Pink Sweets & Muchi Muchi Pork bundle - Xbox 360!!!!!

[mdsfx]

Email sent. I don't have much interest in either of these games specifically, but I tend to buy anything they release in an effort to show support. Guess I'm looking at the bigger picture...

[Cuilan]

this is from Cave's facebook page, i dunno if it's real or not...

Some of our fans may be familiar with our upcoming Muchi Muchi Pork/Pink Sweets Japan release. We currently have talks over some of our other Japan-only titles ongoing with overseas publishers, but our producer Asada-san is currently thinking about making the MMP/PS double pack region free. Feel free to send him some feedback here: blog360@mail.cave.co.jp

That makes a lot of sense, actually.

Sounds like Aksys is still on the fence about whether or not they'll localize it. Not sure why they don't take the opportunity. This one doesn't seem like that big of a risk to me. It is 2 games for the price of 1, after all. Also, I thought they were happy with how their release of Deathsmiles sold. But perhaps they're going to skip this one for now, in favor of Deathsmiles 2X and DFK (if that Facebook post is correct).

If Aksys does turn it down, making it region-free is pretty much a given, if Cave wants it to sell well. Yagawa's games aren't very popular in Japan, but he has a lot of fans everywhere else. The good thing about a region-free release is that people won't have to wait a year until after the JP release for the localized version to go on sale.

[StarCreator]

Some of this might be short-term panic over how poorly Daifukkatsu sold also - it didn't even make the top 20 at Media Create, so it must have sold less than 12K copies. By my count, that makes it the worst Cave 360 debut on record. Making it region free can only increase sales numbers, as doing so doesn't affect Japanese sales in the slightest. Cave has sales targets to meet, so maybe they felt this would be a quick and dirty way to drum up sales even a tiny bit.

[Cuilan]

Making it region free can only increase sales numbers, as doing so doesn't affect Japanese sales in the slightest.

But it kills the chance of them licensing it out to a company like Aksys, and making money off the license.

As for the sales of DFK according to Media Create, does anyone know if they separate the sales numbers of games that have both SE and LE versions? I thought they did at some point, or I might be getting them mixed up with Famitsu.

[StarCreator]

Making it region free can only increase sales numbers, as doing so doesn't affect Japanese sales in the slightest.

But it kills the chance of them licensing it out to a company like Aksys, and making money off the license.

Assuming my speculation is correct (and it IS just speculation), either Cave is betting on the games being completely uninteresting to overseas publishers and thus denying them a potential revenue stream entirely by releasing it locked with no overseas releases in the pipeline, or the need to meet their short term sales goals trumps the need to make their properties attractive to potential licensees. Sadly, there's simply no way to know what's really going on behind the curtain.

And honestly, as much as I love Pork, I think it has a snowball's chance in hell making money outside Japan as a disc release. If the entire thing was put up on XBLA, then it might do decently for a couple weeks before vanishing into the depths of the marketplace. But I think the presentation is just too weird and niche to move significant numbers as a disc release.

[Cuilan]

Assuming my speculation is correct (and it IS just speculation), either Cave is betting on the games being completely uninteresting to overseas publishers and thus denying them a potential revenue stream entirely by releasing it locked with no overseas releases in the pipeline, or the need to meet their short term sales goals trumps the need to make their properties attractive to potential licensees. Sadly, there's simply no way to know what's really going on behind the curtain.

And honestly, as much as I love Pork, I think it has a snowball's chance in hell making money outside Japan as a disc release. If the entire thing was put up on XBLA, then it might do decently for a couple weeks before vanishing into the depths of the marketplace. But I think the presentation is just too weird and niche to move significant numbers as a disc release.

That's a possibility.

But I think this release would have a decent chance of being localized and selling alright. It's a bundle of two games for the price of one, both games have never been ported before, and I get the impression that both seem to be in high demand outside of Japan. Besides, if Aksys did localize it, they'd sell it for less than full price and include a bunch of extra stuff with the first-print run. I think all that would make it a very attractive purchase.

