Jason, you’ve always been one of my favorite writers on the site. Your takes on JRPGs are always thoughtful and welcome, even in the cases where our tastes diverge. Your first book was a joy to read each day on my commute, and taught me a lot about the back-end of the industry.

*quickly looks up Wikipedia entry for both to tell the difference*

Strangely, the compliment about Tom Hanks’s butt is the only thing I remember about Sleepless in Seattle.

only adorable people use

I agree with your other points, but I’m interested in returning to the point about regulation one more time.

You do have a point. I agree that parents could be more aware of the issue. That said, this is a chicken-and-egg scenario. Parents are less likely to become more aware unless the labeling is clearer, and no group will feel pressured to make the labeling clearer unless parents care, unless the regulator cares about the…

Absolutely. The ESRB was made by the video game industry to self-regulate the video game industry. So there is an inherent conflict of interest between the profitability of random-item microtransactions and the ESRB’s regulatory mission.

I wonder how clear this will be to end-users, like parents, who may not know all that is entailed in loot-box mechanics and microtransactions, but will be expected to make an informed judgment starting with “Includes Random Items.”

Yes, I’m familiar with the spoilers.

(ETA - This post was dismissed?)

That’s literally backward. FF7R doesn’t remake something that didn’t exist. It remakes the first part of FF7 and adds elements to make it new.

Why do you think a sequel and a remake are mutually exclusive?

I played FF7 when it came out, and played it a handful of times since, including last year. I’ve always liked FF7, and it’s grown on me over time.

That’s fair to say, and saying any more would spoil it.

My neighbor across the street and I don’t talk much.

This is the review I needed to confirm I'll get the game. I'll take interesting expansion and changes over a stricter rehash.

Just FYI, I'll dismiss any misinformation about COVID-19.

I wonder if this is an attempt to sell to people who may think it will be the same as FF7 and therefore not worth it. “Look! There are changes! See how they happen!”

Well, I think your own reading is peculiar and does not respond to the actual text and context, and in any case now I’ve thoroughly clarified myself.

Sounds like you should have responded to OP then, and not me. In context, I certainly didn’t agree to that comment. I acknowledged embezzlement was one possibility, and wondered openly about the confusing math here. My final statement was that it doesn’t look good. A boss getting a large bonus when the employees…