While the popular game media does it’s best to avoid fanboy warfare, constant articles about the PS3 needing to be “saved” by games, movies, price drops etc. create an eternal sense of hopelessness around the console. Although it has not sold as well as the xbox 360 or the Wii, it is still doing a brisk business in its own right. With Christmas on the rise and a slew of exclusive games to be released, it seems the PS3 will see a marked success in 2009 even amidst the economic crisis. In the back of our heads however, there has always been one game that we knew could save the PS3 if its stock began falling: Final Fantasy 7.

While a remake may not be in the immediate future, a whole list of evidence shows us that a trip back to Midgar is more likely than one might think. Since no official announcement has been made, all of this remains speculation. That being said, I would like to present some of the factors that could lead to a possible remake, as well as the dangers inherent with such a venture.

The first factor is, and always will be, money. As reported by Chart Get and other gaming websites, Square Enix saw a massive drop in sales in 2008; With unit sales dropping approximately 63%. While fewer titles and a heady economy undoubtedly contributed to this slump, no one could have possibly predicted it would sink this low. Not only that, but the greater majority of their sales came from Dragon Quest V, a Nintendo DS remake. DQ V shored up 1.2 million sales for Square, an impressive number made all the more impressive when one realises that the other 9 games combined only totalled about 450,000 copies sold.

This leads to the next factor, the productions of remakes/rehashes. Rehashes are spurring on an incredibly powerful trend in gaming right now. They are easier to make than new IP as they are essentially just upgrading the old game while keeping the source material alive. More importantly though, they are appealing to the sense of nostalgia that is especially pronounced in the Japanese
gaming world. As we can plainly see in through the Dragon Quest series, even a mediocre game will sell well if enough sentimental value is attached to it. This longing for the days of old is less pronounced in North America due to the more dynamic nature of our culture. Because our history is brief, our culture tends not to put too much emphasis on attributing a sense of importance on the things that happened hundreds of years ago, barring special examples such as World War 2.

Of course, in many ways, Final Fantasy 7 is unique in and of itself. It has arguably the most internet popularity, spin-off games as well as it’s own movie. Regardless of whether or not it is over-rated or under-rated, the game has one of the largest cult followings for any game ever released. By never re-making the game, Square effectively has unlimited ability to spread the characters around without tarnishing the majority of the nostalgia and mystique surrounding the game. Advent Children was a risk in that sense that it was actually taking the characters and settings and reimagining them explicitly, rather than in an end around way such as the Shinra offshoot games, Dirge of Cerebus or Crisis Core. It was a truly clever move to leave the story of FF:AC all but non-existant and comprise the movie of nothing else but fight scenes. By changing nothing, AC can become canon or non-canon at the behest of Square, something that further safeguards Final Fantasy 7’s reputation.

All of this being said, the spin-off’s and rehashes all help to reveal one thing, Square’s inability to produce new IP. The Last Remnant is the “new”est Square series, yet even it relies heavily on conventions done to death by Square. The last truly different IP was 2001’s “The Bouncer”. The Bouncer was neither a critical nor a financial success, which may have further scared Square into relying on the same gameplay mechanics and genre conventions that made them popular in the first place. When games like The Last Remnant and Infinite Undiscovery tank, it shouldnt be surprising to see that Square’s unofficial 2009 line up is mostly comprised of rehashes. Among the “new” games they have advertised are a handful of Dragon Quests, Final Fantasys and Kingdom Heart’s games.

These of course are all the Dragon Quests, Final Fantasy’s and Kingdom Hearts that have already been done. Which brings us to the realisation that they are running out of Final Fantasy games to remake. Since X, X-2 and XII were on the ps2, they are far too new to redo. Final Fantasy’s I, II and III (Japanese) have been remade for the DS and PSP while final fantasy’s IV, V and VI were ported to the Playstation (PS1). Since there probably isn’t a vocal outcry for remakes of V, VIII and IX (all great games in their own right) we are really left with VI and VII. A remake of Final Fantasy VI would be preferred by many to VII, but remakes of these two classic games bring up one significant question: How true to the source do we stay?

Replicating the environments and character models in meaningful ways would be difficult to be sure. But even more difficult would be resisting the urge to alter the story or add new dialogue for the characters. Seeing as Final Fantasy VII’s story can become downright incomprehensible at times, does Square go back and make slight changes in order to appease a bigger crowd while possibly displeasing the purists? Both Final Fantasy games also had foul language, exceedingly mature themes and poor characterisation of minorities, will those be changed in suit? Essentially, Square would have to exercise a masterful amount of caution so as to not stir up a collosal can of worms with the remake of either of these two games. This does not even take into account which consoles either game would ultimately release on. When one remembers the Final Fantasy 7 Tech Demo swirling around the depths of youtube while simultaneously recalling the fanboy storm that was conjured up around the multiplatform nature of Final Fantasy XIII, it becomes evident that if a Final Fantasy VII remake was to become multi-platorm (which would be a wise business decision), it would probably create the biggest shitstorm in the history of the internet. It might also create a rift between the Japanese and Sony, as the loss of another Final Fantasy would be seen as a slap in the face to the trust the Japanese have in Sony.

Square’s future looks much brighter in 2009 and 2010 with the release of many old and beloved franchises names decked out in new raiments for all to see and enjoy. Square will certainly see more financial success in 2009 as opposed to 2008, but what would happen if their games sold poorly?

Another poor sales year combined with the dire straits of the world’s economic markets may just be a blessing in disguise for those of us looking to see Final Fantasy VI or VII being resurrected. In the same way that it started with money, it must ultimately end with money. In the same way that the PS3 supposedly needs some game to save it, there may just come a time when Square Enix may need some game to save it, and I’ll bet you can guess which game would be the first one they turn too.