Hello from Rising Star Games!

[RSG_Spoonparty]

Helllllllo everybody!

This thread alone is already turning into a great resource. Alrighty lets do these responses. I do apologize if I don't respond to you individually, maybe its because I feel the question has been answered, maybe its because the scroll wheel on my mouse is playing up. Maybe its because your post speaks loud enough for itself. We will never know.

@Bananamatic, jepjepjep, hwl, Matskat, MJR, Deca and ALL others requesting saidaioujou. Loving the feedback and thanks for the background information on the game. Like I said its hard to crowbar titles into the schedule but I'm certainly going to voice the shmups community interest in this game, no harm in trying
@superPang unfortunately I am unable to help with any penis related problems
@Tokyo-J glad to be able to have brought you Akai Katana. It really is a solid shooter. A shame the same can't be said for that hilarious boxart you posted lol.
@Op Intensify, HydrogLox and MR_Soren re: PS3 released in both NA and PAL, Xbox 360 exclusive to PAL (region locked). What has been said is pretty spot on. We are certainly aware of the Xbox 360 user base in North America, and I can assure you we want as many fans to play these games as possible and we are never trying to upset people deliberately. However sometimes there are factors as a small publisher that prevent us from selling the game as widely as we intend
@Remembrance sorry, but that address is not connected to us so who knows who you sent it to I'm afraid we may not be able to help you with that, sorry dude
@EmperorIng, Trevor, spencer, RealPlumpBox, KidQuaalude and those looking forward to Under Defeat HD DE I completely agree with you. Being fairly new to the genre I instantly appreciated the straight forward design and found it more enjoyable to play. Crisp visuals also help a noobie like me concentrate and understand whats going needless to say i still absolutely suck at it but I'm working on it!
@Koyomi92 Hey man! I enjoy replying to you guys and how better to let you know that I am actually reading the thread! Have a great week
@kid aphex were you never told its whats in the inside that counts?! Please do let me know how you think the artwork could be improved, I'm interested to hear from you
@sjewkestheloon hey, thanks for the feedback you gave, some interesting points. Personally, I don't think a game compilation will be something that would be considered, sorry.
@Alfred and 1up I agree, Deathsmiles 2 looks awesome. I'll try and drop it into conversation as much as possible and make them think its their idea to publish it, inception style.

Lastly a big shout out to Jeneki for taking life as it comes. I like you style bro.

Well hope you guys had a good weekend. I've got a blog up on the RSG site now, please check it out on this link: bit.ly/Q2zH56 (picture included *gasp*) for the insider and I welcome you to follow me on twitter @RSG_Spoonparty.

May you all embrace chaos and shoot your way out,
Until next time,

-Samuel


***EDIT: fixed a typo about the region availability for Under Defeat HD Deluxe Edition. This was my error. The PS3 version is available to both NA and europe. The Xbox 360 release is PAL only and region locked. I am so sorry for any confusion I have caused.***

[RSG_Spoonparty]

PS. Apologies for above the wall'o'text

@exquisite_torture your faith gives me strength, thank you.

-Samuel

[n0rtygames]

Out of interest as you're a publisher, I know from working at various places that the costs are fairly high for each submission of a game to Microsoft - with patches to titles costing several thousand per submission. Is there a major difference cost-wise for games to be released region free vs region locked?

[exquisite_torture]

You might want to join The Bear and Badger. It's the old Edge magazine forum, which interestingly split from the magainze recently and formed its own community. We have a STG/Shmup/Shooter thread.
Edge have now relaunched their site and it doesn't have a forum.

http://www.thebearandbadger.co.uk/

[kid aphex]

I mean who gives a shit as long as they manage to sell enough copies to secure future releases.

I do; I guess that's where we differ

I'm not necessarily interested in "keeping the genre alive!" by destroying all that which made it interesting to me (cohesive aesthetic design, great music, great gameplay, etc). The genre isn't under the threat of death, it's under the threat of becoming something mediocre--- I'd rather let all of shmups blink out of existence than watch a slow decay that retroactively poisons the genres impressive consistency of quality.

