Rumour: Versus XIII has been canned.

**Martin** · 07-20-2012, 01:40 AM

Rumor: Final Fantasy Versus XIII Is Dead

They admit it's not confirmed, hence a rumour but Kotaku don't get much wrong and frankly I can see this as being the truth. I like the possibility that the code has been wrapped into a numeric sequel, but it's been six years and the lack of well.. ANYTHING new is very disconcerting. Thoughts?

Mystyrion · 07-20-2012, 02:03 AM

Gameinformer just had a bit about this in their latest magazine.

Basically just stating that we haven't heard anything substantial for awhile now.

Cancelled? I don't think so, 6 years worth of developing isn't something that any developer would like to throw down the drain. Plus it's been on the backburner for most of those 6 years. It just recently (sept 2011) went into full production.

I'd say the odds that it was in development hell sometime during that 6 year time could be a very good possibility.

But I still see it being released with the next year. Who knows, maybe they are holding off and waiting for next gen console.

I could however see it being absorbed into FFXV.

**Rowan** · 07-20-2012, 02:39 AM

Theres too much to throw away. they have the engine and everything. heres proof.

**Martin** · 07-20-2012, 02:40 AM

Agreed, but then I'm only reporting on what I read. The consensus amongst other gaming sites and forums is that it's a rebranding and will go to next gen but then there's been a very high level of interest in the game - why was it on the backburner for so long? Why in a series of XIII is XV being mentioned? XIV is online so you could at least argue that could have come out when it did but XV should not come out before a XIII title.

Regardless this has been a shocking way to make a game and hopefully lessons will be learned.

Originally Posted by Rowan

Theres too much to throw away. they have the engine and everything. heres proof.

They have the engine, they have the code, they have the story, they have everything. So apart from that clip Rowan, why aren't they showcasing it? Why was there nothing at E3 and why are they so reluctant to give ANY details? Surely it's not too much to ask to at least state that it is definitely on track (not that it is considering how long it's been but still..)

Mystyrion · 07-20-2012, 04:37 AM

Originally Posted by Martin

Agreed, but then I'm only reporting on what I read. The consensus amongst other gaming sites and forums is that it's a rebranding and will go to next gen but then there's been a very high level of interest in the game - why was it on the backburner for so long? Why in a series of XIII is XV being mentioned? XIV is online so you could at least argue that could have come out when it did but XV should not come out before a XIII title.

Regardless this has been a shocking way to make a game and hopefully lessons will be learned.

For being on the backburner for so long, I don't think anyone really knows. I know that the First Production Team of SE is in charge of Dissidia, Kingdom Hearts, Fabula Nova Crystallis, and Compilation of FFVII. All of which have seen quite a few releases in those 6 years.

Could they all of been in development before Versus? I doubt it, but I wont rule it out.
Sony wanted other things pushed first? Possibly
Maybe they were going to have a tie in with FFXIII - 2 with all the paradoxes, but scrapped it.
Also the luminous engine is confirmed to be the lighting engine for the game, while gameplay will be a completely different engine. Perhaps they were just running with a beta or alpha version of the engine all this time. Since its just been recently announced (i think also in sept 2011) and we just barley got a tech demo for it at E3.
Lastly, since they are owned by Sony and probably the most important developer to Sony, they would probably have first knowledge of a new system.
I could really see this being the reason. As the PS4 isn't announced and probably wont be for some time. They can't reveal anything new about the game because.... well its going to release with the PS4. It has the engine, story, whats left? A release date.

Reasons why it may be retitled to XV.

It literally has nothing to do with FFXIII / - 2 or Typo 0 other than its set in the same universe. Which could literally mean nothing. It could be a completely independent planet set in the same universe. Wikipedia does mention that it has the same mythology though.

**Crescent** · 07-24-2012, 05:47 AM

I hate it when sites spout these stupid RUMOURS outta their ass without any reliable sources just for hits. I wanted to comment before but it'd only be speculation. Was waiting to hear it straight from Square Enix only.

Square Enix CEO Denies Final Fantasy Versus XIII Cancelation Reports -- Andriasang.com
Square Enix Confirms the Existence of Final Fantasy Versus XIII

Hope the city's large enough to explore. Quite exciting..

