Seems I was wrong about this AKA right all along about the format of this game, as per my insider and my industry knowledge.
Interview is in at famitsu. Translating it now, since the gematsu one leaves a lot to be desired, but they pretty much came out and said that the game has to be split up in parts because the original is just too big, and has too much content to be "remakable" in the fidelity that they've set for themselves.
Now ignoring how this statement is obvious BS, because splitting the game up in no way changes the amount of work if you truly plan on remaking everything, it just allows you put out something to the market quicker which may or may not allow you to prolong the total development-cycle, it really proves my point of how the AAA industry and the "we have to make pretty games that satisfy everyone"-mentality screws over the entire art and the medium of gaming.
I'd happily accept lower-end graphics if it meant that they'd be able to faithfully recreate the entire world in full 3D and release the game in a single package. In fact, as I've already stated, the Smash Brothers design and graphical level would still be more than enough to satisfy my wants for a remake.
They've completely shot themselves in the foot.
Now they'll release the game split up into segments which means :
A.) probably huge content cuts, because there is literally no need to provide a world-map or most of the non-essential segments to the plot (such as the Chocobo farm, the first Fort Condor battle, most of the dungeons/areas that you traverse in-between towns and essential plot locations etc. when you can simply segue from episode to episode of the only truly important scenes of the plot on a select menu.
Originally, I had though that the vague statements I had to go on originally from my friend combined with the first trailer meant that they were going to use Future Midgar as a hub to re-tell the story, but now it might actually mean that all we're getting is an interface with an episode selection menu, and then being transplanted into self-contained story-segments and locations with only character stats carrying over.
B.) That the game will probably see a much earlier release than we first though, but that each episode will be separated by large chunks of dead-time while we wait for the developers to complete the next segment, which essentially means that we'll be forced to play the game on and off for years, or wait until the entire thing is out.
C.) Extra expenses - and seeing as how the format is excellent for micro-transactions and optional side-content, we're possibly looking at another really contrived entrance in the PSN store with a ridiculous total cost.
D.) Bugs. When you take your time developing a game and deliver it in one chunk, chances are you've play-tested the game from start to finish several times to make sure the different elements truly work with one another, and that everything has been given the same quality control.
Rushing out one part at the time truly throws into question how well these parts are going to work together, and how much time and quality control will be given to each one of them.
Taking into account the transition into a much more technically complex game-play system with much larger room for bugs, such as clipping issues, A.I issues, etc.
Look forward to having Guard Scorpion getting stuck in rails and making endless pirouettes trying to get out - or Cloud falling through a wall into black oblivion forcing you to reset the game.
Seriously SE go F yourselves for ever. I seriously hope this project bankrupts you, and you end up having to sell the IPs to Mistwalker studios or something. Sad thing is, they probably wouldn't buy it, because Sakaguchi has already moved on from this train-wreck.
And "deal with it" memes with him keep popping into my head too because I'm strange.