1Truth2Lies

If there's barely any evidence for FFX-3, how could you make a article like this about it? LOL! Besides, I've already told you that Kitase outright stated that they're not making a FFX-3. Therefore, thinking the game exists means you have to believe that Kitase is telling a lie. That's not evidence, but instead making conspiracy theories. I'm not saying you're arguing against Ito making FFXVI. I'm sure you already believed it, as you were already speculating on why he has been quiet on the FF front since FFXII released. I merely made this thread to provide yourself and others with some evidence to support your belief. That way, it's not just wishful thinking. The more people that want Ito on FFXVI, the better. :smile:

But the Hiroyuki Ito that directed FFVI, FFIX, and FFXII never worked for Jupiter Corporation, so you should instantly know it's not the same person. I think they added those credits to the Hiroyuki Ito page so that people don't believe they're the same person. That said, the way the page is written and formatted could confuse people that are skimming through the article. On the FF Wiki, they actually have two different pages for the two people: Hiroyuki Ito Hiroyuki Itou Anyway, you're certainly not the first and won't be the last to think that the director of FFVI, FFIX, and FFXII was Co-Director on FF: All The Bravest.

The version posted on VGChartz is outdated and didn't even provide quotes and sources. This version has the latest info and also provides quotes and sources. I think people said I was always going on about it because I constantly made new versions of the thread with added points. You couldn't make the same article about Kitase/Toriyama making FFX-3 because there's barely any evidence for it. Further still, Kitase even stated the game wasn't in development in a Famitsu interview not too long ago. With regards to Ito secretly making FFXVI behind the scenes, there's far more evidence that points to this being the case, as the points in the OP prove. Also, as you can see by Ito's credits since FFIV DS released in 2007, he hasn't worked on a FF game since. That makes it obvious that he's been busy with a big project, which is likely FFXVI. After all, during the 5 years that he was directing FFXII, he never worked on any other FF game.

I did read your post properly. Please don't be offended by correction. If I rubbed you off the wrong way with my post, that was not intention. Anyway, you didn't even read the Wikipedia page correctly, as it clearly says above the KH Re:coded, TWEWY, Final Fantasy: All The Bravest credits that they belong to a different Hiroyuki Itou who used to work for Jupiter Corporation.

No problem, bro. :wink: I added one last point to the list, BTW. It's about Yoichi Wada showing off a tech demo at E3 2014 of an Open World that's 17 times larger than Skyrim. It really makes sense that Ito is currently helming FFXVI. After all, he's still on the company payroll, yet hasn't done any major work since FFXII IZJS released in August 2007. The obvious situation is that he's been slaving away on FFXVI since then. I'm sure the game was originally supposed to be called FFXV before VersusXIII got renamed, too. The way I see it, FFXVI will have the longest development time in FF history. However, I'm sure it will live up to the FF name because Ito is directing. Yes, FFXII is my fave game in the mainline series. I'm really hoping that Ito makes the FFXVI game design evolve off it. Something like a gameplay mix of FFXII and Xenoblade Chronicles X would be amazing! :biggrin:

