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Tag: Final Fantasy VII

  • Square Enix Shuts Down Final Fantasy VII Figures From Shapeways

    The Shapeways business model is smart one in that it gives people who may normally have it access to 3D printing technology. It also allows these creative types a showcase to sell these creations, essentially positioning itself as something of an Etsy for those who like to create in three dimensions. Because of the mountains of trademark infringement potential in 3D printing–what’s that? You want to make your line of Star Wars figures? I doubt Disney/George Lucas would approve–it’s not really surprising a story like this has come to light.

    What we have is someone who clearly enjoyed Square’s smash hit Final Fantasy VII; so much so, in fact, the Shapeways user decided to create, and sell, his own line of figures from the game that were designed to look like their polygon model counterparts.

    Needless to say, once Square Enix found out, they unleashed their lawyers, who were armed with takedown requests. As pointed out by CNet, the figures gained popularity thanks to a post on Reddit, naturally. Once Reddit thrust these figures into the viral blender–the post had almost 2200 upvotes and 900 comments–it was only a matter of time before the creators of the Final Fantasy universe got involved and called on their Knights of the Takedown summons to put an end to the creator’s–Joaquin Baldwin–intellectual property infringement.

    The hosting site and Baldwin were understandably quick to comply with Square Enix’s request:

    “Standard procedure,” Baldwin told [CNet] in an e-mail, “just like a video in YouTube using copyrighted music can be pulled down.” It all happened very fast, he said. “I only made that whole set recently, and I posted the full new set of secondary characters two days ago, when I guess I exploded the Internet.”

    The question is, if Baldwin wasn’t profiting from his Final Fantasy VII creations, would infringement be taking place? What if he was giving them away instead of selling them? Granted, there’s no incentive to do so in a world that runs on money, but this particular issue is not going away when 3D printing is involved. If you are capable of loading a model the printer can render, you can create pretty much anything you have the material for. How do you control a technology that can render the entire trademark and patent system null and void?

    While the technology is still in its infancy, it is much easier to control. Imagine, however, if it ever gets the propagation equivalent to Facebook or iPhones. That whole “You Wouldn’t Download a Car” meme would be tested on an around-the-clock basis. In other news, this (and many, many others like it) has been on YouTube for some time.


    Apparently, Square Enix is selective about protecting its IP.

  • Cloud Strife Returns To Final Fantasy… Kind Of

    Fans have been clamoring for a Final Fantasy VII remake ever since Square showed a real-time demo of the game’s opening running on the PlayStation 3 hardware years ago. That remake is probably never going to happen, but you can get the next best thing if you preorder Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII.

    Those who preorder the final chapter in the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy will get a Cloud Strife costume complete with buster sword for Lightning. The game’s battle system is based around changing costumes on the fly so players will presumably gain access to some special powers while wearing Cloud’s SOLDIER 1st Class uniform.

    We may never get that Final Fantasy VII remake, but at least Square Enix is nice enough to use the original Cloud costume instead of the travesty that he wore in Advent Children. It’s also a nice touch that the costume changes the victory jingle and animation to that of Cloud’s in the original Final Fantasy VII.

    Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII launches on February 11, 2014 for the PS3 and Xbox 360. It’s also going to be the last Final Fantasy we’ll see on current gen consoles as its successor – Final Fantasy XV – is being built for the PS4 and Xbox One.

  • Final Fantasy VII Gets The Fan Film Treatment

    To many fans, Final Fantasy VII remains the greatest game in the RPG franchise. To some, it may even be the greatest game ever made. That may be because the game still holds up incredibly well to this day. The visuals are outdated, but the storytelling and gameplay are still top notch.

    Final Fantasy VII enjoys a strong fan base to this very day. Those fans have created numerous projects from art, animation, films and stories. The ultimate fan fiction emerged in the form of Square Enix’s own spin-off games like Crisis Core and Dirge of Cerberus. The latest fan work – a live action film from Italian directors Gionata Medeot and Mattia Ferraro – deserves your attention.

    Gut reaction: it’s pretty good. The actress playing Aeris captures the character fairly well. It’s hard to get past how cartoonish the costume looks though. The wrist bands looking like they’re made out of cardboard. The same goes for Barret’s handgun which looks out of place in the realistic atmosphere.

    Overall, however, I like it a lot. I think Final Fantasy VII fans could really get behind a project like this as well. Advent Children wasn’t exactly the Final Fantasy VII movie many fans were hoping it would be. It had great fight choreography, but it did away with everything that made the original game’s characters and story so special.

