Square-Enix Still Isn't Remaking FF7

[Slycne]

I get the feeling that SqEnix has something against money. Maybe someone over there has a fear of drowning in all the money they'd make on a remake?

This is why I believe they're hiding the painful truth behind PR speak. If there was a reasonable chance that they could turn a profit on remaking FF7 they would have done it already. Either cost of production, some weird legal rights, market research on projected purchases or some combination of those has turned them off from the project. While not every company makes good decisions 100% of the time, they are ultimately in the business of making money. Hiding behind "we want to explore new worlds" sounds nice, but it seems pretty clear that they think a remake of FF7 isn't profitable enough.

People keep saying it would cost too much to remake Final Fantasy VII. I call BS on that. In Final Fantasy VII they already have a designed game, story and dialogue. Isn't that like a year of planning (and salaries) right there?

They need to improve the graphics, hire some voice actors and clean up the confusing dialogue.

If they can afford to make new games then they can afford to remake FF7. The difference between a new game and FF7 is that people actually want FF7. SE's reputation isn't so great right now so a new game may be a harder sell.

Except those are none of those are time consuming or costly elements to creating games. Think about how long it takes a writer to pen some dialogue and compare that to working on a single texture.

 

[Vivi22]

Lots of people would like to see a remake of FF7, but they are pretty quiet nowadays.

They've been quiet because it's been a while since the current generation of consoles came out and they've been told 50 times they aren't making it. At least HL fans are probably going to get another HL title eventually (and were actually promised one years ago). Wait for the next-gen consoles to be announced and we'll see if FF7 remake people stay quiet. I just hope Square doesn't release another redo of an FF7 FMV (or for that matter, that a gaming site or magazine doesn't indicate it's being made months after Square already denied it like EGM did back in the day) or I'll have to avoid the internet for a few years.

 

[TheLastSamurai14]

I still want that FFV 3DS remake. That game's 20 years old this year. Alas, it won't happen. However, maybe for VII's 20th, Square will do something special in relation to VII's world.

 

[OrpheusTelos]

Honestly, I think they should make an open world (single player) ARPG title. ].

They did, it was called Final Fantasy XII.

Eh... I would say that FFXII(which is my favorite FF in the past several years) was open-ish at best. Certainly better than FFX or FFXII in that regard, but then a noose would be less restrictive than either of those games. Also? Not an ARPG.

The thing that does it for me with Dark Souls and (hopefully) Dragon's Dogma is that it is nice to see a Japanese take on what was traditionally a western style of game. With Capcom you get a high action game(at least that's what I got from the demo) which makes sense because that is what they've historically done best. From obviously is channeling King's Field with their Souls games. It would be kind of cool to see what Squeenix's take would be since they have so many franchises to take inspiration from.

Of course, that could validate your post completely if you wanted to interpret FFXII as Squeenix taking the open world concept and making it less open. That would kind of keep the above theme going, though not in a completely positive way.

It's never going to be an ARPG, it's Japanese. xD

FFXII is similar to Xenoblade in the sense that it incorporates MMO concepts and elements of WRPG design (much wider open world), but keeps a JRPG sense of style. It's an interesting step forward for the genre, and I hope Square's been paying attention to Xenoblade for when the time comes to plan FFXV.

 

[OrpheusTelos]

probably ditch the superb battle system for something closer to XII or XIII's awful "modern" systems.

.

You mean the same Active Time Battle System they've been using since the mid-90s? yeah, that was horrible, wasn't it. ;D

 

[Grey Day for Elcia]

Why does the Escapist rewrite so many news articles from other places? Hardly news if you're just relaying a message we could get from your source >_>

 

[Scars Unseen]

Honestly, I think they should make an open world (single player) ARPG title. ].

They did, it was called Final Fantasy XII.

Eh... I would say that FFXII(which is my favorite FF in the past several years) was open-ish at best. Certainly better than FFX or FFXII in that regard, but then a noose would be less restrictive than either of those games. Also? Not an ARPG.

The thing that does it for me with Dark Souls and (hopefully) Dragon's Dogma is that it is nice to see a Japanese take on what was traditionally a western style of game. With Capcom you get a high action game(at least that's what I got from the demo) which makes sense because that is what they've historically done best. From obviously is channeling King's Field with their Souls games. It would be kind of cool to see what Squeenix's take would be since they have so many franchises to take inspiration from.

Of course, that could validate your post completely if you wanted to interpret FFXII as Squeenix taking the open world concept and making it less open. That would kind of keep the above theme going, though not in a completely positive way.

It's never going to be an ARPG, it's Japanese. xD

FFXII is similar to Xenoblade in the sense that it incorporates MMO concepts and elements of WRPG design (much wider open world), but keeps a JRPG sense of style. It's an interesting step forward for the genre, and I hope Square's been paying attention to Xenoblade for when the time comes to plan FFXV.

