I can't say that I am surprised at least when KH 3 is concerned.
Nomura admitted that the unveil at last year's E3 was a rushed one and done very early in development, not to mention that when taking into consideration development time for a title as big as KH 3 (if you do not want a rushed product) anyone actually expecting KH 3 to release that early must have been out of their mind.
I estimate that if we're lucky we might get KH 3 around August/September 2015, but more realistic I guess would be an 2016 release.

FF XV however is a different matter considering how long they were/are struggling with that title, I would have expected an early 2015 release for it.

It's as Sephi says. There's not much surprising about anything in this report. And seeing as the financial results only count until March, I'm not all that surprised about FFXV either even though we're not even sure whether this actually confirms anything. March would be the earliest month in 2015 I'd expect the game to be released in.

I'm a little surprised about FFXV not having a release this year. But then again, why should I be? I wasn't expecting KHIII for while but I feel like FFXV should have been ready by this point. I know it's had a long, tough development but I was sort of under the impression that they were almost done and ready to push it out into the market soon. Whatever, KH 2.5 will tide me over for a good long time. I wish it was coming out in the summer though.

Cant say I'm all that surprised either. Though at this point in time kh3 will always seem like a skeptical illusion to me until the day (likely when Im 50 at this point) holding it in my hands.

Hope this doesnt affect 2.5 though.

It's complicated. Remember, the staff had been taken off and on XV to aid with other projects as well as moving the whole thing over to PS4 in 2011.

At least E3 is in a month. They should definitely have something there for both titles, regardless of the shape or form.

Was anyone actually expecting it to release by early 2015? It's going to be December of 2015 at the earliest for sure.

You'd be surprised.

It's going to be December of 2015 at the earliest for sure.

Even that is seriously pushing it.

Welp... That's... Kinda sad. Was kinda hoping for KH3 to come out sooner, but... Well this is just depressing xP

It better not. I bet Monopoly money on September of 2016, and nobody gets my Monopoly money.

I don't expect III to be out until 2017, it's all good.

I agree with Sephiroth0812, I was and still am expecting a release date most likely around the very end of 2015. And I don't even mind, 2.5 will easily fill up that time.

I really think we should all be prepared that 2015 may very well be a year without Kingdom Hearts. It's not something I would be against. Square has been pretty generous giving us a game nearly every year, so going on without any for one year doesn't seem so bad. Of course, there's always room for a KH3D Remaster, but I just see it as more work better spent for KH3 preparations.

I would much prefer they spend as much time as possible ensuring that KH3 is as good a game as possible, and attempt to meet most of the expectations of it, rather than rush it for a 2015 release, which is what I think a lot of people are hoping for, and I am among them in the regard that I want to play the game sooner rather than later, but would want it to be as good as they can make it, so in that case I don't mind seeing a 2016 release.

A 2017 release? Now even SE wouldn't be that mean, surely?

2017 for a PS4 title is pretty realistic/generous, to be honest.



Let us believe in Hazama, in the hopes that Theatrhythm Kingdom Hearts is currently in the making to fill that gap.

I'd argue that 2017 is probably more likely than 2016 in this instance. This is going to be the first official numbered title in years (Birth by Sleep and Dream Drop Distance can be argued as unofficial numbered titles), so it wouldn't surprise us that they would spend a little more time trying to get everything just right. Remember, this is the same company that forced Final Fantasy XV to be stuck in development hell for years back when it was still called Versus XIII.

While I'd be annoyed that we couldn't get the game until 2017, I'd be downright infuriated if we ended up with a shoddy product that is glitched up and practically impossible to play. I will never forgive Square Enix if screw up Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts III just because they wanted to rush the game into the market the same way that Sega did with Sonic '06.

If you expected KH3 in early 2015 you ackin cray cray and I don't know what to say say

Some people did. I don't know who but they probably float around the KH FB or in the darker regions of the internet

People wanted KH3 Holiday 2013. Seriously.

0_o
Some people have really no idea about what developing a true AAA-title really means, do they?

