Every now and then, I wonder: does Square Enix hate America?
On a completely unrelated note, if you're waiting for Final Fantasy XIII to hit U.S. shores any time soon, get ready for one long wait.
British-based Reuters recently held an interview with Square Enix President Yoichi Wada, where he more or less stated that FFXIII wasn't going to get its American coat of polish and localization finished until freakin' April. Of 2010. Since it was a Reuters article, the rest of the article had the usual stuff about Square's expected millions and BAJILLIONS of expected profits in Dragon Quest IX.
What makes us mad is that Square Enix seems to be pacing the U.S. release of FFXIII for the company revenue calendar, rather than trying to get the game out to hungry fans at a reasonable pace. Not cool.
We're disappointed, but not surprised in the least -- especially considering that the simultaneous launch Square Enix promised in July turned into a PS3-first launch less than a month later. Oh, and don't forget that they're probably going to charge us already cash-strapped American gamers for the demo. WEAK.
"Square Enix also plans to launch the next version of 'Final Fantasy' in 2009 in Japan, further strengthening its product lineup. Overseas launches of the latest "Final Fantasy" game will come in the business year from April 2010 or later, Wada said. Square Enix will offer the latest version, 'Final Fantasy XIII', for both Sony Corp's PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Corp's Xbox 360 in North America and Europe, and exclusively for the PS3 in Japan."
[Quote via Reuters/The Guardian]
