The Effects of Localization

[Acid King]

So what do you think the effect of Deathsmiles being localized will be? Will it be a cash-bleeding failure for Aksys? Will the niche prove strong enough to have them localize more games? Will it revitalize the market for shooters in the states? etc etc...

I think the best case scenario would be for the game to be just profitable enough at full price to warrant further localizations. Hopefully they'll find it makes enough money to sustain further ports. It seems like this has happened with RPGs. Whereas plenty of rpgs would have been passed over for release in the statesback in the day, it seems as though more and more niche RPGs are making their way over to the states. There are plenty that still get brought over despite mediocre/average responses from the press because the market for nerdy JRPGs is large enough to sustain the releases. I think that's really the best, and probably unrealistic, thing we can hope for.

[orange]

if cave added some kind of stupid unlocks that would make dumb nerds think it has more "replay value" i think it would go a long way in establishing regular customers who are not necessarily "shmup players"

[Acid King]

if cave added some kind of stupid unlocks that would make dumb nerds think it has more "replay value" i think it would go a long way in establishing regular customers who are not necessarily "shmup players"

One thing I've seen cited a lot is Mars Matrix's store where new shit could be bought with points earned in game. Perhaps something like that could be done with the different modes of the games so as to force players to play to open up other versions of the game instead of just giving them everything off the bat. Maybe that would make people appreciate the differences across the games more. More hand-holding in terms of the games mechanics (ie. more explicit explanations of the scoring systems) would probably help as well.

[orange]

i think unlockable ships/colors for ships is a really good idea if you tie it to "achievements" because it is pretty extraneous to the game

[EPS21]

Aksys seems to indulge their no-holds barred attitude, and with the recent upsurge of loli-tastic shmups being popular with weaboos (you can thank ZUN for that), this can do moderately well if its marketed correctly, and they're on track so far.

I think the in game demonstration after choosing a character is probably enough; I doubt aksys would put in say a tutorial mode on how to score when most people picking this up (read: not big shmup fans else they'd have the original jp release long ago) are going to ignore the score counter anyways.

[Acid King]

I think the in game demonstration after choosing a character is probably enough; I doubt aksys would put in say a tutorial mode on how to score when most people picking this up (read: not big shmup fans else they'd have the original jp release long ago) are going to ignore the score counter anyways.

For sure, I don't think it's something that they would add to the release, but I think it is something that would help novice players and newbies to the genre. I think something akin to in game tutorials for RPGs would help a lot, where the player is presented with a mechanic in a demonstration up front (for example, using laser vacuum ground gems in Futari or using kakusei to slow bullets and cancel them in Galuda) and is forced to perform them in order to advance to the real game would help a lot.

[Elixir]

It's probably going to end up selling just as much (little?) as what RFA and Raiden 4 did. Aksys don't seem to care, they're like NISA and Atlus, they just want to release their games in the west period.

I like that kind of spirit, even if it is ridiculously bad for business.

[RSmith]

Well considering that Raiden IV sold about 70,000 copies that's a pretty good number (for the genre). Although Raiden is wayyyy more recognized here in the states than Deathsmiles thats for sure.

Edit - Sorry got the roman numeral mixed up.

[adversity1]

Think about what's in it for CAVE:

1. Arcade market shrinking significantly
2. 360 nearly dead in the water in Japan

Localizing their games to where there's a viable 360 market makes total sense.

[EPS21]

It's probably going to end up selling just as much (little?) as what RFA and Raiden 4 did. Aksys don't seem to care, they're like NISA and Atlus, they just want to release their games in the west period.

I like that kind of spirit, even if it is ridiculously bad for business.

NIS and Atlus are bringing Disgaea and all that over here even at a loss? I thought JRPG's do well enough over here (great success compared to shmups anyways). Really admirable of them if thats true, but it seems unbelievable if they really are throwing away money at their efforts.

[njiska]

like NISA and Atlus, they just want to release their games in the west period.

I'd say that has to be the Aksys mindset as they're also bringing over Cho Aniki Zero. Granted the original games were great, but this one is terrible and even in digital download form, it's not exactly what one would call a seller. In fact it's what one would call a shit game. Bad controls, bad design, a layer of thick Homo-eroticism. It just seems doomed to fail, yet Aksys is making sure it gets shared with the world and I say good on them.

Hopefully Deathsmiles does better than expected, because I really want more CAVE games to be ported here and Aksys is one of the few companies that would do it justice. My only major concern is the replacement of the Japanese dialog with a poor English dub. Hopefully they so what they did with BlazBlue and allow both.

[undamned]

Raiden VI

Where do I buy this???!!!
-ud

[lgb]

(you can thank ZUN for that)

No, you can't.

[Acid King]

Think about what's in it for CAVE:

1. Arcade market shrinking significantly
2. 360 nearly dead in the water in Japan

Localizing their games to where there's a viable 360 market makes total sense.

Question is, if the arcade market shrinks enough to the point where it may not be worth it for Cave, would they be able to do the same stuff profitably on consoles? I don't know what the arcade scene is like or what it's prospects are for becoming like the wasteland that is American arcades, but I wonder if they'd be able to justify putting the same amount of effort into their shooting games if there was only a console market.

[Zweihander]

(you can thank ZUN for that)

No, you can't.

Yes. You can. See Touhou series being more popular with the weeaboos for its characters than for its gameplay.

[MathU]

The Effects of Localization

I thought I was going into a thread about an intelligent general discussion about the encompassing effects of localization on 2D shooters. Instead it turned out to be another Deathsmiles thread. Can't you guys label your CAVE threads so I know not to click on them?

[Acid King]

The Effects of Localization

I thought I was going into a thread about an intelligent general discussion about the encompassing effects of localization on 2D shooters. Instead it turned out to be another Deathsmiles thread. Can't you guys label your CAVE threads so I know not to click on them?