Hrrm? What does being Japanese have to do with anything? Dark Souls is a Japanese game. So is Dragon's Dogma. So was Brave Fencer Musashi(an ARPG that Square made 14 years ago). And yeah, I know that FFXII was a RPG with MMO(FFXI specifically) features. That's why I was puzzled when you claimed that it was an open world ARPG.

 

[Scars Unseen]

Why does the Escapist rewrite so many news articles from other places? Hardly news if you're just relaying a message we could get from your source >_>

Because not everyone wants to browse through dozens of websites daily to find out what's going on in the world(or hobby, as is the case with gaming). Following that logic, should we then have to go to the original source to find out what the fuss is about? I can see the headline now: "In Depth Interview with Minecraft Creator, Notch. If You Want to Know What We Talked About, Go Ask Him Yourself."

 

[Grey Day for Elcia]

Why does the Escapist rewrite so many news articles from other places? Hardly news if you're just relaying a message we could get from your source >_>

Because not everyone wants to browse through dozens of websites daily to find out what's going on in the world(or hobby, as is the case with gaming). Following that logic, should we then have to go to the original source to find out what the fuss is about? I can see the headline now: "In Depth Interview with Minecraft Creator, Notch. If You Want to Know What We Talked About, Go Ask Him Yourself."

No, no, no. I mean there's never any original news here; every single news article is a rewrite of the source. How come the Escapist isn't being the source for other people for a change?

 

[Monsterfurby]

They know they couldn't possibly live up to expectations.

In addition, many of those who played JRPGs back then have kind of outgrown the genre.

For example, I simply can't enjoy the broad characters and linear plots anymore, even though I loved them back in the day.

So yeah, better to let sleeping dogs lie.

 

[Scars Unseen]

Why does the Escapist rewrite so many news articles from other places? Hardly news if you're just relaying a message we could get from your source >_>

Because not everyone wants to browse through dozens of websites daily to find out what's going on in the world(or hobby, as is the case with gaming). Following that logic, should we then have to go to the original source to find out what the fuss is about? I can see the headline now: "In Depth Interview with Minecraft Creator, Notch. If You Want to Know What We Talked About, Go Ask Him Yourself."

No, no, no. I mean there's never any original news here; every single news article is a rewrite of the source. How come the Escapist isn't being the source for other people for a change?

Because this isn't a news site. Not really. You may notice that the articles are never neutral in tone. The author always inserts his opinion. News sites hire people to go out and find news, engage and interviews, etc. That's not really what this site is for. If you needed any indication that this is so, just realize that a fair portion of the articles you read in the news section are authored by a someone who writes a web comic. That's kind of like putting Conan O'Brien on CNN News(no offense, Mr. Carter).

 

[Space Spoons]

probably ditch the superb battle system for something closer to XII or XIII's awful "modern" systems.

.

You mean the same Active Time Battle System they've been using since the mid-90s? yeah, that was horrible, wasn't it. ;D

I hope this is a facetious remark, because neither XII nor XIII used the traditional ATB system. They employed ATB guages, yes, but this is where the similarities end.

XII used the Active Dimension Battle (ADB) system, a vaguely MMO sort of style that relied heavily on the player being able to move around the battlefield (AoE spells are a good example of this) and a set of pre-programmed autocommands called 'Gambits.'

XIII used the Command Synergy Battle (CSB) system, which does away with turns as a measure of time and instead employs them sort of like "action points". CSB places huge emphasis on party synergy, and while it's an interesting concept on paper, taking control of the party away from the player seemed like a huge mistake to me. What manner of Final Fantasy game allows you to control just ONE member of your party and places the others under AI control? I'll tell you- a bad Final Fantasy game.

Now, if XII and XIII had stuck to a more traditional system- a truly turn-based system that used the ATB and nothing else, like what was employed in VII- they would have been better games. But that's just my opinion on it, and my JRPG preferences are decidedly old school.

 

[David VanDusen]

But on the other hand, I think it's pretty clear that this is what their fanbase is REALLY wanting, and refusing to even consider the option seems a bit cold on their part. Square isn't exactly beloved by its fanbase right now, this is something that could potentially bring a lot of people back to them.

I'm damn tired of hearing this. I don't know what rock people live under but WHITE PEOPLE ARE NOT SQUARE ENIX'S FANBASE.

Jesus, have you all seriously failed to realize they DO NOT care about making games for Westerners? This isn't new... this isn't obscurely hidden knowledge.

The reason they have no intention on remaking this game is due to the lack of interest/demand from Japan. While there might be "some interest" that culture doesn't really "demand" this sort of thing, and Square Enix with all their hemorrhaging of money these last few years, isn't going to invest the bank in this project.

 

[Mortuorum]

So... essentially... Square-Enix doesn't like making money?

 

[Dr. Octogonopus]

Square-Enix wanted to make new games that it hoped would equal or even surpass the titans of ages past.

