On 10 April 2020, Square Enix was due to releasethe highly-anticipated and long-awaited RPG Final Fantasy VII Remake worldwide on the PlayStation 4. Given the ongoing COVID-19 situation, it would not be surprising if the logistics around shipping meant that the game would be outright delayed or otherwise staggered on a region-by-region basis. Fortunately, while unable to guarantee everyone will receive a copy by the launch day, Square Enix is pushing expectations when it comes to making this happen.
In a statement provided by Square Enix the other day, they confirmed that their “highest priority” that everyone can play the game at launch, so they decided to “ship the game far earlier than usual to Europe and Australia”. Rather than keep these copies in the back rooms of game stores until the launch day, copies have officially begun rolling out onto store shelves from today. I can confirm that JB Hi-Fi and EB Games Australia stores both have copies in stock, and undoubtedly other retailers across Australia do as well.
This very early release comes with a caveat, a gentleman’s agreement so to speak:
If you get the game early, please think of others and don’t spoil it for them. We know there are potential spoilers that have been out there for two decades as the original FINAL FANTASY VII was released in 1997. But Final Fantasy VII Remake is a new game that still has many surprises for everyone. All our fans and players deserve to experience the game for themselves, and we ask for the support of our dedicated community around the world to ensure that.
Yoshinori Kitase (Producer) and Tetsuya Nomura (Director) | Final Fantasy VII Remake
Kudos to Square Enix and local regional distributor Bandai Namco Entertainment Australia for making the decision to release copies much earlier than expected.
