phyco126 wrote:Hmm, I think the reason there where so many Delays with WD is because of...
A. Quality control
B. Makeing sure it gets done right
C. Fixing bugs in the Japenese versions
D. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY smaller company with a certainly smaller budget.
*shrugs* Besides, I doubt they pull an EAgames stunt and force their workers to work 24/7 with no compensation and poor pay.
I'm pretty sure they don't. If they did and they still didn't ship they'd have some serious time management issues. O_o I think your assumptions are pretty much on the mark, but I don't think that's all of it. I don't know what's going on over there these days, but WD didn't always have astronomical wait times.
These days, Atlus USA seems to be a company of about the same size that also does a spectacular job translating RPGs, and they don't take two years to do an RPG. Moreover, they manage several releases a year, two or three of which are RPGs. I'm not sure what Atlus is doing differently, but whatever it is, cuts down on localization time.
phyco126 wrote:Besides, look at all the extras they throw into the game? I love that. You don't see crappy Square doing that with their FF games, do you? (would be great to have a Sephiroth punching puppet so you have something to punch with the Ghaleon punching puppet
)
Atlus also has extras. I'm not sure if they took a page from WD or it's just a simple factor of the market now (I don't know at what point they started), but my copy of Shin Megami Tensei came with a soundtrack, and my copy of Digital Devil Saga was a boxed set with room set aside from the sequel (and it also came with a soundtrack). Pre-orders for DDS2 will come with a soundtrack containing that aren't even available in Japan. They also had free Disgaea mini-artbooks for the first so many people who registered their games.
WD doesn't have a monopoly on extras anymore. Atlus is probably their closest competitor in terms of size and inclination for including extras, but Nippon Ichi has opened up its own US branch now and they also cater to the niche RPG gamer crowd and toss in fanboy/girl-ready pre-order incentives. Even Midway's pre-order bonus for Shadow Hearts 2 was one of the best ever (pre-orders got a copy of the first game for free).
Square doesn't include extras though because it doesn't have to. People will buy their games anyway. Generally speaking, the extras are there because they're incentive. WD, Atlus, Nippon Ichi, are all aiming at the same hardcore audience and they have to hold on to their fanbase and drum up support. Final Fantasy is going to sell even if they don't provide extras. They might start now since times have changed since FFX came out (maybe FFXII will see pre-order bonuses), but they will likely sell well anyway.