'Final Fantasy VII' Release on iOS 'Years' Away

[MacRumors]

Following a prior interview in which he stated that the debut of the title was possible on mobile platforms, Square Enix producer Takashi Tokita has now clarified in an interview with Shacknews (via The Verge) that a release of Final Fantasy VII on iOS devices is "years" away because of the space limiations of the platform. Notably, Apple's size limit for an iOS app is 2GB, with the over-the-air download limit raised to 100MB last month.

"Unfortunately, it's not that it's not impossible for us to develop Final Fantasy 7 for mobile," Tokita told Shacknews. "It's that currently, space will be an issue. Phones won't be able to contain the space it takes. It's over a gigabyte. People are probably going to have to wait a few years."

It is unclear exactly what Tokita is referring to in stating that "it" is over a gigabyte, and thus whether any work has actually been done on the project. A number of current App Store apps do, however, come in at over 1 GB, although as The Verge notes, a recent PC re-release of the title checks in at over 3 GB.

Tokita announced plans to bring Final Fantasy VI to iOS devices this fall in the prior interview, which follows the release of various Final Fantasy games over the past few years on iOS. The last title from the series to appear on Apple's platform was Final Fantasy V [Direct Link], which was released by Square Enix this past March.

Article Link: 'Final Fantasy VII' Release on iOS 'Years' Away

 

[RoboCop001]

Noooooo. Come on, guys. Do it anyway.

..... Square Enix..... C'mon.....
......... Square Enix..... C'mon.....
............. Square Enix..... C'mon.....

 

[Kissaragi]

Lots of games are over a gigabyte!

Do these people not want to make a truck load of money or something?

 

[roadbloc]

I'm pretty convinced Square Enix just want to be a movie company after playing Final Fantasy XIV.

 

[goodcow]

The original game was on four CDs using less efficient MPEG-1 video encoding for the FMV. Using H.264 and not having to duplicate game data across four discs, I don't see why this wouldn't fit under 2GB.

 

[mbarriault]

This is the most bull excuse I've seen in a long time, and I've seen some pretty bad excuses.

Square Enix's own The World Ends With You is 2.4 GB.

The PS1 version landed in at 3 discs. At 650 MB each, that's 2 GB in total max. But the only differences between each disc were the FMVs - the entirety of game content, including software, music, character models, landscapes, backgrounds - was exactly copied between each disc. That means that the combined game must be less than 2 GB - and indeed, the Steam version runs in at 1.5 GB apparently. Also, all those FMVs lie in a codec from 1997: with H.264, they'd save a lot of space.

Thus, bull.

 

[RoboCop001]

The original game was on four CDs using less efficient MPEG-1 video encoding for the FMV. Using H.264 and not having to duplicate game data across four discs, I don't see why this wouldn't fit under 2GB.

Wasn't it 3? I know VIII and IX are 4 for sure. Damnit, now I have to check when I get home and probably end up popping in disc 1, starting a new game, and slacking off on important work

 

[springsup]

It could be done within a reasonable amount of space (say 1.5 - 2 GB). It would probably need some extensive work done, but they're guaranteed to make a ton of money from this.

They've been teasing people for years with an FF7 HD remake, but for some reason they never get around to it.

 

[LSUtigers03]

Final Fantasy VII is 1.3gb on the PS Store. I have more than a dozen iOS apps that are bigger than that.

----------

Wasn't it 3? I know VIII and IX are 4 for sure. Damnit, now I have to check when I get home and probably end up popping in disc 1, starting a new game, and slacking off on important work

It is 3 discs

 

[RoboCop001]

This is the most bull excuse I've seen in a long time, and I've seen some pretty bad excuses.

Square Enix's own The World Ends With You is 2.4 GB.

The PS1 version landed in at 3 discs. At 650 MB each, that's 2 GB in total max. But the only differences between each disc were the FMVs - the entirety of game content, including software, music, character models, landscapes, backgrounds - was exactly copied between each disc. That means that the combined game must be less than 2 GB - and indeed, the Steam version runs in at 1.5 GB apparently. Also, all those FMVs lie in a codec from 1997: with H.264, they'd save a lot of space.

