I think it's a little unfair to say that that's "the public line." The public line has just been, "it's coming." The rest has been us talking about it with you guys one-on-one on message forums like this, because that's what we do. And we're going to be honest with you guys, because that's also what we do.
As for not making it a priority from the get-go, that was largely due to sales. The first game was a slow burn on PSP -- we put a lot of time, effort and money into it, and we didn't really get much out of it at first. We could've given up on the series altogether at that point, but instead, we decided to stick with it.
So we worked on SC in the background, not because we didn't believe in the franchise, but because we DID believe in it -- enough to keep going despite the tremendous time and monetary commitment required to localize the second title. We couldn't prioritize it because, frankly, we wouldn't be around if we did... but we made sure it was being worked on, and took the time to build up an additional fanbase for the series by working on other Falcom titles and dipping our toe in the PC waters as well.
Now, because we DIDN'T give up on the series, Trails is becoming more well-known by the day, and SC is poised to be a success for us -- as opposed to a long, tiresome project that might've closed our doors forever if we'd focused all our energy on it immediately after FC.
So basically, you're now going to be getting SC a lot later than you wanted it, but on PSP *and* PC, and with a lot of fanfare and hope for the rest of the series... as opposed to much sooner, but on PSP exclusively and pretty much doomed to obscurity, with no hope for the rest of the series.
...Not trying to toot our own horn here, but personally, I think we made the right choice in the end. I wish we could've "had our cake and eaten it too," so to speak... but it's all working out pretty well in the end, so why knock it?
-Tom