I don't get the hate for the PS1 DQVII translation. I thought it was great and I really enjoyed it. In fact, talking about it now, I'm getting the urge to fire it up on my PSP hehe.
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Does Square Enix have plan for Dragon Quest retail releases in West anymore?
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I don't get the hate for the PS1 DQVII translation. I thought it was great and I really enjoyed it. In fact, talking about it now, I'm getting the urge to fire it up on my PSP hehe.
Uncle Rupee
Banned
I know... which is why I hate seeing it posted in every DQ7-related thread. Wikipedia states that the English translation took 20 translators and 5 copy editors less than a year to translate it's 70,000 pages of text (that works out to be 3,500 pages of text per translator, or about 291 pages a month). That seems utterly ridiculous, like it must be a misprint or possibly a mistranslation of the number of pages. There probably isn't 70,000 unique dialogue boxes in the game, let alone pages! I just don't buy it.
Here's what Wikipedia says:
If the localization began immediately after the Japanese release, and the English version was released just 14 months later, that gives them basically one year to both translate everything AND put this massive game through the standard QA process. I subtracted two months to factor in final manufacturing and shipping / distribution. Either Enix's staff were wizards or the 70,000 number has one too many zeroes on it...
The only one that was released in the US was DQ7, which was all Enix, so that's not the case at all.
One of the translators actually posted on Something Awful a while back and answered some questions. I'm not sure if I'd be able to find it now. But those numbers seem higher than what I remember.
Links_fantasy
Junior Member
SE should have released DQXI on 3DS by now as it would have sold 5 million plus like the DS game. I also think comments from the director indicate he wants to put the next mainline game on home console maybe PS3/PS4 like DQ Heroes is doing. I do think if this is true it's a bit of a slap in the face to Nintendo, who published IX in the west and advertised it heavily. Also DQ VI and Joker 2 which Nintendo published came at the end of the DS lifecycle where piracy was at its peak, so of course that was going to impact sales of those titles. 3DS games are still not being pirated 4 years in so its a completely different scenario. I think this is why in part Nintendo chose to localise Bravely Default and not the DQ games if SE wouldn't commit to future DQ games on Nintendo's systems.
Uncle Rupee
Banned
3DS has around 50 million install base, more than double what PS4 and Xbone have. Besides, PS4/Xbone users wouldn't buy a game with 3DS graphics so they'd have to invest millions more to remake it again.
I'd also say there's something of a proven market for JRPGs on the 3DS. I don't think the 3DS is what's holding the chances of localisation back.
Yeah, Nintendo has done a really fine job of cultivating a JRPG fanbase on the system.
I think the biggest problem is that Squenix wants to think that DQ can be as big as Final Fantasy, but they don't try to work towards that and expect it to sorta happen. Certainly, the series wasn't hurt by its mainline installments being on unpopular hardware in the west.
Are you referring to NOB?? Haven't see him post in ages. He also did. The translation for the DQ I, II an III GBC translations
Won't happen, unless MS and/or Sony agree to finance all marketin and sales out West. Nintendo didn't make much money publishin DQIV, V and VI out West.
Uncle Rupee
Banned
Frankly even if he did show up and repeat the 70,000 pages claim I'd still need to see some actual proof.
Psycho_Mantis
Banned
DQ8 was on PS2 and sold 1 million in the West.
DQ9 was on DS and sold 1 million in the West.
Both games were on the most popular system at the time.
I didn't know Nintendo published those. At what point does Nintendo give up on DQ in the West? They've been playing this game since DQ1.
I thought the only one they published was VI? IV & V were published by Square-Enix.
I know Nintendo also published IX and DQM Joker 2.
I imagine Joker 2 was the final straw.
Which is why I said they weren't hurt by being on unpopular hardware.
NipplesAndToes23
Member
The handling of this series is one of the reasons that I don't like Square Enix now. The availability of these games on a home console makes it difficult for me to play them and X was a MMO on the Wii which was just weird. I'd like to play something other than VIII eventually.
Sorry, I meant in addition to 3DS. They don't have to remake it again for PS4/Xbone; just remaster it in HD and it should look fine.
No, they didn't. Perhaps you're thinking of Final Fantasy?
