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Are there any Final Fantasy: TCG players here? If so, you might be delighted to hear that Square Enix has trademarked "Final Fantasy Digital Card Game" in Japan. Since the card game has no online presence as of yet, this could be very big, very telling news of their future plans for the game to expand and reach new players.

As a former card game player that dislikes amassing piles and piles of cards that sit on shelves, I would certainly embrace this additional option to make decks easier to build and test, and an easier time finding other players! If this happens, it will be interesting to see how their online market will work, and if it will be a replication of their physical presence or an opportunity to do something new.

Source: Gematsu

For those itching for a new franchise made by one of the newest developers in Square Enix, the company has announced a brand new game called Lost Sphear!

Like the 2016 release of I am Setsuna and made by the same developers, Tokyo RPG Factory, Lost Sphear will feature the active-time battle system. Not too many other details are known yet, but the plot involves "setting out to rebuild the world with the power of Memory by manifesting thoughts into matter" and features interesting settings that show a world disappearing when memories fade.

You can view the announcement trailer right here.

Lost Sphear is slated to release in early 2018 and will be available on PC, PlayStation 4, and the Nintendo Switch.

Source: Polygon

Are you itching for more Final Fantasy-related news coming straight from the company's head honchos? Or better yet, will you happen to be in Boston from March 10th-12th for PAX East? Then you are in luck! Square Enix has revealed their lineup and panel discussion details to whet your appetite and maybe answer a few questions you've wondered about.

No convention is complete without a showcase of playable games, and they are certainly bringing a handful for players to get their mitts on. Here is what they plan to show at their booth:

• Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – A Criminal Past DLC (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
• Dragon Quest Heroes II (PS4, PC)
• Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius (iOS, Android)
• Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age (PS4)
• Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward (PS4, PC, Mac)
• Final Fantasy XV – Episode Gladiolus DLC (PS4, XBO)
• Flame x Blaze (iOS, Android)
• I Am Setsuna (Switch)
• Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix (PS4)
• Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8: Final Chapter Prologue (PS4)
• Kingdom Hearts: Unchained Chi (iOS, Android)
• NieR: Automata (PS4, PC)
• Ride 2 (PS4, XBO, PC)

Well, look at that, they will be showing a Switch title... even though it's one already released!

If that's not enough, Square Enix will also hold one panel during each of the three days during PAX East to discuss their current & near-future launches. Here is what they have:

Friday, March 10th, 1:30-2:30pm
Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age Panel - Discussion on the upcoming game release on July 11th, 2017. Game director Takashi Katano and producer Hiroaki Kato to attend.

Saturday, March 11th, 12:00pm-1:00pm
Final Fantasy XIV Community Q&A Panel - Interested in following the latest content and possible changes? Director Naoki Yoshida is present to hear player questions & feedback.

Sunday, March 12th, 10:30am-11:30am
NieR: Automata x Final Fantasy XV Panel - The first half focuses on NieR: Automata and a discussion with director Yoko Taro, with the second half featuring a first look at FFXV's brand spanking new DLC, Episode Gladiolus, for fans who are looking for even more character development.

And with any good convention setup, there will be plenty of prizes, posters and fun game-related trinkets to entice you to stop by!

Source: Gematsu

As the sales keep rolling in and everyone breathes a sigh of relief that Final Fantasy XV is overall a fairly good game, director Hajime Tabata took some time at the Game Developer's Conference (GDC) to reflect on the famous decade-long development cycle that culminated in its November 2016 release.

During the conference, Tabata was noted as saying the bar was set high even before he took on the project in 2012. "If it didn't succeed, it would all be over. It meant approaching the project believing this was our last chance. If we don't do it this time, there won't be a next time."

Is this more of the typical motivational talk to set high standards and achieve them, no matter the cost? Possibly, but let's consider a few events, and what was going on in the Final Fantasy franchise in 2012 when Tabata came aboard:

1. Square Enix doubled (and after 2012, tripled) down on Final Fantasy XIII and its sequels, which was met with mixed reviews and much criticism, cooling enthusiasm after the main title's release. It would seem the Fabula Nova Crystallis universe was not the overwhelming hit they expected.
2. Final Fantasy XIV's original release was so troubled and unpopular that they killed it with spectacular fire, built a new game from the ground up, and maybe asked everyone to forget the original existed. It is worth noting that the new game is hugely successful and still doing well today, but it was certainly a monumental effort to scrap the original game and make a better one in its place.
3. Well known by now, Final Fantasy XV is the final form of a game started in 2006 which was then Final Fantasy Versus XIII, also requiring an overhaul and recruitment of top talent for Tabata to meet expectations.

Interesting to note as well, the following remark Tabata made when discussing the game at the GDC: "My story about Final Fantasy XV is not a success story," he said. "I don't have any magical expertise from this undertaking, but I know now the greatest goals can only be reached by taking big chances."

He sure seems more relieved than excited about its success. The franchise seems better positioned for its future than it was in 2012, with FFXIII in the books, the FFXIV remake successful, and FFXV having currently sold over 6 million copies worldwide.

Do you think the Final Fantasy franchise was ever in any danger? Or is it laughable to even think so, considering the worldwide brand recognition it has attained, and Square Enix' deep pockets to finance the huge cost of each game? After all, things like this exist.

Source: The Verge, Polygon

Good news, everyone! Square-Enix wants to hear from you, following their launch of Final Fantasy XV! They have launched a survey on surveymonkey to gather and compile player feedback: you can take it here.

It starts off with some pretty basic questions to help them with marketing tools and see what systems you play on and where you get your news from (Why the hell isn't Caves of Narshe on there, right?!), with 30 questions in all. But it gets interesting at the end, where they ask questions like:

• Please tell us what you think of Final Fantasy XV.
• In one or two brief sentences, please tell us how you feel about Season Passes & DLC.
• If you ask one thing to the developers of FINAL FANTASY XV, what would it be?

So now is your chance to make your voice heard, in a place Square Enix may actually read! Now, if the comments were made public, I guarantee there would be some entertaining reads in there. While we're at it, feel free to add any additional comments here!

Source: GameSpot

As mentioned in CoN news earlier, Square-Enix's new partnership with Marvel is confirmed and will clearly be this huge, big-budgeted Juggernaut™ with multiple collaborative releases expected over the next several years. Marvel's stories and characters in a Square-Enix graphics engine? The possibilities are endless! What's not to love?

Well for one, this could potentially be responsible for a possible setback in the schedules of one or several big titles Square-Enix slated to release over the coming years. FF7 is already rumored to be pushed back, possibly into 2018. According to express.co.uk (source below), game director Tetsuya Nomura indicated that they have a full schedule for the year including a priority on Kingdom Hearts 3 over all else, and that the FF7 Remake delay is highly likely. While they did not explicitly state that the Marvel collaboration had any connection, more details (and hopefully the release date!) should be coming when the director attends the Monaco Anime Game International Conference (MAGIC) on February 18th.

If true, does this make you feel any less thrilled about the FF7 Remake? We know what happens when this company begins to delay games...!

Source: express.co.uk