=18347

 Earlier this week, the website for Square Enix's WiiWare follow-up to Final Fantasy IV, titled Final Fantasy IV: The After Years was launched.  The site lists the number of players as "1 - 4," belaying the existence of hereto unknown multiplayer content.    

Final Fantasy IV was originally released on the SNES in 1991 as Final Fantasy II in the United States and was later remade for the Nintendo DS in 2008.  The After Years follows the original characters and picks up the story a few years after the conclusion of Final Fantasy IV.    

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years is scheduled for release later this year.

[Ian Sane]

I remember when part of the appeal of Final Fantasy was that it was different every time.  Different characters, different world, different battle system.  It's actually a brilliant strategy.  You get the fanbase and strong name brand of a major franchise but it doesn't get stale because it changes enough each time (though often superficially).

Now it's like Square Enix sees Final Fantasy I-XII as twelve different franchises to exploit.  I understand the desire to cash-in but this is how you overexpose a franchise and make the fanbase apathetic to it.  There is a lot of value in having a franchise where each new game is an event.  But every publisher that has that eventually blows it.  The temptation of milking a franchise for a quick buck is just too enticing.

[KDR_11k]

Their numbered games take too much time, they're already working on FF13 way longer than other FFs and have announced that it will have to sell 10x as much to be successful. IMO it's shaping up to be another TSW and they probably won't be able to keep up their 3 numbered FFs per gen rate this time.

Sequels to specific games allows them to reuse the characters and have people connect with them better, also filtering for those that had a good fan reaction (note how there are no sequels to, say, FF8).

[Crimm]

It's just a WiiWare game.  I think this is a cool strategy.  Many-a-time I have wondered what happened to ______ after a story-centric game.