Final Fantasy 7 fans are naturally pretty excited for the remake trilogy to wrap up with Revelation in 2027. However, for those who plan on picking up a physical copy, its imminent arrival is somewhat tainted. That’s because, even on PS5, Revelation’s physical edition will require a partial download, unlike other games that have been entirely on disc.
Hamaguchi Tries To Explain Why Revelation’s Physical Release Will Require A Download
Various interviews about Revelation have been going live over the last 24 hours, including one at IGN where the topic of Revelation’s controversial physical release was raised. Not only that, but Final Fantasy director Naoki Hamaguchi has shared the interview on social media and tried to better explain why, when you play a physical copy of Revelation, you will be required to download part of the game.
“Each platform has limitations when it comes to physical media capacity,” Hamaguchi explains. “We believed that compromising the quality of the final chapter in order to achieve a fully on-disc release would ultimately not be in the best interest of many fans. We understand that this decision may not meet everyone’s expectations.”
Hamaguchi added that even in the disc-less future gaming is headed toward, he and Square still see the value in games being released physically. However, that, and his explanation as to why Revelation won’t be complete on disc, hasn’t been enough for fans to get even more angry than they were before.
Final Fantasy Fans Aren’t Impressed With Square’s Excuse
Reactions to Hamaguchi’s reasoning have largely been fans questioning why Revelation’s physical version can’t be released on multiple discs. Not only is that an option for publishers, but Final Fantasy, specifically FF7, is the series most synonymous with it. The original Final Fantasy 7 was released across multiple discs on PS1, right up to FF7 Rebirth, which required two discs on PS5.
Hamaguchi’s explanation has even been hit with a community note. The note highlights that even though PS5 discs are only capable of holding up to 100GB of data, PlayStation supports multiple disc releases. Therefore, Hamaguchi’s claim that the decision to put Revelation on a single disc and have it require a download is so the game’s quality isn’t compromised doesn’t really add up.
There is going to be one big difference between Revelation and the two FF7 games that have come before it. Remake and Rebirth were both timed PlayStation exclusives. Revelation will release on all of the latest platforms at the same time. Perhaps, rather than give the PS5 version special treatment and release it on multiple discs, Square decided to make sure every version of the game will require a partial download. While putting Revelation on multiple discs would have cost a little extra, doing the same on Switch 2 carts would have been far more costly.
Doing this would have been met with backlash at any point in history. However, now is a particularly bad time due to what PlayStation has planned for its physical releases. Final Fantasy fans breathed a sigh of relief when Square confirmed Revelation will be here before PlayStation’s disc apocalypse, but are now angry that the studio has decided to compromise on its physical edition for the final entry in a series in which multiple discs for a single game were never a problem before.
