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Despite a famously imperfect initial translation, Final Fantasy VII debuted in North America and Europe just months after its Japanese launch, earning near-unanimous critical acclaim and astronomical sales. This unprecedented success forced a rapid paradigm shift within the executive ranks, proving that Honeywood’s vision of a global audience was correct.
“The game’s explosive performance changed everything,” Honeywood continued. “Suddenly, the tide turned; even teams we hadn’t planned to work with were requesting localization. This surge in demand led to a significant expansion of our US operations, bringing on new talent like Brian Bell and Yoshinobu ‘Nobby’ Matsuo to handle the growing workload.”
While the Western market is now a cornerstone of modern AAA development, it is fascinating to reflect on an era where industry titans dismissed global fans as secondary. It took a genre-defining odyssey like Cloud Strife’s to prove that high-quality storytelling transcends borders and holds immense commercial value on both sides of the Pacific.
In related news: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is slated for the Nintendo Switch 2, following closely behind the Remake’s portable debut.
Source: gamesradar.com
