Square Enix has finally officially confirmed more of its late-year North American release plans for 2007, but in so doing has made it pretty clear that we're still going to be significantly behind Japan's schedule. In particular, the highly anticipated Dragon Quest Swords for Wii won't ship here until 2008.
Other release-date naildowns today include Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings (DS, Winter), Final Fantasy Tactics (PSP, October), and Dragon Quest Monsters Joker (DS, Q4).
But that leaves a whole bunch of games that will be Japan-only for 2007, and it's all the heavy hitters. Shouldn't Square Enix revamp the way they approach localization? More after the jump.
This is in addition to the already announced games coming earlier this year: Dawn of Mana (PS2, May 22), Final Fantasy I (PSP, June 26), Final Fantasy II (PSP, July 24), and Heroes of Mana (DS, late summer).
I'm not sure if that consitutes Square's entire lineup for 2007, but if so, it begs the question: should Square Enix be doing more to get their releases on a more worldwide-oriented timeline? It can't be good for them to manage two distinct hype cycles for their games -- one when the products are announced and ship in Japan, and one when the games release in the US a year later.
Also, look at what Japan will have by the end of 2007, just according to this here Square Enix Party guidebook: Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII, Dissidia Final Fantasy, It's a Wonderful World, Final Fantasy Tactics A-2, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Ring of Fates, Dragon Quest IX, Itadaki Street DS, DS Style, and apparently also Final Fantasy IV.
I'm not saying there won't be hype for these games a year from now, but I personally will quite likely have moved on. The vast majority of my Dragon Quest Swords coverage will be two months from now when I buy the Japanese version. Nothing personal, guys, but by 2008 I'll have moved on to newer things.
Announcing that The Last Remnant would be Square Enix's first simultaneous US/Japan release was a great start. Now make that happen for the rest of your lineup. Today's announcement should have made me feel foolish and impatient for buying a Japanese Wii to play Swords -- not relieved.