If KH III would really turn out to be a second Sonic 06 I bet these guys who are/were crying for an early release would be the ones to complain the loudest.
The internet is really a funny place...

I'd still say that late 2015 is a very optimistic estimation while 2016 is the most likely year to get it, maybe 2017 if they really want to polish it up (and possibly eliminate the need for a Final Mix this time from the get go for a change).

I don't think late 2015 is out of the question, but we can't really guess until we see their progress.

I can tell you where to find them, they float around IGN or my Facebook friends list (yes, it's embarrassing lol xD). No, but I find it quite funny how a lot of people aren't shocked here (well, nobody is shocked here), but people on other more casual forums are quite aggravated by this (I don't see too much rage, but some people assumed earlier). I understand they don't keep up with the series at all though beyond numbered titles.

You know, there were quite a lot of people who failed to recognize the 1.5 advertisement at the end of the KH3 debut trailer completely and assumed the September 10, 2013 release date was, in fact, referring to 3.

This is what I was gonna say :P Theatrhtyhm Kingdom Hearts next year would be wonderful.

I firmly believe this was yet another concept meant for KH that was used for FF instead. No one can tell me otherwise because Rhythm Parade exists and preceded Theatrhythm by like 2 years. No way that is merely a coincidence considering how similar they are.

all you level-headed individuals are making it hard for me to be angry about this

Dissidia, the Avatar style, Theatrhythm. [strike]XIII-2's ending.[/strike] LRFF'S GRAVITY SPELL. FFXV's gameplay system. What will they take from Kingdom Hearts next?

I'm really happily surprised at the maturity regarding KH3 on this forum, as on the Facebook page people seem very impatient about it. I want the game to be great and of course that's going to take time. No one wants a badly made game released at an earlier date. I'm happy waiting, it gives me time to save up for the games and consoles I haven't got yet.

I'm really happily surprised at the maturity regarding KH3 on this forum, as on the Facebook page people seem very impatient about it.

Facebook and Youtube, the darker half of the fanbase lol.

I'm willing to bet that KH3 will release at a reasonable time, by our standards...and then everyone else will bitch about how unfairly long it took for KH3 to come out. It's almost as if barely anything's changed since KH3's reveal; everyone's bitching about the wait.

I definitely think KH3 is coming out in Holiday 2015.

The reason I think this is for a couple of reasons.
1. KH has released game every single year, only taking a gap year after the release of a 'numbered' title. To violate this would be silly, unless...
1.5. They release Re:3D on the PS3/4 (I'm not sure quite which, PS3 since 1.5/2.5 but then PS4 because of 3.) I don't think they're going to do this because there will be a huge negative reaction from the rest of the fandom and the 'casuals' who are a huge part of this fanbase (bigger than khi, btw). If they release a different game, they'll invalidate their earlier statements about how KH3D leads into KH3. Furthermore, I don't think they'll release Re:3D because Nomura has said before he wouldn't. Source: Nomura Expects New Kingdom Hearts Announcement Soon -- Andriasang.com[/url]

TLDR: they won't take a year 'off' because its not in the pattern and too many people want this game, and they won't release anything else.

2. International releases are growing in popularity. The reason I'm saying this is for a couple of reasons. This game not being out by S2015 means it's not going to be out in Japan at that time. Pokémon released X/Y at the same time all around the globe, to huge effect. Since it came out at the same time, it meant that people weren't importing them which made more money for overseas departments. While Kingdom Hearts is no where near as big as Pokémon, it's still a huge series. Companies are slowly moving towards international releases, and what better title for square to use to do so? I'd argue that KH is bigger than FF. Most 'casuals' play KH because of its ties to Disney, and don't play FF as much because of its convolution. I hear much more hype about KH than FF, on various other video game forums.
TLDR: International Release because ynot

3. I think you'd be surprised with how much can be accomplished under a single mindset. A team of people working solely on KH3 means that it is going to be able to be created much faster than other projects. KH3's story is mapped out. What's going to happen is already almost completely set in stone, since they've had so much time doing nothing else. Holiday 2015 is already 2.5 years after E3, at which point KH3 was already in its beginning stages of being developed. While I agree that it was probably shown too soon, it was probably already a couple of months into development at that point, which means that KH3 will have been in development for probably three years. Once 2.5 is released later this year, (release date to be announced at E3) the whole team will be together to finish kh3.
TLDR: They're working hard and will have more than enough time.

