14 DAY TRIAL // Recently, Square Enix confirmed the release date for Final Fantasy XIII, its upcoming Japanese role playing game blockbuster, for the markets in North America and Europe. The title is set to arrive on March 9, 2010 for those who live outside Japan, while the lucky gamers who live in the island nation will be able to pick up the PlayStation 3 version of Final Fantasy XIII on December 17, nearly three months ahead of the gamers from the West.
The delay is caused by the decision made by Square Enix to actually release the game, which was seen as an exclusive for the PlayStation 3, on the Microsoft made Xbox 360.
The need to port the content, coupled with that of offering fully voice translations, led to the three-month delay. But it seems that the time for releases separated by huge gaps is drawing to an end.
Yoichi Wada, who is the president of Square Enix, told Ars Technica that “For the last three years, we have worked very hard to close the gap between Japanese release timing and North American and European release timing. We tried to go for the global, simultaneous release but that was something that was inconceivable, in a sense. But we have been able to close that release window gap to three months. For us, it was a very big step forward.”
One of the reasons for the shift in position on the part of Square Enix might be the more global profile it aims to have. The publisher recently bought Eidos and is aiming to leverage its big franchises more in West. This comes as the Japanese videogaming market continues to shrink and as Japanese developers and publishers are looking to diversify their portfolios and get more money from Western markets.