Finish Final Fantasy XIII yet? If not, you may want to get playing because there's talk over at Square-Enix of a direct sequel; one that won't take quite as long. According to Yoshinori Kitase and Motomu Toriyama, it is very possible that role-playing fans will get a second helping of FF XIII in the form of Final Fantasy XIII-2. Fans of the series will remember that this was done once before with Final Fantasy X, and the result was well... different.

Regardless, it looks like the mixed reception (more sour than not) that FF X-2 received from critics won't stop Kitase from taking another stab at a direct sequel. "In the past three years we worked both on the world and on the various systems. Creating these systems isn't very glamorous and can frankly be a bit boring. If we could do a XIII-2, we could direct all our attention to the story and refine what we have already built," he said.

Will Square actually develop a direct sequel to their latest installment? What would this mean for the future of the assumed FF XV?

According to Kitase, "We do not know if there will be a XV. This depends a lot on the success of XIII. Also, it is difficult to pinpoint elements that are typical Final Fantasy. They are mostly invisible: part of the DNA of the game, that everyone recognizes as typical Final Fantasy. But if there is a XV, I hope the way we wrote our characters carries over. We strived to create believable people of flesh and blood. They are not robots. And they are not super heroes. I hope this humanity is something we will see again."

Does anyone really doubt the fact that we'll see a Final Fantasy XV sometime down the line? With five million units shipped and an overwhelming positive reception from critics, Final Fantasy XIII's sales will be big, which will inevitably prompt the studio to develop XIII-2. By the time both the sequel and the online-based XIV make it to store shelves, work on FF XV will inevitably be underway. Final Fantasy is the lifeblood that has given Square-Enix so much success outside of Japan; it's certainly not a franchise that is going to disappear anytime soon.



So, the real question is not whether or not they are making XIII-2, but rather whether or not it is wise for them to do so. Part of the charm that goes along with the franchise is the fact that each title is its own unique entity, completely separate from every other title in the series. That tradition was broken with X-2, and while some liked the fashioned-focused sequel, it certainly wasn't up to snuff with other Final Fantasy titles.

As such, it's reason enough to be weary about a XIII-2, but as long as they deliver where it counts, it's hard to complain about more Final Fantasy. Plus, with a fully fleshed out engine, it shouldn't take them all that long to put together something solid.

Interested in what us gamers have been buying this past week? We'll it has been a while since we last looked at the weekly sales charts so here goes...

This week we see Final Fantasy XIII rock both console charts, knocking last week's pole position title - Battlefield Bad Company 2 - down into second place. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 still manages to sell the odd copy and sits in third position on the Xbox 360 chart and fourth position on PlayStation 3, with Heavy Rain bridging the gap. Read on for the full run down of titles.

Xbox 360

  1. FINAL FANTASY XIII
  2. BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY 2
  3. CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 2
  4. ALIENS VS PREDATOR
  5. BIOSHOCK 2
  6. FORZA MOTORSPORT 3
  7. FIFA 10
  8. SONIC & SEGA ALL-STARS RACING
  9. JAMES CAMERON'S AVATAR: THE GAME
  10. MASS EFFECT 2
  11. HALO 3: ODST
  12. BORDERLANDS
  13. BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE - VILGAX ATTACKS
  14. GRAND THEFT AUTO EPISODES - LIBERTY CITY
  15. LIPS: PARTY CLASSICS
  16. VANCOUVER 2010
  17. LEFT 4 DEAD 2
  18. MX VS ATV REFLEX
  19. ASSASSIN'S CREED II
  20. WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2010
  21. BAYONETTA
  22. PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2010
  23. CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR
  24. DANTE'S INFERNO
  25. OPERATION FLASHPOINT: DRAGON RISING
  26. ARMY OF TWO: THE 40TH DAY
  27. BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM
  28. WAY OF THE SAMURAI 3
  29. TEKKEN 6
  30. LIPS: NUMBER ONE HITS

PlayStation 3

  1. FINAL FANTASY XIII
  2. BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY 2
  3. HEAVY RAIN
  4. CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 2
  5. ALIENS VS PREDATOR
  6. YAKUZA 3
  7. UNCHARTED 2: AMONG THIEVES
  8. BIOSHOCK 2
  9. FIFA 10
  10. SONIC & SEGA ALL-STARS RACING
  11. BORDERLANDS
  12. JAMES CAMERON'S AVATAR: THE GAME
  13. VANCOUVER 2010
  14. MAG
  15. NEED FOR SPEED: SHIFT
  16. ASSASSIN'S CREED II
  17. BAYONETTA
  18. PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2010
  19. BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM
  20. MX VS ATV REFLEX
  21. WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2010
  22. DANTE'S INFERNO
  23. CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE
  24. WAY OF THE SAMURAI 3
  25. THE BEATLES: ROCK BAND
  26. ARMY OF TWO: THE 40TH DAY
  27. FALLOUT 3: GAME OF THE YEAR EDITION
  28. DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS
  29. CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR
  30. WHITE KNIGHT CHRONICLES

Pick any games up this last week? Let us know along with any recommendations from last weeks releases in the comments.

 

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