Recently, Naoki Hamaguchi, director of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, explained why the physical edition of this title still requires downloading some content.
Ever since Sony announced it would stop producing physical discs, players have been worried that their favorite games would one day completely say goodbye to physical formats. Fortunately, the final chapter of the Final Fantasy VII Remake series will still receive a physical release—but with one caveat: some content requires an additional download. Now, the director has provided an explanation.
In an interview with IGN, Naoki Hamaguchi was asked about the physical release of this title. He stated that he was "very happy" to be able to release a physical edition, considering that the entire game market is "leaning towards a disc-less direction." However, he also acknowledged players' concerns about the need to download content even with a physical disc and responded to them.
Naoki Hamaguchi explained that the team had internally discussed how to handle the physical disc for this title. They could have followed the approach used for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, but that would have meant having to "compromise on the game's fidelity and quality." As a development team, they decided not to sacrifice game quality; therefore, although there will be a physical disc, certain parts of the game still need to be downloaded digitally.
Naoki Hamaguchi understands players' dissatisfaction with the decision to include digital downloads with the physical edition of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth; however, he remains "very happy" to offer a physical version and is "quite satisfied with the final result."
What do you think about this? Can you accept a physical edition that requires downloads? Feel free to discuss in the comments.