Sources for Kotaku state that GameStop employees have tipped them off that Square Enix executives have approached the video game retailer about potentially changing the release date of Final Fantasy XV from September 30 to November 29. Apparently, the following marketing and promotion alterations were sent to select GameStop to test how to address the change in release date on standees and posters already on display in the store.
As expected, Final Fantasy fans are absolutely freaking out. Gamers that have had the title pre-ordered for months are threatening to cancel. It's been 10 years since the last true Final Fantasy JRPG (FInal Fantasy XIV) but the idea of waiting an additional two months seems to be more than some can handle.
Apparently the delay is being used to address some last minute optimization issues. Kotaku went on to cite their E3 interview with director Hajime Tabata last June where he confirmed as much. When asked how works was progressing on getting a stable frame rate, Tabata admitted it's been tough sledding. "
I’m not gonna lie, that is a very difficult thing. It’s hard work. It’s troubling us doing that. If we just said ‘we’re gonna cut this off to make it better,’ that could be quite easy, but we really don’t want to do that. We’ve been keeping some people waiting about ten years for this game now, so we really don’t want to cut anything. For example, we could take away the number of enemies who appear at once or cut down the number of effects on screen—it would be very easy to optimize it then, but we don’t want to do that."
Would you have rather seen Square scale back the scope of the game in order to meet its September 30 release date or are you okay with the delay if it means a more polished game?