After an unfortunate delay, veteran JRPG fans in North America will finally get their heart’s desire on March 18: The Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remasters.
However, it may interest those anticipatory gamers to know that in fact, Square Enix outsourced the creation of these spruced-up classics. A company named Virtuos actually handled the high-definition upgrades, which may or may not concern the Final Fantasy faithful. Virtuos, headquarted in Shanghai, describes themselves as a “resource for console, online and mobile games.” Notably, they’ve handled the PSP versions of Ghost Recon: Predator and Crash: Mind Over Mutant.
While the titles in question were obviously “created and produced” by Square Enix, the actual process of converting FFX and FFX-2 to the glorious HD you will see fell to Virtuos. Now, that may sound problematic, especially because the company in question doesn’t seem to have much experience with high-profile projects. Remember, FF fans are in no mood to be trifled with now; many are still quite bitter about what Square Enix did to their beloved franchise.
But let’s not get carried away.
If you do the research, you’ll see that a lot of publishers outsource HD overhauls. We’ve heard developers say it really isn’t complicated; it’s just a matter of getting it done. And it’s likely that publishers such as Square Enix have more important things to attend to, which is why Virtuos got the nod for these Remasters. Provided the game looks great and the frame rate remains solid throughout, the fans should be plenty satisfied.
After all, they really just want to play the games they love. They’re prettier now but that’s just a bonus.
