NeoGAF

shidoshi · (08-02-2012, 02:58 AM)

Originally Posted by commanderdeek:

Have any commitments to schedules been made?;)

With Nick's life situation changing, we may now actually be able to keep to one show every three weeks. Or, God forbid, try going bi-weekly at some point. No matter what, as of this moment, it seems like we should be able to be doing shows regularly again for the foreseeable future.

ranmafan · (08-02-2012, 03:22 AM)

Thanks guys for posting a new episode! It's always worth the wait! I'll be listening to this while watching the Olympics tonight! I can't wait!

Zefah · (08-02-2012, 04:25 AM)

Originally Posted by commanderdeek:

Huh, guess I'll need to maybe re-evaluate my plans to work/live in japan. Though if it's just working hours that are bad, I might be able to deal with it. Currently averaging 60ish hr working weeks.

Can't wait to listen to this. Like everyone, so glad it's back:D

Have any commitments to schedules been made?;)

It obviously differs somewhat depending on where you work and what you do, but there is definitely an expectation in the air in Japan to make your work the primary focus of your life.

lepo · (08-02-2012, 04:27 AM)

such a nice surprise!

nice to have you back guys

Takuhi · (08-02-2012, 04:28 AM)

Originally Posted by Zefah:

It obviously differs somewhat depending on where you work and what you do, but there is definitely an expectation in the air in Japan to make your work the primary focus of your life.

Where did you work in Japan, Zefah? I always wondered if things were just as bad outside of the gaming industry...

And thanks for checking us out! :)

Zefah · (08-02-2012, 05:02 AM)

Originally Posted by Takuhi:

Where did you work in Japan, Zefah? I always wondered if things were just as bad outside of the gaming industry...

And thanks for checking us out! :)

The sales department in a transport/logistics company that had been around for 50+ years. What I did was mostly translation/interpretation work, though. It was an extremely conservative and traditional Japanese company with a very rigid hierarchy. Full suit and tie to work every day and all that. It also happened to be my first "real" job out of university. It certainly was a wake up call for me. I'm glad I have that experience as a base for my professional career, though. After that, I think I can deal with just about anything work-wise.

Have all of you on the podcast worked in video game localization/lived in Japan?

Balya · (08-02-2012, 05:20 AM)

Not to spoil anything but I just finished listening and suddenly want to buy Klonoa off PSN for some reason.

RyougaSaotome · (08-02-2012, 05:28 AM)

Originally Posted by Takuhi:

Where did you work in Japan, Zefah? I always wondered if things were just as bad outside of the gaming industry...

And thanks for checking us out! :)

Oh god you're a real person!

I thought you were just some kind of Twitter bot. =0

Chacranajxy · (08-02-2012, 05:34 AM)

Man, you guys are making me not want to work for a Japanese gaming company now. I wonder if things are as bad if I'm going to be a fat cat business type working at a US company...

Saving the rest of this episode for later. Between this and Red Sun, I've got waaaay too much stuff to listen to (thank you, both.)

RyougaSaotome · (08-02-2012, 05:41 AM)

Originally Posted by Chacranajxy:

Saving the rest of this episode for later. Between this and Red Sun, I've got waaaay too much stuff to listen to (thank you, both.)

I <3 u.

Takuhi · (08-02-2012, 05:53 AM)

Originally Posted by RyougaSaotome:

Oh god you're a real person!

I thought you were just some kind of Twitter bot. =0

Can't I be both? :P

@Zefah Huh! I haven't worked in Japan myself, but everyone I know who has says pretty much the same thing... Glad they did it, never want to do it again. Not too tempting.

Nick and I work in game localization, and both Nick and Shidoshi have lived in Japan, but I haven't on a permanent basis (although I do visit my wife's family there often).