# of FF games published by SCEA: 3
# of FF games published by NOA: 6
I misremembered, it was Miyake (DQ producer).
http://www.technobuffalo.com/2014/0...sider-further-rocket-slime-games-in-the-west/
Uncle Rupee
Banned
Seems likely, which only makes it all the more infuriating. They're basing DQ7's sales projections on a shitty spin-off developed by Tose at the tail end of the DS's life when the 3DS was already out.
Yeah, I don't really see that flying with the PS4/Xbone crowd unless they take a steep hit on the price tag.
As pointed out earlier in the thread if DQXI isn't on a Nintendo platform there's little benefit to growing the brand in the west. It might have been worth taking a hit on the DQM games and DQVII in exchange for DQXI.
Yeah, the series was already on the most popular hardware. What makes it likely that a PS4 release would do better than PS2 and DS?
Uncle Rupee
Banned
If growing the brand were a key issue then why did Nintendo take on something like Bravely Default which had zero brand recognition as a new game, and one which isn't likely to spawn that many sequels?
Besides, if Nintendo wanted to "grow the brand" for games on their own consoles they could follow up DQ7's release with translations for DQX and its add-ons on the Wii U, which is desperately lacking third party games, let alone RPGs.
It's such a shame publishers have seemingly given up on DQ in the west; SE due to DQ V and Nintendo due to DQ VI and Joker2, but they both ignore the massive success of DQIX and the fact it had an advertising push. It's the publishers own fault for not telling people/ advertising the game.
DQVII could easily be as successful or more so than Bravely Default, since it's and established franchise and a better game, but people need to know, gamers word-of-mouth can only do so much. The again I believe even with minimal to no advertising, DQ7 on 3DS will do well; the audience is there and piracy isn't a problem. If Atlus and other small publishers can find success on 3DS so can SE and Nintendo with this game.
I've also convinced myself that if DQXI is announced to be on 3DS, then DQVII will be localized. It's crazy but I believe it (there's no way the west would miss out on DQXI right?).
DQVII could easily be as successful or more so than Bravely Default, since it's and established franchise and a better game, but people need to know, gamers word-of-mouth can only do so much. The again I believe even with minimal to no advertising, DQ7 on 3DS will do well; the audience is there and piracy isn't a problem. If Atlus and other small publishers can find success on 3DS so can SE and Nintendo with this game.
I've also convinced myself that if DQXI is announced to be on 3DS, then DQVII will be localized. It's crazy but I believe it (there's no way the west would miss out on DQXI right?).
Bravely Second was informally announced shortly after Bravely Default came out in Japan and smashed records. There's also the benefit now that in the west the Bravely series is seen as a Nintendo thing, that's invaluable mindshare going forward in regards to the series.
DQX is an MMO as well. That's a massive financial burden compared to literally any other DQ game.
Uncle Rupee
Banned
Of course not, we'd get DQXI on smartphone.
That's no indication of what it would sell in the west. DQ regularly smashes records too, and it would seem that doesn't automatically translate to sales in the west. Yet at least DQ has brand recognition. That was my point.
Haha, yeah it wouldn't surprise me if a few years after DQXI is released SE announce a smartphone version.
I've always felt that there's been an unspoken problem with DQ, in that it's not a very appealing game for western gamers in the way that it is for Japan. It's never been a particularly cinematic franchise, the gameplay is very meat-and-potatoes and lacks a lot of flash, and despite the Akira Toriyama art, there's more of an emphasis on the monsters than of the protagonists, who certainly aren't doing cool shit like Goku or Trunks all of the time. It goes back to what Kagari said: Squenix wants the series to be just as big as FF, but they don't really seem to want to put in the work themselves to make that happen. Nintendo's idea of selling the series to the masses in the west was a very comprehensive marketing campaign that assuredly cost a small fortune: Squenix's idea of selling the series to the masses was packing in a demo for a more popular one.
SCEA published Star Ocean 2
Why does it always have to be "All or nothing" for S-E?
Most publishers make the best out of everything they have, doesn't that philosophy make more business sense?
Yeah but if DQXI is planned for a non-Nintendo system they would literally be growing the brand with the small titles for someone else to reap the awards with the big title.
If you compare that to Bravely Default any effort from Nintendo to establish that brand in the west directly benefits them because it strongly incentivises them to keep the series Nintendo bound(which was overwhelmingly likely anyway). It's actually funny to think that more bought BDFF as a Nintendo game than bought it as a Square Enix game.
