Final Fantasy 7 Revelation director fought for a disc release because he "really likes" physical media

As the debate surrounding discs vs digital rages on, Final Fantasy 7 Revelation director Naoki Hamaguchi has gone to bat for physical games media.

Since PlayStation confirmed earlier this year their intention to cease production of physical discs in 2028, part of a wider shift across the industry towards digital gaming, players have voiced their concern at what they perceive as an attack on physical media and the very concept of owning their games.

This is not an issue that's going away anytime soon, as evidenced by the choruses of "No game, no buy" across social media.

In an interview with Naoki Hamaguchi, director of the Final Fantasy 7 remake series, I asked his opinion on a fully-digital future for gaming – his own work on a remake of a famously three-disc game giving him perhaps a unique viewpoint.

"This is a particularly sensitive question these days," Hamaguchi began, noting that he was glad to have the opportunity to address it.

"Personally, obviously, I bought lots of physical editions of games as a child. Sometimes I buy digital editions of games, but if I'm particularly attached to a title, I want to get the physical version.

"And you know, being in the industry, sometimes I want to get my friends or acquaintances who've worked on something to sign a copy of their own game."

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But while he has a strong personal appreciation for physical media, he is naturally well aware of the economics of it.

"I do think that physical media will remain in some form going forward. But the PC market, for example, is going from strength to strength, and lots of people already purchase digital copies of games and just download them.

"So, I can see a world in the not-too-distant future where physical media is essentially disc-less. You would have a copy of the code on a piece of paper inside the physical box or something like that."

Despite this, Hamaguchi maintains that he loves physical media, and is proud of managing to secure of a physical edition for Revelation despite not being able to fit the entire game on there.

"I do really like and appreciate physical media. I see a lot of people on social media saying, 'No disc, no purchase,' and I understand where they're coming from.

"And for Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, we've been able to preserve a physical edition. You can't play the entire game on that disc, but it's got the opening – a sort of key disc – and then after that, it will ask you to download the rest."

"I do understand there are people out there with a lot of opinions about this, I understand that and I have been keeping an eye on that. So, there's something that I would like to say to those people.

He goes on explain that, unfortunately, these things are not exactly up to him and him alone.

"First of all, I've got people saying to me on social media, 'Give us a full disc version!' And so, from an overall perspective, let me first say that as the director, it's my responsibility to look after the content of the game to make sure it's fun, really exciting.

"The product line-up, the SKUs (stock keeping units), how it's going on sale; that is the responsibility of the publishing team. So, my authority there is somewhat limited," he smiled.

Despite that, he explained that behind the scenes, he put forward the case for Revelation having a physical release.

"In this day and age, as we've been talking about, there's a lot of pressure for disc-less editions, digital editions, and I used my position to put forth an argument for the physical version as much as possible.

"And all of the negotiations, both internally and with first parties, have led us to where we are now, and of course, I completely understand there are those out there who may not really agree with that direction or approve of that direction."

"I completely understand there are those out there who may not really agree with that direction or approve of that direction. But I would just say that I hope you understand that I completely see where you're coming from, and that I did my best.

"It is a very tricky subject," he laughed, in conclusion.

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation is set to conclude the remake trilogy that began with FF7 Remake in 2020, with the title set to introduce a new, planetary-scale world.

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation releases on 8 April 2027 for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch 2.

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