KuwabaraTheMan · (08-02-2012, 06:26 AM)

Glad to have the podcast back (once more). It's a shame that it sounds like Nick's situation was so bad in Japan, but I hope that things will improve for him. Listening to the discussion about everything with the work situation over there was pretty fascinating.

ranmafan · (08-02-2012, 06:46 AM)

I can't imagine what it's like working in a Japanese gaming company, but having been working in Japan for five years now, I have seen both sides of the work envierment here. I've found in any profession here you have to be very lucky to find a job that you love, and gives you the support you need to live a normal life due to the job culture here. Thankfully I have that but it took time for me to get it. even going through some bad times my first year working here, I certainly don't regret working here and I'm very happy to say ill be staying here permanently. But I'm one of the lucky ones, too many get burned out here.

slaughterking · (08-02-2012, 11:40 AM)

Crazy DQX predictions. Even the lowest one is way too high.

Aokage · (08-02-2012, 12:50 PM)

Originally Posted by slaughterking:

Crazy DQX predictions. Even the lowest one is way too high.

Butbutbut it's -DQ-.

slaughterking · (08-02-2012, 12:56 PM)

Sure, that's worth at least something. But even Final Fantasy XI sold only a mere 63,958 units in its first week and the franchise was still in its prime back then. Now DQ is obviously significantly more popular than FF ever was, but it would take a miracle for DQX to sell 20 times more than FFXI did. :p
I'd say if it opens at 300k that would be very respectable.

Aokage · (08-02-2012, 01:03 PM)

Originally Posted by slaughterking:

Sure, that's worth at least something. But even Final Fantasy XI sold only a mere 63,958 units in its first week and the franchise was still in its prime back then. Now DQ is obviously significantly more popular than FF ever was, but it would take a miracle for DQX to sell 20 times more than FFXI did. :p
I'd say if it opens at 300k that would be very respectable.

Like we said, I think, we wouldn't be surprised if it did do 300k. But S-E is -BLANKETING- Japan with ads. You can't walk into a convenience store without seeing DQX, and all the advertising is hugely misleading... We shall see!

HamPster PamPster · (08-02-2012, 01:15 PM)

Yay :)

creid · (08-02-2012, 03:26 PM)

The return of WAHP makes me very happy. Glad to hear Nick Rox survived the Japanese game industry, it was sounding pretty dicey for a while there. I've got at least 4 hours worth of driving in my future this weekend, and now I'm looking forward to it!

Xilium · (08-02-2012, 04:55 PM)

Bi-weekly huh... I'll believe it when I see it.

Anyway, great episode/stage. Really helped make my long day at work not be so bad.

shidoshi · (08-02-2012, 05:07 PM)

Originally Posted by Xilium:

Bi-weekly huh... I'll believe it when I see it.

Anyway, great episode/stage. Really helped make my long day at work not be so bad.

The goal we're shooting for is once every three weeks. I was just saying that, you never know, and maybe we could try sometimes for bi-weekly.

Zefah · (08-02-2012, 05:27 PM)

Originally Posted by slaughterking:

Sure, that's worth at least something. But even Final Fantasy XI sold only a mere 63,958 units in its first week and the franchise was still in its prime back then. Now DQ is obviously significantly more popular than FF ever was, but it would take a miracle for DQX to sell 20 times more than FFXI did. :p
I'd say if it opens at 300k that would be very respectable.

You can't compare FFXI to DQX. Broadband Internet barely existed in Japan back in spring of 2002. Putting your PS2 online was extremely niche. Nowadays, broadband Internet is cheap and readily available just about anywhere in Japan. Nintendo has pushed their customers to connect wirelessly to the Internet with the Nintendo DS, the Wii, and now the 3DS. The potential audience for a console MMORPG on the Wii in 2012 is orders of magnitude larger than the number of people who had the capability of hooking their PS2s up to the Internet back in 2002.

Curufinwe · (08-02-2012, 05:58 PM)

I totally missed this apparent lesbian relationship between Fang and Vanille in FFXIII. In the English version I don't remembering that coming across at all.

lunch · (08-02-2012, 06:37 PM)

Shidoshi, you let me down with your Gravity Rush love. I was so happy that somebody else disliked Solatorobo, and you've always been my favorite member of this show, but I don't know anymore.

Great episode as always.

shidoshi · (08-02-2012, 06:47 PM)

Originally Posted by lunch:

Shidoshi, you let me down with your Gravity Rush love. I was so happy that somebody else disliked Solatorobo, and you've always been my favorite member of this show, but I don't know anymore.

