[Dreweyes]

Amazing game, everyone should own it!



And the next game they should localize is this:



The team that has already translated it into english has already offered all their work for this to become a reality.

[Dragonzord]

Amazing game, everyone should own it! And the next game they should localize is this: The team that has already translated it into english has already offered all their work for this to become a reality.

I'm sad that your second image wasn't Retro Game Center 2

[Dreweyes]

I'm sad that your second image wasn't Retro Game Center 2

Oh man I keep forgetting that exists!

Now I am sad.

[Paracelsus]

They need time more than money? Money bring more people, people bring more time.

[RPG Wizard]

WTF is RGC?

Retro Game Challenge. The localization of the game Game Center CX, which you may know as a show where a Japanese comedian attempts to beat various classic games.

It's also the game that nearly killed XSeed, if I recall correctly. It sold ABYSMALLY.

[chaosblade]

They need time more than money? Money bring more people, people bring more time.

They've commented on that before.

http://xseedgames.com/forums/showthr...ll=1#post39131

The problem isn't money, it's time and release format. The game's localization is simply going to take a long time, no matter what. Throwing more money at it isn't going to make it go any quicker UNLESS we want to add more translators, which is just going to result in a more uneven and less high-quality translation. And the other big obstacle to overcome is release format. At this point in time, releasing a 2-UMD game is unrealistic. Unless Falcom can get the game working on PSN, I don't see how we'll be able to release it on PSP at all and not have it die horribly in the marketplace -- which means we need to explore other options. Which we are, don't worry. We just can't talk about them!

http://xseedgames.com/forums/showthr...ll=1#post39237

(First quote is from Carpe Fulgur's SpaceDrake/Andrew Dice)

Just speaking as an Industry Dude, though, it's often easier if there's just one translator and one editor on a project, because they can develop a better rapport and work together better to refine a game's voice and narrative. When you have to work with multiple translators, it's rather like having multiple cooks trying to make one steak - sure, it's a steak, but nobody can really agree on how much A-1 to use or how well it should be cooked or what have you.

Yeah, wholly agreed on that. That's why I maintain that the commonly-suggested solution to the SC-taking-a-long-time problem, "get more translators," is inherently flawed. Yes, the localization may get done faster with more translators... but it almost certainly won't be anywhere near as good. The more translators you use, the more unbalanced the end result will be. Heck, we only used 3 for the first game, and even THAT was pushing it. We would've preferred to keep it to 2 or 1 if we could've. Maintaining a consistent voice is of the utmost importance in any game's script. And the more cooks you have in the kitchen, the harder it'll be to maintain that consistent voice. -Tom

[Darkmakaimura]

XSEED already announced both SC and 3rd, though.

Whoa, I heard that they were slowly working on SC but didn't know about The 3rd. If that's the case, even more power to them. But then we also have Zero, Ao and that supposed next sequel (not Nayuta).

[dili]

Whoa, I heard that they were slowly working on SC but didn't know about The 3rd. If that's the case, even more power to them. But then we also have Zero, Ao and that supposed next sequel (not Nayuta).

They announced the 3rd back when they announced the entire trilogy. Doesn't mean it's being worked on though.

At this point you can basically forget about the 3rd (or any other installment after SC)

[chaostrophy]

They've commented on that before. http://xseedgames.com/forums/showthr...ll=1#post39131

But...wouldn't throwing money at it mean that the translator working on TitS SC would be able to work on it exclusively, rather than dividing his/her time between it and all the other projects they do that bring in money but don't have as much fan demand?

[Aeana]

They announced the 3rd back when they announced the entire trilogy. Doesn't mean it's being worked on though. At this point you can basically forget about the 3rd (or any other installment after SC)

3rd will get translated one way or another. If not by XSEED, then by me.

[ElFly]

I think the Monkeypaw kickstarter showed us how difficult kickstarter can be for console releases. Theirs too many restrictions that make a valuable low reward tier possible. Though that kickstarter suffers from other poorly thought out issues. Besides the other issue is that SC is massive in terms of text so there's no guarantee a kickstarter would speed up the localisation to the audiences expectation.

Yeah, kickstarters for console games face some hurdles that make it less than ideal for such a campaign.

[chaosblade]

But...wouldn't throwing money at it mean that the translator working on TitS SC would be able to work on it exclusively, rather than dividing his/her time between it and all the other projects they do that bring in money but don't have as much fan demand?

I don't think the people they contract usually work in the industry, but I really have no idea off the top of my head. I mean, this is the company that licensed and edited fan translations for the Ys games (and Deuce was also contracted for a large chunk of Trails FC). So they probably could use more money and contract a full time translator who doesn't have another job on the side. Maybe that would have been an option of FC sold better.

