It was a bitter disappointment for Final Fantasy fans when E3 2018 came and went without so much as a word about the release date of the long-awaited Final Fantasy 7 remake.
There had been high expectations in the run up to the expo in Los Angeles last month that Square Enix would finally update us on the status of the remake as it was the first time in 3 years that the developer was hosting a dedicated E3 livestream. So that would be the perfect opportunity to make an announcement on such a major upcoming title.
It was actually at their last E3 livestream in 2015 that they announced the Final Fantasy 7 remake but since that time, fans have heard little else. Even the trailer update came out over two years ago.
However, the remake was a disappointing no-show at the event. But perhaps recognizing that feeling among gamers, game director Tetsuya Nomura gave an interview in which he explained the reasoning behind the long wait for updates.
He told the Italian website Multiplayer (via Kingdom Hearts Insider) that there is constant pressure from fans to give updates on the game status and that the demand for information cannot always be met.
'Deciding when to announce your game to the public is always difficult. I understand why some companies wait as long as possible, and I definitely think it's a good thing for them. But in our case, we receive pressure from the fans even when we do not announce anything,' he said.
'They're always asking us "are you working on this?" or "why don't you make a sequel for that?". Even after the announcement, the situation does not change, because then they'll move onto asking us "when will it release?" or "when will you show a new trailer?".'
He also explained that even though they could have waited longer to announce the game, they felt they had to announce it early because otherwise leaks and rumors would have started to circulate.
'People are waiting for new information regardless of whether the game has been announced or not. It's great when we manage to keep it secret for as long as possible, but these days, a lot of important projects become victims of rumors and leaks. Honestly, I prefer that we officially reveal our games instead of seeing a leak or a rumor circulating online,' he said.
Having said that, he admitted that perhaps Square Enix did announce the Final Fantasy 7 remake too early.
'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,' he said.
So with that out of the way, we are still left to guess when the Final Fantasy 7 remake will launch to the PS4. For now, we will just have to settle for the imminent release of Kingdom Hearts 3, which will also be ending a very long wait when it arrives on January 29, 2019.
