Square Enix aiming for simultaneous game releases

by Candace Savino { Mar 11th 2008 at 5:00PM }

One thing that we constantly gripe about is localization. There are many games that we'll never see translated, and the ones that do make it over often take (what seems like) forever. Our mothers always told us that patience is a virtue, but as far as we're concerned, patience can take a hike.

Maybe we're natural born whiners, or maybe companies like Square Enix just like to torture us by releasing games in Japan so much earlier than they do in rest of the world. Take, for example, Final Fantasy IV and Dragon Quest IV, which have been out in Japan for months and not even announced for localization. We also have The World Ends With You, which is coming to America and Europe in April, although it was released in Japan last July. It's understandable because most Squeenix games are text-heavy RPGs, but it's still not fun to wait, nonetheless.

The company is trying to cut down on its localization times, however, and Square Enix's president Yoichi Wada is aiming for simultaneous worldwide releases. In fact, he said that the company would be "making simultaneous releases the norm." While it's hard for us not to laugh out loud and praise Wada for making such a funny joke, we think he's actually serious.

Does that mean it will happen? Probably not. But we appreciate any effort by the company to shorten the waiting time for those of us who don't live in Japan.

[Via NeoGAF]

Tags: localization, release, square-enix, yoichi-wada