Finally Some News About Final Fantasy X/X-2 Vita

The news is weird.  Not great.  Not awful.  Just....weird.

It was announced on the Playstation Blog today that the Vita version finally has a release date and details, now that it's been like, months of basically little to no word about it.  It will be releasing on March 18th, all the same as the PS3 version, but the way it's being delivered is...different.  Ever since the Vita versions of X and X-2 were announced with a proper date in Japan, and announced to be released as separate games (with a twin-pack version available) we have been hoping that we would get that.  Especially when the alternative seemed to be getting both games as Digital-Only releases.  On the one hand, it was near impossible to reconcile Squeenix releasing FFX HD and FFX-2 HD physically for $20 each, but on the other, it was hard to imagine them expecting you to give up a large portion of memory card space (and I do mean -large-) for the privilege of playing the games after a full-priced, digital-only release.  Hilariously, Squeenix picked the option we never considered and split the baby.

Final Fantasy X and X-2 HD will release physically...in a sense.  When you purchase FFX HD for $40 (the same price as the PS3 bundle) you will also have a download voucher for FFX-2 HD.  You still get both games, you still pay the same price, and you still have to devote some memory card space towards the group.  It's...basically both sides giving up something which is rather strange and different in these days, but I can't actually fault the logic.  I am annoyed with the fact that FFX-2 HD will be like 3.5 gigs and that the only way to get it will be to download it, but it is what it is - I'm in the market for a larger memory card anyway.  We'll see if I get any gift cards or whatnot that I'll be comfortable using towards the purchase of a 32 gig or (please friggin release it over here) a 64 gig.

What this means is that I'm finally going to put a pre-order down on the game.  I don't want to send Squeenix a "Digital is a-okay" message, but I'll only be half-doing that, technically, by going with this route.  I can't just -not- get it either, because I've been itching to replay X ever since it was announced, and I want to do it in the palms of my hands on the glorious OLED screen.  I've also wanted to encourage FFXII International Zodiac Job System on Vita as well, so here's really my one shot.  Since Squeenix is dragging their heels on throwing anything else on the Vita.  HINT HINT.  Jerks.

It is finally good to know that it's coming out here officially, even if the way it's releasing is non-standard all around.  It's better than the alternative of saying "Free up ~7 gigs of space or go fuck yourself" as everyone was really, honestly assuming Squeenix would do.  That option will still be available, of course, as the Digital Version of FFX HD works the same exact way - buy it to get X-2 HD as well.  You won't be able to buy either game separately, or at least not right away, but, well, I have always wanted to at least -try- X-2 properly, despite all the stuff that I know will make me roll my eyes so hard they might fall out of my head.  So eventually, I will get to do so!  It's just a matter of getting everything in order and waiting for March...or rather, waiting til sometime in April or so when I'll -actually- play it.  Because, you know, PS4, inFamous:  Second Son...all that fun stuff.

it's funny how like nobody ever would have come up with this solution

Final Fantasy X & X-2 HD Have Release Dates!...For PS3

Stretch your memories all the way back to September 14th, 2011 when Final Fantasy X HD was annoucned for the Vita and PS3 (in that order) and realize that it's been over two years between then and now.  Keep in mind that the PS3 version of the game was sort of announced as an "Oh yeah, that too" deal.  Keep in mind that X-2 was added later on.  Just consider all of that for a moment, as the only version of the game that we have a release date for at this point in time is the PS3 one.  March 18th, 2014, a full two and a half years after the original announcement of the Vita game, is when the also-announced PS3 version is getting released.  With no news on the Vita version, as in the version of the game that was originally planned and announced.  I'm not sure that I'm harping on this enough.

Of course, in Japan, the games have a singular release date of December 26th, just before the end of this year, making the time between announcement and release...well, not really all that better, no.  There's something to be said of the type of release over there, however, as the PS3 version is releasing with both games on one disk, as it's planned over here, but the two Vita carts will be bundled together in one box for the exact same price.  One might take this as a hopeful sign for the Non-Japan releases, but then again, one probably hasn't dealt with Squeenix all that much if they take it as a sign of anything at all.  As we know by now, Squeenix just does things and the less sense we try to make of it all, the better we'll all be in the long run.  Though, I suppose -some- rationalizations could be made.

Releasing a digital-only game in Japan, I suspect, is just short of a death knell for any potential sales you hope to see from it.  One of those little 'secrets' of the game industry as a whole is that Japan, by and large has a certain approach to video game releases.  Games are bought up on release or a little after, beaten and then resold to the retailer in much greater numbers than such a practice sees here.  This is generally why you see re-releases of popular games that only have a few alterations made to it, because you're trying to sell this version of your game with new stuff to the people who already bought it, played it and sold it back because it was finished.  Kill the ability to resell and recoup some of that money on the consumer-side is simply something that is not on in Japan, so despite them being one of the world leaders in Internet availability and speed, they are just not having that Digital Future bullshit.  Which...I could make something of, but another night.

The issue most at hand here is that it's been widely thought that outside of Japan, FFX HD and FFX-2 HD would be digital-only on the Vita because fuck you.  I say 'because fuck you' since...well it's kind of obvious.  Space is something we're constantly fighting for because the largest memory stick available, the 32 gig, is simply not enough space for most Vita owners.  Both FFX HD and FFX-2 HD will not fit on the same Vita cart.  I don't know the full size that a Vita cart can offer, but some Vita games are already in the 3 Gig range.  So if you figure on both games, combined, being ~6 gigs, then that's already too much for half of the Vita memory sticks out there.  (4 and 8, I'm figuring the 8 only actually has ~7 gigs available and I don't know how much of that would then be OS stuff or what have you)  Basically what I'm getting at is that FFX/X-2 HD being Digital-Only is not merely bad as it is most of the time, but it's downright unfriendly to the consumer since they're just projecting the image of not caring about what the consumer is going to do for the 'privilege' of buying and playing your game.

Hopefully the delay is simply attributed to the logistics of bundling the two carts together outside of Japan and making a shiny package with it, or maybe even setting up some sort of wacky Limited Edition specifically for Vita buyers.  Hell, maybe they're just waiting to announce that every copy of the Vita version comes with a download code for Type-0.  Also Chocobo/Moogle plushies.  I'm being facetious because I figure it's better to imagine wild, never-going-to-happen scenarios and be disappointed when -they- don't happen, rather than looking at the reality of the situation (in which it's honestly not too much of a fucking hassle to release goddamn Carts) and being ultimately let down (as I always anticipate Squeenix doing anymore).  So I'll just be over here with my delusions, thank you very much.

I'm kind of stuck buying the games no matter what because I want Squeenix to acknowledge the Vita, but I'll be damned if I'm happy about buying something digital-only from them