Random: New York Times Posts Decades-Old Final Fantasy 7 Spoilers on Front Page

I mean it is a super old game, but they could do with removing the picture of Aerith at least.

@Nepp67 And not write "will they kill Aerith again?"

"(like the identity of Luke Skywalker's father)"

Wait, what? We get a father reveal for Luke? I'm only on the first movie, how could you do this to me??

But yeah, I think at this point FF7 spoilers are fair game. If there was a statute of limitations for spoilers, it would have expired a while ago. Besides, since the new trilogy has been introducing variations on the fates of characters and such, it's not like prior knowledge of the original sets anything in stone.

I tried to play FF7 about 10 times and always got somewhere around first witch boss fight, so I still never finished that game yet... Must work on it, but now I'm very busy with FF16.

Wh-wh-whaaatttt?? NYT spoiled a common known major plot point of a 20+ year old RPG?! SSSHHHAAAMMMEE!!!

I think this was my first disc swap game.

I've been holding off from playing FF7 since 1997 because I was waiting until PS5 Pro releases so I can play the game as it was intended and then Push Square comes along with this article. Never again

I think it's just common knowledge to us now especially those that have been playing final fantasy games since the early days. I never played the original FF7 and yet I still knew she died.

Think how many times Mario died in video games- falling down pits, getting burned by spinning flame thingys, and walking into mushrooms and the NYT has NEVER covered any of those.

Thanks for spoiling the front page of The New York Times for me.

People need to learn: Spoilers should never be publicised without warning.

This applies to books, movies, and games.

There will be tons of people who will be new to FF7 because of the remakes. Many will not know this info.

My son is about to start the original FF7. He’s 12, and has no idea what the story entails. And there are countless kids like him. But he has seen me play the remake and knows the characters. (He’s gonna be heartbroken when he gets to that point. Haha)

I was reading an article the other day and had parts of The Godfather ruined for me. The article had nothing to do with The Godfather, it was talking about war and politics. I had added the movies to my watch list just a few days prior. I’m now waiting until I forget what was written. Hehe

@LimitedPower Sheik is Zelda?! Literally just found that out lol. Don't really care for Zelda spoilers, just surprised how I've missed that all these years.

@LimitedPower don’t post spoilers. It really isn’t cool.

Also, it’s breaking the rules on this website…

@Kienda I kinda agree. I’m an old guy but new to gaming and loving it. I played 7 remake last year and enjoyed it. I actually didn’t know about this death. I get that it’s an old story though so I dunno. I also got spoiled before playing TLOU2 but apparently a lot of people did. Maybe I should just stop reading anything about games 😐

I completely agree with some of the comments above. Why should we stop being careful about spoiling things for other people, just because they've been around for a while? The Mousetrap play in London wouldn't be pleased with that approach. What about people who weren't even born when the game came out? Do they not deserve a chance to experience the story as intended? What about people new to gaming, should we ruin the classics for them before they even get started? To me, it feels like a very selfish, insular, and exclusionary approach to take.

It’s not actually a spoiler, because Aeris died in the original, not Aerith.

I think some of you need to realise that the fact that the original game is 25 years old doesn't mean it can't be spoiled. It just means that there's a whole new generation of gamers who haven't played the original.

This is bad etiquette.

@Gaia093 I had that spoiled to me by Homer Simpson, in the episode that spoils it to a queue of moviegoers (I didn't see Star Wars til quite late!)

But yeah, something this big and formative, you'd think that NYT would at least use a bit of caution, especially considering that the Remake trilogy isn't up to that point yet. Hell I still speak vaguely around The Sixth Sense just in case people haven't seen it yet.

Plot twist: you'll be able to bring her back for real (I mean, as opposed to GameSharks of yore). What do you think the title stands for?😀

The real story here is The New York Times put a video game article above the fold on the front page.

@RS1 Rocky loses & there is a rematch. Did I ruin it?

