Games Inbox: Is Final Fantasy 7 still the most popular JRPG?

The Monday letters page is very dubious about the potential for the live action Zelda movie, as one reader looks forward to Take-Two’s post-GTA 6 era.

Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Remake revelation
I see Final Fantasy 7 Revelation is due to be shown at Gamescom Opening Night Live and that makes me happy, but I have noticed a general lack of hype for the game and the remake trilogy in general over the last few years. This is a real shame because in my view it’s an excellent remake and one of the best Japanese role-players of all-time, regardless of its connection to the old game.

In fact, I’ve begun to think that it’s the old game that’s holding things back. It’s going to be 30 years old next year and that means you’ve got to be a certain age to remember or appreciate it, because I really don’t think many people are going to get much enjoyment out of playing the original PS1 or PC version. Final Fantasy 7’s days of being the most popular Japanese role-player are well behind it, in my view.

Obviously, that’s the main reason for doing the remake but I think Square Enix have realised that people not knowing the original or thinking they need to know it to appreciate the new one is putting people off. Being of the right age I don’t see it like that, but I honestly think the first two are great games that anyone can enjoy, and I expect the third one will be too.
Korbie

Yachts for everyone
Being only moderately interested in GTA 6 I’m more interested in what happens after it comes out and Take-Two have more money than they know what to do with. I realise, obviously, most of their windfall is going to be spent on exec bonuses but surely they’ll be looking to put at least 1% of their profits into making new games, and 1% of GTA 6’s profits is nearly infinite.

I read that they have 29 games in development right now, so even though they’ve cancelled one they’ve still got a lot more on the go, hopefully including Bioshock 4.

I agree that it is a worry that GTA 6 is going to be too big, and blot out everything else, especially if it has user-generated content like Roblox. But at this point I feel we’ve got to be optimistic and the best case scenario is that GTA 6 makes so much money Take-Two doesn’t have to try ever again, and just funds whatever because there’s no way it can lose more money than GTA 6 makes. At least there’s a chance, right?
Tacle

GC: Take-Two has said this sort of thing before, about having a dozen or more games in development, and nothing ever comes of it. We think they must be counting Zynga and/or multiple versions of the same game on different formats.

No way out
Agree completely with the Reader’s Feature about Mass Effect and BioWare needing to get out from under the control of EA. But I don’t think it’s going to happen. Double Fine might have left Microsoft but they had to lay off people just to keep the lights on and I doubt they’ll last much longer, not making the sort of games they used to anyway.

If BioWare did split off I don’t think there’s much chance that they’d be able to last long either and they definitely wouldn’t have the sort of budget they need to make Mass Effect. It’s like the reader said, Mass Effect is big but not that big, and it’s smaller now that it’s ever been, since it hasn’t had a proper new game out in ages. I think the only chance we have for a new game is if they stay on at EA, but I don’t think that chance is very big.
The Bishop

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Public demand
Regarding Sony going all-digital and people complaining. I saw in the Inbox recently, someone saying they’re not interested in what we think and are not going to do what we want. If you are referring to the general population with we then these statements are false. They are acting on exactly what we have been doing and choosing for the last few years.

85% of sales are digital. That’s a vast majority of people voting with their wallets, consistently. Times are changing, it’s not our world any more. Now we just need to end the ridiculous concept of every household owning a valuable piece of tech with RAM and storage space in it and move to the inevitable future of everybody streaming from one central super computer.

All of these things are inevitable and necessary, we have been wasteful and hubristic and needs to change, I for one hope it’s not too late.
Alex

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Fight the future
When the Switch 2 is done and dusted in 10 years’ time, I really hope Nintendo name their next console Phoenix.

Reinvent console gaming just as they did with NES and the Wii, with innovative ideas. Let’s see the competition jump on the bandwagon.

Mandatory streaming of video games is not the future…

It will be, but not just yet.
G4RBO

Catching up
So the Xbox Series S is almost the same price as the Xbox Series X was at launch now. So what’s the point in the Xbox Series S, as it was supposed to be the budget entry into the next gen? Also, what other trump card do Xbox have up their sleeves to kickstart sales? I get the argument that it’s AI’s fault and component prices, but this is getting ridiculous.

Such a shame because this is the perfect time to reduce Xbox Series X/S and bundle it with Forza Horizon, Gears Of War, Halo, etc. before GTA 6 arrives. I bought the Xbox Series X four years ago and I just can’t believe the price of it now and how Microsoft had no contingency plans in place for any of this.
icelticghost
PS: I agree with a letter commenting on Assassin’s Creed and the Roman Empire. I agree with you that Ubisoft is maybe keeping that as a last resort. Ever since I was a kid, I was fascinated with that time period and an Assassin’s Creed game during that era could have limitless possibilities. It could be set during the first emperor Augustus, the Roman Civil War, or the Punic Wars. Ubisoft have so much to work with there.

Blu movies
I’ve just realised, if Sony is ending Blu-ray discs for games, doesn’t that mean it will force Xbox to do the same?

Sony owns the rights to Blu-ray and if they’re saying no more surely that’s making Xbox do the same? Even if they don’t want to.
David

GC: No, the Blu-ray format was co-developed by Sony, but it’s used for many other things, including movies (and including Sony Pictures movies). Sony has only said that it’s stopping making discs for PlayStation 5.

Legendary reputation
The problem with a Zelda live action film is that it all depends on the script. They’ve got the actors, including the late lamented Sam Neill, and I assume the effects will be good, but when was the last time one of these sort of films had a decent script, with a logical plot and good dialogue? It definitely wasn’t either of the Super Mario Bros. movies.

I can just imagine Sam Neill reading the script and doubling his fee immediately, and even then he probably only did it because it’s being filmed in New Zealand. I doubt anyone could make a Zelda movie make sense and be entertaining on anything but a visual level and this film has got the scriptwriter of Pacific Rim Uprising… so I think that makes it physically impossible that it could be good.

And then Nintendo will have three critically mauled movies in a row. Never mind how much they make (and I can’t imagine the Zelda one will make even half of what Mario does) the damage to Nintendo’s reputation I think is worrying.

To a non-gamer, Nintendo is not the maker of the finest video games in history but that company that keeps making the hyperactive kids’ movies with no plot and constant references to things they don’t understand.

I get that the films are profitable, but does it have to be at any cost? At some point these films are going to stop being box office gold (the second Mario movie was already down on the first) and then Nintendo is back to square one, relying only on games and its newly ruined reputation.
Bison

Inbox also-rans
I’m going to bet the reason Sony didn’t send out review copies of Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls ahead of time is because of the PC version being bad, nothing to do with the PlayStation 5 version. Not exactly good for creating early hype.
Winston

It’s crazy that it’s now 10 years since Super Mario Odyssey and yet despite two Mario movies, that did really well, there’s still absolutely no sign of a new game. I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t even out next year.
Gildar

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