Don't be dense. Would you honestly expect that Deathsmiles, the first Cave shooting game to be released for sale outside of Japan as well as the next retail shooting game to be released in the states, not to be discussed in a thread about localizations?

EDIT: I should also add that the Deathsmiles localization may prove particulalry important as a precedent setting event because if Aksys can't make money localizing a game by the most prolific developer of modern shooting games, it would really not bode well for other full priced localizations not titled Raiden.

[Elixir]

NIS and Atlus are bringing Disgaea and all that over here even at a loss? I thought JRPG's do well enough over here (great success compared to shmups anyways). Really admirable of them if thats true, but it seems unbelievable if they really are throwing away money at their efforts.

Even if the games are recognized and have fanbases, they're not popular and they don't sell well.

http://www.kotaku.com.au/2010/02/nippon ... d-part-ii/
http://blog.livedoor.jp/htmk73/archives/2571324.html

See, this is what happens when you release 5 games a year; 2 of which are ports, and 3 of which are unheard of.

Atlus are releasing Persona 3 Portable despite the game already having two different localizations in the west. NISA are releasing Disgaea Infinite in the west which is a visual novel, and their audience is even below that of shmups. These games are their recognizable titles, not to mention the games that nobody has ever heard of yet they're still willing to localize. I think that they're aware that if they don't release these games in the west, nobody else will. Victor Ireland (Working Designs) probably thought the same.

Aksys and Atlus also seem to listen to their fans, which is really nice. At least, they each have dedicated forums, and I've seen staff address issues on both. Not sure about NISA though. I'm going to buy both, because of their effort and my genuine interest in the games, but I'm pretty sure that they're already aware that their games don't sell well. So long as Atlus USA, NISA and Aksys are still around, I'll still support western releases.

I'd say that has to be the Aksys mindset as they're also bringing over Cho Aniki Zero. Granted the original games were great, but this one is terrible and even in digital download form, it's not exactly what one would call a seller. In fact it's what one would call a shit game. Bad controls, bad design, a layer of thick Homo-eroticism. It just seems doomed to fail, yet Aksys is making sure it gets shared with the world and I say good on them.

I think you're thinking this because Aksys have a tiny profile at the moment. It's not like Atlus and NISA haven't released nameless and/or bad games before, just look at their game catalogues.

[Lynx Winters]

(you can thank ZUN for that)

No, you can't.

Yes. You can. See Touhou series being more popular with the weeaboos for its characters than for its gameplay.

And why exactly would any Japanese company give a shit about what Americans think about the setting of a doujin game?

[captpain]

(you can thank ZUN for that)

No, you can't.

Yes. You can. See Touhou series being more popular with the weeaboos for its characters than for its gameplay.

What gameplay?

[njiska]

I'd say that has to be the Aksys mindset as they're also bringing over Cho Aniki Zero. Granted the original games were great, but this one is terrible and even in digital download form, it's not exactly what one would call a seller. In fact it's what one would call a shit game. Bad controls, bad design, a layer of thick Homo-eroticism. It just seems doomed to fail, yet Aksys is making sure it gets shared with the world and I say good on them.

I think you're thinking this because Aksys have a tiny profile at the moment. It's not like Atlus and NISA haven't released nameless and/or bad games before, just look at their game catalogues.

Actually I misread the original post as Aksys instead of Atlus, but all three deserve attention for bring over titles that they think are special, rather than just titles that are sellers.

[lgb]

Yes. You can. See Touhou series being more popular with the weeaboos for its characters than for its gameplay.

You've got this backwards, so no you can't.

And why exactly would any Japanese company give a shit about what Americans think about the setting of a doujin game?

Because these same Japanese companies are apparently "ruining the genre/s".

[spl]

What do you mean by "Localization"? Last time I looked around Deathsmiles ain't being localized for me.

[ncp]

we need a thread for these stupid "DID ZUN POPULARIZE FLYING LOLI SHMUPS?" de-rails.

Touhou is the same in japan as it is in the rest of the world: popular more for its characters/music/"story"(lol) than for the games.

[Strider77]

who farted?

[Ed Oscuro]

i blame monster world 3's shooting stage

[xris]

There's story in shmups? I turn that off to get at the shooting quicker. Also, Atlus had such a bad year, their stock just got put on hold.

[Herr Schatten]

i blame monster world 3's shooting stage

MW3 had a shooting stage?

[spl]

i blame monster world 3's shooting stage

MW3 had a shooting stage?

I don't know if it's MW3 but one of the Monster World's second stage was a horizontal shooting stage where you flew on a dragon or something like that.

[honorless]

This thread makes me wonder what happened to Valcon. Kinda hoped they might become another niche publisher specializing in shooters (ha) but they seem to have gone right back to shovelware.

What do you mean by "Localization"? Last time I looked around Deathsmiles ain't being localized for me.

What's funny is that you could have used this post to wax philosophical about why none of the 360 shooters have come to PAL regions. Size of the market, lack of a concerted effort aimed at localizers...I imagine a lot of the NTSC posters might find your thoughts interesting, not being as familiar with the situation.

...But lamely whining about the issue is easier, I guess.

Atlus had such a bad year, their stock just got put on hold.

Interesting!

How Aksys can keep bringing over retail failures without any whispers of financial trouble when companies like XSEED and apparently, Atlus are struggling is a mystery to me. IIRC, BlazBlue has been their only real success this gen, and at least according to VGChartz (...yeah, I know) it sold slightly less than either of the PS2 Personas. BB couldn't have been so cheap to localize that it made up for all their other bombs.

Maybe I've just missed some important information, but I sure don't feel like researching it.