Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles Remastered Will Be Digital-Only In North America

One of my buddies got excited for this while saying "why Diablo 3 though, it's so old".
Anyway, I have no idea what this is and I wouldn't be very interested probably anyway. But having a physical option is always better than not having one.

Not expecting many of these Final Fantasy games physically

Disappointing

Well, just another reason for me to not buy this.
They better not do this for FF7, I will be pissed if that is the case.

I can totally live with that

If they start doing this for all Final Fantasy games I won't be buying them. I swear. If I end up buying them digitally it'll have to be on Xbox One, where digital sales are much better.

Only buying physical so my excitement can drop from day-one-buy to maybe-never from one minute to the next.

@Bunkerneath Why would 7 be physical? It's digital only on PS4.

This news is almost as lame as the FFXV Pocket Edition reveal, good job Square-Enix, good job! >.<

But why ?.....

@Orpheus79V Because I want it physical for my FF collection, why else?

This is going to happen more and more often with Japanese publishers - digital only in the West on Switch at least.

I will wait for a sale, no physical copy is a bummer.

Guess i won't be buying it then. Thanks square.

Seems odd this keeps happening games are now repeatedly coming out physically in the east and not it the west. It's not a title I'm interested in but I do feel sorry for all those who were excited only to be dashed hours later, I had the same reaction with Okami HD (luckily could get that physically on other platforms). Is the cost of publishing physically in the west really that much higher than in the east that it destroys the business case for many games?

No Physical release. That is a deal breaker, for me, I don't want to even consider it, which I was going to do.

I guess that will apply to all the other FF releases.

So the price is going to reflect this then, no "omg these cartridges are so expensive" so I expect it to be £15.

Kinda makes sense really. Everything prior to 10 has been digital only on the other formats, and as far as I'm aware Crystal Chronicles wasn't a big seller first time round. Still disappointing though.

I'm not too bothered. The only way I would have picked up the physical edition anyway is if it had had reaaaaallly nice art (which it probably would have)

Do we know if that's also the case for X and XII?

@BensonUii i hope so too but they will, although to be fair FFVII and FFIX were digital only on the PS4 too

but there is a chance the FFX+ X-2 and XII will get a physical release as FFX was released physically on the Vita so we know that carts are big enough to hold the games

If it was digital only EVERYWHERE, I'd say fair enough. Doing a physical release only in Japan, though? Maybe time for GameStop to step up again like with Secret of Mana...

Ah crud!!

@BensonUii why wouldn't those games be digital-only? Unless they come on a single cartridge as a compilation...

Works for me. Less clutter. I still have the original anyway.

I wont be buying unless it's released on cart... which it might eventually. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

A bit disappointed at this news. Still hope this will not be the case in all of the FF titles

I doubt it but, I wonder if the Japanese release will have an English option.

My worry with FFCC is no mention of local, 1 joycon multiplayer.

This is the right sort of game I could play with my wife (who hates RPGs) and my kids: just enough depth but breezy combat.

Just getting people ready for SwitchGo, like PSPGo, a console that's digital only.

Is Nintendo publishing this one or SquarEnix? If it's Square at least we know it will be on sale half price within 6 months to a year. If it's Nintendo it's more like 6 years until a decent sale price.

Not surprised. Unless special editions are offered, FF7, 9, 10, 10-2, and 12 will probably follow suit. Hopefully that will change, but for now I'll deal.

Makes no difference to me.

That is disappointing. But honestly I didn't even expect these games on Switch period, so... even though I would much, much, much, MUCH rather have had these physical.... I'm just glad they're coming to Switch at all.

No worries. If the Japanese release supports English (some times Square-Enix releases do) then I'll just import. If not? Skip.

I'm just happy that it's coming out period. I never would have imagined that this will come out on the Nintendo switch (closest is 3ds), much more any of the other Final fantasy games that were never released on a Nintendo system.

I was going to buy this game... Now it's gone to the bottom of my wish list...