3rd will get translated one way or another. If not by XSEED, then by me.

Well then, better get started!

I actually don't know about 3rd. I'm not very confident they'll get to it, but I guess as long as they're going with Steam releases there's a chance. Hopefully SC does pretty well on Steam, I guess they'd probably go for it unless it just does terribly. And if Carpe Fulgur's games can sell reasonably well, surely there's an audience for this series as well.

Now, everything after that... I don't think there's a snowball's chance due to the platform. Despite Wyrdwad's "teasing" about how they would have to figure out how to translate the titles for Zero, Ao, and Nayuta.

[DiscoJer]

Well, personally, I'd rather get a game with a crappy translation than not get one at all.

And fan translations might be fine for some, they aren't for a lot of people. Not everyone has the ability to patch console games...it's also a lot harder (and more expensive) to buy imports.

But again, I guess the real problem is the 2 UMD thing

[Shalashaska161]

And the next game they should localize is this: The team that has already translated it into english has already offered all their work for this to become a reality.

It would make an awesome 3DS eShop release if they could find someone to port it for them.

And its really too bad about SC, but I honestly don't think well ever see anything unless Falcom makes a Vita port or something. There is pretty much 0 money in translating that game at this point, especially since they can't release it on PSN.

[Aeana]

Well, personally, I'd rather get a game with a crappy translation than not get one at all. And fan translations might be fine for some, they aren't for a lot of people. Not everyone has the ability to patch console games...it's also a lot harder (and more expensive) to buy imports. But again, I guess the real problem is the 2 UMD thing

Everybody has the ability to patch PC games, though.

[cj_iwakura]

I'm assuming none of you asking for this read Victor Ireland's many posts about why this simply is not possible, because of how the industry works.

[Gunloc]

I don't think it's really a viable solution, but if they did do it, I'd be first in line. My wallet would cry an ocean.

I need Trails, and I need it now.

[Cyntec]

I would donate massive money into a RGC2 Kickstarter. Seriously. RGC was my GOTY 2 years ago. XSEED, if you are reading this, TAKE MY RGC2 MONEY. I will give you all of it.

Came here to post this. They HAVE to release a translated version of RGC2 - the first one is so damn epic, I can't understand why it sold so bad.

[Femmeworth]

I don't see why they couldn't do one. It seems like a good way to guarantee a minimum amount of sales. Then again, it's not like localizations happen over night.

[RyougaSaotome]

3rd will get translated one way or another. If not by XSEED, then by me.

I think people forget that there were people eyeing this franchise before it got officially picked up.

I for one have also been doing my own translations here and there as well.

These games will get a translation one day. If not by XSEED then by someone else. Might take a while, but it'll happen eventually.

[speedpop]

They should release Trails in the Sky on Steam first. Just for my benefit in the hopes I would finish it one day.

[encephalon]

They announced the 3rd back when they announced the entire trilogy. Doesn't mean it's being worked on though. At this point you can basically forget about the 3rd (or any other installment after SC)

Well, XSEED seems adamant about doing the 3rd before doing any future titles.

[t26]

Don't forget Half-Minute Hero. Another amazing game that sold poorly. I would love to be able to play the second one someday, PSP or Xbox 360 port.

[Darkmakaimura]

3rd will get translated one way or another. If not by XSEED, then by me.

More power to you, Aeana. The question is, once you do, will it become accessible for the public?

[emb]

Finishing off the rest of the Trails in the Sky story (it's a trilogy, right?) would get all my money. Finishing the first game leaves you wanting so much more, even though it's pretty satisfying as is.

RGC2 and HMH2 are also pretty high up on my list of things I would fund.

[KuwabaraTheMan]

I just want to ensure that SC does come out in English. If paying upfront would help, then I would personally be willing to make that deal. It's not something I would do for most other games, though.

Really, I just want to know that the game is still coming.

[DiscoJer]

More power to you, Aeana. The question is, once you do, will it become accessible for the public?

And how will people get the PC version to patch? Yes Asia and Play Asia seem to have the Chinese versions of the PC games, but not Japanese.

[Darkmakaimura]

Finishing off the rest of the Trails in the Sky story (it's a trilogy, right?) would get all my money. Finishing the first game leaves you wanting so much more, even though it's pretty satisfying as is. RGC2 and HMH2 are also pretty high up on my list of things I would fund.

SC wraps up quite a bit. The 3rd takes place in a plane of illusions and memories but then Zero and Ao pick it up from there. There's pretty much five games there in the series. It would be pretty nice to see all of them get translations for a NA release.