To me, it seems much more ridiculous to support something mediocre (the cover art) and not protest it, particularly when it's a subject I'm so passionate about, and when I have such a direct line of communication to the developer (for which I'm thankful).

I staggers me we live in a society where a person is ridiculed simply for asking for more from a a product, from an artist, of a creation. Is our suicidal consensus official? Are we all really so ready to die that we've agreed compromise is more admirable than perseverance? Civilization... declines.

Also, I am a bit surprised to have my post/opinion singled-out on Twitter by a person who collects oversexed, underaged dolls. No judgment here; I just would've expected a bit more sensitivity from a person who's aesthetic tastes are so ... particular.

[kid aphex]

@kid aphex were you never told its whats in the inside that counts?! Please do let me know how you think the artwork could be improved, I'm interested to hear from you

lol, I'm familiar with the phrase ... but by invoking it, you're agreeing cover is ugly.

If that's the case, change it.

[drunkninja24]

I honestly don't see the problem with the cover art myself

I understand wanting something more suited to your tastes, but this a far cry from the horrendousness of something like the Mobile Light Force stuff.

[Op Intensify]

I guess we've already forgotten how mediocre the Japanese LE box art was.

[KAI]

Use this as cover art and the game will sell like hotcakes.

[jepjepjep]

I'm sure it'll sell well as long as the cover art looks classy like this:

[AntiFritz]

I'm sure it'll sell well as long as the cover art looks classy like this:

Should have just changed the number to 3 imo.

[Remembrance]

@Remembrance sorry, but that address is not connected to us so who knows who you sent it to

I looked it up, and it's actually Marvelous Entertainment's US office: http://www.ign.com/companies/marvelous-entertainment

But that is Rising Star Games now as of 2012, isn't it?

[To Far Away Times]

I'm sure it'll sell well as long as the cover art looks classy like this:

lol. I would buy two copies if it had that cover.

[RSG_Spoonparty]

@Kid aphex I really enjoyed reading your post about how you value a game's cover art and I must admit you did make me think and reconsider my opinion on game covers importance in general. I wasn't aware that well thought out and explanatory responses were still present on the internet. Although I still like Under Defeat HD DE cover art Show me what you consider excellent cover art, maybe you'll be able to open my eyes.

[kennyrh]

As a collector of many things apart from games . . .comics, novels, blurays, artbooks etc, the first thing that sucks me in is the cover art. Even though it might not be representative of the product, the cover art IS the hook. Take it from a dedicated collector of many, many years

[MathU]

So... Kokuga...

[finisherr]

I totally just bought Akai Katana cause I just realized it was On Demand. I very much like having a physical copy, but knowing it was there...just couldn't resist. AKA impulse spending.

[BrianC]

Does MS's stupidity mean that nothing more will come from RSG US for 360? I hope that isn't the case. I'm very disappointed that UD 360 isn't coming to the US due to MS's moronic polices. I'm frustrated with games from other companies like Pinball Arcade getting delayed due to them too.

[futurematt5]

Samuel - huge thanks to RSG for getting Akai Katana a PAL release. It's brutal, critical and legit. Sho'nuff !

A lot of shooter fans have already got JP xbox's but I'm one of the ones who haven't - and don't intend to either. Any PAL releases of shoot em ups are welcomed, though the mainstream will probably trade theirs in when they realise you can't shoot someone's head off in a back street militia rampage when the background is as flat as a One Voice chorus, but hey, you can't please everyone.

My dream team of PAL shmup releases is not the most outlandishly optimistic Magna Carta of unreleased and obscure titles, but would feature the following:

KETSUI
DANGUN FEVERON
ANYTHING BY THE LEGENDARY RAIZING : PREFERABLY ARMED POLICE BATRIDER OR BATTLE BAKRAID

I don't know what the business case would look like for getting a PAL release of KETSUI but needless to say your Akai Katana audience would snap it up and then some.

