Months and months of fan demand and petitions might have paid off and the latest word out of Square Enix suggests that localization for Final Fantasy Type-0 is finally back in the cards. Following the announcement of Final Fantasy Agito, Square Enix is evidently up to the task – the details of which and why the original PSP version remained in Japan were uncovered in a new interview by US Gamer’s Jeremy Parish.

Needless to say, the full story is quite the eye opener:

“Some honesty — some modified honesty — is required here,” explained Tabata. “When Type 0 initially came out in Japan, we were already working on a localized version for the game. The work did actually start. It exists, to a degree. But at the time, when that work was progressing, the market for PSP in North America and Europe had very much gotten smaller. The projections we got from our overseas subsidiaries in Europe and the U.S. had also shrunk, together with the market.

“But we were very conscious — I was very conscious — that despite the fact that we weren’t able to provide the title at the time, there were many people who wanted to play it. I heard all the voices calling for it. An idea we had at the time was that, well, if the PSP market is shrinking, then maybe its successor, the PS Vita, was something we could consider for the title. At the time of this proposal, though, when we were talking about a Vita version, the number of Vita units in North America and Europe and what their expectations were, all that was very unclear. This was before it was launched, or right as it was being launched. These kinds of things were unclear, and the company was uncomfortable with going forward on the project without knowing more information about what the expectations were. Our final decision on that was to wait a bit and see what would happen.

“Now, with Agito coming up, our hope – my hope – is that we’ll be able to provide users in North America and Europe with both Agito and Type 0 as a full experience. That would be ideal, if we could provide both for the users. That’s the direction we’re going in right now. With Agito coming out, we can provide that full experience.

So is a localization for Type-0 still in the cards? Why yes – it will definitely be localized, according to Tabata without hesitation.

“Obviously the release of Agito factors into this decision, but it wasn’t just that. I now hear from the subsidiaries that Type-0 is something that they really want released in their regions. With Agito coming out — Agito coming out is a certainty for North America and Europe — the subsidiaries’ opinion was that releasing Agito without having access to Type-0 would not be the best idea.

“Well, let me modify this statement a bit. [Type-0’s localization] is in the final stages of consideration. It’s definitely the direction that we want to go in. Nothing is absolutely concrete right now with release dates or anything like that. But it’s definitely something that we want to do. Really, the primary motivation behind wanting to release the whole experience would be all the support and passion and enthusiasm of the North American and European gaming community that has reached out to us and asked for it. I feel very thankful, very grateful for that enthusiasm.”

Mobile fears aside, Tabata goes on to confirm that Type-0 will be localized in its original form – that is, for dedicated handhelds. While Square Enix remains mum on an official announcement for now, Agito is being localized with the intention of an overseas release, while Type-0 has entered its final stages of planning. Either way, it’s safe to say the fans have spoken – and Square Enix has finally listened.

Via: USGamer.