[chaosblade]

SC wraps up quite a bit. The 3rd takes place in a plane of illusions and memories but then Zero and Ao pick it up from there. There's pretty much five games there in the series. It would be pretty nice to see all of them get translations for a NA release.

Ao isn't really the "end" though, is it? I've never read anything that implied there wouldn't be further games, especially since there are still unvisited regions. And sales are still increasing with each game, so I doubt Falcom will stop anytime soon.

[Riposte]

I feel like if you are not the one who gets to start the kickstarter then you shouldn't even talk about it, really. Kickstarter has lead to a lot of dumb conversations.

[Aeana]

More power to you, Aeana. The question is, once you do, will it become accessible for the public?

I wouldn't bother translating it if I couldn't release it.

And how will people get the PC version to patch? Yes Asia and Play Asia seem to have the Chinese versions of the PC games, but not Japanese.

You can buy directly from Falcom. They just had a deal on 3rd last week.

[bh7812]

I loved the first Trails in The Sky game and it was one of my favorite games of last year! The wait for SC since finishing the first one has been very long to say the least. Brilliant game everyone who owns a PSP or Vita should experience at least some of if not all of it. I'd recommend all of it though because even with the massive amount of text it's just a fully realized world and brilliantly done.

I'm not sure what to think on anything past that first game though. Like everyone else here I most certainly want SC and XSeed has my money for it the day it comes out..before it comes out even if I can. As everyone knows, a English translation of SC has one major road block to release-not so much the massive script that's twice the size of the first game's since that over time will all be translated. The major thorn in SC's side is the unique tech issue due to it being 2 UMD's. I feel for Falcom's part in it, when they went to port SC to the PSP in Japan at the very least they should have done their best to code it so that both physical release and UMD release would be possible. I do understand at the time PSN was just starting to take off though so future proofing it may not have crossed their minds right away. If they'd done that, XSeed wouldn't have the headache of dealing with that tech issue right now. For XSeed's part in this, I feel when they announced they'd licensed all 3 games in the Trails In the Sky trilogy and intended to release them all over here while I'm sure they knew about that bottleneck SC's tech issue would cause they should have dealt with that bottleneck first before any translation started period. They're in a very tough spot right now..they need to find a solution for SC's tech issue and now on top of that with the PSP mostly dead here in the US and Europe they have to decide what platforms are going to work best for that release. My feeling is they should deal with the 2 UMD issue and do a PSN release on the Sony side so both people with PSPs and Vitas can experience and enjoy the game. Going either PSP only or Vita only is probably not gonna work at this point so luckily making it available to owners of both systems should be easy thanks to PSP BC on the Vita. On the PC side they should release on Steam..that way people who want to play on PSP/Vita like myself can play it that way, and those that want to play on PC can play that way. Everyone ends up happy in that situation. I do hope we'll at least hear which way they're intending to go with SC in terms of platforms by the end of this year if not sooner. Once they get SC out, the others will be MUCH easier since the other games all have PSN releases. At that point they can just deal with making a quality translation. They have to juggle all this coupled with doing projects that will keep the company alive so they can afford both as a company and financially to finally get the other games in that series out.

As for Retro Game Challenge..that's one of the best DS games period and one of my favorites of all the DS games I have. Another absolutely brilliant game that is exactly what it says on the box it is. It's this highly creative, extremely well done trip down retro memory lane. Every DS owner should have it. How do I feel that the US didn't get RGC2? It's downright criminal. Absolutely frickin criminal! I've been lucky enough to play a little bit of the 2nd game and it's the way a sequel should be. They didn't try fixing things that weren't broken. They kept all the concepts and creativity from the first game, added even more of both, and expanded on it. All in a way that's easily accessible to both those who played the first game and those that didn't. The poor sales of the first game in the West is the one time I've shaken my head and gone "Why does this game have to be the one ending up with such terrible sales? It's fantastic and deserves so much better." Even at this moment I'm still shaking my head at it and thinking that thought yet again.

[chaosblade]

The SC port was already well in development when Sony started putting PSP games on PSN, I think it came out around the time the first games started getting put up. There wasn't really anything Falcom could do about that aside from going back and redoing everything. Considering how small the company is that wasn't really feasible.

Honestly, I'd write off any chance of the PSP version getting released in the west. Yes, XSEED hasn't said that, they haven't confirmed (or denied) any plans for release format. But they can't release a UMD only game in 2013 or whenever they'd get it out, and the game is not going to be able to go up on PSN, so the PC version is the only practical option unless a miracle happens sometime between now and then.