[Alfred]

Write some nice emails everyone! Let our voices be heard for this sweet opportunity. I for one would LOVE to play the Pork.

I just sent a very nice Email to them. Fingers crossed.

[ebarrett]

I get the impression that both seem to be in high demand outside of Japan.

I though MMP and PS were major flops in Japan, which is already a lot more receptive/tolerant than the rest of the planet to..... well, to everything that makes MMP and PS what they are.

[Cuilan]

I though MMP and PS were major flops in Japan, which is already a lot more receptive/tolerant than the rest of the planet to..... well, to everything that makes MMS and PS what they are.

Those games bombed in Japan, yeah (which is why they're being bundled together for the price of a single release in the first place). But it seems to me that Yagawa has a lot of fans outside of Japan. Maybe I'm just getting the wrong impression? Guess we'll just have to find out once this either goes on sale as a region-free title or gets localized.

[cul]

More than the possibility of a free zone MMP PS release. I'm happy to see they're considering releasing DDP and Ketsui outside japan.

[njiska]

More than the possibility of a free zone MMP PS release. I'm happy to see they're considering releasing DDP and Ketsui outside japan.

I wouldn't get your hopes up for Ketsui or Daioujou. As 5PB Published and developed them (well sort of in the case of DDP) Cave can't just turn around and sell those versions to a localization company. They'd either have to get 5PB to agree to to deal or get another studio to develop a western release. Neither option sound particularly plausible at this point. Realistically they'll be shopping around DFK and DSIIX.

[The Expanding Man]

Am I overlooking something in this discussion?

For the price of a single Ketsui PCB, you could buy a Japan region Xbox 360, every single ported Japan-only Cave release and still have some spare change.

[drauch]

Am I overlooking something in this discussion?

For the price of a single Ketsui PCB, you could buy a Japan region Xbox 360, every single ported Japan-only Cave release and still have some spare change.

It's a PCB, yeah. They are more expensive...

[Kaspal]

Am I overlooking something in this discussion?

For the price of a single Ketsui PCB, you could buy a Japan region Xbox 360, every single ported Japan-only Cave release and still have some spare change.

and deal with customs and exagerated taxes for importing a console that might die on you... im really tempted to get one, but that kinda scares me, you know?... money dont grow on trees around here.

anyhow, i mailed them, trying to support this cause... i'd love to have some daifukkatsu and ketsui love on me NTSC-U console.

[8 1/2]

Am I overlooking something in this discussion?

For the price of a single Ketsui PCB, you could buy a Japan region Xbox 360, every single ported Japan-only Cave release and still have some spare change.

and deal with customs and exagerated taxes for importing a console that might die on you... im really tempted to get one, but that kinda scares me, you know?... money dont grow on trees around here.

anyhow, i mailed them, trying to support this cause... i'd love to have some daifukkatsu and ketsui love on me NTSC-U console.

Let's get serious though. It's NEVER going to happen. I'm sorry, I wish that weren't true. Yes, the 360 is rather notorious piece of hardware, but you're missing out on perhaps the greatest generation of shmups ever produced. If you're a Cave fan, this is nothing short of the golden age. This time will never come again. Just get one and enjoy.

[antares]

People should use this opportunity and also demand a Guwange 4:3 patch over this email address

[Zeron]

Maybe we should split the thread into two parts one about the game being region free etc

[mdsfx]

Let's get serious though. It's NEVER going to happen. I'm sorry, I wish that weren't true.

Why do you say that? It sounds more than possible considering their facebook post.

[Last_Dancer]

But it kills the chance of them licensing it out to a company like Aksys, and making money off the license.

This argument is so stupid, its not funny anymore

DS,PSP,PS3 are regionfree, and almost every game reaches USA/Europe.
Japanese version of Blazblue was regioncodefree on PS3, did it hurt US sales? NO!! Same goes for Demons Souls, Asia-version had english text, but US-version sold excellent.

