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[TheSeks]

Disappointing he didn't learn anything from how it failed.

Don't get where you're getting that, but... okay?

 

[cj_iwakura]

Don't get where you're getting that, but... okay?

I got the same impression as him. They blame the JRPG market being in decline, which is BS.
They picked a poor game to do this with, and they botched the KS launch on top of that.

No video until a week later? It probably wouldn't have saved it, but it damn sure might have helped. They were too eager to jump on the bandwagon.

 

[Durante]

Yeah, I think the only conclusion you can draw from this experiment is that kickstarting a lavish physical release of the sequel to a mediocre game on a platform that is almost dead with a huge goal probably isn't going to work.

I really don't think you can draw any conclusions about the market for JRPGs, or even the feasibility of using kickstarter to fund localizations. I'm square in the center of the potential target audience (I've contributed to 5 game kickstarters, and I love JRPGs) and I didn't feel any desire to contribute.

 

[cj_iwakura]

If they get another shot(not bloody likely), it has to be with a high profile game that people would throw themselves at, like Growlanser(not likely) or VC3(slightly more likely) or Sakura Wars(?!?).

 

[wrowa]

I don't think it has to be high-profile, but if they want to localize a low-profile game they shoudn't ask money for a useless collector's edition or physical release no one wants.

He doesn't seem to realize that people's priorities have changed over the last few years. If the game isn't particularly interesting, people won't want to pay much money for something they don't actually need or care for. It's quite simple, really.

If Vic just asked for money for a better localization without all of that physcial release bs (what pobably would have needed less than half the money), the kickstarter would have been funded without a problem.

 

[cj_iwakura]

I don't think it has to be high-profile, but if they want to localize a low-profile game they shoudn't ask money for a useless collector's edition or physical release no one wants.

He doesn't seem to realize that people's priorities have changed over the last few years. If the game isn't particularly interesting, people won't want to pay much money for something they don't actually need or care for. It's quite simple, really.

If Vic just asked for money for a better localization without all of that physcial release bs (what pobably would have needed less than half the money), the kickstarter would have been funded without a problem.

Considering how badly this went, I'd say that yes, the second run NEEDS to be high profile.

I agree on a KS just for a better localization too.

 

[androvsky]

Yeah, I think the only conclusion you can draw from this experiment is that kickstarting a lavish physical release of the sequel to a mediocre game on a platform that is almost dead with a huge goal probably isn't going to work.

I really don't think you can draw any conclusions about the market for JRPGs, or even the feasibility of using kickstarter to fund localizations. I'm square in the center of the potential target audience (I've contributed to 5 game kickstarters, and I love JRPGs) and I didn't feel any desire to contribute.

Exactly. Also, this Kickstarter was about a lavish physical release in an era of even more spectacular lavish physical releases. Towards the end, they finally admitted that they were aiming for a middle ground price point, which really doesn't light a fanbase up.

Worse, they were pushing the physical release for a platform that would do much better as a digital one since the Vita had just launched, and digital was the only way for consumers to move forward with PSP games.

The other problem was trying to sell people on reviving traditional JRPGs using a game from a different genre (first-person dungeon crawlers) that is probably healthier now than it has been since the early 90's. Yes, CoH 2 is an RPG from Japan, but it's hardly what people think of when they think Working Designs or even JPRGs in general.

If they get another shot(not bloody likely), it has to be with a high profile game that people would throw themselves at, like Growlanser(not likely) or VC3(slightly more likely) or Sakura Wars(?!?).

Seems like Sakura Wars would be the easiest, since there's PC versions available for all of the unlocalized ones. I know Victor said the license is a mess, but Sega's out pimping it again since Red got bought (a new manga, the 3DS crossover game), so maybe it's less complicated now? And it's not like Sega of America can complain, since it barely exists now.


edit:

If Vic just asked for money for a better localization without all of that physcial release bs (what pobably would have needed less than half the money), the kickstarter would have been funded without a problem.

Agreed, they need to let go of the physical release. If they really want to, make a physical release and fancy extras part of the higher reward tiers, but NOT the focus of the Kickstarter itself. Making a KS based on getting a dub and licensing the Japanese track sounds like a very easy sell to the fanbase, personally. "Improvements" to gameplay can get controversial though unless it's very clear what they're fiddling with...

 

[cj_iwakura]

Heck, Sakura Wars got a PC release in Russia. It has to be viable.

I hope someone who can make it happen knows that.

 

[Cheerilee]

I got the same impression as him. They blame the JRPG market being in decline, which is BS.
They picked a poor game to do this with, and they botched the KS launch on top of that.

No video until a week later? It probably wouldn't have saved it, but it damn sure might have helped. They were too eager to jump on the bandwagon.

He really didn't blame the failure of this kickstarter on the (theoretical) decline of JRPGs.

Vic was asked a pretty direct question. "How has the JRPG audience evolved from your days at Working Designs to now?"

His answer "There’s definitely a smaller active JRPG fanbase now than when Working Designs was around, but I’d like to think that was due to a combination of that fanbase aging into grownup lives with less time for it and the game industry not handling the transition well of the next generation of fans that came up."


That sounds to me more like he's talking about SNES/PSX/PS2 vs PS360.

 

[SpaceDrake]

He really didn't blame the failure of this kickstarter on the (theoretical) decline of JRPGs.

Vic was asked a pretty direct question. "How has the JRPG audience evolved from your days at Working Designs to now?"

His answer "There’s definitely a smaller active JRPG fanbase now than when Working Designs was around, but I’d like to think that was due to a combination of that fanbase aging into grownup lives with less time for it and the game industry not handling the transition well of the next generation of fans that came up."


That sounds to me more like he's talking about SNES/PSX/PS2 vs PS360.

But he's still wrong. The sales data we've seen from a lot of quarters suggests that the fanbase is as large or larger than it was in "his" day (which you'd expect from the general growth of the industry in twenty years). The issue with sales on this side of the Pacific are that the platforms a lot of RPGs come out on are not popular over here or aren't popular for "long" games (E.G. handhelds), and his effort in particular was weak and he doesn't seem to be able to grasp why it failed.

 

[Cheerilee]

But he's still wrong. The sales data we've seen from a lot of quarters suggests that the fanbase is as large or larger than it was in "his" day (which you'd expect from the general growth of the industry in twenty years). The issue with sales on this side of the Pacific are that the platforms a lot of RPGs come out on are not popular over here or aren't popular for "long" games (E.G. handhelds), and his effort in particular was weak and he doesn't seem to be able to grasp why it failed.

Sooo, you agree that JRPG sales are down this generation, but you'd like to think that the JRPG fanbase is as big as ever, it's just that the platforms they're coming out on are handicapped in this region? Okay. That's nice. But it still doesn't have anything to do with this kickstarter, or him blaming anything for this kickstarter's failure, or him not understanding the lessons of this kickstarter.

I mean, for context, let's look at the previous question. "There's another new Class of Heroes out in Japan. Are you interested in it?" "Yes, if this one's digital release sells okay."

It's just a question. And an answer.