Unsurprisingly, Final Fantasy 7 Remake's Future May Not Be PS5 Exclusive

The era of exclusivity is dead for everyone except Nintendo. PlayStation on PC, Xbox on PlayStation.
The console wars simply are not profitable any more.

Yeah but in what form. Don't get me wrong because I will double dip if it's completely physical on switch 2. But rebirth and part 3 will be heavily downscaled for S2. And if part 1 won't sell that well I wouldn't be surprised if they won't make the effort.

If more people get to play them then great! Rebirth is one hell of a game

It still wont meet their sales expectations....

Doesn't make a difference to me either way. Final Fantasy, much like Resident Evil or Crash Bandicoot, will always be a "PlayStation series" in my head. I'll never play them anywhere else

Might as well push it out to every viable platform. Even Sony doesn't keep its games on Playstation anymore.

@1UP-HUSKY I genuinely can't imagine the company that is publishing a 3DS game remaster as a Game-Key Card won't also publish these as Game-Key Cards.

I disagree, @LifeGirl. It is dead as far as Xbox is concerned because they have surrendered, Their games have been on the PC day and date for years, and now they are putting them on the PlayStation too, and soon all their games from this generation will make the transition to the PS, and all their games will be day and date on the PS too. It's just a matter of time before that happens.

As for PlayStation, they will still pursue at the very least timed exclusivity. Xbox has only had one AAA timed exclusive this generation in S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2. In that same time, the PlayStation has had numerous third-party exclusives and timed exclusives.

PlayStation is hands down winning the console sales race this generation (as they did last generation), and so they can pursue third-party exclusives, whereas Microsoft cannot for the Xbox. Clearly the practice is working for Sony, and so they will double down on this in the future. Of this I have absolutely no doubt. Will they be timed-exclusives as opposed to wholly exclusive? Yes, most likely because game development is so expensive these days and those costs need to be recouped. However, I would be utterly gobsmacked it Sony gave up on having at least timed-exclusives...

I mean.. Yeah? They want some ROI and that wasn't gonna happen with it only being on PS5, hence the PC version. Will probably come to Xbox eventually too.

@joeyflannel I can understand that to an extent. I did relate Final Fantasy to PlayStation for a long time until the GBA came out (makes me feel old).

My first Resident Evil game was RE2 on N64, then Zero and RE 1 remake on GameCube, then 4 exclusive to GC, then the ports of 2 & 3 on GC. RE has strong Nintendo roots for me.

Crash Bandicoot does still resonate “PlayStation” for me, but feels strange that he’s technically a Xbox mascot now.

The more the merrier. It doesn't make much sense for SE to keep this on PS only. Just release the next part on as many system as possible on day one.

@Ralizah Of you count PC as a console platform, sure.

@EvilBear Yeah, Resi does have a strong Nintendo connection too because of the Gamecube, and I assume most of the modern ones will get ported to Switch 2.
I have played Crash on Xbox many times, and just something about it didn't feel right to me, which is probably just my brain.
On the inverse, something like Dishonored or Bioshock is deeply rooted in Xbox for me. If/when we get another entry in one of those series, even if they ran better on PS5 Pro, I'm still playing them on an Xbox console (assuming those exist in a few years lol)

I hope SE keeps the same energy for all those Switch exclusives they made.

@3Above agree, SquareEnix spoiled us over the last few years. Too bad most comment section gamers completely ignored those games, while being too busy commenting on sales expectations.

After that colossal goat cluck of an ending in Rebirth I'll probably skip the last part anyway.

Honestly good. Square doing the whole console exclusivity then complaining when games don't meet sales expectations is getting kinda old.

Besides, let others play the games on release too.

@tameshiyaku "Comment section gamers" is hilariously accurate! 🤣

@Fiendish-Beaver
This point probably applies more to 1st party exclusives, but it also has some bearing on 3rd party exclusives.
I also make it, agreeing mostly with all you said here.

I have always held that exclusives are not there to make money in terms of sales - they are (and should) be only there to pull people into your ecosystem, and keep them happy there (and spending money there, where the real profit lies).
In terms of 3rd Party, obviously, the money the platform holder pays a 3rd party for exclusivity needs to at least 'make up' for lost sales in this approach. If that platform holder is Xbox, thats going to need to be a LOT of money to cover a LOT of lost sales - but if it's Sony, far less money these days.

The number of times I have heard "I bought PS5 because its the only place to play X(exclusive)", or personally seen the knock on effect eg 1 friend/family member buys PS5 for eg Spiderman game or GOW, another friend/family member buys PS5 because the 1st has one, then their friends/family members also choose PS over Xbox etc. And I have seen this happen with what you would definitely call "casual" gamers.
Also, at the start of the generation "Xbox has no games", which has more recently changed to "PS has its games and Xbox's", or words to that effect.
NB I don't say this as console war BS, it's just what people have as opinions (even if it's not factually 100% correct).

