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Wada: Final Fantasy XIII could be delayed again, because of Dragon Quest IX

I found this on neogaf, an article about Square Enix and their possible plans for Final Fantasy XIII.


Translated:

"Wada Debates Releasing FFXIII in 2008

In an interview with Nikkei Torendinetto, Yoichi Wada discussed the release date of Final Fantasy XIII. According to the translation he said he is unsure whether to release Final Fantasy XIII the same year as Dragon Quest IX, since both are high profile games and that might hurt business.

However, the fact Wada said Final Fantasy XIII might be released in 2008 does implies that it is possible to release the game this year, so maybe the game's development is further along than we have previously been told."

This would be unfortunate if true. The Playstation 3 needs a high-profile JRPG to answer the Xbox 360's Lost Odyssey. With the current, overwhelmingly positive user reviews that the game is getting from JRPG gamers on forums everywhere, Lost Odyssey is quickly turning into a series that could threaten the dominance of the Final Fantasy brand. And with Mistwalker planning more JRPGs for this year (Cry On and Blue Dragon 2 are rumored) the problem could get only worse for Square Enix. Will they still be relevant for the worldwide market with all of these delays?

I've been reading online and what I've read is that a lot of gamers were really, REALLY burned by Final Fantasy XII and it's horrible gambit control system. Review sites everywhere gave FFXII glowingly positive reviews; and even Famitsu gave the game perfect scores. But if you check how it was received (even by gamers in Japan, surprisingly), it seems that most gamers really disliked the game, and it served as a wake up call for most people that Square Enix isn't really what it used to be. Granted, FFXIII and its five iterations will still sell well in the worlwide marketplace, but by delaying their games, they're giving Mistwalker an ample opportunity to make a case for the Western market and establish their brand, creating for Square Enix a bitter rival that will be difficult for them to topple.

Thirteen could very well be an unlucky number for Square....

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