Class of Heroes

From: KyotoMasaki | #010
You may not want it but there are lots of people who do. =\

Really? Who?

Let's see.

http://www.amazon.co.jp/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?__mk_ja_JP=%83J%83%5E%83J%83i&url=search-alias%3Dvideogames&field-keywords=%8C%95%82%C6%96%82%96%40%82%C6%8Aw%89%80%83%82%83m%81B&x=0&y=0

Every single one of these games has a 3/5 rating, I understand it's little to go by but it sets a tone. My friend bought the third game for PS3, and dropped it, because it's impossible to get anywhere without mass grinding. Acquire have made 6 games in this series in the span of 4 years since 2008. Instead of localizing Class of Heroes 2, a PSP game (PSP = west = no sales), which was released 3 years ago, how about localizing better stuff?

I can immediately think of better games to work on. So why this? This series isn't even good. Why would anyone in the west choose this over the only other recognizable competition - Etrian Odyssey? Do you really think it costs $500,000+ USD to manufacture and market a limited edition game? NISA, Atlus and Aksys would be quickly out of business, if so.
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If Wizardry is a WRPG, then there is no such thing as a JRPG. That term isn't very useful to describe a game as old as Wizardry because there were no "Western" RPGs back then either.

The truth is this - I would rather fund a REAL Wizardry game and this game is not that. Even if this $500K is before tax or that they have to pay a separate company for plushes or something, I can't see how it costs that much money to make all of the items and adjustments needed for the physical copies. Granted, I know there are a few JRPGs that I've also wanted to play translated (including Wizardry Gaiden games) but this game is different.

For me to donate any money, I need confidence that this is as important as Xenoblade for the long term (and I did a letter and I put my money where my pen was and I'll gladly do it again) and this seems like to a way to make collector's edition stuff and to gain party recognition over game recognition.

I have an idea - show me the goods. Show me the gameplay instead of screenshots and boobs.

Krichul posted...
I can immediately think of better games to work on. So why this? This series isn't even good. Why would anyone in the west choose this over the only other recognizable competition - Etrian Odyssey? Do you really think it costs $500,000+ USD to manufacture and market a limited edition game? NISA, Atlus and Aksys would be quickly out of business, if so.

Frankly, I doubt it was their first choice, but no other company was willing to work with them on this Kickstarter idea. Yes, we all know everyone has a huge list of JRPGs they'd kill to see localized, and CoH 2 isn't anywhere on it. But if this Kickstarter succeeds, other Japanese publishers will definitely sit up and take notice, which will make it MUCH more likely we'll see other localizations offered on Kickstarter. I know this is a really tough sell, asking people to finance a game they don't know or care about without any guarantee that it'll lead to getting what they really want. But if it succeeds, it will prove beyond any shadow of a doubt that there IS a market for localizations on Kickstarter, and no sane company is going to ignore that.
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http://kck.st/HbYV1w
If you love JRPGs, please check out this project! Success here will prove there is a market for future localizations on Kickstarter.

I wasn't making the case that we should donate or never see another cool JPRG again. Like I said, this is about convincing Japanese publishers to work with US publishers on using Kickstarter to bring us games we might never get otherwise. See, US publishers assume a risk when they bring games over, and smaller publishers like XSeed who deal in niche titles can't afford huge risks. 7th Dragon 2020 for example looks really great, but the talented seiyuu who worked on the game don't come cheap, and no one could be sure the game would sell well enough in the US to turn a reasonable profit. Removing the voices from the game or including only English voices is practically a non-option as the fans would revolt. But if they could slap the project up on Kickstarter, that would eliminate all the guesswork; if enough people pony up to support it, the game comes out, but if the demand isn't there, the game stays in Japan. As of right now, however, Japanese publishers aren't willing to work with US publishers on using Kickstarter. Acquire is the first company to do so, but if this project goes well, I highly doubt it'll be the last. And this means games we otherwise wouldn't get in English would be localized.

I can't really speak about the PS3/360 JRPG scene because almost all my gaming is portable these days. But I've got a list of games I'd love to play in English for both the PSP and DS, and I know I'm not the only one. If you don't, and you don't care about CoH, then no, this project isn't worth your money, and I completely understand that. I disagree of course, but I still respect that.

(And I seem to have forgotten to add this earlier, but Aksys et al's idea of a premium edition is usually 20-something page artbook plus an incomplete soundtrack. That's why it's inexpensive. Gaijinworks is hoping to do more than that.)
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http://kck.st/HbYV1w
If you love JRPGs, please check out this project! Success here will prove there is a market for future localizations on Kickstarter.

Any number of people have already donated believing it will result in more games localized, myself included, so saying "no one" would for a fact is inaccurate. Do you understand how game licensing works? It would be *incredibly* irresponsible for Gaijinworks to put out a statement saying "We intend to localize X, Y, and Z if Kickstarter works," because they can't guarantee the Japanese publisher will even license it to them, much less work with them on using Kickstarter. But a successful Kickstarter project here would open doors for them within the industry to secure more coveted licenses than CoH2, and demonstrate a viable market for localizations using Kickstarter.

It's not that "seiyuu aren't cheap," it's that THOSE particular seiyuu who voiced 7th Dragon 2020 don't come cheap. If you know anything about Japanese voice actors, you'll recognize many of them as being some of the best in the business. NISA takes pains to license the Japanese voicework for their games because their market is made up of a smaller number of ardent fans who would scream bloody murder if they didn't; Tales and FF on the other hand are more mainstream, and a much lower percentage of fans know or care about seiyuu.
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http://kck.st/HbYV1w
If you love JRPGs, please check out this project! Success here will prove there is a market for future localizations on Kickstarter.