Square-Enix Accidentally Releases Final Fantasy VII PC
by Lex August 10, 2012 0 comments
On 5th August, Square-Enix’s anticipated re-release of Final Fantasy VII for the PC was accidentally made available for a few hours. It was then pulled.
A number of customers managed to nab a digital download of the game while it was still available, but due to DRM protection were unable to play it. Those customers are now being offered a full refund as well as a free copy of the game when it becomes available.
As soon as the re-release became available a few vigilant fans paid the odd $12.70 price to download the game – only to be disappointed, as the game uses SecuROM DRM protection that requires online activation to play. Thanks to forum member Pixel for the heads-up.
However, the files are available for dissection to the lucky few who managed to download it in time. The current version (which Square-Enix has confirmed is a pre-release build – more on that below) uses the original PC MIDI converted to OGG format. This is a huge disappointment, as the quality of the PC MIDI soundtrack is poor when compared with the original PSF sound format used in the Playstation version.
Also interesting is that all other files are also identical to the original PC version, with just a few tweaks here and there. The FMV’s have been upscaled and filtered to look less pixellated at higher resolutions. The 2D backgrounds are identical in resolution but the presence of an upscaler/ filter suggests that smoothing will be done in-engine. The key difference lies in the .exe file, which has been tweaked presumably to allow for the new features. There are also seperate .exe files based on language.
In a surprisingly generous move, Square-Enix are offering all who downloaded the game a full refund as well as a free copy of the game when it is released. The full statement (as reported by Kotaku here) is as follows:
This weekend, our teams were testing the product website for the upcoming relaunch of Final Fantasy VII on PC. While the website was being tested in its live state, a small number of people were able to purchase a pre-release build of the game. For those customers, Square Enix will be offering full refunds for the purchases and for their inconvenience, a free version of the classic Final Fantasy VII on PC when it is launched.
We want to thank our community for their continued support and excitement regarding the upcoming rerelease of Final Fantasy VII. We will have more information to share about the launch of this anticipated title shortly.
Kotaku.com, 07/08/2012
Thanks to forum member ForceStealer for Square’s statement from Kotaku.
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PLEASE NOTE: The image used at the top of this article is the 1998 PC version with modifications applied, it is NOT representative of the impending re-release. Thank you in advance for not flipping out about the non-lego characters.
That image is perfect. lol
Great Screenshot.
Thanks for disappointing me in advance.
“More nightmares shall come to me now, more than I previously had.”
So either they still need 4 more years to release it, or they’ll give us crap. They haven’t done a lot on the game, but at least they added copy protection? Brace yourselves, a new Ubisoft has risen.