I think Sony release on PC as they just dont see PC as a competitor due to the completely different set up - though im not sure this is the wisest choice by them.

I genuinely do not believe multiplat on day 1 is going to help them the way they seem to think and want. At least not for the final part of a trilogy. Obviously I think ff17 could benefit from it at the start, but they're not going to get the monster sales they want just from that. The series already has some weird stigma surrounding it

But regardless I'm playing it day 1. If it's timed exclusive on PS, I'm playing it there for sure. If it's on pc day 1. I might struggle a little bit more deciding where to play. Cause I'd really love to keep playing these on the big tv 😩

I agree with everything you say, @Rich33...

I love these games but they really should have just named them “part 1, 2, 3.” It makes people know they need to play all of them. My friend actually thought rebirth was the name of the special edition version of remake lol.

@LifeGirl You are more for less effort boring Cookie cutter games fully monetized. My most favorite games are exclusive games also it shows the difference in platforms and the power of developers.

They will most definitely bring ReBirth to the Switch 2 but it's going to look like crap and possibly run like it too. I just hope they aren't downscaling the third part just so it can run on the Switch 2.

@LifeGirl exclusivity isn't over for consoles. Sony and Nintendo have a lot of convincing to do to get folks to buy into their ecosystem. Exclusive features and software is the way. Same for any brand in any industry. As it stands now both Sony and Nintendo aren't huge publishers nor show any signs of becoming one. Also both cannot afford to outright do large acquisitions like MS. So both firms want people on their ecosystems only if possible.

What needs to happen is that game studios reduce the cost of game development and leverage automation tools (AI) to assist with mundane game development tasks. SE is going to be disappointed because team Xbox has never really been into these types of JRPGs and these days the base doesn't really purchase games. SE as an entity just needs to be more lean and efficient. Lastly PC and consoles are two different bases. PlayStation games going to the PC crowd doesn't cannibalize PS sells. As plenty of casual gamers know PS and buy into the platform.

Team Xbox isn't going to help out SE much with their ambitious sells targets for final fantasy games. As the Xbox base is accustomed to paying their "high" subsidized gamepass fees. I say high as reading what people say about the price one would think its 200$ a month. Even so a new game costs 70 dollars digitally and subsidized gamepass would still be a good deal.

Dont care personally but square needs to stop locking game to switch and switch/pc.

Exclusivity is no longer profitable for anyone.

Those days are done.

@UltimateOtaku91 runs fine on the steam deck

@Overmind you're in the tiny majority for sure there. If you didnt like it fine but to suggest that's the consensus. The vast majority found rebirth outstanding. Reasons why it was on the GOTY list

@EvilBear Do you still have your copy of RE2 on 64? They are going for mad coin these days. A rough boxed copy goes for over £200. I’m selling all my old 64 games as I only collect PlayStation now. And I’m making quite a lot off them

It used to matter but not anymore, the great console wars are over. Microsoft bent the knee and Nintendo operate in a different realm

Exclusivity only worked if the platform you released on was outselling the competition 10:1. The PS1 and PS2 did this.

Nowadays with budgets and costs it makes no sense to be platform exclusive unless that said platform holder is funding part if not most of the development.

@joeyflannel Quite bizarre to think of a series that had 6 entries before PlayStation was a thing to be a PlayStation series.

The only have one more game to come out and than the story will be complete. So it is what it is🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄

@UltimateOtaku91 With FF7Remake seemingly targeting 60fps on Switch 2, I could see Rebirth looking just fine and locking 30fps. That's my hope anyway.

Yet SE will continue to release Nintendo exclusive games. There's already a remaster of Bravely Default to launch, so BD 3 isn't far off. And I'm betting there will definitely be an exclusive DQ and FF for the Switch 2.

SE will only come back to Sony if they have to pay for a AAA game, which SE simply doesn't have the money for.

Hopefully Sony SE will finally give the middle finger here.

@FredBiletnikoff I'm 25, didn't play any of the pixel games until the remasters a couple of years ago, grew up on FFVII and FFVIII on PS1 that was a hand-me-down from my Dad. Hope that gives more context!!

Switch 2 is about the same power as a PS4, so a cut down version is clearly possible.

Xbox is dead, the industry knows it, it doesn't even mention it anymore.

The PS5 is the version to play.

@Badbob I love my box, I love my box. I worship my box. I worship my box. Good lord man.

SE are hypocritical. They don't care about being multiplatform otherwise they wouldn't be making Switch 2 exclusives