After the remake trilogy finally ends, it would be a massive moment for Final Fantasy VII fans. This was something we all wanted for years, and now we are going to see its end very soon, For me, it will be quite emotional this was something decades in the making, and so many of us prayed for it to happen. I don't know where I will be in 10 year, or if I will even be alive, but I am sure I will look fondly back on this time when something I dreamed of came true.
Where will this fandom be 10 years from now ?
- Thread starter Wanderer
- Start date
At most, I see a Queen's Blood stand-alone game coming out, A remaster of Dirge, or maybe an AC DLC.
Ghost X
Moderator
I'm sure the fandom will shrivel without upkeep. I'm not sure the game has the cultural gravitas of a work like Frankenstein, thinking even more long term (there's probably a stronger case for DnD as it is closer to the root of the RPG genre), and who knows what events will happen in the world also (eg: will part 3 even be completed? :p). I'd argue the more artistic merit something has, the longer it will matter to culture. FFVII was no doubt big and innovative when it was released, but important...? ... beyond a certain context (one of the first JRPGs that made it big in the West, iirc), I don't think so.
The more important question about FFVII's importance is not what it means to the broader gaming culture but what it means to us.
Rydeen
In-KWEH-dible
I don't think it's really attracting many new fans, unfortunately, especially not younger people. I would also sadly be surprised if this forum is still alive by then, but the fandom is so big that it will still exist on whatever major social media platforms, much in the same way that other even older fandoms still exist. I don't know how much SE will continue to prod this franchise. However long it stays profitable (which is not necessarily a good or bad thing). If my hunch is correct that this hasn't brought many new/younger fans, I think it's a bit foreboding, as other older fandoms have a lot of young people. But it's big enough as is, I think, to last over a decade.
The fandom has already split off to other social media platforms like Twitter and even TikTok. People don’t discuss video games on forums on the internet anymore everything has become very centralized, and people avoid forums mostly due to their terrible reputations, but the funny thing is forums now have become a lot more chill as the toxic people who were there have moved on and everyone chill is left behind.
Rydeen
In-KWEH-dible
Oh I know it's on all the social media platforms, I'm just saying that it will continue to be there, whereas the forum will likely continue to die. I did try to contribute to keeping it alive, but people really don't seem to like long-form content anymore, and events are much easier to host on Discord. As for the FFVII fandom, I mostly just stick to our Discord at this point.
This forum had a YouTube page. It hasn’t been active in years, but uploading discussions, theories, etc., would be a great way to build a Community, seeing how FFVII theories and discussions are popping up right now.
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Mr. Thou
- AKA
- null
I'm probably retiring after ReTrilogy. I still remember the days after the Compilation came to a standstill, and before social media really took off. It was dead as a doornail. What kept the fandom on life support was the promise of a remake. Unless something like a post-AC sequel is coming, I'm not sure what else is left for older casuals like me. In the end we'll have been talking about this shit for literally 30 years!
Of course I don't represent the fandom or anyone else. It's just that there's just so many different winds blowing. It's hard to say where AAA gaming, console gaming, social media, or even SE itself will be in a decade. They really had a wake up call with Rebirth sales; the old formulas don't work like they used to.
Of course I don't represent the fandom or anyone else. It's just that there's just so many different winds blowing. It's hard to say where AAA gaming, console gaming, social media, or even SE itself will be in a decade. They really had a wake up call with Rebirth sales; the old formulas don't work like they used to.
Seeing how Nomura talked about retiring, and Rebirth was probably Kitase's last heavily involved game, I don’t think we will see anything else for a while other than a few rereleases here and there, I am sure other FF fans will be happy that FFVII is finally "dead."
Ghost X
Moderator
I think what would almost certainly save and develop the fandom into new generations of any Final Fantasy world are new games that build upon their respective world's lore. For example, which FF world do I personally want to know more about? Ivalice. Why's that? Because a bunch of games are set on it, and there's a lot of mystery and wonder to it. Granted, I think the same of FFVIII's world, even though it is one game. Insert your favourite world here. New games don't have to solve those aforementioned mysteries and wonders, but add to them. Hell, create new regions that include old regions in an "inaccurate" way, leaving you to wonder what is true or not, and whether it even matters, as long as the current story being told is good. It is not like there isn't already fan theories about connections between FF worlds, given some similar characteristics in their maps. That doesn't ruin anything about the stories in the respective FF games.
With FFVII, make a subtitled FFVII with a new bunch of characters. Building lore and character classes (expanding on traditional FF jobs, using them as a guide, etc), and new areas, etc. Not over-explaining remotely anything like "And this is how Sephiroth got his sword!" or "and this is how Han Solo did the Kessel Run and met Chewbacca", etc, which tends to happen in media a lot these days. I'm talking about completely new eeeverything. Leave the old stuff as it is, referencing it only if necessary to the story, and make the new stuff equally as interesting.
Okay, so Jenova did X in ancient history (pun initially unintentional), but what about Y incident caused by Z entity that hasn't been mentioned in the franchise yet, featuring locations A through Z, also not yet mentioned, etc. Sure they didn't appear in the OG FFVII map, but neither did Healen Lodge until Advent Children, or whatever. Maybe find an explanation for why that is. Maybe Midgar is doing to The Planet what Esthar did to itself to keep these areas a secret. Maybe Wutai is behind it. Maybe it is another known or unknown state (or as said in first paragraph, maybe it doesn't matter). Fill out the world, make it alive. The additions to the lore in DoC were interesting, like Deepground and Omega. So was AC's Geostigma, and Rebirth's additions to the Gi Tribe lore. You name it.
Anyway, if Square were listening, that'd be my suggestion. They got all this IP that I feel they could be doing a lot more interesting things with.
With FFVII, make a subtitled FFVII with a new bunch of characters. Building lore and character classes (expanding on traditional FF jobs, using them as a guide, etc), and new areas, etc. Not over-explaining remotely anything like "And this is how Sephiroth got his sword!" or "and this is how Han Solo did the Kessel Run and met Chewbacca", etc, which tends to happen in media a lot these days. I'm talking about completely new eeeverything. Leave the old stuff as it is, referencing it only if necessary to the story, and make the new stuff equally as interesting.
Okay, so Jenova did X in ancient history (pun initially unintentional), but what about Y incident caused by Z entity that hasn't been mentioned in the franchise yet, featuring locations A through Z, also not yet mentioned, etc. Sure they didn't appear in the OG FFVII map, but neither did Healen Lodge until Advent Children, or whatever. Maybe find an explanation for why that is. Maybe Midgar is doing to The Planet what Esthar did to itself to keep these areas a secret. Maybe Wutai is behind it. Maybe it is another known or unknown state (or as said in first paragraph, maybe it doesn't matter). Fill out the world, make it alive. The additions to the lore in DoC were interesting, like Deepground and Omega. So was AC's Geostigma, and Rebirth's additions to the Gi Tribe lore. You name it.
Anyway, if Square were listening, that'd be my suggestion. They got all this IP that I feel they could be doing a lot more interesting things with.
I don’t think Square has a lack of unique or interesting ideas for the VII universe, but the two main problems are that FFVII's story is deeply tied with its cast of characters, and making a game without them in capacity would be a huge step away from it another problem is executing these ideas aside from Crisis Core a lot of them are not well received by the core fandom.