Myself and millions of other fans of the Final Fantasy franchise were undoubtedly disappointed when no new news on the Final Fantasy VII remake was revealed during this year’s E3. This was a big event for Square Enix this time around and the fact that they held their own livestream gave me hope that they would release at least a little somethin’ somethin’ to keep us satiated until the next tidbit of information. However, this sadly was not the case.
While no fresh news on the game ever materialized, we have gotten a confession of sorts from game director Tetsuya Nomura, revealing that he thinks the announcement Square Enix was embarking on a task that fans have literally been clamoring for over a decade was probably announced way too early. Given that the announcement was made in the first place, this admission doesn’t bode well for being able to play the game any time in the near future.
Speaking with the Italian website Multiplayer (via Kingdom Hearts Insider), in regards to the 2015 reveal, Nomura stated, “I am well aware of the fact that we announced it too early, but even in the industry, word was beginning to spread that we were working on the game, so we just decided not to keep it more secret and officially reveal it.”
I don’t want to sound like I am complaining, however, because the fact is we did get some admittedly good reveals during the livestream like a launch date for Nomura’s other even-longer-in-development project, Kingdom Hearts 3, which is slated for release on Jan. 29, 2019. If you haven’t figured it out yet, this probably means that the FFVII remake is definitely out of the concept stage and is being developed in tandem with KH3.
Keeping in the tradition of announcing their projects too early, Nomura also revealed that he thought that the KH3 announcement was made too early, as well. “Deciding when to announce your game to the public is always difficult,” he said. “In our case, we receive pressure from the fans even when we do not announce anything. … People are waiting for new information regardless of whether the game has been announced or not.”
If you have been keeping tabs, E3 2018 was the third straight E3 where Square Enix had nothing to show or say about the Final Fantasy 7 remake. Nomura admitted that he prefers to reveal games that he is working on before rumors or leaks upstage what he and his team are doing. He thinks that being transparent up front about the games that are in the works, as well as the challenges that the team is facing, is better for everyone, even if fans are left waiting for years to play said games.