Thus, bull.

Damnit, now you're just making me more antsy for this game for iOS. Even though I already have the PS1 version. Which I can play whenever I want. But does not a man deserve to play such a glorious game on the subway? Or at a red light? Or at an important meeting??

 

[jmitch720]

Oh no, over a gigabyte!? That's really not that big anymore. Infinity Blade 3 is 1.4GB and no one seemed to care. I have plenty of space on my 32GB iPhone. Square Enix has always been hesitant to do anything that makes sense.

 

[Xenomorph]

Wasn't it 3? I know VIII and IX are 4 for sure. Damnit, now I have to check when I get home and probably end up popping in disc 1, starting a new game, and slacking off on important work

Three discs on PS1.

Four discs on PC.

The game could probably fit on a single CD now, though (with better compression). Well, maybe two CDs.

 

[Kissaragi]

Its almost like theres some weird conspiracy going on, they have one excuse after another. Really bizarre.

 

[Gemütlichkeit]

All I want is for them to update Chrono Trigger with better UI/controls and gimme dat FF VI. All the rest can kick rocks.

 

[ImNoSuperMan]

Is this the quality of writing that we're going to get from MR now on?

Or is it just me who found the first line of the paragraph completely illegible?

Following a prior interview in which he state that the debut of the title was possible on mobile platforms, Square Enix producer Takashi Tokita has not clarified in an interview with Shacknews (via The Verge) that a release of Final Fantasy VII on iOS devices is "years" away because of the space limiations of the platform. Notably, Apple's size limit for an iOS app is 2GB, with the over-the-air download limit raised to 100MB last month.

 

[Gemütlichkeit]

It is 3 discs

3 discs has nothing to do with a digital download. The 3 discs were needed for poorly encoded cut scenes and all the previous areas still needing to be visited.

That's all thrown out the door when you can package it together in one digital format. the game itself is just over a gig. Not that crazy since a few games right now in the app store are over a GB

 

[RoboCop001]

Its almost like theres some weird conspiracy going on, they have one excuse after another. Really bizarre.

Is there some anniversary coming up or something? Maybe they're playing us, and will be like "... for years... we've teased Final Fantasy VII remakes and ports. UNTIL NOW!" *lots of confetti* and then they release an HD remake for PS4 and mobile.

Meh probably not. A man can dream, though. A man can dream....

 

[LSUtigers03]

3 discs has nothing to do with a digital download. The 3 discs were needed for poorly encoded cut scenes and all the previous areas still needing to be visited.

That's all thrown out the door when you can package it together in one digital format. the game itself is just over a gig. Not that crazy since a few games right now in the app store are over a GB

I understand that. I was simply answering a question on whether the ps1 game was 3 or 4 discs.

 

[jclardy]

No, it is just that they know that after releasing FFVII they won't be able to milk any more rereleases. So rerelease all the other crappier ones for mobile first.

 

[Solomani]

Total lame excuse. The InfinityBlade games for iOS have exceeded 1GB for the last couple years now. And surprise surprise... they often hover among the Top Paid selling games in the iOS marketplace.

The only thing that is "years away" is Square Enix's ability to catch up with other game devs.

 

[antonis]

The "over a gigabyte" excuse doesn't fit with anyone who has the slightest idea about the current mobile s/w market.

I wonder if they meant something else (e.g. RAM requirement).

 

[vmachiel]

I'm pretty convinced Square Enix just want to be a movie company after playing Final Fantasy XIV.

Is it that bad again? I hated FF XIII for that reason

 

[alent1234]

I'm pretty convinced Square Enix just want to be a movie company after playing Final Fantasy XIV.

that's almost every game these days

 

[Gemütlichkeit]

Is it that bad again? I hated FF XIII for that reason

They pretty much invented the JRPG genre and single-handedly ruined it too

 

[sohaloh]

This is bullcrap. I have the walking dead installed on my phone with all the episodes downloaded making it a whooping total of 2.6 GB. If apple doesnt allow a whole download over 2.6 GB they can use the walking dead model and release it in episodes which one can download.