The main storyline of Final Fantasy 7 typically takes around ten to twenty hours, excluding time spent on text dialogue.
In previous role-playing games, the main storyline wasn't considered too long. However, by engaging in side quests and playing mini-games, players could easily spend sixty to seventy hours on a role-playing game. This is now considered the standard length for role-playing games.
Some game companies in the past tried to increase the overall length of the story, but the results were not great. Many reviews criticized the lengthy story for making players feel bored.
However, the real reason wasn't that the main storyline was too long, but rather that the content was too repetitive. Developers who tried to deliberately lengthen the game couldn't find additional elements to add in a short period of time, so they simply increased the repetition of the game's content.
This time, Takayuki wants to expand the entire worldview.
The GS1 is the gateway to the new era, and Takayuki hopes that Final Fantasy 7 can become the key to that gateway.
In response to Uesugi's question, Takayuki directly answered that it's not enough yet, leaving everyone stunned.
Takayuki's proposed gameplay, world map size, content, and plot in the development plan have all been elevated to a new level, which was unthinkable in the past.
Moreover, just imagining it, the cost of developing such a game would probably be high. The labor costs alone for a team of four or five hundred people would be considerable, not to mention other resource investments. This is akin to a gamble.
Previously, game development was always kept within a certain range, with the investment in a typical game being around five million dollars or less. Only a few top series of games from GameStar Entertainment had development costs reaching tens of millions of dollars.
This made many industry insiders believe that game development was confined to this scale, and that the investment costs wouldn't be too extravagant.
Although some people had thought about making large investments for big returns, no one dared to be the first to try it because the cost was quite high. If a large investment didn't pay off, the entire company could collapse immediately.
Moreover, there are few companies capable of making large investments in game production at the moment. They are still in the exploratory stage, so they naturally proceed with caution when it comes to investing.
The bigger the company, the less likely they are to take risks.
In the film industry, it's not uncommon for a movie's large investment to directly lead to the bankruptcy of a film company.
Furthermore, the video game industry is still in its infancy.
"President, isn't this enough? Can we make the game even bigger in the future?"
"That's right. This is just an initial experimental attempt. I've already prepared a hundred million dollars for the investment in this game, and there will be at least fifty million dollars in reserve funds at any time."
This is a validation of their company's gaming industry system. After so many years of experience accumulation, Takayuki believes that their company still has the strength to develop outstanding games. Now they just lack an opportunity, and Final Fantasy 7 is that opportunity.
The initial investment of one hundred million dollars was truly surprising to everyone, as it directly raised the upper limit of past game development costs by ten times. This sounded more like gambling than anything else.
At this moment, Ayano Tsukino didn't know when she had also arrived in the conference room and was sitting alone in the corner, listening to Takayuki's ambitious plans.
When she heard Takayuki mention the development investment, she was also somewhat surprised, but soon she showed a hint of longing as well.
Such a capital investment would mobilize unimaginable manpower and resources. If it really succeeded, it would definitely be an opportunity to ignite the industry.
It's a pity that she didn't have so much money, nor did she have the manpower and resources to drive it. Otherwise, she would really want to be the first to take the plunge.
In Takayuki's view, the one hundred million dollar investment was actually just a small scene.
In the future, large AAA games would easily have investments of over a hundred million dollars.
Big investments bring big returns, but also come with extremely high risks.
However, with mature game templates from predecessors, the risk Takayuki was taking was infinitely reduced.
Even if it failed, one hundred million dollars was affordable. The company's reserve funds were already seven to eight hundred million dollars. Burning through three or four games of this scale was not a problem at all. This is having money and being unflustered, even daring to have some fun.
Uesugi clearly wanted to say something more, but Takayuki raised his hand to interrupt him. "I know what you want to say. Let me answer you directly. I can afford this money, and the company won't have any problems because of it. You just need to unleash your creativity to the fullest. Right now, you only need to worry about your lack of ideas, and not about anything else."
After saying that, Takayuki looked at everyone solemnly, his gaze sincere.
"In the past, we were limited by the capacity of game cartridges and the performance limitations of game consoles, which prevented us from creating better games. This has always been a regret of mine. So this time, I think we should try to expand and prove the development strength of our company. In the past, we have always led the industry, and with the arrival of this new era, I hope we can do the same."
Leading the industry again, this statement was grandiose.
But Takayuki indeed had the confidence to say such words.
Because he had always been leading the industry forward.
Uesugi didn't say anything more, and the other two also remained silent.
But there was excitement in their eyes.
It was the excitement of finally being able to go all out.
Since the president had said so, the only thing they could do was to do their best to meet the requirements.
This meeting not only assigned tasks to everyone but also served as a rallying call.
Rallying everyone to join this gamble.
If successful, all participants would reap huge benefits: significant growth in game development experience, as well as an increase in fame.
The leaders of the three major game development teams would undoubtedly become even more famous, and their industry status would rise accordingly.
Especially Haga, who had just become the head of the development team not long ago. This game development might make him shine.
The only regret was that this wasn't a game development he led alone. Otherwise, his fame and status would be even higher in the future.