Remake of Square Enix classic continues to shatter records

It’s been over two decades since Final Fantasy VII first released on the original PlayStation. Still, the 2020 remake repeats history after achieving millions of sales.

Like its predecessor, who by the end of its first year had moved over 3.27 million copies in Japan alone, Final Fantasy VII Remake took the world by storm again after breaking 3.5 million sales in the first three days.

Around four months after the Remake’s release, Square Enix were happy to report over 5 million digital sales. This means that over 16.1 million copies of Final Fantasy VII had been sold, including the original.

This demonstrates more than nostalgias potential for boosting game sales. FFVII Remake is another example of how far the video game industry moves away from traditional brick-and-mortar marketplaces. According to a 2020 study, around 83% of all video game sales were purely digital.

This in itself isn't a new trend; it wasn't long ago that GameStop announced the closure of hundreds of stores – after repeated losses and plummeting stock value.

But despite incredible sales, a few fans took issue with the new direction Square Enix had taken the Remake’s story. Basically, the original had the main character's embrace uncertainty to kick-start the search for the main antagonist, Sephiroth. In the Remake, Cloud and crew are heavy-handedly made aware of Sephiroth’s evil intent, removing much of the nuance and subtlety those who played the original remembered.

At any rate, Final Fantasy VII Remake isn’t the first to capitalize on nostalgia, Resident Evil 2 also fared well after selling over 5 million units since release. This isn’t to say all remakes perform well, Blizzard’s Warcraft III: Reforged currently has a score of 59 on Metacritic – many feeling that Blizzard had underdelivered on the ambitious upgrades and reworks they had initially promised.

Final Fantasy VII Remake is available now exclusively for PlayStation 4.