To be fair, people have been waiting for both for the better part of two decades…
In a recent interview, Tetsuya Nomura, director for both Kingdom Hearts 3 and the Final Fantasy VII Remake, admits that both games were announced too early. The interview, by Italian site Multiplayer (translated via KingdomHeartsInsider), has the man expound on the factors that led to both games being announced way too early.
Most companies wait until closer to launch, but in the case of Square Enix:
Deciding when to announce your game to the public is always difficult. I understand why some companies wait as long as possible, and I definitely think it’s a good thing for them. But in our case, we receive pressure from the fans even when we do not announce anything. They’re always asking us “are you working on this?” or “why don’t you make a sequel for that?”. Even after the announcement, the situation does not change, because then they’ll move onto asking us “when will it release?” or “when will you show a new trailer?”.
People are waiting for new information regardless of whether the game has been announced or not. It’s great when we manage to keep it secret for as long as possible, but these days, a lot of important projects become victims of rumors and leaks. Honestly, I prefer that we officially reveal our games instead of seeing a leak or a rumor circulating online. Especially when part of the development is outsourced to other companies, there is always the risk that people outside the in-house team will spread information and images online. It is even worse when, during the development, a fake rumor sprouts that people start to believe, and it becomes necessary to decide whether to answer and deny.
The same thing happened with the remake of Final Fantasy 7. I am well aware of the fact that we announced it too early, but even in the industry, word was beginning to spread that we were working on the game, so we just decided not to keep it more secret and officially reveal it.
In essence, thanks to the rabid fanbase for both games, they’re damned if they do, damned if they don’t. Of course, it also minimizes the damage from rumors and leaks. Still, both games are quite a ways away from being done, so that’s probably all part of the tightrope they’re walking. Kingdom Hearts 3 doesn’t release until early next year.
Source: VG 24/7
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