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View Full Version : Why a Final Fantasy VII remake will never happen



Spooniest
02-04-2014, 08:31 AM
Yes, we all want it. But we ain't gettin' it.

Right now, it seems far more likely that the entire video game industry is going to collapse of its own weight than anything the longtime fans of video games want to happen, but chief among these prospects is the age-old question of a Final Fantasy VII remake. This is a good idea; don't get me wrong. It would be the most talked-about game for ages to come, and no new assets would have to be designed at all. But it's not going to happen and I'll tell you why: Square-Enix will never have enough money to do it, they don't have any sense of what their fanbase wants, and they're too afraid that people would simply pirate the game to spend the kind of money and get to know their fanbase well enough to make it happen.

Let's be honest here: although this game is a good idea, the production of it would be freaking stratospherically expensive. To make the original PSX version into a high definition game alone would be an undertaking, but the fans are asking for more than that. While we're on the subject, what are we asking for? The short list includes hi-resolution character models, remixed/rerecorded music, a new script, possible new locations, new characters (for those who want the Crisis Core stuff mixed in, which it almost certainly would be), and on top of it all, having to get an ATB system running on a modern system with all of the above already working against them...starting to see where I'm going with this? This game would cost millions of dollars to make, and SE has been flagging lately when it comes to making the big bucks they always used to. Where are they going to get the money? Certainly, video games aren't the moneymakers they used to be, what with the economy being in bad shape, not to mention rampant software piracy. The lack of fundage is strike one.

Secondarily, there is some doubt as to whether SE knows or cares that fans want a remake. They've said they won't do it until they've made a game that surpasses FF7 (though I suspect they mean a game that's a bigger moneymaker than FF7, tbh), but that kind of thinking just proves how out of touch they are with their fans, particularly longtime fans (like myself) who are still playing the old Final Fantasy games from here to kingdom come.

It's an often-talked about subject among the fans; why shouldn't it be an often-talked about subject at SE headquarters?

So this brings me to my final point, which I mentioned a couple of times already: software piracy. Because of the poor state of the economy, and the mercurial nature of the internet, a hotly touted product like a FF7 remake would be a prime target for pirates. If they did release a modern version of FF7, chances are that hundreds of thousands of people will simply pirate the game unless they code in a metric crapton of annoying anti-piracy features. Can you picture no physical copy of the game? DRM out the wazoo? No instruction manual, no box? Yeah.

Because of the state of the video game industry (read: FUBAR), the perceived "niche"-ness of the fanbase's desire for it, and the just plain unrealistic budget it would require, my prediction is that SE will be liquidated long before any serious remake talk even begins.

The tech demo from whenever it was looked wonderful, and I would have played that game silly, but it's destined to go down in history as the biggest cocktease in the history of mass media. The dream is over; what can we say? There is no remake, there never will be a remake, and SE are a bunch of blatherskytes for teasing us with it all those years ago.

Your best bet at this point is to let it go. If dreams of the FF7 remake are your favorite pet, then sorry, but Rover's going to sleep, buckos.


Cid
"Money, moola, dinero!
My dream was just a financial
number to them!"

Skyblade
02-04-2014, 08:48 AM
I think you are wrong in about half of your points.

Tons of new assets would have to be created. Even if you had all the original assets, rebuilding them to high definition would require basically junking the old models and starting over.

The tech demo looked horrible. All the stylization of the original was lost, and a lot of the charm went with it. Could you see Miss Cloud in that graphical style? The humor in the game would just be gone.

Most fans wish the Compilation never existed, and would consider a retcon that included the horrible additions to be a complete betrayal.

Very few fans want the script or areas touched at all. They just want the game the way it was.

Getting the mechanical systems working would be the absolute simplest part of the project. Almost all of the time and effort would be spent on the graphics.

Spooniest
02-04-2014, 10:56 AM
Say what you want, the current trend at SE is towards things that I hate, so I just went with that. The way I figure it, even if they do make one, it'll be full of things I personally hate.

Bubba
02-04-2014, 12:12 PM
even if they do make one, it'll be full of things I personally hate.

This will be the case for everyone, I feel.

I agree with you in that I don't think we'll ever see a remake. Personally, I'm more than happy with the original.

Mercen-X
02-04-2014, 06:35 PM
Tons of new assets would have to be created.
Reply: Agreed

The tech demo looked horrible. All the stylization of the original was lost, and a lot of the charm went with it.
Reply: I thought it looked good up until Cloud jumped off of the train like a one-man wrecking crew.

Most fans wish the Compilation never existed, and would consider a retcon that included the horrible additions to be a complete betrayal.
Reply: Not me, I love Genesis and still wonder if there is a EC title in the works.

Very few fans want the script or areas touched at all. They just want the game the way it was.
Reply: If fans wanted the game the way it was, they wouldn't be asking for a remake.

