Final Fantasy XV director Hajime Tabata made a huge promise to fans at Gamescom. They are aiming for a simultaneous global release.
To put things in perspective, there are many factors that come into releasing a game worldwide, that makes a simultaneous release extremely difficult, if not impossible.
It requires coordination with distribution partners around the world, of course. Beyond that, game companies need to contend with working with different regulatory bodies, such as the ESRB in the US, and PEGI in Europe. Each region requires localization, which requires the most work in Europe, but is a prerequisite in any region. And then, of course, there is the matter of dealing with multiple markets.
And even if you could make these all come together, it does not necessarily mean a global release would be desirable. In the case of Pokemon X and Y in 2013, the global release was seven years in the making, and required changes in Nintendo of Europe’s internal structure. Ultimately, one store took advantage and leaked the game prematurely.
Square Enix is also effecting changes in their internal structure to make Final Fantasy XV’s simultaneous global release possible. Whether they are able to pull off this global release depends entirely on the success of this organizational change.
Final Fantasy XV is being developed for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and is planned for release before 2017.