4. As I stated earlier, but am now going to make a stronger point for, they don't want to let down the hype and disappoint the fanbase. If they push the release off to 2016 without Re:3D (or even if they do) or especially 2017, the 'casual' fanbase is going to be extremely disappointed.

TLDR: KH3 has a ton of hype right now, and they don't want to ruin it by not releasing it until 2017.

I think that these reasons offer a strong case for KH3 coming out in 2015. While I know many of you want it to be pushed out so that they don't feel rushed, I can almost assure you that they already do. They've already known and started planning since they were developing KH3D, and have been working on it since the release of 1.5 and the (almost) release of 2.5. Let me remind you that taking extra time doesn't mean that it won't be less crappy.

TLDRAL: KH3 is coming out in `15 get over it and stop being pessimistic.

Please, go on about how right you are and how wrong everyone else is. You clearly are a guru of the games industry...

Just for information, this one-game-per-year thing has never been a promise nor a commitment. It's just that Nomura would like that to happen, but it's not a must. Ergo, there is no pressure on their side to have to perpetually conform with the existing pattern.

I was saying that as a joke... should have used the sarcasm font, sorry.


By creating a pattern like that, it's pretty much a guarantee. And while I know it isn't 100%, they've never failed before, why start now? They don't want to let down the hype that's been building and will skyrocket after this year's E3. This plus what I said before are the reasons I think they'll keep to this pattern.

A LOT of people, self-included, assumed that Nomura's game-per-year thing meant until the development of KH3. They're not going to rush a game to be out before it's ready just to commit to a game-a-year pattern. The casual fanbase you speak of has been dissapointed for the past 10 years waiting for a KH3. Hype isn't a real incentive for a group of people to rush out a game.

We've waited 10 years, I personally don't have a problem waiting a few more, knowing/praying that the time they are spending is going into making it the best they can possibly make it. They should absolutely NOT rush this game just to meet some fans demands. Surely being made to wait for something good is better to having something bad but out sooner?

Besides the already stated fact that the pattern isn't necessarily a golden rule, keep in mind that the every game that has followed that rule was either a handheld or a port; a brand new console game would clearly need more care, attention, and work.

TLDR: International Release because ynot

Complications with production and distribution, primarily. Production-wise, KH is a series that relies on its voice actors; big-name ones especially, such as Jesse McCartney and Haley Joel Osment. Naturally, there's going to be a lot of scheduling conflicts. Distribution-wise, it's still a AAA title, and one owned by Disney of all corporations. Remember the problems that Utada had with them? Needless to say, it's going to be complicated.

3. I think you'd be surprised with how much can be accomplished under a single mindset. A team of people working solely on KH3 means that it is going to be able to be created much faster than other projects. KH3's story is mapped out. What's going to happen is already almost completely set in stone, since they've had so much time doing nothing else.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Square in general seemed to have been nothing but busy, what with all of the other FFs, smaller KH titles, and whatnot. Square is in a unique position where they have strong presences in both sides of the globe that they have to maintain; I'm still wondering if Nomura is still having conflicts trying to raise a family at the same time.

Holiday 2015 is already 2.5 years after E3, at which point KH3 was already in its beginning stages of being developed. While I agree that it was probably shown too soon, it was probably already a couple of months into development at that point, which means that KH3 will have been in development for probably three years. Once 2.5 is released later this year, (release date to be announced at E3) the whole team will be together to finish kh3. TLDR: They're working hard and will have more than enough time.

When KH3 was revealed at E3, it wasn't anywhere near any real development; the interviews made it pretty clear that the demos were primarily meant to raise a little hype. If production was moving in full gear during the E3 reveal, then a Holiday 2015 release would've been more realistic.

Keep in mind that this is a console title, particularly for a console that Square has never worked with.

