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[FlyingSaucer]

Sad, even if we saw it coming.

Well, there is still Qute (Ginga Force) and 5pb (Bullet Soul).

Any other ? Damn

 

[Risette]

That is ridiculous. The audience that will buy the game is not restricted to the people who will spend thousands on an arcade cabinet. If this is the reason they develop on the xbox exclusively, well, that is a pretty good explanation for why they are now online/social only.

The fact that you called them "arcade cabinets" is showing how little you know about this scene.

 

[bon]

Ugh, that's awful. A hero of the game industry has fallen today.

JESUS CHRIST!

So, does this mean that Treasure is now the only professional, non-indie, non-doujin game company that still produces STGs?

maybe Konami will make another Otomedius someday.

o(╥﹏&#9573o

 

[ULTROS!]

I guess shmups have shifted to the indie/doujin scene... Kinda like point-and-click (but they seem better nowadays than the past decade).

 

[Haruhater]

The arcade gaming audience does not care what platform they are on. This is the same audience that drops a thousand or more per game to have the PCB at home. They are also not interested in other console games -- they only want the arcade ports. It is simply a small audience.

It's best to educate yourself before playing armchair industry analyst.

You realize that there is a massive number of people out there who are not hardcore arcade gamers but would still love to play CAVE's games if they were only released on online marketplaces for a reasonable price, right?

You realise that even at around only $15 a pop for each game, that audience would have been big enough for all this to be avoidable, right?

I mean for fuck's sake, CAVE already released their games for iOS. Imagine releasing them for an affordable price on platforms with actual input devices.

 

[Slygmous]

This is really depressing news.

I've never played a Cave shmup as far as I remember, I'm rubbish at bullet hell games anyway, but I always admired their dedication to the genre.

 

[bobbytkc]

The fact that you called them "arcade cabinets" is showing how little you know about this scene.

That is not the point. Call it whatever you want, I am not interested in playing games of semantics. But catering to this group exclusively is exactly the reason why they are now a shadow of their former selves.

 

[Triple Da G.O.D!]

This is not how I wanted my day to start.

 

[2+2=5]

I will never understand why "console" developers pass directly to ios without even trying handhelds.
Why don't they port their games to 3ds or vita? It would not be that difficult and i'm sure they would be well repaid.

 

[epmode]

I guess we'll never find out if PC releases could have brought in some decent money. I really think these would have done well on Steam.

 

[Kandrick]

You realize that there is a massive number of people out there who are not hardcore arcade gamers but would still love to play CAVE's games if they were only released on online marketplaces for a reasonable price, right?

You realise that even at around only $15 a pop for each game, that audience would have been big enough for all this to be avoidable, right?

I mean for fuck's sake, CAVE already released their games for iOS. Imagine releasing them for an affordable price on platforms with actual input devices.

The localized Cave games didn't sell that much and they were priced pretty fair even at release.

That is not the point. Call it whatever you want, I am not interested in playing games of semantics. But catering to this group exclusively is exactly the reason why they are now a shadow of their former selves.

Catering to who ? To people who will actually buy their games ? So stupid of them!

 

[Augemitbutter]

well this sucks. should have gone the download route on PS3 at the very least and release double packs later. i guess they were too proud to do that.

I already did.

wut. you're a girl now?

 

[gundamkyoukai]

I guess shmups have shifted to the indie/doujin scene... Kinda like point-and-click (but they seem better nowadays than the past decade).

Shmups were always big indie/doujin scene for years .

The localized Cave games didn't sell that much and they were priced pretty fair even at release.
Catering to who ? To people who will actually buy their games ? So stupid of them!

Like how Espgaluda II was localized for iOS and Android but not consoles what a joke .

 

[SmokyDave]

The fact that you called them "arcade cabinets" is showing how little you know about this scene.

Dude, that's some hardcore elitism.

Really, what would they have had to lose by releasing their games on XBLA / PSN / Steam?

I ask because I like shmups, I'd have bought shmups, but I'd never import a JP 360. The few EU localisations that got released, I picked up. The iPhone ports, I picked up. If they'd released stuff on Steam and PSN, I'd have picked it up.

I will never understand why "console" developers pass directly to ios without even trying handhelds.
Why don't they port their games to 3ds or vita? It would not be that difficult and i'm sure they would be well repaid.

I'd have bought the shit out of anything Cave put on Vita. Day 1, no hesitation.

 

[catmincer]

I bought mushihimesama and dodonpachi, did my part.

 

[Femmeworth]

You realize that there is a massive number of people out there who are not hardcore arcade gamers but would still love to play CAVE's games if they were only released on online marketplaces for a reasonable price, right?

You realise that even at around only $15 a pop for each game, that audience would have been big enough for all this to be avoidable, right?

