Before Final Fantasy 7 became a worldwide phenomenon, Square Enix executives doubted the profitability of English translations, forcing the localization team to advocate for international releases.
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Final Fantasy 7 is often hailed as one of the greatest JRPGs of all time for many reasons: its masterfully crafted story, memorable characters, and captivating gameplay, to name a few. However, one lesser-known fact is its pivotal role in Square Enix’s expansion into the Western market following its global success.
Richard Honeywood, a notable figure in localization and a former Square employee, shared in a recent interview how challenging it was to convince the higher-ups at Square to allow the localization team to bring more titles to the West—until Final Fantasy 7 “sold like hot cakes” and changed the game.
“Back then, many of the development teams at Square viewed foreign versions as essentially petty cash; they didn’t see it as real money,” Honeywood explained. “They preferred to focus on the Japanese version, which they believed would sell much better. We had to act like evangelists, pleading with them, ‘Can you please let us localize this game?'”
Despite a famously flawed localization effort, Final Fantasy 7 launched in the US and Europe just months after its Japan-only debut, receiving near-universal acclaim and achieving remarkable commercial success. It didn’t take long for Square to realize Honeywood was onto something.
“What made it easier was that Final Fantasy VII ended up selling like hot cakes in North America and Europe, raking in substantial profits,” Honeywood noted. “Suddenly, even games we hadn’t planned to localize were clamoring for it. At the same time, the US office was looking to hire more staff to boost the number of translators, bringing on two new hires, [Yoshinobu “Nobby” Matsuo] and Brian Bell.”
Today, the Western market is undeniably vital for most AAA developers, including Square, but it’s intriguing to reflect on a time not too long ago when one of the leading developers in the JRPG genre considered the entire region “petty cash,” especially knowing they were about to release one of the most beloved and commercially successful games of all time, regardless of the region.
Speaking of which: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is set to arrive on Nintendo Switch 2 less than six months after the port of FF7 Remake, as confirmed by Square Enix.
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