True, but that's not exactly something we can prove either. However, based on how Cloud was handled, it sounds like Sakurai did most of the work. Don't see why SE would outright deny giving him Geno so they could promote something like FF or DQ if they can barely hand over any content besides the character itself.
If we get a second SE rep, then we'll know for sure that Geno's absence isn't as simple as "SE won't give Sakurai the rights! SE is horrible!".
Still the same leap in logic, but worded different. Agree to disagree.
To give an example of my thought process, my furniture store used to go to the city's semi-annual Home & Garden Show to display our products and let people try them out. One year, a separate company on the other side of the show floor asked us if they could use two of our sofas for their area, and in exchange, we could put up signs saying the sofas were from us with directions to our area. We agreed, everything sounded good.
However, the sofa they wanted-- a big comfy contemporary sofa that isn't anything remarkable-- wouldn't benefit us nearly as much as using the brand new, unqiuely designed sofa we just started carrying. It was just a cooler sofa that would make their clients more likely to ask about us. So when they asked for the former, we said no and offered the latter. They agreed because really, they just wanted a sofa.
If I were in charge of these negotiations at SE, I would very likely say, "Geno? What do we gain from that? Mr. Sakurai, have you considered ______ instead?" and go from there. That doesn't mean that's absolutely how it went, but saying that's not possible or even probable and instead saying there must obviously be bias on Sakurai's part isn't something I can get behind. Business isn't personal. It's business.