Final Fantasy XIII is slated for a winter 2009 release in Japan. Will North America join the fight with Cocoon by the end of the fiscal year? Probably not.
During an investors meeting Yoichi Wada, President of Square Enix, said, “We would like to release Final Fantasy XIII overseas this fiscal year, but at the present it is not expected.” Bummer. Square Enix’s fiscal year runs from April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010. Technically, Final Fantasy XIII could come out on April 1, 2010. It probably won’t. More realistically Final Fantasy XIII will see a release in summer or fall 2010.
On Dragon Quest IX Wada explained Square Enix needs to solidify a marketing strategy. Each region may need a different strategy to promote the game so it’s successful. Japan doesn’t need to tailor make a strategy for Dragon Quest IX. Having Dragon Quest as the title is good enough.
