"To make a remake of FF VII now would mean the end for FF."

Where’s that Final Fantasy VII remake everyone’s been asking Square Enix for? Nowhere anytime soon. Echoing character designer Tetsuya Nomura’s sentiments from back in May, Square Enix president and CEO Yoichi Wada said during a recent shareholders meeting that though there’s interest, a Final Fantasy VII remake will not be created until it’s topped by a new, original Final Fantasy.

Here are some choice quotes, courtesy of I-Mezzo:

“Although Final Fantasy VII is extremely popular within the company and there were talks of a remake multiple times, I think the compilation has reached an ending point.”

“Final Fantasy VII is revered as a “divine game,” even by overseas studios.”

“The development staff would be overjoyed to do a Final Fantasy VII remake, but if we were to do it now, we’d have to deal with it very seriously.”

“Brand control for Final Fantasy VII is difficult. At the moment, we aren’t making Final Fantasy titles that exceed Final Fantasy VII. Given that circumstance, to make a remake of Final Fantasy VII now would mean the end for Final Fantasy. I think Final Fantasy VII’s remake will have to wait until we make a Final Fantasy that exceeds Final Fantasy VII.”

Japanese readers, find a full transcript of the meeting here. (No, Final Fantasy Versus XIII is not mentioned.)