Yesterday saw the launch of Square Enix’s latest epic Final Fantasy XVI. Fans of the franchise have been clamouring to get their hands on the game, but some now seem to be finding it difficult to actually play, with reports indicating some players’ consoles are overheating during the behemoth boss battles, and turning off completely!
Related: Square Enix’s Highly Anticipated Final Fantasy XVI Launches Today – Are You Going to be Playing?
This is an issue that many mentioned during their reviews of the game, and although the game has been scored incredibly favourably, it is still a worrying issue to have for such a high-profile game in the age of supposed ‘next-gen’ capabilities on consoles.
Final Fantasy XVI Can’t Be to Blame, Right?
With games being held under such scrutiny by fan bases these days, largely due to increased development times and half-finished games being launched, every little piece of negativity seems to be seized upon and pulled apart. However, for the most part it seems that fans are giving Square Enix a little bit of understanding. This isn’t the first time a game has caused hardware problems, with the likes of Gotham Knights, Resident Evil 4 Remake and others have adverse affects on consoles.
Some people have even highlighted other possible causes to the issue.
If they have their PS5 locked in a cabinet under your TV. You got to give it room to breathe because it blowing its hot air from its back. This is how you keep system alive. My PS5 is still alive and I had mines sine January 2nd 2021
— SteddiFLo (@SteddiFL0) June 21, 2023
And again mentioned that perhaps the game isn’t the problem, but in fact the console itself.
This isn’t new, this does also occasionally happen with Yakuza like a dragon and Gotham Knights, either it’s a problem with the console or the games, I honestly think it could be both
I’d rather a game run well and not blow up my ps5 than it look beautiful
— Izanagi (@ResidentLeon4R) June 21, 2023
For anyone that has seen or played Final Fantasy XVI it’s little surprise that the game can cause such a huge strain on the PS5, but with Square Enix reportedly looking into the issue in an attempt to patch and mitigate the circumstances, it shouldn’t be long before we’re all able to enjoy those gigantic, intimidating and frankly remarkable boss fights without worrying about our consoles taking off.
Along with the obvious issue of the console overheating, this once again brings to the fore the conversation surrounding frame rates, performance or visual modes and the preference for an individual. With Starfield recently being announced to be locked at 30FPS at launch, and many games launching with modes that’ll allow players to prioritize game performance – dropping frame rates, slightly lower graphical fidelity – or graphical look – the inverse -, it does make you wonder why developers allow the inclusion of potentially console-destroying modes in a game they’re launching in the first place.
But as with anything, this is only a small amount of players suffering from this problem, so if you’re playing and your version is fine, fantastic. If you’re suffering, give your console a good clean and put it in front of a fan, and then go destroy that boss!
Have you bought Final Fantasy XVI? If so, have you had any issues? Let us know in the comments!
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