And aside from 3rd (which would probably also be PC only due to the fact the PSP-only players already missed SC, throwing 3rd out there would just be salt in the wound - assuming it gets localized at all) I don't think they'll bother with further games in the series. As much as I want to play these games, I can see it's not a very good investment and XSEED can't really afford to throw money away on games that are going to cost a ton of time and money to release and proceed to not sell very well. Otherwise we'd have gotten HMH2 and RGC2. I'd say we're fortunate they're still working on SC.

[Darkmakaimura]

Ao isn't really the "end" though, is it? I've never read anything that implied there wouldn't be further games, especially since there are still unvisited regions. And sales are still increasing with each game, so I doubt Falcom will stop anytime soon.

Yeah, I was going to mention that seeing as there's rumor of another sequel (I'm guessing not the mobile one either).

I'm going to be the pessimist here but unfortunately, with the declining interest in JRPGs, unless it has the Final Fantasy or Pokemon name attached, I see very little hope for these games being translated for NA. We'll be lucky to see a port of SC at this point.

[omgfloofy]

Ao isn't really the "end" though, is it?

Yeah, I was going to mention that seeing as there's rumor of another sequel (I'm guessing not the mobile one either).

Definitely not the end, from the 'end game' image and the story's current situation.

It's also not a rumor, as Kondo himself said that they've begun on the next 'Zemuria Story' game.

[encephalon]

Didn't Square Enix "solve" the 2 disc problem?

[Aeana]

Didn't Square Enix "solve" the 2 disc problem?

No. They put up two separate files, and you just load the one you need based on where you are in the game. That works for Type-0 because you only switch a couple of times and you're on disc 2 most of the game. In SC, you switch constantly because half of the world is on one disc, and the other half is on another.

[zoku88]

No. They put up two separate files, and you just load the one you need based on where you are in the game. That works for Type-0 because you only switch a couple of times. In SC, you switch constantly because half of the world is on one disc, and the other half is on another.

Oh wow. I haven't had a game do that for a while. I think the last one was... Legend of Dragoon? Or Final Fantasy VII (one of those two, or both, did that.)

[Eusis]

It'd probably be somewhat similar to how ME3 kept making you disc swap. Had the progression been the same as Trails 1 (no backtracking to prior areas at all) it'd probably not be an issue unless they failed to put in a save prompt for switching discs, in which case it's probably a relatively simple addition.

[Aeana]

Oh wow. I haven't had a game do that for a while. I think the last one was... Legend of Dragoon? Or Final Fantasy VII (one of those two, or both, did that.)

SC also doesn't ask you to save when you switch discs, it just asks you to change them. So they'd have to reprogram the game to add save points at disc swaps, at minimum.

The funny thing is that CFW solved this problem. There's a CFW plugin that lets you swap ISOs with a button, no problem.

[zoku88]

SC also doesn't ask you to save when you switch discs, it just asks you to change them. So they'd have to reprogram the game to add save points at disc swaps, at minimum. The funny thing is that CFW solved this problem. There's a CFW plugin that lets you swap ISOs with a button, no problem.

Not surprising that CFW does something better than the original FW :P

So, I'm guessing that the SC world is somewhat big? It was always my assumption, for multi-disc games, that they would duplicate the world on multiple discs as well.

Although, given my examples, I'm sure everyone can tell I don't play very many multi-disc games >.>

[Aeana]

So, I'm guessing that the SC world is somewhat big?

Not really. It's the same locations as FC for the most part, plus a few more. But there's a ton more content in each place, and you have to go back and forth a lot in the game.

[charlequin]

It's also the game that nearly killed XSeed, if I recall correctly. It sold ABYSMALLY.

Not by the standards of XSeed's other projects, certainly; XSeed would probably be pretty happy if all their handheld titles sold like RGC. I am pretty confident it didn't "nearly kill" anyone.

[omgfloofy]

Not by the standards of XSeed's other projects, certainly; XSeed would probably be pretty happy if all their handheld titles sold like RGC. I am pretty confident it didn't "nearly kill" anyone.

Actually... Jess has said on XSEED's twitter that both it and Half-Minute Hero had terrible sales.

Also, keep in mind, if you're seeing numbers somewhere, they are very likely completely inaccurate. Tom from XSEED has also said that they do not release their numbers.

[Aeana]

Actually... Jess has said on XSEED's twitter that both it and Half-Minute Hero had terrible sales. Also, keep in mind, if you're seeing numbers somewhere, they are very likely completely inaccurate. Tom from XSEED has also said that they do not release their numbers.

