Final Fantasy has been a flagship PlayStation exclusive for over 25 years, despite originally being a Nintendo series. Sony has now revealed the unusual way it secured the rights to the franchise.
The story begins with Sony's entry into the console market with the original PlayStation. A mix of engineers and music division employees—responsible for marketing, sales, and publisher relations—were tasked with securing exclusive titles to attract attention to the new console. Their target: Final Fantasy.
According to Sean Layden, former president of Sony Interactive Entertainment, the Sony Music team employed a unique tactic:
“At 8 am, all the engineers were at their desks in Sony vests...By 10-11 am, the Sony Music guys would arrive—hungover, in sunglasses, with cigarettes in their mouths…These guys went to Square Enix and poured whiskey down their throats until the wee hours of the morning to finally get Final Fantasy VII to switch from Nintendo to PlayStation.”
This unconventional approach proved successful. The release of Final Fantasy VII in 1997 marked the beginning of Square Enix's exclusive publishing relationship with Sony. The series moved to PlayStation, and in 2020, the game that started it all received its first remake installment.