Like someone said in this thread, DDP bombed, Pink Sweets fanbase in Japan is small, thats why the're reconsidering regionfree games.

I don't care anyway, I bought a japanese 4Gb Slim 360 this week

[njiska]

Maybe we should split the thread into two parts one about the game being region free etc

Why does everyone always have an issue with talk about whether or not a game is region free when there's a valid debate about it?

Cave has asked for our thoughts on whether or not MMP/PS should be region free.
We're discussing our thoughts here on whether the game should be region free or not.
By discussing it we're drawing attention to the issue. The more people see it the more show support.
This is all directly related to Pink Sweet & Muchu Muchi Pork. There is literally nothing else to talk about in regards to this release until Cave gives us something more to talk about.
So why not talk about it here since this thread is about the Disc release?

It's not like this is another case of a few random people shouting into the void. We've been explicitly asked to talk about this. The whole reason Mushi Futari was region free was because a bunch of foreigners emailed Cave about what game they wanted ported to X360.

[manaka]

It's clear that they feel PS/MMP would never stand a chance of getting a western release, and I agree with them completely. The games are just simple ports without the graphical bells and whistles of the previous releases, likely because the games themselves are unpopular in Japan anyway, so no point in tossing good money after bad.

And this is a position I can fully support. If the game has no chance of selling overseas, region-free it. Wish more companies would take that lead.

Some of this might be short-term panic over how poorly Daifukkatsu sold also - it didn't even make the top 20 at Media Create, so it must have sold less than 12K copies. By my count, that makes it the worst Cave 360 debut on record.

But not by much. I suspect oversaturation is contributing to it all at this point though, but we will see how it fairs at the end of the month.

[Kaspal]

Am I overlooking something in this discussion?

For the price of a single Ketsui PCB, you could buy a Japan region Xbox 360, every single ported Japan-only Cave release and still have some spare change.

and deal with customs and exagerated taxes for importing a console that might die on you... im really tempted to get one, but that kinda scares me, you know?... money dont grow on trees around here.

anyhow, i mailed them, trying to support this cause... i'd love to have some daifukkatsu and ketsui love on me NTSC-U console.

Let's get serious though. It's NEVER going to happen. I'm sorry, I wish that weren't true. Yes, the 360 is rather notorious piece of hardware, but you're missing out on perhaps the greatest generation of shmups ever produced. If you're a Cave fan, this is nothing short of the golden age. This time will never come again. Just get one and enjoy.

Trust me, im saving every penny i can, because i REALLY wanna have this baby with me... but importing one would cost me AT THE VERY LEAST double the stock price of an elite model... so it's not an easy task for me... next year i might bite the bullet and doit, but right now, its a complete no-no for me.... i just cant afford it... my master degree leaves me with no money.

[Avatar Ignis]

Some of this might be short-term panic over how poorly Daifukkatsu sold also - it didn't even make the top 20 at Media Create, so it must have sold less than 12K copies. By my count, that makes it the worst Cave 360 debut on record. Making it region free can only increase sales numbers, as doing so doesn't affect Japanese sales in the slightest. Cave has sales targets to meet, so maybe they felt this would be a quick and dirty way to drum up sales even a tiny bit.

Do you think the iphone release of DDP stunted sales of the 360 game? I know i wasn't heartbroken when i heard the news daifukkatsu wasnt region free.

Sent an email hoping muchi/pink is region free. I think it'll happen, cause i really dont think cave would bring it up if they weren't more than half serious

[njiska]

Take it for what it's worth, but since I posted this article yesterday, http://njiska.com/2010/12/a-cave-fans-c ... nk-sweets/, it's had over 200 page views, a large portion of whom appear to have clicked on the mail link I had at the bottom. Traffic has come from here and Cave-STG, but also from shmup.com, Giant Bomb and Rising Start Games. News is definitely getting out there and it looks like people are telling Cave how they feel. May only be a few hundred, but with projected sales as small as they aare, that might be enough.

