Could and Should SquareEnix use Kickstarter to raise funds for an FFVII remake?

[Riku'sTwilight]

While reading another topic on here about the FFX HD remaster, when the tangent of the post swinged towards the inevitable discussion of FFVII and it's most lauded remake proposition a lot of the posts in this tangential argument were about how it's too expensive for Square to remake VII because of how big the game world is and bringing that onto this gen (or probably next gen) equipment would be a massive and costly task.

This got me thinking of the wonderful world of Kickstarter projects that has suddenly exploded onto our scene within the last few MONTHS and has already changed the industry for the better. If Tim Schafer of Doublefine can raise $3 million in a matter of weeks for a personal project, just think how much the prospect of an FFVII remake would make if say Square ran it for a year.

I'd certainly chip in some money if it meant the possibility of this happening goes up a bit more.

Now the questions i'm asking is whether they could and whether they should use this as a way of generating revenue.

My personal opinion is that they definitely could use this method to not front as much of their own money to get the project started.
However I do think that they should use it, but not to generate revenue (per se). They should use it to generate an interest, a fanbase for the game which although they clearly know is there they don't know how many and how loud they can be.

I think Square should ask everyone who wants this to happen to put in just $1, which would get them a little something just to say thanks for your input. This $1 which if came from everyone who wanted the remake to happen would soon add-up and could part-fund the project, which then Square would have to put the remaining amount in of their own money to make it happen. The one dollar though could be seen to be a voice and if they had enough voices, then it could happen.

What do you think they should do?

 

[veloper]

They are a publisher! They already have the funds.
The day people start giving Kickstarter money to the fat publishers is the day I stop playing new releases.

 

[hazabaza1]

Ha, ha, ha, no.
Seriously Square are ridiculously rich. They either don't want to make it, and if they do they should just do a poll or something.

 

[Smooth Operator]

No they shouldn't because that would be a PR shotgun to their face, sorry but Kickstarter is not intended for people that can rival all the big wigs.

 

[mad825]

Ugh, every single thread about this topic makes me want to scream. FFVII is overrated.

 

[Grygor]

Could they? Probably.

Should they? Hell no.

I'm not easily offended, but the mere suggestion that a video game developer/publisher with over one billion US dollars a year in revenue use Kickstarter for anything actually does offend me.

 

[AndrewF022]

They could, but it would not be as cheap as other Kickstarters we've seen so far. Honestly though, I thought they would have been tempted to remake FFVII last year when they're sales plummeted, but since they're on the rise again I don't think they will bother.

Although I wouldn't mind seeing a remake myself, its one of the few Final Fantasy games I did enjoy, and it definitely has not aged well.

 

[krazykidd]

They are a publisher! They already have the funds.
The day people start giving Kickstarter money to the fat publishers is the day I stop playing new releases.

This guy has it right . It's the worst idea ever . Square-enix already has the money , it's just not worth it . Thats like having donald trump asking for donations from average joes.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

FF VII cost them over $30 million the first time around; no kickstarter I've heard of has even come close to that so far, and what's more, that was in 1997 dollars, with 1997 levels of videogame complexity. Today they'd probably need something like $150 million or more to make a game with the same level of detail as FF VII and modern graphical fidelity, not to mention the large amount of time it would keep their main team tied up just on that one game. That's why they aren't remaking it; it's just too big of a project to undertake with current gen graphics and Square-Enix's funds.

 

[paislyabmj]

FF VII cost them over $30 million the first time around;

yes but that is making it from scratch.all they really need to do is re model and re texture every thing they have already done.that cant be that hard.i do not think that a company as big as square needs crowd funding to remake an old game.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

FF VII cost them over $30 million the first time around;

yes but that is making it from scratch.all they really need to do is re model and re texture every thing they have already done.that cant be that hard.i do not think that a company as big as square needs crowd funding to remake an old game.

Except when you say everything, you mean /everything./ The original game used prerendered 2D backgrounds and 3D character models; they wouldn't be able to reuse anything but the script and any design documents they might have on hand -- they wouldn't even be able to reuse the engine the way the HD re-releases of things like Ico do. What's more, one of the main people who worked on it is on record as saying he wouldn't be happy with doing a straight remake like that; he'd want to make changes, expanding on the game rather than doing a simple retread of ground he's already covered. They may as well be making a new game from scratch, when you consider the amount of work involved.

 

[OrpheusTelos]

We laugh, but that could be a good way to get around the cost. Emphasis on could.

And it's been explained before, but a remake of Final Fantasy VII would be just that- a remake. Everything would have to be redone, and it isn't a simple matter of touching up the old PS1 game, which is what a few misguided individuals seem to believe. I think it'd be awesome, I really enjoyed FFVII (can't call it my FAVORITE GAME EVAR, but it was ok) and it's probably be the type of game I think a lot of people want current-gen FFs to be like, but let's face it, it's very unlikely. If FF13 cost so much to make (I remember reading somewhere that that game's budget went somewhere around 100 million), then the cost to fully remake Final Fantasy VII with the quality that we would expect would just be astronomical, especially considering that Square's kind of been hurting lately. It'd be successful, certainly, but successful enough? I don't know, and I'm SmarterThanYou.

That said, if Square asked their fans to donate money to help along a game they really wanted, that could be a great thing. It could also be a terrible thing, considering how volatile their (I refuse to say 'our') fanbase is.

 

[mental_looney]

No they should not, seriously they are a publisher they own lots of companies it's not like the are a small indie dev or struggling independent studio.
They are supposed to HAVE money to give to other people, it looks terrible for them as a business if they cannot fund their own projects, studios will not go to them for funding either.

The amount it would cost to remake that game alone and the time is probably not something that could be reliable generated over kickstarter anyway as said before it was 30 million the first time around I'd expect at least 5 times that minimum to get it to current final fantasy level looks wise.

 

[Austin Howe]

Fuck no! Square would easily double the ridiculous amount of money they'd have to spend making the game. I shouldn't have to literally give them money to make them do it, they should just, oh I don't know, listen to fan feedback for the first time since Final Fantasy IX!

 

[Fractral]

FF VII cost them over $30 million the first time around; no kickstarter I've heard of has even come close to that so far, and what's more, that was in 1997 dollars, with 1997 levels of videogame complexity. Today they'd probably need something like $150 million or more to make a game with the same level of detail as FF VII and modern graphical fidelity, not to mention the large amount of time it would keep their main team tied up just on that one game. That's why they aren't remaking it; it's just too big of a project to undertake with current gen graphics and Square-Enix's funds.

Yes, I remember hearing a square enix developer saying that this was the very reason why they weren't remaking FF7, as according to him to make it to the same level of graphics that FF13 has would take somthing like 15 years. No developer plans that far ahead, and no fan would ever bother to pay kickstarter money for a project that, if it even finishes, won't be around for another decade and a half.
Which is a shame, as its one of my favourite Final Fantasy's, second only to FF9.

 

[RyoScar]

No they shouldn't, they can afford it without other peoples' money.