In an interview by Gematsu, Earth Defense Force 6 producer Nobuyuki Okajima spilled the beans on why the Earth Defense Force franchise takes a longer time to localize compared to D3’s other IPs.
Set during the New York Comic-Con 2023, Okajima first revealed the reasons why their other titles get worldwide simultaneous releases. In particular, titles like the MAIDEN SAMURAI, Ed-0: Zombie Uprising, and the up-and-coming Custom Mech Wars were mentioned. A spinoff title, Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain, which was released in 2019, was also mentioned. In response, he implied that localizing these titles merely requires working on the “text strictly,” which he said is “easier to do”.
Meanwhile, the mainline Earth Defense Force series, he claims, takes a longer time to localize because it takes a full product for the localization process to even kickstart. He sampled the process as involving a complete development of the base game and then the DLC before actually localizing the game for the international audience.
No Japanese release delays necessary
But while the company could trick the world into thinking of a worldwide simultaneous release by delaying the Japanese version, Okajima said that it does not make sense from a financial standpoint. Further, he claims that releasing the game early in Japan paves the way for a more solid Western release than what a fresh launch would be.
On the topic of the duration it takes between releases outside of Japan, the game producer said that the EDF franchise simply takes a lot of time to develop relative to their other IPs. He went on to exemplify Earth Defense Force 6 with the idea, citing how the game had to be extended a few times during development due to quality issues.
Earth Defense Force 6 is slated for a multi-platform release, including the PS4 and PS5, in Spring 2024.