I mean for fuck's sake, CAVE already released their games for iOS. Imagine releasing them for an affordable price on platforms with actual input devices.

*goes and grabs popcorn*

 

[ULTROS!]

Shmups were always big indie/doujin scene for years .

Actually.

I think the shmup era kinda ended back in the 90s.

 

[Dachande]

This is fucking terrible.

I bought every Cave iOS release, I want them to live somehow, on a system I'm able to buy their products on.

 

[Kandrick]

Eh. The audience was always too small to begin with. No matter the system it was on.

I doubt a few extra sales because it was on another platform would have really helped them.

 

[1st Course]

I will never understand why "console" developers pass directly to ios without even trying handhelds.
Why don't they port their games to 3ds or vita? It would not be that difficult and i'm sure they would be well repaid.

SCEJ doesn't like indies/small devs or something like that. I recall reading that the reason why they went 360 exclusive.

 

[Risette]

That is not the point. Call it whatever you want, I am not interested in playing games of semantics. But catering to this group exclusively is exactly the reason why they are now a shadow of their former selves.

I don't think you understand that making these games pretty much guarantees that they are catering to this group only.

You realize that there is a massive number of people out there who are not hardcore arcade gamers but would still love to play CAVE's games if they were only released on online marketplaces for a reasonable price, right?

So where was the big market for Guwange ($10) or Deathsmiles 2X? Is $30 not affordable enough?

You realise that even at around only $15 a pop for each game, that audience would have been big enough for all this to be avoidable, right?

See above.

wut. you're a girl now?

Yeah. Well, not just now, mind.

Dude, that's some hardcore elitism.

Really, what would they have had to lose by releasing their games on XBLA / PSN / Steam?

I ask because I like shmups, I'd have bought shmups, but I'd never import a JP 360. The few EU localisations that got released, I picked up. The iPhone ports, I picked up. If they'd released stuff on Steam and PSN, I'd have picked it up.

Did you buy the region free releases?

 

[DangerousDave]

I still don't understand why they never ported their games to the most succesful platforms on Japan. They could get much more revenue on PSP than 360.

It's like a mobile game company working exclusively for Windows Mobile, and not porting their games to iPhone or Android.

 

[ULTROS!]

I did my part by buying Espgaluda II, DeathSmiles, and Dodonpachi Resurrection on my iPhone but I'm not willing to buy a 360 to play them unfortunately.

 

[Solune]

News comes right after SDOJ releases... Import that swan song...

 

[Kandrick]

I still don't understand why they never ported their games to the most succesful platforms on Japan. They could get much more revenue on PSP than 360.

It's like a mobile game company working exclusively for Windows Mobile, and not porting their games to iPhone or Android.

Because the people that would buy Cave games already got a 360, as soon as the first game hit, they were there. Simple as that.

 

[gundamkyoukai]

Actually.

I think the shmup era kinda ended back in the 90s.

What every year you can find shooters coming out of Comiket .

 

[Delusibeta]

You realize that there is a massive number of people out there who are not hardcore arcade gamers but would still love to play CAVE's games if they were only released on online marketplaces for a reasonable price, right?

They would have done this years ago if they were online-only. Digital-only stuff doesn't do well in Japan.

 

[Haruhater]

The localized Cave games didn't sell that much and they were priced pretty fair even at release.

Yeah, but that's because they were released for fucking iPhones. Generally speaking, nobody with even a passing interest in the STG genre gives two fucks about mobile gaming, or even iPhones themselves for that matter.

Had the games been released on Steam, XBLA and the PSN, I highly doubt we would be facing this scenario.

 

[Kandrick]

Yeah, but that's because they were released for fucking iPhones. Generally speaking, nobody with even a passing interest in the STG genre gives two fucks about mobile gaming, or even iPhones themselves for that matter.

Had the games been released on Steam, XBLA and the PSN, I highly doubt we would be facing this scenario.

I'm not talking about iphones, but the 360 games.

 

[Kenshin001]

Cave should have released their games on PSN at a price comparable to shmups already on there. I have no sympathy for a company that makes foolish business decisions.

 

[1st Course]

I still don't understand why they never ported their games to the most succesful platforms on Japan. They could get much more revenue on PSP than 360.

It's like a mobile game company working exclusively for Windows Mobile, and not porting their games to iPhone or Android.

I remember reading that SCEJ refused their games on the PS3, so they went 360 exclusive.

 

[Sir Ilpalazzo]

JESUS CHRIST!

So, does this mean that Treasure is now the only professional, non-indie, non-doujin game company that still produces STGs?

Still produces?

 

[Haruhater]

They would have done this years ago if they were online-only. Digital-only stuff doesn't do well in Japan.

So what, if you're a japanese studio you can either only publish exclusively physically OR digitally?

CAVE is so nearsighted that they don't realize that Japan is an insignificant market now?