4. As I stated earlier, but am now going to make a stronger point for, they don't want to let down the hype and disappoint the fanbase. If they push the release off to 2016 without Re:3D (or even if they do) or especially 2017, the 'casual' fanbase is going to be extremely disappointed. TLDR: KH3 has a ton of hype right now, and they don't want to ruin it by not releasing it until 2017.

I like to think that media coverage of a game pre-release is proportionate to the game itself. If anything, KH3 has a lot more potential for interviews and trailers than any of other titles after KH2; space it out just fine, and you'll keep your fanbase well-fed until release.

I think that these reasons offer a strong case for KH3 coming out in 2015. While I know many of you want it to be pushed out so that they don't feel rushed, I can almost assure you that they already do. They've already known and started planning since they were developing KH3D, and have been working on it since the release of 1.5 and the (almost) release of 2.5.

All of the coverage on KH3 up until this point has pretty much said otherwise; a couple demos and teasers are far from what I would call a reflection of any real production.

Let me remind you that taking extra time doesn't mean that it won't be less crappy.

You can't argue against how the opposite is far less often true, though.

Okay. Let's get into it.

The reason I think this is for a couple of reasons. 1. KH has released game every single year, only taking a gap year after the release of a 'numbered' title. To violate this would be silly, unless...

A pattern is not a rule, as it has been said. This series is suffering a mix of fatigue and overhype and is really no need to release KH3 next year.

Furthermore, I don't think they'll release Re:3D because Nomura has said before he wouldn't. Source: Nomura Expects New Kingdom Hearts Announcement Soon -- Andriasang.com[/url]

Whoo, you're sourcing Andriasang. That's a blast from the past.

What Nomura says and what he does tends to be two different things. Back when KH3D was in development, he had no plans for a "Re:3D" but that doesn't eliminate the possibility of any kind of remaster in the future if it is a direction Square Enix is willing to spend money and resources on.

Nomura also promised us an unannounced title, and said project was shelved sometime during KH3D's development. We also had Hashimoto who said "there are no plans for a 2.5" but then maybe three months or less later, "Tada! 2.5!"

TLDR: they won't take a year 'off' because its not in the pattern and too many people want this game, and they won't release anything else.

People wanting the game terribly won't make them speed up development, as we can see with a little game called FFXV. Also I'd throw Type-0 out there as an example of a game thousands of people want but SE hasn't given.

I think you fail to understand the work that goes into RPGs. It's not easy. A small glitch thing can absolutely ruin a game. KH3D probably would have benefited by staying in development a few extra months because that was an extremely glitchy game with game-breaking issues that SE likes to pretend do not exist.

Pokémon released X/Y at the same time all around the globe, to huge effect. Since it came out at the same time, it meant that people weren't importing them which made more money for overseas departments. While Kingdom Hearts is no where near as big as Pokémon, it's still a huge series. Companies are slowly moving towards international releases, and what better title for square to use to do so?

Yes, because Nintendo has the benefit of being a 1st party. They don't have to deal with all of the issues that most companies have to deal with when it comes to localizations.

The big issue is that this is not just a Square Enix title, but a Disney and Square Enix title. Everything has to be approved by Disney, Disney is the one paying for most of the marketing, probably paying for a some of the game's development, then the matter of manufacturing costs, paying firms for localization work, paying licensing and trademark fees, all of the unknown legalities we aren't privy to, paying for big-name actors and arranging their schedules to have them record, and a shitton of other stuff that is going on.

Making a game and translating it are not easy feats by any means.

I agree with you that they should aim for a simultaneous release around the world, but it really cannot be boiled down to "they should do it because of hype."

I'd argue that KH is bigger than FF. Most 'casuals' play KH because of its ties to Disney, and don't play FF as much because of its convolution. I hear much more hype about KH than FF, on various other video game forums.

I understand what you mean, and agree that KH has something of a broader reach than FF does to a casual audience, but no. FF is definitely the bigger of the flagship franchises. Also FF is not convoluted. I find the games to be easier to understand than the entire KH series. Maybe the Lightning Saga is convoluted, but that's like three games out of...30+ games that all mostly have their own centralized plot.

