We may have some potentially great news for Nintendo Switch owners, as Square Enix has recently revealed that Final Fantasy IX will be getting a physical release, but there is a small caveat; this release has only been confirmed for Asia. The good news is, on the plus side, that Nintendo Switch games are not region-locked.
As revealed by Square Enix, this physical release will support English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish language options, so Nintendo Switch players can easily order the game from Asia, and still play it on their console. On this very same not, pre-orders for the physical release of Final Fantasy IX are currently open via Playasia.
While Play Asia doesn't reveal exactly when the game will become available, it does reveal that Final Fantasy IX is expected to ship before the 31st of December, so fans will have to keep their eyes peeled for any official news.
Final Fantasy IX was one of the many Final Fantasy games that Square Enix revealed to be getting a re-release. The announcement was originally made in 2018, and the game has been available for all current-gen platforms since February of 2019.
The original Final Fantasy IX was released in July of 2000, so it was quite the pleasant news to see Square Enix bringing it back. Like other re-released Final Fantasy games, Final Fantasy IX is now displayed in HD, and there are some additional options that enhance the experience, such as autosave, the ability to disable random encounters, and high speed mode.
A few days ago, Square Enix revealed that the physical version of Final Fantasy VII / Final Fantasy VIII Remastered Twin Pack was being released here in the West, after having released in Asia last year, so it may be a while until Square Enix decides to release the physical version of Final Fantasy IX here; it does seem more plausible now, though.