Anyone with access to an NPD subscription can see their retail numbers.

[charlequin]

Actually... Jess has said on XSEED's twitter that both it and Half-Minute Hero had terrible sales.

XSeed are a niche localization publisher, working in the 5-digits range and without the benefit of the type of breakout hits that, say, Atlus has had, so the threshold of success in there is certainly pretty narrow. And I'm sure that RGC was not a particularly successful project for them, since the need to license the television property (in addition to the normal cost of licensing the game itself) assuredly drove the necessary margins way up compared to more normal localized titles.

But all that said, RGC was definitely not an "awful" seller by any standard I would apply. It's not amongst XSeed's worst-selling titles. If it "nearly killed" XSeed, we saw no indication of it at the time -- either from the operation of the company (which didn't change in any publicly noticeable way during this time) or in their public statements about the game (which consistently fell into the "yeah, we wish it'd done better" category rather than the "no that didn't do well at all, stop asking" category.)

[omgfloofy]

Anyone with access to an NPD subscription can see their retail numbers.

To be honest, I don't see how an NPD subscription would help much in that situation. I wouldn't expect those numbers to be 100% accurate. Numbers would be accurate in a company that trades publicly, as they are required to post that information in the first place... The way things like novel best seller lists work is because the publishing houses provide those numbers to the New York Times and whatnot. (I know it's not the gaming industry.) I would believe that digital sales would present a big problem with getting accurate counts, as well, due to the nature of how they work.

But all that said, RGC was definitely not an "awful" seller by any standard I would apply. It's not amongst XSeed's worst-selling titles.

The comment that I had been seeing was that the initial sales were good, but not so much beyond that. So for a game of its age, the sales aren't doing well at all.

However, I also believe that Jun said at one point that the numbers are pretty insanely high to justify the sequel, anyhow... (in the six digits, wasn't it?)

If it "nearly killed" XSeed, we saw no indication of it at the time -- either from the operation of the company (which didn't change in any publicly noticeable way during this time) or in their public statements about the game (which consistently fell into the "yeah, we wish it'd done better" category rather than the "no that didn't do well at all, stop asking" category.)

I don't know on the 'nearly killed XSEED' part, myself... but I can say that I've seen some companies do a great job in keeping that information quiet. Even publicly traded ones. In the case of a traded company, all you can sometimes do is watch the stocks and their earnings sheets.

Case in point: Falcom's earnings sheets went a little nuts between 2008-2009 and there was a bit of re-organization- which actually shows as evidence to the supposed 'distributor drop' from Softbank- which was a massive financial hit to the company as a whole. The batch of PC titles in 2009 was one of the last of the company, and to my knowledge /after/ the drop had happened. It would be during that time when they had a staff layoff too. They went from the 60-70 employee category to 'below 50'. Their current count on Yahoo finance is about 47 employees, I believe. This also had the unfortunate timing of happening during a leadership change, too. I'd need to dig up the sheets and see where I can find this info, but someone had already done that about the aftermath and the details on Falcom stopping on releasing PC titles.

Nevertheless, I digress... The people who are the voice of XSEED are Jess and Tom, for the most part, and from what I've heard from Tom, they don't get numbers or counts given to them. All they generally know is, 'did it do well?' 'did it not do well?' etc etc. (Jess, by the way, doesn't really tell people to 'stop asking' about Half Minute Hero, despite the fact that she has confirmed that it was one of their worst selling titles.)

Nevertheless, since it's not public information, unless they know for a fact that they can't pick up after something, I don't see why we should have any indication in public statements, personally.

[michaelius]

Hmm I don't know about american side but Ghostlight seems to be quite pleased with their performance on PSP and Tits is one of their flagship titles.

And i think there weren't any fire sales of remaining stock so it couldn't be too much of dissaster.

[redlemon]

Hmm I don't know about american side but Ghostlight seems to be quite pleased with their performance on PSP and Tits is one of their flagship titles. And i think there weren't any fire sales of remaining stock so it couldn't be too much of dissaster.

Ghostlight don't translate games themselves so I think it's safe to assume their costs are lower and hence don't need as many sales to consider a game to have done well.

[Eusis]

Ghostlight don't translate games themselves so I think it's safe t assume their costs are lower and hence don't need as many sales to consider a game to have done well.

Though likely they have to pay some money to Xseed, not unless it purely goes to Falcom or something. Though if Falcom's seeing nice sales in Europe I imagine they might want to expend some cash to ensure Trails SC can get priority treatment.

Of course, it's probably notably easier to still get a PSP games to retail in Europe, especially since XSEED looks like it's have serious troubles with retail as of late.