Mystyrion · 07-24-2012, 06:10 AM

This is why I hate kotaku.
The publish something absurd, then everyone re reports what they report.
Then take it back in another article like this.

But yet everyone still thinks its cancelled.

Anyways I found out a little more news.
Pre-production ended July 2011
Its song was put it theatrhythm
And just up until this year (2012) information has been given to us about Versus.

**Martin** · 07-24-2012, 07:23 AM

Fair enough but I have an article from GameInformer AU that claims the same Mysterion. I'll scan it up when I have chance.

**ViviMasterMage** · 07-24-2012, 07:27 AM

An update on the website indicates that the rumours were false:

Square Enix Confirms the Existence of Final Fantasy Versus XIII

The game looks really good and I don't think they'd just let it bomb anyway so I was never really worried.

Mystyrion · 07-24-2012, 10:19 AM

Originally Posted by Martin

Fair enough but I have an article from GameInformer AU that claims the same Mysterion. I'll scan it up when I have chance.

If you are talking about the article titled "Where is Final Fantasy Versus XIII"
I have it, its in my gameinformer I received last week (i think).

They hardly hint that the title is cancelled or even that it is vaporware like Kotaku reported. They simply just say that information about the game is few are far between. Not to mention that it hasn't been seen at any game show (E3 mostly) hasn't seen it for awhile either.

It was in pre production until 2011. I'm not surprised that it wasn't at any game show.
I'm surprised that it was in pre production that long

Don't get wrong. Kotaku still has its better points, I've seen them call out some of the bigger name titles that everyone seems to love and point out big flaws in them. I've seen some indie titles pointed out in them quite a bit. There is even an upside of them making post like this, We got a response confirming that Versus is still alive.

But they post it just to get a view, they don't care about the downside of being wrong or even being proved wrong. Of course thats what they are suppose to do, but they take a huge hit on credibility when they get proven wrong a lot. They could at least tone is down a bit being spectacle about the whole thing.

**Martin** · 07-25-2012, 01:23 AM

Not really - I think the article is similar but it does point out where there's a lack of evidence. But having said that, the title of the thread was a rumour started by Kotaku, that spread like wildfire. Perhaps the article was sheer conjecture, and it was I apologise for putting it up as it seemed it could be a waste of time.
Should it be the case though, as mentioned before it's got a response which to be honest, was all anyone wanted. Yes it's a credibility hit, but credit due here - they took one for the team. There's surely no-one in this thread who didn't think that it's taken a bloody long time for anything new to come out about it and through this we have something, not a lot but something. And it's done the job for them hasn't it? Got them a few hits (admittedly through me, haha).
I'm still not 100% convinced until I see definitive new material though. Don't care if it's a tech demo or a 15 second trailer - SE has plenty of reasons to keep it all under wraps - don't want to be disappointing the shareholders do we?
I could just be a raving conspiracy theorist though but TLG is another game with problems. Biting off more than they can chew?

**Ryu-Kentoshii Hirokima** · 09-25-2012, 04:07 PM

I Am Glad That The Rumours Were False. I Actually Wasn't Worried, Cause Why Would You Create Something Spectacular, And Then Just Dump All That Work In The Garbage? The Only Real Reason Why It Hasn't Seen The Light Of Day Yet Is Because They Want To Make It The Best Game, Topping FFVII, This Way They Can Finally Start Doing Remakes Of The Older Games, Like FFVII. They Want A Game That Completely Shatters All The Other Games Into Pieces. They Don't Want Players To Criticize It, Because I Am Pretty Sure They Are Upset About All The Negativity Of The Players. They Want To Create An Amazing Experience Like No Other. Also, They Have Been Working On A Bunch Of Other Games Other Than FF Games, So It Is Understandable. I Just Hope That People Will Enjoy This Game As Much As I Will, And Stop Complaining About The Smallest Cons Of A Magnificent Game. It Is An FF Game After All. All FF Games Are Amazing In Their Own Way. Each FF Game Is Unique, Yes They Have Minor Flaws, But They Have Way More Pros Then Cons. An FF Game Is An FF Game. I Am Still Amazed At How People Can Make These Types Of Games. It Is Just Remarkable, Insane & Awe-Inspiring!