Final Fantasy 16 is easily one of the most anticipated games currently in development, given it's the latest release in one of gaming's largest franchises. Its announcement during the 2020 PlayStation 5 Showcase shocked many, as Final Fantasy 16 appeared surprisingly far along in development. At the time, Square Enix promised more information about Final Fantasy 16 in 2021, which it's now done in a small but appreciated way. Producer Naoki Yoshida shared a brief update on the ongoing development of Final Fantasy 16 on Saturday.
Specifically, Yoshida discussed Final Fantasy 16's ongoing voicing and motion-capture efforts. In somewhat of a surprise, Yoshida confirmed that the English voicework was taking priority over the Japanese audio. Further, they're doing it in "British English," which perhaps means that Square Enix is using a recording and mocap studio in England, which has hired British voice actors for the job. Square Enix similarly did this with Final Fantasy 14, Yoshida's other project, which could be why they chose it again for Final Fantasy 16.
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Yoshida further explains that Final Fantasy 16's audio and facial capture is being recorded at the same time. That way, they don't have to adjust faces during speaking by hand later. Motion capture is also being done in tandem with voice recording, but not for every cutscene. That's why English is being prioritized over Japanese, according to Yoshida. However, he says that Japanese dubbing will be starting soon. He doesn't clarify if there will be accompanying Japanese facial capture, as well.
The decision is likely made half in part because of Square Enix's chosen studio for motion capture and half due to modern games primarily focusing on English markets first. That's not to say that the Japanese market won't also be a priority, as it has been for the Final Fantasy franchise for decades. There's just a degree of difference in market sizes in the 2020s, particularly for games as big and expensive as Final Fantasy 16.
It's difficult to tell if there are any conclusions that can be drawn from Yoshida's comments about Final Fantasy 16's development. Historically, motion capture can take place early or late in a game's development, but voicework typically comes later due to it requiring the story, scenarios, and dialogue to all be finished. Otherwise, any changes require additional unplanned recording sessions. That could mean Final Fantasy 16 is farther along than it may seem.
When Square Enix said to expect updates on Final Fantasy 16 in 2021, it probably didn't mean Yoshida answering questions like this. As such, there's likely to be bigger announcements later this year. A good possibility would be PlayStation's next big games showcase, like in 2020. However, when PlayStation will hold one of those is anyone's guess.
Final Fantasy 16 is in development for PS5.
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Source: DualShockers