 

[cuilan]

I'm pretty sure they would have sold more if they were available for PS3 and Wii in Japan.

Aside from everything that Risette has already said, I should mention that Shikigami no Shiro 3 was released on both the Wii and the 360 in Japan at the same time, and the 360 version sold more.

 

[Haruhater]

I'm not talking about iphones, but the 360 games.

Which were never released outside of Japan and were priced at sixty fucking dollars and above.

 

[bobbytkc]

I don't think you understand that making these games pretty much guarantees that they are catering to this group only.

2D shmups CAN turn a decent profit on the right platforms. Just look at Jamestown. Indie shmup that topped the steam charts when it was released.

 

[SmokyDave]

Did you buy the region free releases?

I don't know if they were region free, they were commercially released here in the UK. That said, I never got around to buying the most recent release (Dodonpachi Resurrection Deluxe) because I don't really play my 360 and I'm not that big on physical media.

I'd have bought everything they could release if it was available digitally on my preferred platforms.

 

[Kandrick]

Which were never released outside of Japan and were priced at sixty fucking dollars and above.

Plenty of localized Cave games, and even region free ones. But people like to go "they should have released it on PS3 for 5-10 dollars, they would have made a fortune!!!"

 

[Risette]

Which were never released outside of Japan and were priced at sixty fucking dollars and above.

I guess this is your way of saying you never actually cared about these games and never paid the slightest bit of attention to their releases. Embarrassing!

I don't know if they were region free, they were commercially released here in the UK. That said, I never got around to buying the most recent release (Dodonpachi Resurrection Deluxe) because I don't really play my 360 and I'm not that big on physical media.

I'd have bought everything they could release if it was available digitally on my preferred platforms.

There's a few releases in Japan that are region free. They've been reprinted with cheaper editions now so check them out.

 

[2+2=5]

SCEJ doesn't like indies/small devs or something like that. I recall reading that the reason why they went 360 exclusive.

In the west at least the situation is very different, someone tweets to shahid!
And what about the 3ds?

 

[Haruhater]

Still produces?

Nintendo asked them to make a second Sin & Punishment game almost a decade after the original bombed hard in Japan once they saw how well the game was doing ON THE FREAKING VIRTUAL CONSOLE.

I'm pretty sure Nintendo will keep them around.

 

[Augemitbutter]

I remember reading that SCEJ refused their games on the PS3, so they went 360 exclusive.

most probably just their one game - one disc model. i doubt anybody would have refused their games on download platforms.

 

[Sir Ilpalazzo]

Nintendo asked them to make a second Sin & Punishment game almost a decade after the original bombed hard in Japan once they saw how well the game was doing ON THE FREAKING VIRTUAL CONSOLE.

I'm pretty sure Nintendo will keep them around.

I'm not saying that Treasure isn't going to make games, but they aren't exactly known for their scrolling shooters. Unless you count Sin and Punishment (which is kind of a stretch), haven't they only ever done four during their entire existence?

 

[Haruhater]

Plenty of localized Cave games, and even region free ones. But people like to go "they should have released it on PS3 for 5-10 dollars, they would have made a fortune!!!"

Because it's the truth!

Only the extremely dedicated crowd is going to pay more than $10-15 for a 2D STG that's not even available as a digital download, and as everyone can see that crowd is not enough to sustain a developer like CAVE.

 

[IrishNinja]

NOOOOOOOOOOOO

i just bought deathsmiles 1 & 2, was about to buy Nin Nin Jump....how could i be too late here?! come back Cave (;_

 

[fatgamecat]

PCB collectors are an even tinier subset of the already tiny group of people willing to import Japanese 360s and pay $70-80 per region locked Cave game. It's entirely Cave's business decisions that lead to this. Cave games are not some persecuted hardcore minority surrounded by ignorant casuals.

Few people wanted to play these games because gaming is full of scrubs. It's just an unfortunate fact.

Extreme elitism over gaming skill while idolizing PCB collectors instead of skilled gamers. Yep, it's a Cave thread.

 

[Snkfanatic]

Wtf Noooo

I guess their stuff on IOS wasn't selling well.

 

[Fraeon]

Yeeeeeaaahh... surprised this didn't happen earlier. The audience for these on any platform is pretty damn limited.

 

[gundamkyoukai]

Plenty of localized Cave games, and even region free ones. But people like to go "they should have released it on PS3 for 5-10 dollars, they would have made a fortune!!!"

Not really , they should have been on all systems on DD .
Take Akai Katana that only came out on 360 WW , it should have been port to every where .

 

[Takao]

I will never understand why "console" developers pass directly to ios without even trying handhelds.
Why don't they port their games to 3ds or vita? It would not be that difficult and i'm sure they would be well repaid.

They were in the process of making games for Vita. Then they canceled them.