3. I think you'd be surprised with how much can be accomplished under a single mindset. A team of people working solely on KH3 means that it is going to be able to be created much faster than other projects. KH3's story is mapped out.

They only started writing the story this year.

Square Enix's Osaka office has about 300~ staff members, a number of them not having a hand in development, then we have the small handful of them working on 2.5, plus we aren't really certain KH3 and 2.5 is the only thing Osaka is working on. They aren't that big of a development team for an AAA title. In reality, Square Enix Japan's offices have a smaller amount of staff than Eidos' combined offices do.

And I wouldn't say it is one mindset. It is definitely a unified front, I'm sure, but there are two directors then we have the writers and planners and the producer (when I talk about producer, I mean Nishi and not Hashimoto) and the creative staff, all of them giving their own ideas. Nomura has his own plan, but he did talk about how the staff in Osaka have their own ideas as well so KH3's development is lot more collaborative than past games.

Holiday 2015 is already 2.5 years after E3, at which point KH3 was already in its beginning stages of being developed.

Uh, 1.5 years. 2.5 would be 2016. KH3 entered initial development sometimes in 2013. Prior to that was probably training and testing how to work with next gen consoles.

While I agree that it was probably shown too soon, it was probably already a couple of months into development at that point, which means that KH3 will have been in development for probably three years.

You fail to take in account that they were still developing the engine the game would be running on in 2013 and currently nobody knows what is going on with Luminous since the project head left to Konami to presumably help work on the FOX Engine. That is the most crucial part of any game development. They can make a game until their eyes dry out and fall out of their eye sockets. If it isn't running on an engine, all that work really means nothing.

Until we know exactly where the dev team is at with KH3, we can't assume a thing.

4. As I stated earlier, but am now going to make a stronger point for, they don't want to let down the hype and disappoint the fanbase. If they push the release off to 2016 without Re:3D (or even if they do) or especially 2017, the 'casual' fanbase is going to be extremely disappointed. TLDR: KH3 has a ton of hype right now, and they don't want to ruin it by not releasing it until 2017.

Hype means nothing. Fans have been waiting ten years for KH3. They can handle a few more.

Let me remind you that taking extra time doesn't mean that it won't be less crappy.

But it sure as heck won't be any better if it came out too soon. Like I said in my post earlier, KH3D could have benefitted from an extended dev cycle. I'd rather get a fairly glitchless KH3 right off the bat. Patching is easier and cheaper for devs than it used to be, but I think both SE and fans would like to avoid as many patches as possible.

TLDRAL: KH3 is coming out in `15 get over it and stop being pessimistic.

Except nobody was being pessimistic until you posted. Square Enix's FY15 ends March 2015. Nobody said anything about it not coming out in the second half of 2015, just that it seems unlikely for it to be out in their final quarter on FY15.

Fixed it for you (sadly) :( lol but yes, it's also darker.



People complain about anything and everything they can get. As soon as KH3 has an announced release date people will still complain about special editions and prices, features, etc. I do think it was too early for SE to announce KH3, but what's done is done, and now that the game isn't coming out, making them wait even longer isn't gonna to piss them off anymore than they are right now.



And let's be completely honest, the day KH3 is released, I don't know 1 person who is gonna say "I'm not going to get it because they made me wait too long." Even if KH3 was just KH2 Atlantica 2.0, everyone is gonna pick it up who is familiar with the series to play the long awaited game so making them wait 1 more year from 2015 to 2016 I really don't think can hurt...

I think Japan getting late 2015 is a very real possibility. I wish we could have an international release to avoid spoilers, but whatever.

Not a big shock as others have said. I'd be more surprised if Kingdom Hearts 3 came out in 2015 period.

I cant wait for KH3 to come out in 2025!

My bet is spring/summer of 2016. Highly doubtful of a 2015 release.

