In what feels like a truly bizarre answer coming from a major video game company, Final Fantasy VII Revelation director Naoki Hamaguchi has stated that he believes streamers and influencers are causing “a bit of a crisis” for RPGs when it comes to showcasing the genre. Streaming culture has been around for almost two entire console generations at this point (a little longer if we really dig deep into internet history), but there is maybe a case to make that watching someone play a game could rob of you experiencing it for yourself.
In an interview with 4Gamer, Hamaguchi explained, “One thing RPGs like Final Fantasy need to be careful about today is the possibility that people might simply watch a stream and feel satisfied without ever playing the game themselves. This is a bit of a crisis for the work itself, or rather, it’s not something game creators can wholeheartedly celebrate.” While stressing that he isn’t against livestreaming, he wonders if viewers are limiting themselves to experiencing just the story and skipping out on the gameplay part.
At the same time, he does acknowledge that times change. “It’s wrong to cling to an old style and insist ‘this is the right way’ when the world is changing,” Hamaguchi says. “Entertainment must also change to adapt to the times.” This type of change is something he uses to challenge himself to create better games rather than complain that people aren’t playing like they used to.
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
