International Versions...

[RADD]

I love FFX, FFX-2, and FFXII, especially X; it is probably the best RPG I have ever played.
While looking for some information on where to find a few Rare Monsters in FFXII, I stumbled upon a couple of posts that talked about items I had never heard of and mobs I never knew existed in the game.

Upon looking into it some more, I found out that the reason I didn't know that these things were in the game is because they aren't. At least they aren't for anyone living outside of Japan.

Square Enix has made each of these games very different for release in Japan compared to release everywhere else in the world. The games are not just "different"; they are almost entirely new with huge improvements, added depth to gameplay, and overall more enjoyability. The "International" versions are only available in Japan and are only produced in Japanese.

Differences for FFX include battles against "Dark Aeons" and a mega-boss, with behind-the-scenes commentary and interviews with the developers, and changes in items, Blitzball, and many other things in the game.

For FFX-2, there is an additional 20 hours of gameplay with new dungeons, the ability to create your own party members and monsters, bring in people from the past such as Auron, and dual each other, as well as commentary on the storyline and interviews with the developers for the game.

For FFXII, they have an entirely different system of gameplay and huge improvements to the game. Quoting the Wikipedia article, 'The game includes twelve License Boards available (instead of the original one), each corresponding to a different Zodiac sign and job. The battle system as a whole has been tweaked; guest characters and summons are controllable by the player, and pressing the L1 button accelerates the game's speed. Additionally, the game features the English voices and the widescreen 16:9 ratio support of the North American version, as well as a bonus disc based on the one initially released with the North American version. Other new features such as new licenses and renamed spells have been shown as well. There is also a "New Game+" option, "New Game-" (where characters do not gain experience), as well as a new "Trial Mode" which allows the player to hunt monsters in 100 different maps to gain items and money.' There are also incredible weapons that are unique only to the "International" version of the game.

I for one find this to be absolute bull-sh*t. It is not as if doing this saves SE money, nor does it make them more money. They would likely sell the same amount in Japan whether the game was the "International" version or not. It seems like it costs them more money to release a different game only in Japan than it would cost to release it everywhere else. If anything, SE would make money by having these versions throughout the rest of the world. A majority of the tedium and annoyance have been eliminated with the "International" versions that would lead to a happier, more satisfied fanbase through the world. Also, many amenities that go along with the Final Fantasy series are only available in Japan as well, while if they were available here, SE would be making that much more money.

The naming of these versions is also BS, as they are only available in one nation, thereby definitely not "International".

So I ask, what is the point of doing this? Why is it that SE will only release the games with all of these improvements in Japan? Why could the game not just have started out with these additions so that everyone could benefit and enjoy them?
It seems that all of these changes are only to make the game better for the nation in which it was created, i.e. Japan, excluding the rest of the world from enjoying them.

Am I the only one who didn't know this and finds it to be absolutely outrageous and unacceptable? What are your thoughts here at EGS? Is SE justified in doing this? Did many of you know about these so-called "International" versions?

[RADD]

Nothing?

[Monarch]

Well from playing FFXI for years, Square-Enix has ALWAYS favored Japanese players, and have always gone out of their way to make Japanese gaming experiences a lot more enjoyable than American players.

Take maintenance time; it was always done during American peak hours and during Japanese "dead" hours (when everyone was sleeping etc).

[kendrah1]

Japanese have holidays during FFXI release dates, that's how popular it is over there.

There's a magic "JP in button" that us US and EU players don't get. Of course it's favored there.

[Wizzar]

I know this is gonna sound "paranoid" but I have to say it. When I use to camp any and all NM's ingame, I swear It would seem I'd be the only one with the TOD, but when it came time to pop jp's would just show up. Like they had ingame notices saying the NM will be popping soon! lol

[RADD]

Hmmm. That's an interesting idea Wizzar.
I highly doubt that it is true, but the JPs do always seem to show up about 5 minutes before the HNM spawns.
To everyone else: why do us EU's and NA's allow SE to do this? They are an international corporation and they should not be permitted by their customers to continue this blatant preferential treatment.
So did all of you guys know about this though? My guess is that the average FF gamer does not know that in Japan the game is likely entirely different and improved and that they as a consumer in NA or EU cannot have access to this other version.
We need to spread the word.