Square-Enix: Decreased Localization Time For FFXIII

Final Fantasy XIII

Okay, we understand that many of you are upset about the whole Final Fantasy XIII coming to the Xbox 360 thing, but there are two facts you shouldn't ignore: 1. it's still coming to the PlayStation 3 at the same time, and many believe it'll be the best version, and 2. with Square-Enix working more towards appealing to the Western gaming crowd, their localization efforts, almost by default, must get better. All Japanese RPG fans are well aware of this stumbling block when it comes to finally getting certain titles to leave Japan and arrive on U.S. store shelves. Know your history, gamers.

But according to a Play interview with Square-Enix corporate executive Shinji Hashimoto, we should be seeing FFXIII hit globally in a "fresh state." It seems that the localization "won't be as pronouned" as it usually is for any previous entry in the franchise, and that's good news. Here's what Hashimoto said in the interview:

"Obviously, we announced the title for both the PS3 and 360, so in that sense we’re very excited to be able to appeal to a new user base and to fans that are users of both PS3 and 360. Another thing I’m excited about it that it’s traditionally taken about a year for localisation to take place, so the Japanese version can reach audiences around the world. But with this title we’re focused on decreasing that time gap. That means, right now, we’re not only involved in creating and developing, but also working hard to deliver the title in a fresh state to everyone in the world."

In the past, when someone would ask why we haven't gotten 'insert Square-Enix game here,' the answer would almost inevitably be: "localization issues." Square-Enix is aware of this, though, and they've said in the past they wish to get past this hurdle...even if the new Western focus means developing games for the 360. Yes, the Japanese get FFXIII first - they always get FF titles first - but it seems the rest of the world won't have to wait the customary year...  See, there's a silver lining to everything, folks.

Related Game(s): Final Fantasy XIII

8/11/2008 Ben Dutka

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