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'Final Fantasy XV' To Get Simultaneous Worldwide Release

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In a surprising bit of logistical bravado, Square Enix are planning to simultaneously release Final Fantasy XV worldwide.

Worldwide releases are generally tricky endeavors, as you have to not only localize the game but also have it pass through certification at various first parties (such as Microsoft or Sony in this case). Not to mention have it rated by whatever board within that country.

Considering that certification alone is a veritable minefield, as what may be fine with one regional first party may not fly with another, means that timing for a simultaneous release is fraught with difficulties.

To add to all this, you then need to time your marketing globally to let people know that the game is coming out.

This is often why most publishers tend to stagger the releases of games across countries, rather than opt for a simultaneous one.

However Square Enix are apparently planning to do the latter for Final Fantasy XV.

The advantage of this approach is that you can build up a big zeitgeist and that helps the momentum in terms of sales.

As the game has been in development for a long time now and has likely cost a small fortune, it seems that Square Enix need all the momentum they can get to leverage sales to cover the game's immense cost.

With bigger games and even bigger budgets reducing the margins on console game releases the whole system is now looking quite precarious.

These kinds of simultaneous releases are risky as a lot can go wrong if the pieces don’t line up properly, which in turn undermines the zeitgeist’s momentum and eventual sales.

These difficult release schedules can also force publishers to rush a release for a game too and we all know how that turns out.

Now I am excited for Final Fantasy XV but these big budget releases are getting a bit desperate and it’s showing too.

Final Fantasy XV will be released sometime in 2016 on both PS4 and Xbox One.

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