Thats weird.i know final fantasy 7 rebirth is coming.but lets remind everyone what happened in the original final fantasy 7 decades ago.haha😄.word up son

As “common knowledge” as it may be, this is an entirely different scenario from Luke/Vader.

These games are being remade for new and existing audiences so the story should be treated as new and unspoiled.

Are they remaking Empire? No.

Just a lack of respect and decency on show from anyone who openly spoils.

Same would apply for TLOU Part 1 and 2 and the now ongoing TV Series.

If people can’t understand the above then even god can’t help you at this point.

@Kienda these are old games and films. You can’t just not discuss the spoiler points forever because a small minority haven’t watched/played it. Your son wasn’t even ALIVE. When this game released ffs

@SirRealDeal No, but I'm 46 and watched those films years go. If they were re-releasing Rocky for a new generation and it was just about to come out at the cinemas, you absolutley could have done.

You know what I'm really worried about?

The Youtubers who are absolutely going to be releasing videos on the 2nd March with the title "Why Aerith had to die in Rebirth" or "How will Aerith's story unfold in Final Fantasy 7 Remake's third installment?"

@RS1 I don't even give them the time of day.

I mean, spoilers suck, but this game is going on 27 years old now. At some point, you just have to accept that the story is out there. It's basically common knowledge at this point that Vader is Luke's father, but does that mean every conversation about Star Wars has to be prefaced with Spoiler alert? That reveal happened in 1980. I think people need to let it go.

@theSpectre Nor do I and anybody who posts spoilers like this gets an instant block and a "Do not recommend channel".

However, there are some YouTubers out there who are going to put this in a thumbnail with a video title that will be very clear on the outcome. My issue is that my existing commitments mean that a game with 50 hours of content will take me several months to complete. That's a long time to say unspoiled.

I really don't care about spoilers. Knowing the plot really doesn't make me enjoy a game less.
There are even times when interesting spoilers made me play a game I wouldn't have otherwise (spec ops the line for example).

As he was leaving the theater I had a punk kid "accidentally" spoil The Force Awakens when I was in line to see the movie on the first day. I will never forget that. His parents saw and were not happy. My brother missed it so I kept my mouth shut. You know what was spoiled so I won't say it.

But on the plus side, in 1999 I saw the 1968 version of Planet of the Apes on VHS and was surprised by the ending. Even Steven.

It’s not a sign of the times, unless you mean a sign that the New York Times is a dump nowadays. In that case you’re correct. Look at the other articles: Ukraine is dying! Run for your lives! Give Denathor a clubbing!”

News outlets are lacking in dignity and professionalism because clicks are more important than anything. Don’t even make me mention CBC.

How is it spoilers when you had 27 or some years to play the original game? Also ff7 rebirth follows alternate story line so most of the original spoilers are irrelevant

@djlard I'm sorry, but I had to laugh at your typo for "busy."

@Darknexus Is your whole comment (especially the last sentence) sarcasm? I can never tell anymore, since I've seen some ridiculous takes lately.

@Lanmanna 🤣 *hit happens

@Boucho11 calm down with the ffsing. Lol

It’s basic human decency to not want to spoil things for others. And most people like surprises in what they’re seeing.

As media is remade, like movies and games, new audiences see them. If those new audiences have the main parts ruined then they won’t get the full experience from them.

And no, it doesn’t matter how old something is. Most media is consumed after the first six months of release. With movies most people see those movies years after release.

So no, there is no time limit on spoilers. Never share them without warning or without first getting consent from the person you are talking to. It’s why movies aren’t described by their plot twists and it’s why most gaming forums have spoiler warnings and so forth.

I don’t know why you have a problem with this.

I swear, no movie fans would whine about the NYT spoiling Citizen Kane (spoiler: ROSEBUD IS HIS CHILDHOOD SLED). People who play video games, however, seem to be the most sensitive bunch on the planet. Maybe the NYT should have anticipated the backlash, but give me a break.

@nekrowizard There are several films coming out this year based on books.

You OK with me sending you a private message explaining the ending to you? I mean, some of these books have been around a long time so it's fair game right?