I figured that the other FF games announced would be digital only. So it doesn't matter to me if this is digital only also.

Not buying digitally, sorry.

The whole, "But it's better than not having them at all," falls on deaf ears for me. Treat me like I am a market you're attempting to acquire, gain that shelf space advertising, and actually take the consumer more serious.

Nicalis is beating you guys. Nicalis... Let that sink in.

You physical only dinosaurs will soon be going the way of... the... umm.. dinosaurs? Digital is the way to go for truly evolved human beings such as myself! Who wants to hoard physical carts and boxes that nobody else will truly appreciate while they take up ever increasing space in your home!?

Why does everything have to be freaking Digital I want to own the game not just the rights to play it, some of us like to have collections to show off Square Enix! Well looks like I won’t be buying the game unless it gets the limited Run treatment and square makes a physical copy.

@dleec8 it just came out this week that people who owned certain movies digitally on the apple store have lost those movies because apple removed them. This happens all the time on all the digital game stores as well, including the eShop. If it's not in a box, on your shelf, you don't own it, and the platform holder can take it away any time they wish.

Square Enix USA is borrowing Capcom USA’s play book.

Well you just lost a sale from me then. I'm also going to guess that FF XV Pocket Edition is download only too since they released it yesturday on eshop with no mention of physical copy. I want to like you SquareEnix, but you make it really hard.

So good memories with this one. Surely day one for me. Digital its better for the environment anyway.

If they did a physical cart that includes VII and IX, that would sell like hot cakes.

Buuuut, I'm mostly expecting digital only. XII and the X duo will probably be physical. If the Vita can get X and X2 on a physical cart everywhere, the Switch can too.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but can't you just import it and then play it in english since it has a western digital release? Digital is still better than nothing; If selling digital is a way for them to make a profit in the west they otherwise wouldn't see I think it's still a win for us.

I want a physical relationship with my games...😳

@dleec8 Because I like knowing that my games are safe should I ever have to get a new switch years from now when we're on the next hardware. I like having the boxes because they're nice to look at and display, not for friends or family, but for myself. I like having physical proof that I own this game, not just renting as long as servers are still maintained. I like and prefer physical because that is what makes me happy and works best for me. We have different preferences and ways of doing things. There is no right or better way. There's a your way and there's a my way. What works for me won't work best for you, that's why people expect and want options if the company has the means to do so, which they do and should, because physical is still the majority consumer's preference and this isn't a mediocre game that they'll lose out on more money by putting it on cartridge and in a case.

Now, you have people who would have bought it otherwise or were on the fence about it closing their wallets and saying nope. That isn't good for either of us, physical or digital buyers, that shows SE poor sales or that they broke even with little profits. That happens, then they'll decide porting or remaking old games for new consoles isn't worth the time or money to give the same treatment to the others in the series that they haven't thought about yet. That or they are using these games as a trial to see how well they sell on a different console and if most physical buyers decide to pass on these ports because it's only on eshop, digital buyers won't be getting any new ports either.

I know people like Physicals for collection's sake but i am more than happy with digital. Most of my stuff is going that way especially Switch. I dont want to have to carry around a case of games any time i leave home for a bit. I am more than happy just to open the menu and change the game.

What a missed opportunity...

Its simple no cart no buy. Considering that people who have purchased movies on iTunes have had there movies disappear and that is no different for any digital purchases. "Anytime, Anywhere" is a lie without a cart option.

Another physical copy supporter over here👋 Bummed to see Katamari releasing digitally, with a physical copy coming “months” later. Whyyyyy

I hate this trend of digital only.

Hope they add english text at least in the japanese version to import it. I couldnt be more happier with my copy of mmx legacy collection 2.

With how crappy it looks(graphically) and no physical release. I'll be passing. I was looking forward to trying this out with my kiddos.Shame.

Angry, they can suck it. Hopefully it has a multilanguage version of the game made so I can just buy the one from Japan like I Am Setsuna. If not, I'll have to re-evaluate buying the game entirely. I can also do Gamecube in HDMI and it costs far less.