Anyhow, I haven't the tiniest inkling as to whether Squee will nut up and make this thing. They remade FF3, FF4, FFT, but not FF, FF2, FF5, FF6. There was a fan project that reconstructed the inside of Balamb Garden for FF8 that was shutdown, but it just goes to show that fans want that game remade also. Don't get me wrong. For about four years now, all I've wanted in the remake is for the character models to be cleaned up so I can clearly recognize that they have faces instead of just eyes and slits. Of course, it would also be great if Squee could incorporate the fan-made models that give the characters and weapons better detail. And you can't swap out the characters without swapping out the enemy models, otherwise that'd just look weird.

Spooniest
02-04-2014, 08:39 PM
None of it is going to happen and we should really stop asking.

The only reason SE aren't saying this, imho, is that they're too polite.

Sephiroth
02-04-2014, 08:55 PM
None of it is going to happen and we should really stop asking.

The only reason SE aren't saying this, imho, is that they're too polite.


Rumor: Square Enix Tells Final Fantasy VII Fans to "Let it Go"... Should We? (http://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2012/01/17/rumor-square-enix-tells-final-fantasy-vii-fans-to-let-it-go-should-we/)

Ayen
02-05-2014, 12:23 AM
I don't think anyone can say for certain what Square will or won't do in the future. They ported FFVI on the IOS and redrew the backgrounds, characters and enemies and they didn't seem too worried about the backlash they would suffer if they screwed it up since VI is normally mentioned in the same breath as VII as one of the greatest Final Fantasy games of all time. And unless I'm just out of touch, pretty sure they'd make back whatever the cost would be for remaking VII.

Personally, I don't care if VII is remade or not. I'd want Square to start getting their act together before remaking any more of the old games.

Psychotic
02-05-2014, 08:04 AM
I don't think they have enough money to make it, to be honest with you.

Shaibana
02-05-2014, 01:22 PM
its very 2 sided
ofcourse i want to see what they can do with a re-make of VII
and on the other hands i say: hand off the clasics! becaus there is always the chance that it will only ruin it, just leave it in its glory

Kalevala
02-05-2014, 02:58 PM
I never understood this culture of "remake lust" that seems so prevalent in gaming. I'm interested in new stories, new worlds. If someone wants to remake a classic 40+ years down the line, absolutely. But the medium is far too young to be so preoccupied with remaking games that were released less than two decades ago.

Pumpkin
02-05-2014, 03:07 PM
Yeah, I'm not sure why everyone wants a VII remake either. Granted it isn't my favorite game, but it has a lot of attention to it, spinoffs, a movie, what have you. And if I think about them remaking my favorite game, IX, I'd probably try it out, but more than anything I would be worried about the ruining a game I hold so dear. I think remaking it would actually cause it to lose some of its magic, and I don't want that. I own the game, I can play the game, let that be that.

Ayen
02-05-2014, 04:18 PM
I don't think they have enough money to make it, to be honest with you.

That would explain why they haven't done one yet, all things considered, but I'm at a lost for why they don't just say that. Unless there was a press conference I missed.

Shaibana
02-05-2014, 05:11 PM
I don't think they have enough money to make it, to be honest with you.

That would explain why they haven't done one yet, all things considered, but I'm at a lost for why they don't just say that. Unless there was a press conference I missed.

problably becaus it would harm their pride/ego

Shauna
02-05-2014, 09:11 PM
The FF7 remake will be their last ditch effort to keep the company from going under. And it'll work. Again. Final Final Fantasy.

Ayen
02-05-2014, 09:12 PM
I thought they had gotten out of their financial troubles?

Shauna
02-05-2014, 09:25 PM
I am predicting this for the future, not that they're having trouble just now (that I am aware of).

Ayen
02-05-2014, 09:27 PM
Ohh.

Then yeah, I can see that happening.

Jiro
02-06-2014, 04:27 AM
The $1b figure GTAV made in the first three days counteracts your comments about the industry at large, but I don't disagree with the other points.

black orb
02-06-2014, 08:00 AM
>>> Money?? I just think they dont have the balls to make it, and they are right to be scared. If they mess up with a lame FF7 remake it could backfire at them really badly..:luca:

maybee
02-06-2014, 11:41 AM
Square- Enix are waiting, waiting for that moment were they're in so much trouble, that they might loose everything and then they'll gamble everything on that Final Fantasy VII remake.


They're saying no at the moment, because they're hoping that Final Fantasy XV will be enough to swing them out of the danger lines.

Rostum
02-07-2014, 10:03 AM
FFXIV: ARR has been enough to swing them out of danger lines already. (http://au.ign.com/articles/2014/02/05/square-enix-financials-cast-final-fantasy-14-as-saviour)

Loony BoB
02-07-2014, 10:41 AM
Never is a very strong word and I think a remake will absolutely happen, although I have no idea when. I expect there will come a time that a remake will become such an easy task that they will inevitably do it. Technology advances at a rapid pace these days, and remakes that would have previously taken huge effort are now able to be done on a whim by companies as large as SE.

Mercen-X
02-07-2014, 07:14 PM
April 30, 2116: Yoshinori Kitase (sporting a stylish infrared left eye) announces the assembly of a development team which will remake the Final Fantasy classics rather than focusing on new material. When asked if that will include Final Fantasy VII, Kitase declines to respond.