[bcass]

Making it region free can only increase sales numbers, as doing so doesn't affect Japanese sales in the slightest.

But it kills the chance of them licensing it out to a company like Aksys, and making money off the license.

Not necessarily. There are plenty of people who still won't import region free titles because of the high prices.

[TrevHead (TVR)]

To all those who dont want a RF release but a localisation instead is that a localisation is never a sure thing I would rather pay abit extra to import it rather then risk it not coming to the west (or atleast in its original for like NA DS).

Also theres other gamers who want to play this who are dont live in the USA who would prabably get left out as usual. So how about supporting a Region Free release and let everyone play it, not just a lucky few. Theres not much chance of it getting localised anyway considering its something only Cave Fans and shmup nuts would go for anyway.

This argument is so stupid, its not funny anymore
DS,PSP,PS3 are regionfree, and almost every game reaches USA/Europe.
Japanese version of Blazblue was regioncodefree on PS3, did it hurt US sales? NO!! Same goes for Demons Souls, Asia-version had english text, but US-version sold excellent.

[/quote]

Those titles are allot more popular then shmups even a Cave Shmup. For any game that is as niche as shmups are, a RF release will have an impact on sales and does damage the chance of a western release. But as ive already said a game has to be big enough to be picked up by a western publisher, which unfortunatly even in Caves case many titles arnt big enough to see a western localisation even if the JPN original is regoin locked.

Imo Cave might aswell make their smaller releases RF and only R locking their bigger titles that have the best chances of been picked up by Askys or RSG

[defected78]

Another region free release. Im signing up for this.

[sjoecool1991]

I like how a lot of people don't understand that investing in a j-360 is a simple matter.
It's called money, and not everyone has $300-$500 to spare.

[Some-Mist]

Japanese version of Blazblue was regioncodefree on PS3, did it hurt US sales? NO!! Same goes for Demons Souls, Asia-version had english text, but US-version sold excellent.

In my case, I preordered the demon's souls asian version a couple of months before it's release. The game was incredible but the lag on the asian servers was pretty terrible. Many people who imported it like myself definitely bought a U.S. version as well due to the localized version having it's own U.S. based servers. Lag free servers makes the game so much more enjoyable and having to play on servers located across seas was pretty frustrating - lag wise - however, it was well worth importing due to having the game nearly a year before the localization.

I e-mailed Cave and I've been posting this every where / talking to everyone I know who enjoyed cave shumps. I actually just started saving up for a japanese xbox 360 and this was one of the main reasons why I was doing so.
you know, I may end up getting one eventually, but this title being region-free gives me one less reason to import the console - especially with loans out and graduation coming up in may. There's only a handful of shmups that I would import for it anyways (ketsui, ddp dou, ddp dfk, ds iix, radirgy, shooting love) but given that there might be a dfk and ds iix localization, purchasing the console would almost be a waste of money for me at this current time. If I'm going to buy a console, I try to make sure there's at least more than 5 games that I would purchase in order to justify the purchase of a j360. I still plan on eventually getting one, but now it probably won't be as soon as I had originally planned. I still want one for ketsui/dou that I know have a .01% chance of getting localized...if that. I'll wait a little bit longer for more must-have region-locked titles :X

I know Cave would benefit from licensing MMP/SP to another company, but as many stated, the title probably doesn't look very appealing to western publishers and if there is a slim chance of one of them picking the game up, Cave might as well make it region-free to maximize profits.

[Annoyboy]

I like how a lot of people don't understand that investing in a j-360 is a simple matter.
It's called money, and not everyone has $300-$500 to spare.

HMV Japan has them for $240 right now, and I would guess that shipping is about $50. Everywhere else seems to be selling them for much higher than that. Having said that, there's not a whole lot of benefit to owning a Japanese system anymore, since almost all of the worthwhile 360 shmups have had American releases now.