Final Fantasy is one of the most influential franchises ever created. The long-running JRPG franchise is credited with not only turning Square Enix into the giant publisher it is today but also popularizing an entire genre in the western parts of the world. It’s possible that without games like Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy VII we would have never seen JRPGs grow the way they did.
While no single person is responsible for the popularity of Final Fantasy, a lot of credit goes to Hironobu Sakaguchi. He is frequently credited as the creator of Final Fantasy and while he hasn’t touched the series since 2003 his influence on it can’t be understated. Even now his influence can be seen in places like Final Fantasy XIV where, despite him not actually working on the game, he has accidentally created his own clothing line.
Sakaguchi is a big fan of Final Fantasy XIV and has been tweeting about his adventures through the smash hit MMO. However, not only does he make no effort to hide his username, but he used his own name so it would be easier for players to recognize him as they go about the world.
While this is very cool for fans of the franchise, it created an accidental market inefficiency in the game when Sakaguchi would craft items. In Final Fantasy XIV, player crafted items have their name attached to them so when players would buy items from Sakaguchi they would eventually get resold at higher prices because of the name recognition He essentially created a clothing line for himself by complete accident, one that has been dubbed the “sakaGUCCI” line. Since Sakaguchi did not want to break the economy of a game he enjoys he had to find a way around it. He explained what he did in an interview with IGN and also talked about his new potential as a clothing designer.
“Pieces I craft have my name on them, so if I put them on the market they’ll get resold, destroying the game’s balanced economy… But that also means I’m handicapped by not being able to sell what I craft on the market,” he explains.
Sakaguchi’s solution is to make players bind the items to themselves. As a result, players can’t sell the item on the market, but in effect it means that the item is now priceless. Sakaguchi has been conducting giveaways in-games, with some items going to acquaintance and others going to a handful of players, allowing him to put his own unique mark on the world of Final Fantasy 14.
Indeed, Sakaguchi’s career as a fashion designer may be just beginning.
“Please, IGN,” he jokes, “help me collab with the real Gucci.”
The entire interview with IGN is a real treat to read because it lets us see how much Sakaguchi still loves the franchise he helped create despite not working on Final Fantasy anymore, and who knows maybe this is the first step towards him getting an actual Gucci collaboration some day.