Opportunity cost I imagine. Granted, I also imagine that while it wasn't an FF-level of success, that for their size (or the size they want to be anyway) the sales stuff like the DQ remakes were pulling in didn't justify the effort in their eyes, whereas if they were reliably 100k sellers perhaps they'd have more reliably kept bothering.
I do imagine though that DQ's the kind of franchise that had another Japanese publisher owned they'd be more than happy to keep bringing out. Well, Capcom/Konami can be dumb in similar ways, but even they seem more likely to keep bothering, nevermind ones like TK that do keep bothering with something like the Atelier series that most here probably would've dropped fast.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=148979273
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=923800
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=835001
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=824215
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=778034
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=768710
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=766352
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=766751
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=735739
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=719859
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=705838
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=619141
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=603336
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=587921
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=585551
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=553976
They're not listening guys.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=923800
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=835001
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=824215
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=778034
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=768710
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=766352
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=766751
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=735739
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=719859
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=705838
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=619141
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=603336
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=587921
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=585551
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=553976
They're not listening guys.
I find it so unfair to blame SE for not bringing out these titles. Either DQ fans spoke more with their mouths than with their wallets on the IV-V-VI DS releases (not likely but many people kept saying they were waiting for price drops) or the DQ fanbase here is just too small to support a very translation-heavy title like a DQ (most likely the reason). It is a terrible shame but DQ just does not catch on here like it does in Japan. I suppose the only reason DQ IX even reached the buzz and sales it did were due to wireless functions and the Best Buy promotions...
Though, I do wonder if eshop can be a sound option for NOA to try and localize the title...
Though, I do wonder if eshop can be a sound option for NOA to try and localize the title...
I can't blame Square-Enix much. They asked on the German Facebook page if anyone is interested in Theatrhythm Dragon Quest and responses were tragic to say the least...
Part of me does think that DQ would have a better shot at being relevant in the west if it were on consoles. If Ni No Kuni can manage to sell over a million here then I don't see why a mainline DQ couldn't achieve similar results. Maybe SE has a plan with their talks of the series going multiplatform in the future.
Part of me does think that DQ would have a better shot at being relevant in the west if it were on consoles. If Ni No Kuni can manage to sell over a million here then I don't see why a mainline DQ couldn't achieve similar results. Maybe SE has a plan with their talks of the series going multiplatform in the future.
Considering that Square-Enix calls the shots on what games are developed and released, then yes they are the ones to blame.
Did you just have the audacity to blame the fans for this? Wow. Dragon Quest fans in the west are some of the most loyal and supportive I've ever seen.
KillerMan91
Member
If DQXI by some miracle appears on PS4 it will be absolutely published in west. There is pretty much zero reasons to go with PS4 if you only want to sell the game in Japan. DQXI being on PS4 would be all about making the series popular in the west (I am not saying it would work but that would be idea behind choosing PS4). Heroes will also come to the west. It's musou game.
I really doubt SE wants to spend that kind of money and resources on DQ in the west. At most we'll get a mobile port if that hasn't happened already. I'm not even expecting them to bring over DQXI.
The reasoning would Horii said so and them expecting the PS4 to be stronger in Japan due to KH3 and FFXV.
I really want DQVII released over here... I did my part and bought IV, V, VI, IX, and Joker 2. Unrelated to DQ, but I also bought Xenoblade, Pandora's Tower, and The Last Story.
I still hold SOME hope for VII, because it took a while for VI to come out here to. Plus, if they release VII to tablets, they would probably use the updated 3DS version assets and would need to translate it again anyways.
I still hold SOME hope for VII, because it took a while for VI to come out here to. Plus, if they release VII to tablets, they would probably use the updated 3DS version assets and would need to translate it again anyways.
That would be a huge slap to the face for people who wanted the 3DS version.
Read what I said again. Either there is a big DQ fanbase that for some reason stopped buying DQ games (which would have sent the wrong signals to SE and Nintendo) or the fanbase is just not big enough to warrant translating text heavy games. I am a passionate DQ fan too but it seems that we just are not enough.
A really good indicator of the series' popularity here would be if we could see the ios/android sales.
dreampeppers99
Member
I also miss real Breath of Fire ;/
All of them.
It's definitely that the fan base isn't big enough for Square-Enix to care about.
Square-Enix are using the mobile ports as an excuse to say that they're doing something with Dragon Quest in the west.
Blame Dragon Quarter for that.
charlequin
Banned
If it got us Dragon Quarter, then the death of the Breath of Fire series is the sacrifice the island demanded.