Final Fantasy VII Remake was in development before PS4 PC port announcement
Crazier elements seem likely to remain in place.
The Final Fantasy VII Remake announced at E3 was in development before Square Enix announced the PlayStation 4 PC version port at PlayStation Experience in December, project director Tetsuya Nomura said during a round table interview at E3 (via Eurogamer).
“When we announced the HD port, the PC port on the PS4, we weren’t sure when we wanted to announce the remake,” Nomura said. “The production was underway then, so there’s no real connection between the timing of the two Final Fantasy VIIs coming to PS4. We’ve announced several different titles coming to the PlayStation 4 like World of Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts III.”
Square Enix hopes the announcement of the remake will help boost PlayStation 4 console sales in Japan, which has seen a slow uptake in its home country.
“There’s more and more titles being introduced for the platform, and we’re hoping that announcing the remake of Final Fantasy VII, it’ll give a boost to people wanting to buy this current generation of console,” Nomura said. “If we announced the remake after all those titles have been sold, it wouldn’t have created such an impact, so that’s why we decided on this timing. We wanted to reassure players that PlayStation 4 is coming out with great titles including Final Fantasy VII. That’s why we decided to announce the remake.”
A remake has been requested by fans for years. So why now?
Nomura explained, “The talks about making this remake, internally it’s been mentioned on and off. Sometimes we think we can do it, and then sometimes we think maybe we can’t. Considering some of the original staff, like Kitase, he’s acting as producer, and [Kazushige] Nojima, he’s doing the script – we’re all getting older! If we keep going like this, the thought occurred to us that we might have to pass this on to a younger generation, without the original developers taking part. It doesn’t seem like such a grand intention, but we wanted to do it with the original members.”
The teaser trailer showcased a bit of a darker aesthetic than we’re used to. But if Nomura is to go by, the game’s craizer elements should remain in place. “Please look forward to it,” Nomura said when the topic of Cloud in a dress was brought up.