Not actually play PSO2SEA but I did play A LOT of PSO2 Meseta matches in SEA release. Maintaining service through a localizer (distributor), however, backslash of the distributor have the ability to alter the sport itself or stray afar in the original maintaining plan from mother company (in this instance SEGA). Many games come and go just due to poor maintaining and being manipulated. With Sream being something since quite some time (actually steam slowly became an essential factor in around PSO2SEA release, the rise of MOBA such as Dota2 and LoL was a thing), many issues of localizer were flipped out, such as manipulating value (PSO2, when enemy coped more dmg and suppose to be) to unjust monetization (many, including Garena in exchanging RP speed in local currencies, also for PSO2 was outfit fragments and affix outfit). It all are a kind of managing and maintening the sport. Honestly, not much match remained over 5-7 years with this kind of lack of honesty and non transparency of the localizers, and their strategy then (at least in my state ) was kind of instant-ramen of buying license, using it in couple years for quick buck then losing it. There are some poblishers/localizers did really excellent job, especially Mihoyo or even YoStar, but that is for cellular market and that is kind of later on with higher standard when gamers started caring about transparency and such.
Their fear is quite legitimate, of contents being altered too much like oriental (SEA) launch, but he does have to see the reason of why it failed in a broader view, not just only PSO2's instance. "We heard a great deal of players say they've been waiting eight long years for this launch. [laughs] We were really happy about that."
SEGA didn't just wait to bring PSO2 into the west. Remember that there were plans to localize the game early on, but for one reason or the job was scrapped till recently. The pso2.com page was active as early as 2012, revealing teasers and other details on the match with a big"COMING SOON" plastered on the page. SEGA announced plans to localize PSO2 just days after the JP launch, expecting to start in 2013. The page had no upgrades whatsoever and was eventually taken down late 2017. Come a year ago, all of a sudden SEGA admits PSO2 coming to the west onto Microsoft's platform. With a bit of digging, we can piece together what might have occurred.
Hosting and making an MMO is not cheap. Even if the dev work is already done, you still need to have a translation team, customer support, and servers to host the match. What occurred to SEGA they had to cut financing for the localization job? Our first clue is that Atlus was in danger after its parent company filed for bankruptcy back in June of 2013. The company to purchase Atlus was none other than SEGA. Cue the milking of hot titles Persona 3 and 4. Irrespective of what actually happened, we can observe that buy meseta pso2 SEGA has otherwise been on a downward trend financially over the past decade.