Final Fantasy VII is one of the most successful games of all time, and it certainly defined the JRPG; giving it massive exposure in the western market. For many, it was the first JRPG that they'd played and it holds a special place in the hearts and minds of many.

Fans have been caught in mass hysteria numerous times, starting with the Final Fantasy VII Tech Demo, and more recently when the Final Fantasy VII Playstation 3 was announced last month. Square Enix must clearly know the huge potential that this game has, and the purpose of this article is to discuss the impact that it could have, combined with analysis about what's taking Square Enix so long to announce it.

To start off, it's important to say the obvious. Final Fantasy VII on Playstation 3 is something which many fans crave more than anything and by now it's probably more a case of "when" than "if". This time last year, the director of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (Hajime Tabata) claimed that a Final Fantasy VII remake would become a very real possibility once the development schedules of original staff members opened up. This would happen once Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII are complete.

There is also Square Enix's recent track record concerning remakes to consider, and how popular they have also been from a sales perspective. All of their four recent remakes have sold over 1 million units, with Final Fantasy III achieving over 2 million. If this is compared to Final Fantasy VII, the sales could be staggering as Final Fantasy III's sales don't even equate to half of the units Final Fantasy VII sold when it was initially released.

What would be the impact?

The main question is, would a full Final Fantasy VII remake shift consoles? It's quite hard to tell, but it could be one of the factors that is delaying Square Enix's response. They clearly didn't think the Playstation 3 had sold enough to give them a big return on Final Fantasy XIII, so they could be waiting until there are more sold to reap the largest benefits. However, it could be argued that if the game sold consoles on its own merits, that point is negated.

For Sony, a Final Fantasy VII remake would be huge, especially since they were so invested in the original and this could be one of the factors which decides its future destination.

From Square Enix's perspective, there are the current major titles in development, but there are also other factors. Nobody yet knows whether there will be a continuation on from Dirge of Cerberus, and this could be a higher priority than a Final Fantasy VII Remake - either of them might already be in development.

The Summation

In conclusion, it's easy to presume that it will happen. Square Enix have signalled their intentions of late, and this trend is sure to continue. A Final Fantasy VII Remake is a proverbial goldmine and they know it.

http://www.finalfantasyunion.com/news/final-fantasy-vii-remake-coming-to-ps3-when-not-if--337.html

I agree, it will be made. Will it be a PS3 exclusive or will it even be on PS3? ... I don't know. Sony published the game in the us and europe, I don't know if it allows SE to release it on a non PS console.

Ah, the clear-eyed analysis of some website called Final Fantasy Union. Surely they wouldn't be given to wishful thinking or anything.

Will probably eventually happen, I guess, but with FFXIII and Versus, I wouldn't expect it for a very, very long time. Plus they seem to be doing remakes in order, so V and VI are next. I'd much rather see VI get a big budget remake than VII.

If anything they'll just port the original to a handheld. Look how long FF13 has taken to make. PS3 will probably be dead before another one is made.

It will not be made, on the PS3 or any other platform, for the simple reason that it will not satisfy anybody. Fanboys will BAWWWWW about any changes that are made to the game whatsoever, but if no changes are made then they'll BAWWWWW about that as well.

Square-Enix has no winning moves here, and it knows this. The only smart thing to do, therefore, is not to play in the first place, and that means no remake. Continuations and prequels, certainly, and a few generations from now we might even see a movie adaptation, Advent Children-style. But a remake? Not a chance.

Not really, the PS3 has the 10 year plan! =P

But with how long SE takes to make games... I don't think that'll help.

As for "fanboys will BAWWWWW"... if they will, they are just assholes. What's better than FF VII in Full HD? I can only think of... FF VI in Full HD.. but the likesness of it being remade is even smaller.

I think they would BAWWWW about changes just like MGS fans got mad about MGS Twin Snakes. Remember Snake turning into Dante and doing a whole bunch of matrix type shit? It'd probably be the same thing with the FFVII remake with Cloud doing a whole bunch of shit that never happened in the original.

What could he possibly do beside looking HD-nsome? =P

More content is usually good, I don't beleive they'll add anything bad to FF VII.