The Final Fantasy VII Official Strategy Guide has been out of stock at Amazon.com and BN.com for weeks, which could mean that it’s now out of print after an amazing 10+ year run.

Bradygames first published the Final Fantasy VII Official Strategy Guide on August 2, 1997, and was still in print as recently as November at Amazon. That would mean that the guide had been in print for 10 years and shifted over 1 million copies by itself, a mind-blowing feat for any game-related product, let alone a simple strategy guide, and really a testament to Final Fantasy VII’s popularity even a decade later.

Final Fantasy VII’s guide still shows up as available on Bradygames’ site, but from personal experience, they’re slow in updating items that go out of stock. Perhaps worth a try if you want a new copy before they’re extinct. Meanwhile, 3rd party prices for a new copy are starting to climb above $20 both on Amazon and eBay.

For what it’s worth, the Final Fantasy VIII guide appears to still be available and in print. Go figure.

As for Final Fantasy VII the game itself, it has been out of print since 2003, when Sony gave it its last “Greatest Hits” run. Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy Tactics’ publishing rights were held by Sony, and thus Sony made the call to end the print run — some might argue, prematurely. Later Square titles like Final Fantasy VIII and IX were published under a Square EA joint publishing deal, which explains why you can still buy new copies of Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy IX from Amazon for the why-don’t-you-own-this-already price of $19.99.

That’s perhaps a good lesson for game makers — don’t license out the publishing rights for your console generation-defining masterpieces. Given that used copies of Final Fantasy VII easily top $50 and $60 on eBay, Square is certainly missing out on potential revenue from a “Greatest Hits” reprint.