Not surprised I know a couple of guys who are waiting for the whole trilogy to be made before they buy parts 2&3. I can see why, less investment if part 2 or 3 are bad.

This makes me very sad, as FF7R is a masterpiece. Unfortunately FF hasn't been able to grow since FFXII. An aging fanbase and youth with different gaming preferences is making it harder-and-harder for SE to make a hit. Worrying for how they're going to handle future FF installments...

Sad not always quality is rewarded

A shame really, I'm about 30 hours in at the moment, and judging by what I've seen so far, it's very likely going to end up as my GotY. Of course, there's still time for my opinion to change, but at this point I'd say it's a fairly noticeable improvement on the first part, and I loved that one as well. Easily one of the best games I've played in recent years.

Comparing launch prices, Rebirth is around 50% more expensive than Remake was in my country (£70 vs £45/£50)

Give it a couple of months and you can pick this up pre-owned for about £30. The strat for many people is to wait for a discount.

Is that including Spider-man 2 bundles?

I feel like the key difference is the unknown surprise factor.  We all know roughly how the FF7 storyline goes and this series was just simply stretched into 3 games so it doesn't feel as enticing to pick up right away anymore. Whereas gamers are way more excited about a sequel to a game they really enjoyed not knowing anything about what the sequel is about. 

Overall it's unfortunate, but lets hope Square realizes not to do this again if they want to remake another FF game in the future.  I'd love a FF8 and FF9 remake, but best not to stretch out the story into 3 discs.

Square should really evaluate whether they should even make part 3

SE should in my opinion evaluate how much longer the IP is economically viable. It's almost impossible for FF to pull a God of War

More like Sony is going to have to evaluate if giving SE 100 million dollars and additional first party help to create the games is worth it.

They have to finish it. They need to reevaluate what the focus should be though. Rebirth is one the most overcooked games I have ever played. A lot of fat trimming is in order. FF16 and Rebirth in a blender would be a good start. 

I also agree with this. Final Fantasy was called a "Boomer franchise" by a user who's name I forgot. Those Boomers are slowing leaving the franchise and no replacements are coming in. Dragon's Dogma outsold Final Fantasy? That has to be eye turning for SE.