RPGamer posted an interview with XSEED publishing director Ken Berry in which they discuss his company's recent partnership with Falcom, the developer most know for its Ys and The Legend of Heroes series. Here are some of the highlights -

on why Ys Seven, Ys: The Oath in Felghana, Ys I & II Chronicles, and The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky trilogy were the first ones chosen for localization:

Ys SEVEN was a no brainer being that it was the first of the Ys series to be made specifically from the ground up for the PSP, and it shows in its gorgeous widescreen graphics and virtual lack of loadtimes. The other Ys titles offer fantastic elements on PSP not available in any previous versions, such as the rearranged soundtrack for Ys I&II Chronicles and fully-voiced event scenes in Ys: The Oath in Felghana.

Regarding The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, the Trails in the Sky (Sora no Kiseki) trilogy has widely been regarded as one of the best RPGs around, but people have been afraid to localize it due to the immense volume of text it contains. We were fortunate to have dedicated people willing to tackle this gargantuan task because they love the series so much.

on when we can expect these games to show up on store shelves:

Ys SEVEN is scheduled for a late summer release, and that will be followed by Ys: The Oath in Felghana by the end of this year. Early next year will see Ys I&II Chronicles and then The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky (Sora no Kiseki FC). SC [Second Chapter] will obviously need a fair amount of time to complete after the release of the first Trails in the Sky.

on how XSEED hopes to break Falcom out of its cult status and bring it into the mainstream:

Falcom is well-known by core gamers the world over for putting out great RPGs, but their releases in North America have been a bit sporadic and inconsistent, in both the platform and multiple publishers that have handled their titles. By releasing all their recent titles on a single platform (PSP) with one publisher overseeing all quality and marketing efforts, we're hopeful that Falcom's sterling reputation for quality will finally get a chance to reach a new group of players, something that fans have known for decades. As soon as people play Ys SEVEN for the first time, they will be hooked on all Falcom games to come.