But... but... awesome flying, and the Gravity Kitten! How can you not love it? :(

lunch · (08-02-2012, 06:49 PM)

Originally Posted by shidoshi:

But... but... awesome flying, and the Gravity Kitten! How can you not love it? :(

I don't know if I missed it, but have you finished the game? I started out absolutely loving it, and I love the game's style, but I found it really difficult and tedious, and the combat and flying never worked like I wanted it too, so by the end of the game, I was glad to finish it. I'm glad I played it as it's really interesting, but I sold it as soon as I finished it. I hope there's a sequel though.

Hi i'm Caleb · (08-02-2012, 06:54 PM)

I turned off everything I was listening too/watching as soon as I opened the gaming section of neogaf and saw this thread bumped. You guys are the best thanks for the new episode!

Its been sooooo long good to see ya back in the saddle!

Riposte · (08-02-2012, 10:24 PM)

Originally Posted by Curufinwe:

I totally missed this apparent lesbian relationship between Fang and Vanille in FFXIII. In the English version I don't remembering that coming across at all.

It's really popular for fans to "ship" big sibling/little sibling-like relationships. Because catty fangirls.

Urban Scholar · (08-02-2012, 11:20 PM)

Great show guys; nick I'm 100% with you on jojo. Go, go zeppeli and all that fabulousess!

I was sad when we got word of why nick left his job, I hope he'll find something better.

lunch · (08-02-2012, 11:21 PM)

Finished the show. Nick had my full support until I heard the awful song at the end. I'm still listening to it and I'm pretty sure my ears are slowly dying and will need to be amputated.

Rufus · (08-03-2012, 01:24 AM)

Originally Posted by Balya:

Not to spoil anything but I just finished listening and suddenly want to buy Klonoa off PSN for some reason.

All I could think of was "WAHOO!" as soon as Nick mentioned it. I never played the original past the first boss, i.e. the demo. I should rectify that, the games have been collecting dust here for a while... I could certainly do with some whimsy right now.

GhaleonQ · (08-03-2012, 01:42 AM)

Originally Posted by shidoshi:

Yeah, news was really weird for this episode. There was so much that we missed, but we also didn't want to do too much re-treading of now ancient news. I'm sure next stage we'll be back to a proper news cycle.

Oh, sorry! I didn't mean it that way, though I think that complaint would be legitimate. I should have written that I wasn't surprised by how good the news list looks, because you had a long time to pick.

state_vector_collapse · (08-03-2012, 07:03 AM)

Really like the show, but is it really necessary to do the whole "I know something you don't know" thing? Talking about two games that may not see a western release. Announcing that you can't talk about it, but dick teasing it anyway. Then topping it off by saying "I was sworn to secrecy.......I'll tell you about it after the show".

So many podcasters do this and I find it incredibly annoying. If you can't talk about something, then don't talk about it......at all!

Otherwise, it's great to have the show back :)

shidoshi · (08-03-2012, 07:09 AM)

Originally Posted by state_vector_collapse:

So many podcasters do this and I find it incredibly annoying. If you can't talk about something, then don't talk about it......at all!

Yeah, I wasn't sure if I really wanted to say those things or not, but then I found myself doing so. We don't usually make a habit of doing stuff like that though.

Rickenslacker · (08-03-2012, 07:28 AM)

Good episode. Nick's shocking reveal at the end. :O

ChryZ · (08-03-2012, 07:57 AM)

I'm so glad to see you guys back. Really missed the podcast.

hank_tree · (08-03-2012, 12:38 PM)

We need more clues about those games not making it to the West! Otherwise my brain might explode with the possibilities.

Another excelent podcast. Glad you guys are back.

frequency · (08-03-2012, 01:47 PM)

It is nice to have this back. Great ~~episode~~ Stage.

I fully support any one who is true to themself about who they are. 100% support.

Razlo · (08-03-2012, 03:57 PM)

Another great episode to listen to. Really excited about the prospect of new episodes more regularly.

I was surprised about Nick's reveal, but not weirded out by it at all. I think it's great that you guys are so honest about what you're into. Now what's Casey's secret? Is he secretly into Loli?

