In a recent interview with One More Game, Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi joked that he "cheated on Nintendo" with PlayStation for the release of Final Fantasy VII in 1997.
When speaking on the transition from console development to mobile, Sakaguchi looked back on his career and effectively credited the NES and Nintendo for giving him the kickstart he needed back in the '80s. He then joked about cheating on Nintendo with PlayStation before noting how they both serve as an origin point for his career:
"And this isn’t necessarily development related, but I look back at my career and I really got a huge part of my start from the NES and Nintendo. So, without the NES, I would say none of any of this would have been possible, but then, you know, I cheated on Nintendo and went to PlayStation, but whether it was Nintendo or Sony, I think both of those companies in addition to Final Fantasy VI kind of represent a lot of my origin story in terms of my career development."
Sakaguchi's most recent title, FANTASIAN Neo Dimension, is making its way to the Switch on 5th December 2024 via a partnership between developer Mistwalker and Final Fantasy publisher Square Enix. As for the Final Fantasy series, many of the mainline titles can now be found on the Switch, including the iconic PlayStation title, Final Fantasy VII.
We recently spoke with Sakaguchi-san ourselves regarding the upcoming release of Fantasian, so be sure to check that out if you're looking forward to the new release.