I expect a Holiday 2015 Japanese release, with the typical three month wait for other territories. I would be shocked if it wasn't released by mid-2016. Square is building the game up so much, it wouldn't make sense from a business standpoint to release it three years from now. Unless, God forbid, KH3 turns into the next Versus XIII.

Won't happen. KH is a Disney property, as well as a Square property. Disney won't tolerate a vaporware product, especially not one with such immense consumer interest.

A Mid-to-late 2015 release, no further than Spring of 2016 is what I expect for Japan. Meanwhile, I don't expect English territories to get Kingdom Hearts III less than at least eight months after it's Japanese release. Maybe I am a little too optimistic here, but I'd have to think that with Sony, Microsoft, and Disney all waiting on the title's release that there'd have to be some major push on their ends of the spectrum.

I actually expect a short trailer with a CGI scene at E3 with our first full trailer at TGS of this year. I really doubt Osaka team will end up having any trouble with developing this game and I have full confidence that their usual turn-out rate for these games will hold true. So two ~ three years is what "I" find to be the most likely. (That's from D23 ~ Release might I add)

Maybe they will pull a game freak and release it worldwide at the same time since they know how long everyone has waited for the game.

Highly doubtful, as II.5 would have been the perfect candidate for such.
At the most expect half a year, at the least, 5 ~ 8 weeks, I'd say.

Precisely. Everyone was expecting a global release for 2.5 given the massive pause in information we had, and we were thinking maybe they were trying to do both versions simultaneously. Yet, still a two month gap between the Japanese and English releases. So, we're definitely gonna see Japan get the game first.

One has to say though that for Square's usual standards, "just" a two month gap is actually rather quick.

I had the same thought, actually. A two month wait is actually really good, especially considering that 1.5 was finished by June 2013 and they still waited until September to release it anyway.

So true, what is the normal gap? 4 to 5 months?

Usually 6 months, I believe. Wasn't BBS an 8 month wait, as well?

If memory serves right, yes. It was a hellish wait.

Yeah, a two month wait is the shortest gap we've had since DDD (March in Japan, July in the rest of the world).

It would be different if Japan were getting it this summer, but even so, there's much to play between now and Dec. 2nd, so just having a release date is sufficient for me. As stated previously, a two-month turn-around is nothing really.

Nah, 3-4. Birth by Sleep and I.5 are odd exceptions.

There was a month between CoM. Three between KH II. Four for Days, Eight for BBS, three for Re:coded, four for 3D, and six for 1.5.
II.5 is the shortest release difference we've had since the original Chain of Memories. So that's really impressive.

*Note, I was talking about between America and Japan, international versions vary but they've been pretty good about those too lately.

If someone were to tell me that I'd already be a college graduate and a 2LT in the Army (it all happens next year summer) before KH3 came out back in 2006 I'd say no way. So much time as gone by, too much time. I've stopped caring about the wait or being anxious for the game years ago, it'll come out when it'll come out. It'll either succeed, or not live up to expectations, it could also crash and burn; whatever, the world keeps going 'round and 'round.

We're gonna have to wait almost as long as the people who were looking forward to Diablo III. If the odds are in favor of 2016, then there will be a 10 year gap of wait.

Except the difference is that we've had 4 additional games, a remaster, and an upcoming remaster to fill the gap. The D3 folk had nothing. And also, Diablo III was met with such terrible reactions initially because the original team who made the first two games had nothing to do with D3. I have great faith that KH3 will live up to our expectations, since KH has stayed in the same hands for its entire lifetime. Different dev team, but same developers. And they have yet to release a KH game that I would rate less than a 10/10 (although I am a fanboy :P ).

Now, I don't believe KH3 will live up to the hype. Hype ruins games. Diablo III, Watch Dogs, and so forth were really overhyped for what they were. I believe the same will be true for KH3. However, I am keeping my hype down for this exact reason. My expectations are simply for KH3 to surpass KH2 in terms of overall quality, because KH2 Final Mix is my favorite game of all time. And I think it's safe to say, given the premise of KH3's plot, the next-gen tech, and the evolution of the series over the years, that my expectations can easily be met. So I'm very hopeful about KH3. I expect it to be fantastic.