Over the weekend, gaming’s most reliable rumour-mill – the news team over at Kotaku – reported that Final Fantasy XV would be delayed to 29 November, 2016, from its former September berth. As usual, the leak came from the retail environment (Gamestop, on this occasion) including the hilariously Ikea-esque instruction manual on how to redact the original release date (with the judicious use of stickers) on their already-assembled Final Fantasy XV cardboard standees.
A moment to mention the tenacity and steadfastness of Kotaku’s Jason Schreier, while we’re on the subject. After receiving death threats for simply reporting on the delay to No Man’s Sky, you’ve got to credit him for reporting on another delay to another long-anticipated game in this crazy world of zealots and internet wackos. We salute you, Sir.
But given that the “Final Fantasy XV delayed” story broke over the weekend, there wasn’t really anyone available at Square Enix’s PR department to confirm (or refute) the claims. You wouldn’t blame them for not picking up the phone even if they were working, to be fair.
When they did arrive at work, the game’s director, Hajime Tabata, confirmed the Final Fantasy XV delay and gave their reasons for it.
“From the moment we joined this project, our vision was to create a level of freedom and realism previously unseen in the series. Regrettably, we need a little bit more time to deliver on this vision and are confident that this new release date will help us achieve this,” said director Hajime Tabata. “As the director and lead of this project, I wish to personally apologize for the additional wait. As a team, we want Final Fantasy XV to achieve a level of perfection that our fans deserve. We kindly ask for your understanding.”
It’s been ten years in development. That’s a really long road, and two months is very short, in the grand scheme of things. I’d rather Final Fantasy XV was delayed by a few months – to November 29, 2016 – to make sure they deliver the best game they can, so give Square Enix a break guys (and leave Jason Schreier alone, too).
Hilarious cardboard standee image via Gamnseia.