    Medeot and Ferraro intend to make their fan film into a full production that covers the entire plot of the game. You can follow the progress of the production over at the film’s Facebook page.

  • Square Enix Officially Announces Final Fantasy VII For the PC

    Just out of curiosity, is denying something over and over again, only to admit that the thing you’ve been denying actually exists considered a good marketing strategy? Does it help build the highly sought after buzz among legions of fans? With that in mind, after months of denying it, Square Enix has officially announced that their smash hit, Final Fantasy VII, is indeed coming to the PC market.

    While the official date of the release is still a mystery, unless you know a secret about the phrase “Coming Soon” that I don’t, Square Enix has embraced the release with a new site devoted to the PC game (FinalFantasyVIIPC.com) and a new trailer to boot, the motivation behind the denials is a little confusing. I understand the desire for secrecy because that itself only helps build buzz, but with a game with such high brand recognition, the “hide it behind the curtain” approach seems overblown.

    Whatever the case, here’s the trailer:


    The new site also reveals some details about the game, including the introduction of 36 unlockable achievements. Fan profiles can also be shared with other players, which comprises Square Enix’s nod to the social media aspect of gaming. There’s also a section called “Cloud Saves,” which, as the name indicates, will give players the option of saving their current PC session to the Square’s cloud storage so it can be retrieved on another machine at a later time.

    Another area of mystery concerns the price. When the word originally leaked, a price point of £7.99/€9.99 was mentioned, although, that is not listed on the official site for the PC game. Digital distribution details have been provided, and it looks like Square Enix is choosing to ignore Steam’s service, and will instead make it available at the Square Enix online store. Much like the unknown need to deny upcoming content, I’m not sure about why content creators would want to limit the amount of stores allowed to offer the content being sold. I mean, it’s easy to understand why Square Enix might want to develop their own store, but cutting off access to it to consumers who use Steam seems like a “cutting off your nose to spite your face” move.

    Instead of forcing people to use your service, why not try giving them incentive to do so?

  • Final Fantasy VII Coming To PC With Achievements, Cloud Saves

    Final Fantasy VII is one of those games that everybody wants a remake of. It’s a classic that has stood the test of time in terms of gameplay and story, but the visuals have lost a lot of their luster. A remake on current gen hardware (or even next gen) would be welcome, but we’ll just have to settle for the PC version.

    Square Enix registered a Web site – finalfantasyviipc.com – a few weeks back. It was thought that Square was going to be rereleasing the PC version of FFVII that the company published through Eidos back in 1998. It seems that news has turned out to be true as the Web site, now protected by a login, went live with the details.

    Through the magic and joy of Google cache, we now know that a Final Fantasy VII rerelease on the PC is a real thing. The best thing is that this release isn’t just a standard rerelease of the PC version from 1998 The new version will contain cloud saves, achievements and a “character booster.” Here’s the official description for the cached Web site:

  • Whether you’re a seasoned FINAL FANTASY VII veteran or exploring this RPG classic for the very first time, show off your in-game accomplishments and put your gaming skills to the test with 36 brand new achievements to unlock. Share your profile with friends online to find out who is the ultimate FINAL FANTASY fan.
  • Find yourself stuck on a difficult section or lacking the funds to buy that vital Phoenix Down? With the Character Booster you can increase your HP, MP and Gil levels to their maximum, all with the simple click of a button, leaving you to enjoy your adventure.
  • Whether you’re away from home or simply using a different computer to play, enjoy FINAL FANTASY VII wherever you are. With cloud save support in FINAL FANTASY VII you can continue your game progress right where you left off, all you need is an internet connection.

    • The rest of the Web site has characters bios and a selection of wallpapers that you can’t download yet. It also lists the price as £7.99/€9.99. The non-existence of a price in USD is somewhat worrying, but I doubt Square Enix would not release one of their most beloved games on the PC here in the states. The existence of achievements and cloud saves pretty much pegs it for a Steam release using Valve’s Steamworks.

    Of course, some people may be a bit disappointed over the lack of a HD remake. Worry not, friends, this is the PC version of FFVII and that means mods. There has been work on a visual overhaul for FFVII on the PC for some time now. Once it launches on Steam and other digital outlets, you’ll most likely be able to use the mods. Check it out:

    [h/t: Fancensus]