This is a thread I originally created on the GameFAQs PS4 Message Board in April 2014. As of posting it there, many people that frequent that board have begun to believe that FFXVI is currently being made by Ito. Therefore, I'm posting the thread here to share my findings with more people. For the FF fans hoping that Hiroyuki Ito (FFVI, FFIX, FFXII Director) will direct FFXVI for release on PS4/Xbox One, this thread is for you. Bare in mind this is all speculation based off corroborated evidence, nothing more. That said, if FFXVI becomes a reality on PS4/Xbox One, we therefore won't be stuck with the "A World of the Versus Epic" by Tetsuya Nomura and Hajime Tabata for the whole of current-gen, much like we were stuck with the "Lightning Saga" by Yoshinori Kitase and Motomu Toriyama for the whole of last-gen. Also, please be aware that this will be my first and only version of this thread. I'll not be adding any more evidence to the list of points. Why? I feel there's more than enough corroborated info provided that indicates that Ito is secretly working on FFXVI. Adding more points to this list would just be beating a dead horse, IMO. All that needs to be done now is wait for the game's official announcement by Square Enix. For those that don't know Hiroyuki Ito and his past contributions to the FF series, visit his FF Wiki page: http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Hiroyuki_Ito With all that said, let's move on to the corroborated points of evidence. :smile: -------------------------------------------------- November 2011 1. Yoshinori Kitase (FFX, FFXIII Producer) said that we may get FFXV and FFXVI in the near future. Bare in mind that this was after VersusXIII had been internally renamed FFXV (an event which happened in January 2011) and before FFXIII-2 was even released, meaning it was before LR FFXIII had even started development. Therefore, FFXVI was already being made by another team before Kitase/Toriyama had even finished the Lightning Saga. Source: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-11-16-final-fantasy-13-2-preview -------------------------------------------------- February 2012 2. Hironobu Sakaguchi (Creator of FF) told me face-to-face while he was in London to promote The Last Story, he believes Hiroyuki Ito can make FF a leading and respected RPG series again. Source: This information was said to me in person. -------------------------------------------------- March 2012 3. Shinichi Tatsuke (Producer within Square Enix Mobile Division), said that Hiroyuki Ito only provided the original concept for the iOS/Android game Guardian Cross, meaning Ito was not a member of the actual development team. If Ito wasn't part of the development team, what game has he been working on hands-on all these years? After all, his last hands-on project was FFXII IZJS, which released back in August 2007. Source: http://app.famitsu.com/20120329_47667/ -------------------------------------------------- July 2012 4. Yoichi Wada (President of Square Enix) never debunked the rumor that Hiroyuki Ito was secretly directing FFXV and it would evolve off FFXII and have an Open World that would surpass Skyrim in both world scale and volume of gameplay content. Despite the rumor blowing up on 2ch and various Japanese gaming blogs, Wada never debunked it. However, two days later, he used Twitter to publicly debunk the rumor that FF VersusXIII had been cancelled. This was a rumor that had only shown up on 2ch earlier that same day, yet he debunked it within a few hours. Why didn't he debunk the rumor about Ito? There must have been some truth to it. Source: Two sources. 1) The 2ch thread with the rumor of Ito secretly directing FFXV (Thread posted on July 21 and active until July 30): http://anago.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/ghard/1342860369/ 2) Wada's tweet debunking the rumor that FF VersusXIII had been cancelled (Tweeted on July 23): https://twitter.com/yoichiw/status/227628674780909568 -------------------------------------------------- August 2012 5. Naoki Yoshida (FFXIV Producer/Director) said that Hiroyuki Ito was not working on FFXIV: A Realm Reborn. However, he wouldn't disclose what game Ito was working on. The fact disclosing information on what Ito is currently doing is under NDA must indicate he is working on a very important game for the company. Source: https://twitter.com/APZonerunner/status/238359219076734977 6. Naoki Yoshida said that FFXIV ARR is the starting point of regaining people's trust in the FF franchise. He added it will make people excited to see what will be in store for them in FFXV and FFXVI. The fact he actually said "FFXV or FFXVI" must mean that both FFXV and FFXVI are currently in development and will release not that far apart from each other. Source: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-08-17-regaining-fans-trust-in-final-fantasy-will-take-a-long-time-ff14-producer-says -------------------------------------------------- September 2012 7. Hiroyuki Ito said that current-gen hardware (PS3/Xbox 360) was too weak to handle his gameplay ideas. The reason