Anyway, your posts (and their responses) have been excellent and entertaining. I laughed my head off at MrBobbie's first post.

[Alfred]

I love your STG videos on Youtube FutureMatt5

[Tokyo-J]

Will Gamestop be carrying PS3 Under Defeat in the USA?

Will the Pal version work on a USA Xbox 360?

[RSG_Spoonparty]

What's up guys!

Just letting you know we've just put up a new trailer for Under Defeat HD Deluxe Edition so check it out if you haven't already. One other thing I need to ask you is we our going to be taking a lot of our back catalog to sell at the MCM expo in london later this month. All the games are going to be under one deal. We can't take every game and we are in the process of making a list now so if there are any of our titles you'd love to get a deal on let me know and I'll add them to the list.

Take care!
Samuel

[HeWhoGoverns]

Alright, I am a little confused.

At first, it was stated that the PAL release will be region locked, but later in the thread it is stated that the Xb360 version will be dual region and the PS3 version is a US exclusive.

So will Under Defeat HD PAL work on my US 360 or not? I have a PS3 and will begrudingly buy the PS3 copy if I have to, but I would MUCH rather play it on my 360 if at all possible.

Also, gotta have that Mushi HD. Game is gorgeous. If you guys bring that over to either the US, or dual region it for PAL, I may even buy 2 copies.

[RSG_Spoonparty]

Hello,

How are you all?

To confirm in USA it's just the PS3 version we are releasing. The EU Xbox 360 is unfortunately going to be region locked. I apologise for the inconvenience.

Samuel

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Hello, How are you all?

We're fucked, that's how we are.

[1up]

Hello, How are you all?

We're fucked, that's how we are.

Now you know how it felt to live in the PAL terretories for the past 20 years

[AntiFritz]

Hello, How are you all?

We're fucked, that's how we are.

Now you know how it felt to live in the PAL terretories for the past 20 years

Yeah this, I've lost count of the amount of games' I've missed out on over the years.

[BrianC]

Hello,

How are you all?

To confirm in USA it's just the PS3 version we are releasing. The EU Xbox 360 is unfortunately going to be region locked. I apologise for the inconvenience.

Samuel

I'm ok, but I'm extremely disappointed with this news and would like to see more shmups on 360 in the US. I also wish UD 360 was playable in the US since the JP PS3 version already plays on US systems. I was hoping to see other shmups like Dodonpachi Resurrection in the US (I know the EU one is region free, but I would like to play BL without creating an EU account). I asked in another post if US 360 support from RSG was dropped and I would be extremely disappointed if this was the case.

[EmperorIng]

Well then this is a great opportunity for all of you to pick up a PS3.

Or region-hack/softmod your 360.

[HydrogLox]

I'm extremely disappointed with this news and would like to see more shmups on 360 in the US.

In this particular case the "US release" might be the problem. One could speculate:

1. The "Akai Katana" experience showed that a minimum-size MS print run is too costly in the NTSC-U region. This is what lead to the selection of the PS3 release which allowed a release with a more modest up front investment.
2. Aksys requested a single region lock for the PAL Xbox 360 release to avoid (further) sales cannibalization by imports for gamers that happen to own both systems. They are trying to capture the residual market that did not spend the money already on the original Japanese PS3 release.

Going by the same reasoning a potential NTSC-U digital release for the XBox 360 would have to wait for some time until Aksys is satisfied that the market has been saturated - and nobody would admit that it was in the works for that reason. On the other hand the sale figures of Strania may be taken to indicate that a digital release isn't even worth while.

So oddly enough I suspect that NO NTSC-U release but a localized dual-region XBox 360 and PS3 release in the PAL region would have been the better solution. I doubt that the brick-and-mortar sales in NA of Under Defeat HD will amount to much.