Inevitable Final Fantasy slippage confirmed
Crystal Chronicles disappears from the 2003 schedule.
Nintendo and Square have bumped Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles into 2004.
This follows Nintendo aggressively using the game in its pre-Christmas 2002 TV marketing campaign, announcing that the title was coming soon. Many will receive this move as shockingly cynical marketing, since there are those who will have bought the console specifically for the “forthcoming” release.
Most realists had predicted this to occur, but it’s interesting to notice just how far out of wider consciousness the game has slipped. A fact fully illustrated during Nintendo Europe’s press conference yesterday, when David Gosen, the mechanical overlord of Nintendo Europe, presented, in some depth, Nintendo’s key releases across both Game Boy Advance and GameCube. Crystal Chronicles wasn’t included and incredibly, the continent’s assembled gaming and technology press didn’t raise an eyebrow.
We, however, flagged this issue with Nintendo Europe. Their response was somewhat comical. “As there is no official release date as yet, we decided not to include the game on the schedule. As soon as the date is set in stone, it will be there. Nintendo Japan did not want games appearing on the schedule without solid dates.” It was then pointed out that about half the games on Nintendo’s release schedule didn’t have dates, mere Q3 or even just 2003.
As soon as the truth emerges, you’ll be the first to know.
This follows Nintendo aggressively using the game in its pre-Christmas 2002 TV marketing campaign, announcing that the title was coming soon. Many will receive this move as shockingly cynical marketing, since there are those who will have bought the console specifically for the “forthcoming” release.
Most realists had predicted this to occur, but it’s interesting to notice just how far out of wider consciousness the game has slipped. A fact fully illustrated during Nintendo Europe’s press conference yesterday, when David Gosen, the mechanical overlord of Nintendo Europe, presented, in some depth, Nintendo’s key releases across both Game Boy Advance and GameCube. Crystal Chronicles wasn’t included and incredibly, the continent’s assembled gaming and technology press didn’t raise an eyebrow.
We, however, flagged this issue with Nintendo Europe. Their response was somewhat comical. “As there is no official release date as yet, we decided not to include the game on the schedule. As soon as the date is set in stone, it will be there. Nintendo Japan did not want games appearing on the schedule without solid dates.” It was then pointed out that about half the games on Nintendo’s release schedule didn’t have dates, mere Q3 or even just 2003.
As soon as the truth emerges, you’ll be the first to know.
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