"There is real value in being able to offer a physical edition at all."

Physical versions of Final Fantasy 7 Revelation require a download anyway because Square Enix would've had to compromise the game in some fashion to contain the entire mammoth adventure in a disc. At least, that's the reasoning series director Naoki Hamaguchi has given.

Anyone sitting in the venn diagram middle of Final Fantasy 7 fan and physical games collector might have gone from extremely happy to kinda bummed earlier this week. The third and final part of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy is shipping in a physical format on all three major consoles (hurray), but you'll still need to download additional game data to get going.

"Each platform has limitations when it comes to physical media capacity, but we believed that compromising the quality of the final chapter in order to achieve a fully on-disc release would ultimately not be in the best interest of many fans," said Remake trilogy director Naoki Hamaguchi in an online statement.

"We understand that this decision may not meet everyone's expectations. Even so, in today's market, where the industry is steadily moving toward a disc-less future, we believe there is real value in being able to offer a physical edition at all," he added.

Fans have since put forth their own online counters, pointing out that both Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth launched on two discs that together contained the entire game. Theoretically, Square Enix could've repeated the trick a third time and had Final Fantasy 7 Revelation come out with multiple discs stuffed into a plastic package.

As it stands now, physical PS5 and Xbox Series X boxes include one disc, while Nintendo Switch 2 copies contain a controversial Game-Key card - all three require an internet connection for an extra install.

Physical releases have been a hot topic ever since Sony announced plans to stop manufacturing new PlayStation games on discs starting in 2028. That PR disaster persisted through the entire summer and is still chomping at Sony's heels, if reactions to the company's recent State of Play show were any indication.

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