You have to understand that Square Enix is not in control of the actions of Sony. The HDD is what has set the release date behind, and looking at the amazing features that are in the HDD, I'm not complaining at all. Yes, it's been a long wait, but trust me, it is worth it. You can play EQ2 all you want, it's still EQ, and it'll still suck. Yes FFXI is going on 2 years old, but the english version is a diffrent game, with diffrent coding, and other added features that the japanese version will not have.
Also, if you have ever tried to reprogram a Japanese HD into a American computer, you'll understand the problem that has kept the HDD on hold. The HDD that beta testers have gotten is techincally the true 'beta', and also does not feature even a forth of the features that are in the final version. Read more information at
http://ps2.ign.com/articles/450/450153p1.html
I play the import on PC, and it's unlike anything I have played. I love every moment of it, and if you are not going to play because of a simple release date being longer then you like, maybe you should go play EQ.