This blog post is meant primarily to update the European fans of ours, fans we've largely let down over the past year (along with iOS fans, Linux using fans...basically anyone not in the SCEA region with a PS3 or Vita).
To say it's been a crazy past year would be to put it mildly. I say that not to excuse shortcomings but to help explain where things are and how they got here.
In April of 2013 we launched Dragon Fantasy Book I on PSN. It was our first big console release and was an all-engrossing task. Shortly after the launch of Dragon Fantasy in the US, after the worst of the bugs were fixed (around July) I started looking at what it takes to get the game out in Europe. This was the start of a long, drawn out process that even 9 months later isn't completed yet.
First there was documentation that wasn't filled out properly that SCEE required. Then there was the PEGI submission process that I admittedly botched initially. Around this time it was August and Dragon Fantasy Book 2 was due to be submitted and released. It's release and post-release updates pushed things off a couple of months. Follow that by the holidays further delaying things.
Finally in the new year we got the PEGI rating sorted out and began making the final builds to submit...only there are process differences between SCEA submissions and SCEE submissions. This adds a small delay. Then we were required to build against a newer version of the SDK, which required more testing. Chalk up another small delay. And then there's the actual QA process by SCEE. I can't get into exact details but suffice it to say there's about a 2 week window from us having builds to send and us getting results. Then we have to fix some issues, re-test the game, re-submit again and wait another couple of weeks before we know for sure the status.
So where are we right now? We're waiting for the test results from our latest submission, while trying to get issues addressed as they're reported. It's especially frustrating because none of these issues are even technically with the game. They're requirements though and so they have to be fixed. Once we get the all-done from them, we fix whatever other issues there are, re-test, and re-submit again. If all goes well in this next submission we'll have our launch date confirmed when it passes, and after that we launch.
So as of today I can't promise a specific release date as much as I'd like to. What I can promise is better transparency. You'll know when we submit this next (and hopefully final) build to SCEE. You'll know when we get word back on whether or not it will be accepted. And when it's accepted, you'll know what the launch date is.