Square Enix broke the hearts of many fans in mid-August when it announced that Final Fantasy 15 would be delayed, but, at the very least, the reasoning behind the move sounded fair at the time. Rather than release the game on Sept. 30 and force players to download an extensive day one patch before they could even play, the developer opted to release the game on Nov. 29 and have the kinks worked out from the start.
However, even with that delay, it appears there's a chance that Final Fantasy 15 might come with a day one patch anyway.
During an interview with Hardcore Gamer, when asked whether FF15 will have a day one patch, producer Hajime Tabata stated:
"You know, whatever we can implement in the disc, we will implement in order to provide a full experience to those who purchase the game. That said, for people who do have that network connectivity or an online environment, we will continue to deliver what is necessary through those means to people who have that accessibility. Whether that be any necessary patches or DLCs moving forward, they're two separate parts of the pod basically; one a full experience through the disc and what we can implement in the disc, and for those who have an online network connectivity, any additional support or DLCs that we can envision.
"So [we're] not dismissing the patches or the DLCs whatsoever, but when looking at what is provided through the disc, we wanted to ensure that the level of quality is met in terms of what we'd like to deliver on a standard Final Fantasy release, as well as something that surpasses that quality."
There it is, as clear as day: despite getting a delay in order to avoid a day one patch, FF15 might get a day one patch anyway.
However, before we raise our torches and pitchforks, do know that this statement only alludes to the possibility of the game getting a patch on day one - it doesn't guarantee it.
Furthermore, if the game does indeed get a patch, there's still the possibility that it won't end up being as large as the one that players would have suffered through had the game come out in September. Remember, back in August, Tabata stated the delay would be "hefty" and the developers quickly surmised they would need at least a month's worth of time to get everything sorted out. With all that work behind it, it doesn't seem likely that the new patch would be as large as the original one.
Of course, if it does get the patch, it will be interesting to see what was so important that it needed to be addressed on day one, yet SE didn't have the time to touch during production.
In the end, however, there's no use fretting over what might come, so we'll just have to wait until Nov. 29 when the game launches for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One to see what we get.