@Bunkerneath Of course 7 is going to be digital. PS4 didn't get a physical copy.

Not a deal breaker. I prefer digital to physical anyways. I have a big capacity micro SD card for a reason.

Digital releases are becoming the norm. Will never understand why people get so butt hurt when a game doesn't get a physical release.

@stephenmunn It is true that having a digital license to a game does not compare to having physical copies that you own for life. But for someone like me, the hassle of swapping out carts, and constantly moving around my game collection/boxes as I find that I need that space for something else, does not compare to effortlessly switching from title to title on a hard drive or memory card.

Here is another fun fact: I have had two different Nintendo consoles (N64 and Gamecube) stolen from me at two different times in my life when I was 13 and when I was 18, along with ALL of my physical games for those consoles at the time. At least with digital games, I know that I can re-download them at any time. You may reply with an example of servers and downloads becoming unavailable, but by the time that actually happens I am pretty sure I will have moved on to whatever new games that interest me in the future. As I grow older I also find that I want to own less possessions that are collectible, and own only things I actually use on a consistent basis. So for me, holding on to "collectible" items like game cases and boxes has lost almost all of its appeal. I only buy physical now if it is a special edition box set that I really want to get because of the extras thrown in.

@JessM87 I understand what you are saying, and I agree that buyers should have options. I used to be a physical only die-hard too, but that was before I experienced having all of my physical games stolen from me on two separate occasions, and before I started to realize that having less stuff laying around my house was better then keeping a bunch of things that I hardly looked at or had a use for. But like you said: Everyone has their own thing that works for them, and there is no right or wrong way of playing games.

I would like to leave you with this though: Many more gaming companies are going to decide for you that you need to go digital. The cost of producing physical carts is going to drive more companies to produce digital only titles so that their profits on these games increase. As more and more people go full on digital, and less and less buy physical media, gaming companies are going to have a very low incentive to shell out extra cash to produce physical games. It will soon not make sense for these companies to produce physical copies at all (with the exception being special edition box sets) because the amount of profit they make on physical copies will be nothing compared to digital downloads.

@neogyo Months? Digital Katamari is November 30th and physical is the following week, December 7th.

@Moroboshi876 What? So rather than not buying it at all because it's digital, you're taking a new approach and just not buying it for Switch. Why?
No offense, but that just sounds petty and an excuse to take sales away from Nintendo. Like that sort of logic would be the sort of thing to kill third party support.

I had a feelings all these remastered games will be digital only, this includes all the Final Fantasy stuffs we just got during the Direct. Reason for this is because they are all digital only on the other platforms as well maybe except for the Zodiac Age and the FFX & X-2 bundle, but everything else seems likely to go digital.

@Platinumhobo None taken. I understand what you say. But what I want is physical games when available. And I've paid my share of the so-called Switch tax. But if some game has to be digital or nothing, and even worse, it only happens in Europe, then I want to buy the cheapest digital version, and it's not usually on Switch.

That's crummy. Is that true for the other consoles as well?

@Moroboshi876 Ok, glad I asked. That does make more sense compared to what I was initially interpreting.

@feder Seems so unfortunately.

@Platinumhobo oh phew I thought I read months later somewhere 😃

@stephenmunn not so clear cut as that. The guy was Australian and had an iTunes account where he purchased films. He then moved to Canada where those films he had purchased were not licences for release in Canada so he could not legally own them. Apple credited his account for the inconvenience. For the record I own films on my iTunes movie library purchased through iTunes that are now no longer sold and I’ve not had mine removed.

I will buy it despite being unhappy about no physical because the Multiplayer of the original is hard to set up with the need of 4 GBA and a GC connection cable. I think the physical nippon version will not have german language in it because if it would we would not need digital only for west.

Well F U Squeenix, I won't buy this game then! No physical for us in North America = no buy for me.