Way back in 2007, we heard that Final Fantasy XIII wouldn’t be out until 2009, and now that we’re actually in 2009, Square says it’ll be 2010. The long wait is nothing new for Final Fantasy fans, who are used to waiting several years between each of the major installments, but we all agree that Final Fantasy XIII looks hot. Like, really hot. Therefore, it makes the wait feel all the longer.
According to UK website Videogamer, it may be that the wait won’t be as long as we thought. Producer Yoshinori Kitase spoke about the localization process, offering up some hopeful information for fans:
“Traditionally the Final Fantasy numbered series, it takes about half a year between the release in Japan and the release in North America, and another half a year before it’s released in Europe. But we would like to minimize this, this time … for example, we have already started recording English voices, and also the text localization has been in progress, too. Normally we complete the Japanese version first, then move on to the US and EU versions, but this time there are some tasks that are happening simultaneously. So this time we’re hoping to release sooner than a year later [in Europe] than the Japanese release.”
I’m not going to hold my breath, but at the same time it’s nice to know that the localization is going differently than before (and that English voices are already being recorded!). The sooner the better, as we want to play it super bad. Also, then I can buy the official soundtrack instead of sitting on the Final Fantasy XIII homepage and listening to the music over and over like a total dweeb.
[Via GameSpot]