Infinite · (08-03-2012, 04:01 PM)

The best podcast

KuwabaraTheMan · (08-03-2012, 04:04 PM)

Originally Posted by Infinite:

The best podcast

Yes. Having a new episode just reminds me again of how this is the case. A big void in my podcast listening has been filled in with the return of this show, and I'm hopeful that they can keep up to a regular schedule now that Nick's situation has changed.

CO_Andy · (08-03-2012, 10:23 PM)

What a very strange stage. For a man who does a good impersonation of Snake, it was kinda crazy to hear the song at the end. Of course, anybody who read Play or GF knows you guys have always been a bit off-beat. Congrats anyway on the coming out.

Regularly scheduled stages is the best news, if only because it sounds rather definitive this time.

PowderedToast · (08-04-2012, 03:02 AM)

I always understood fang and vanille as sisters for some reason, so I never caught onto that supposed subtext. but I really like that interpretation of their relationship - particular how it strengthens the final image (a visual I have always loved)

greatly enjoyed the discussion overall, eloquent and thorough, although i was disappointed you never touched on persona 2 for its depiction of a gay character (which I consider to be a little more nuanced than p4's kanji)

also yes, definitely the best podcast.

HamPster PamPster · (08-04-2012, 03:12 AM)

Shidoshi said on twitter that a goal this year is to make WAHP big enough to have a panel at PAX. That begs the question, did PAX reject a WAHP panel?

Screw them if they did. Mean tweets will be sent!

shidoshi · (08-04-2012, 03:24 AM)

PAX did not reject us—I just want us to be in a position next year where they for sure would not!

Originally Posted by PowderedToast:

greatly enjoyed the discussion overall, eloquent and thorough, although i was disappointed you never touched on persona 2 for its depiction of a gay character (which I consider to be a little more nuanced than p4's kanji)

That conversation was "how do we do this and no go for two hours" for me. There was a lot that I could have brought up and talk about, but I had to be reserved. Maybe one day we can come back to the topic and give it more coverage.

Chacranajxy · (08-04-2012, 04:08 AM)

Finished the episode.

Hoooooooooo boy.

That was a stage.

Takuhi · (08-04-2012, 07:35 AM)

Originally Posted by Razlo:

Another great episode to listen to. Really excited about the prospect of new episodes more regularly.

I was surprised about Nick's reveal, but not weirded out by it at all. I think it's great that you guys are so honest about what you're into. Now what's Casey's secret? Is he secretly into Loli?

Bwahaha! Gotta save SOMETHING for the big season 4 premiere.

BocoDragon · (08-04-2012, 07:45 AM)

Pretty interesting episode. Back when I was a teenager, the concept of working for a Japanese game company seemed so amazing and impossible. Interesting to see a gaijin make it and then it being a serious "be careful what you wish for!!" kind of deal.

GotchaForce · (08-04-2012, 08:22 AM)

It's great to have you guys back and as someone said earlier, it's crazy how good Nick's Snake is (as a huge MGS fan was super impressed) and was able to pull off the inhuman sounding thing at the end. I found the discussion on furries interesting since, like Nick said it's complicated and can mean many things to many people. I always took it as normal if you thought anthropomorphic characters were cool (every kid I know grew up with and loved TMNT, Sonic, Donkey Kong, Star Fox ,ect) and that stating you're a furry meant there was a sexual aspect to it. The self-identifying thing (the "fursona" I guess) and that it can be something more spiritual than just sexual was something I wasn't quite aware of. On some random, smaller notes I agree with Shidoshi that the feeling of flight in Gravity Rush is incredible and I'm now interested in picking up the JoJo's manga since the new game looks visually amazing. I'd like to know more about the Vanille/Fang thing, though. I rushed through 13 and am currently playing 13-2 and don't recall anything about them having a relationship.

PsychoNotes · (08-04-2012, 10:04 AM)

So great to have the show back, thanks for continuing to put your time into it, guys. Continues to be, by far, my favorite podcast of any stripe.
As someone who works for a game developer as well (albeit in the US), I can only say Nick's account of life within the industry was painfully familiar and true, and I completely respect and admire his ability to reverse course on an unhappy situation. You've made a good decision, Nick, and I sincerely hope you find success in whatever your next venture is.

Tri-weekly WAHP is gonna be sexy.