Square Enix: The company that brought you Final Fantasy X-2 and Dirge of Cerberus. Knowing what fans want since 2003

Square Enix really does seem to be having hearing problems
Fans: We want Final Fantasy 7: HD
SE: They want Final Fantasy 7: The Sequel, The Prequel and The Movie
Fans: We hate XIII. Bring back the old school final fantasy style
SE: They want more XIII. Bring in the sequel........also DLC

The fact that questions about an HD ff7 comes up in almost every SE interview says something. People clearly want this game to be made. But Square Enix sticks to their reasoning of too much time and production cost while at the same time spending their efforts on shitty sequels and prequels. Now I didn't mind XIII, it wasn't a bad game it just wasn't a great game (something that SE delivered in the past). But was XIII-2 really necessary? I finished XIII and at no point did I think "wow great ending I wonder what happens next?" Also what is with the obsession with final fantasy sequels and really bad J-Pop?

If Square Enix doesn't want to remake 7 then fair enough its their choice. But then don't release remade HD footage of the opening cutscene, thats just unfair. People see an updated cutscene then they expect an updated game. I can understand that the clip was made to show the PS3 and the Advent Children movie, but then they should have used an original scene or made a more traditional movie trailer. I can also understand that they choose a famous cutscene to make it easily recognizable with Final Fantasy but surely characters like Cloud and Sephiroth are such a big part of gaming culture that just using these two characters in a fight scene trailer would have sufficed?

Also why does it have to be done in super eye raping HD? A slight update would be nice. Similar graphics to crisis core would make me happy. Hell just giving the characters proper hands instead of cow hooves or proper SOLDIER uniforms instead of purple PJs would do.

 

[Dr. Octogonopus]

But on the other hand, I think it's pretty clear that this is what their fanbase is REALLY wanting, and refusing to even consider the option seems a bit cold on their part. Square isn't exactly beloved by its fanbase right now, this is something that could potentially bring a lot of people back to them.

I'm damn tired of hearing this. I don't know what rock people live under but WHITE PEOPLE ARE NOT SQUARE ENIX'S FANBASE.

Jesus, have you all seriously failed to realize they DO NOT care about making games for Westerners? This isn't new... this isn't obscurely hidden knowledge.

The reason they have no intention on remaking this game is due to the lack of interest/demand from Japan. While there might be "some interest" that culture doesn't really "demand" this sort of thing, and Square Enix with all their hemorrhaging of money these last few years, isn't going to invest the bank in this project.

?????

Firstly no one has stated that they think that caps lock white people are SE's fan base.
Secondly the question of a remake was asked by a Japanese reporter for a Japan gaming magazine so I would assume that Japanese people or even JAPANESE PEOPLE are interested in a remake

 

[dexxyoto]

Shamus did a great column in Experienced Points about why a) doing a remake would be a stupid amount of money and b) Why the fanboys would probably still hate it. I wish they'd just read that. Then if they were still intent on a remake they could maybe do it themselves.

I kinda feel frustrated that articles abou an ff7 remake keep coming up over and over again. It just continues to feel more whiny and petulant.

 

[Frostbyte666]

As much as I'd love a remake I'd happily settle for some new games. Their argument however loses weight when they go on about remaking X. I mean why? It's not old, the graphics are good, the voice acting is just awful. Also please finish and release Versus XIII that actually regained my interest in Final Fantasy after X.

 

[Strain42]

But on the other hand, I think it's pretty clear that this is what their fanbase is REALLY wanting, and refusing to even consider the option seems a bit cold on their part. Square isn't exactly beloved by its fanbase right now, this is something that could potentially bring a lot of people back to them.

I'm damn tired of hearing this. I don't know what rock people live under but WHITE PEOPLE ARE NOT SQUARE ENIX'S FANBASE.

Jesus, have you all seriously failed to realize they DO NOT care about making games for Westerners? This isn't new... this isn't obscurely hidden knowledge.

The reason they have no intention on remaking this game is due to the lack of interest/demand from Japan. While there might be "some interest" that culture doesn't really "demand" this sort of thing, and Square Enix with all their hemorrhaging of money these last few years, isn't going to invest the bank in this project.

A. I never said that they were, and why on earth would you try and bring skin color into this?
B. Kudos to you for apparently having psychic powers and being able to tell what every gamer in Japan wants.
C. Any Japanese developer that ignores the western fanbase is foolish, especially in these times when game sales are down. There are plenty of Japanese developers that are aware of and listen to what western audiences think of their games. It's a bad idea to ignore and pretty large chunk of your buyers just because they're in another country.

 

[Nerexor]

Square-Enix wanted to make new games that it hoped would equal or even surpass the titans of ages past.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... *gasp* *gasp* *gasp* AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

You have got to be joking. The only way modern squeenix games could suck harder is with a vacuum attachment. The jokers who brought us FFXII: Final Fantasy the Really Dull movie, FFX-2: Final Fantasy the Dress up Game, and FFXIII: "It totally gets good 30 hours in we swear" expect to somehow equal or surpass Square titles FFVI, FFVII, Secret of Evermore, Super Mario RPG or Chrono Trigger? Or Enix titles like Illusions of Gaia and Terranigma? Give it up now and focus on remakes guys. Your separate past is all you have going for you, and everyone knows it.