was due to him being held back by insufficient RAM and CPU power. However, he added that hardware was getting closer to where he can do exactly what he wants to do. Considering that Square Enix already had PS4 and Xbox One development kits at the time of this interview, but both console weren't yet publically announced by Sony and Microsoft, Ito was likely alluding to the next-gen hardware. Source: http://www.1up.com/features/final-fantasy-hiroyuki-ito-science -------------------------------------------------- February 2013 8. Naoki Yoshida said that back in December 2010, when he became Producer/Director of FFXV 1.0, many other staff were brought in from other projects. He added that Hiroshi Minagawa (Tactics Ogre PSP Director) is multi-tasking FFXIV ARR with another big project. Minagawa is not working on LR FFXIII or FFXV, so what other big project is he also working on? Bare in mind that Minagawa was the Director of FFXII alongside Hiroyuki Ito. Source: Skip to 4:37 on the timer. -------------------------------------------------- May 2013 9. I asked Toshiyuki Itahana (FFIX Character Designer) via Twitter if Hiroyuki Ito will direct another mainline FF, as FFIX and FFXII are my favorite in the series. He replied saying that he also respects Ito as an amazing game creator, and that I should please look forward to Ito's next game. Basically, Itahana indirectly said that Ito's got another mainline FF in the pipeline and I should look forward to when it's announced. Source: https://twitter.com/itabee/status/331777078380883969 10. Nobuo Uematsu (Composer of FF series) told me face-to-face while he was in London for a Final Fantasy concert by the London Symphony Orchestra, he can guarantee that Hiroyuki Ito will direct another FF game. When I probed further and asked if Ito will direct either FFXV or FFXVI, he laughed and replied that his answer would get him in trouble with Square Enix. Source: This information was said to me in person. -------------------------------------------------- June 2013 11. FFXV was announced at E3 2013. Seeing as the game was originally announced as FF VersusXIII at E3 2006, which was 7 years ago, the game that was originally supposed to be FFXV must have therefore been renamed FFXVI and pushed back in order to be given more development time. 12. Shinji Hashimoto (FF Brand Director) said during a Q&A after Square Enix's E3 2013 press conference, FFXV being an Action RPG will not alter the direction of the FF series. FFXV is a standalone title, with a real-time battle system being ideal for what it wants to achieve. He added that the next mainline Final Fantasy (FFXVI) could return to using something similar to the Active Time Battle (ATB) system. Source: Skip to 10:16 on the timer. http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/qiqmcn/final-fantasy-xv-e3-2013--q---a-part-1 -------------------------------------------------- July 2013 13. Shinji Hashimoto said that Hiroyuki ito has been planning and proposing ideas for a new project. He added that Ito is putting a lot of depth into the gameplay systems and mechanics. As a result, development of this project would take some time. Source: http://www.rpgsite.net/interview/3144-talking-talent-western-development-and-sequels-with-final-fantasy-producer-shinji-hashimoto -------------------------------------------------- September 2013 14. Shinji Hashimoto told me face-to-face while he was in London for the European launch of KH I.5 HD ReMIX, the reason Hiroyuki Ito hasn't worked on any current-gen (PS3/360) FF games is because he's been busy planning his own project. When I asked when his project will be announced, he replied saying that Ito's adding a lot of depth to the gameplay systems and mechanics. As a result, the announcement of this project will take some time. Source: This information was said to me in person. 15. I asked Yasumi Matsuno (FFT, Vagrant Story Director) via Twitter if he would write the scenario for FFXVI as a freelancer if Hiroyuki Ito was the director. He replied saying he unfortunately had "certain reservations" about answering the question. In other words, the answer to the question was in NDA territory. Source: https://twitter.com/YasumiMatsuno/status/374329899332292608 16. Around 2 weeks after Yasumi Matsuno responded to my tweet, he announced at TGS 2013 that he was working on two new games with Playdek. However, he added that he will not be directing either of the games. The reason he gave is because he's also got other projects going for other companies, some of which have assigned a large amount of work for him to do. Source: http://www.usgamer.net/articles/tgs-yasumi-matsunos-new-world -------------------------------------------------- November 2013 17. The website for Agni's Philosophy was updated. The update added an employment page that listed various vacant positions on the Luminous Studio team. It also included a page with comments by the current Luminous Studio staff. These comments included hints that another FF besides FFXV is already in production using the engine. Source: http://www.agnisphilosophy.com/en/career/getech/staff.html -------------------------------------------------- February 2014 18. Naoki Yoshida said that he's sure there will be a FFXV and FFXVI, and therefore he will constantly try to bring in fresh, new material for FFXIV ARR. The fact he said he's sure there will be a FFXV, even though it had already been officially announced, makes it appear like he was indirectly stating that FFXVI is also already in development. Source: http://www.polygon.com/2014/2/13/5405344/final-fantasy-14s-playstation-4-launch-is-just-the-start-for-naoki 19. Yoshinori Kitase said that the technical specs of PS4/One will allow battles in FFXVI to have many more participants involved; there will be more characters for the player to control and more enemies to defeat. He added that the Gambit system, which Hiroyuki Ito created for FFXII, may return and be used to help the player control all the party members available. Considering that only Ito knows how to properly evolve the Gambit system seeing as he created it, Kitase is basically indicating that Ito will be involved in FFXVI. Source: http://www.videogamer.com/ps4/final_fantasy_15/news/final_fantasy_15_quite_far_into_development_given_high_priority_by_square.html 20. Yoshinori Kitase told me face-to-face while he was in London for the European launch of LR FFXIII, the reason Hiroyuki Ito has not worked on the FFXIII trilogy, FFXIV ARR, and the forthcoming FFXV, is because he has his own development team at Square Enix and is busy leading his own project. Source: This information was said to me in person. 21. When asked about a potential FFXII HD Remaster, Yoshinori Kitase confirmed the FFXII team, which is headed by Hiroyuki Ito, is still intact within Square Enix. Seeing as this team hasn't released a AAA game since FFXII International Zodiac Job System in 2007, it's safe to assume they're secretly developing FFXVI for PS4/One. Source: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-02-17-a-chat-about-that-final-fantasy-7-remake 22. Yoshinori Kitase stated that FFXVI will not be for Smartphones or Tablets. The reason is because Square Enix always expects mainline FF games to be very high-end, top quality products, as it's the flagship global IP of the company. Source: http://www.joystiq.com/2014/02/17/square-enix-producer-kitase-on-lightning-returns-reviews-hd-rem/ 23. Hiroyuki Ito did his first public interview since FFXII IZJS released in 2007. The interview was about his thoughts on the PS4 hardware, which was launching in Japan the following day. Ito said that the aspect of the PS4 he's mostly interested in is how it can connect to the PS Vita and provide a second screen for the player. He said the HDTV screen acts like a football stadium and is what everyone in the audience can see, while the PS Vita screen is seen only by the coach and is the means by which he gives orders to his team. Source: http://dengekionline.com/elem/000/000/807/807374/ -------------------------------------------------- June 2014 24. At E3 2014, Yoichi Wada demonstrated a tech demo showing off an Open World and said it was 17 times the size of Skyrim. The fact Skyrim was mentioned by name and the Open World was said to be 17 times larger than it is very, very interesting. Why is it so interesting? Go back and read point 4 in this list. You'll begin to see why Wada never debunked that rumor about Ito directing an Open World FFXV. There really was some truth to it. Source: http://www.polygon.com/2014/6/13/5795778/project-flare-square-enix-e3-skyrim ====================================================================== The End Thanks for reading and I hope you found the above informative. As you can see, there's more than enough info out there that not only reveals that FFXVI is already in full swing, but also that Ito is the very likely one helming it. :smile:

Best game in the mainline series since FFVI.

I'd rather have FFXII: Revenant Wings included, as it's the direct sequel.

TC, you are misinformed. I joined this forum just to correct you. LOL! Hiroyuki Ito and Hiroyuki Itou are two totally different people. Hiroyuki Ito is the current head of the FFXII team and director of FFVI, FFIX, and FFXII. He has been working for Square Enix since 1987. In past games, he used to be credited with the spelling Hiroyuki Itou, but they changed the spelling to Hiroyuki Ito as of FFXII, which released in 2006. All games since then have him credited with Ito, not Itou. It's rumored that he's currently leading development on a secret project, which is most likely FFXVI. Hiroyuki Itou is a member of the Kingdom Hearts team and Co-Director of KH Re:coded, TWEWY -Solo Remix-, and FF: All The Bravest. He has been working for Square Enix since 2008. He used to work for Jupiter, where he worked on KH:CoM and the DS version of TWEWY. In all his games, he's credited with the spelling Hirouki Itou, as that's Square Enix's way of differentiating the two people. Also, you should know that both these two people have their names written differently in Japanese: Hiroyuki Ito (伊藤 裕之) Hiroyuki Itou (伊藤寿恭) Anyway, I hope I could be of some help. :biggrin: