WD's Victor Ireland is Back! (Oh, And He Wants Half-A-Million Bucks.)

[TonyTheTiger]

It might be in his best interest to branch out into internal development. I mean, yeah, keep plinking away for those Japanese diamonds in the rough but instead of putting all your eggs in that one basket maybe look to produce something original, or publish some games from up and coming American studios. Brand new games that have the Working Designs spirit from back in the day. If Studio Archcraft can create Black Sigil, an incredibly accurate recreation of the spirit of SNES era RPGs, and get it published on the Nintendo DS then I can't imagine Victor Ireland couldn't do something along the same lines. A game doesn't have to be legitimately Japanese in order to "feel" like a Working Designs game. And the end result could easily be far better than Class of Heroes II.

[Press_Start]

I agree that there is a market for niche digital games. A small market, but one that could be self-sustaining for a small publisher. Unfortunately, Vic and Gaijinworks aren't really that interested in supporting that market as his own comments on various sites in connection with this Kickstarter have shown. Vic is looking to release the same kind of physical collector's editions that WD was doing a decade ago. Unfortunately, he's a day late and many dollars short to the party.

Well, til I hear (or read) from his own mouth, hope springs eternal for me I guess. I mean the prospect seems tailor-made for Victor's rogue-like, "stand out in the masses" approach WD's infamous for. Like everyone's fighting over themselves grasping for as much gold as they can get their hands on even the clouds of gold dust while there's a huge silver mine a few miles down the road forgotten by time that no one's jumped on ready to be claimed on a silver platter per say. I think that's a perfect place for Victor or like-minded people savvy as him to make a name for themselves....again.

[TonyTheTiger]

We know for sure that collector's editions are still viable, perhaps more today than ever before. Victor seemed to imply in the AnimeNation interview that he just doesn't like the direction they've taken in that now most are either non-sets in that they don't give much of anything for a $20 markup or feature some obscene oversized crap for a $100 markup. The criticism is valid, I think. Collector's editions have gotten pretty ridiculous lately on all fronts and a good one is a welcome change of pace. The real issue isn't that the ship has sailed for his desire to bring good sets to store shelves. That's doable. The tough part are the types of games he wants to do it for.

This is compounded by the fact that he generally seems to prefer it when the collector's edition is the only edition (something retailers themselves don't like given limited shelf space). That means the game will be at least somewhat more expensive when stacked up against similarly themed titles sitting right next to it. Yes, it'll look nice and will hopefully stand out (which itself can increase sales) but if you're already marketing to a niche of a niche, particularly in a hobby where people are increasingly looking for cheaper options given the state of the economy, it's definitely going to be a tough sell.

[Bojay1997]

Sorry to necro bump, but there is a good chance of a limited physical release of Class of Heroes 2 happening. If you're interested, you can register at http://www.gaijinworks.com/ $35 for the game, manual and case plus a digital download sounds pretty fair for what could be the last UMD release for the PSP.

[xelement5x]

Here's the pertinent information for anyone interested:

If we can pre-sell at least 2,500 copies of a Physical PSP version with a color manual, UMD with color disc label, and a digital download code, we can do a physical+digital combo version for $34.99, shipped to you. At this time, all we want to do is gauge interest in this offering, so if you want to purchase this version were it made available, sign up using the form below with your email address, your name, and the number of copies you want. As an extra special thank-you, supporters of our Deluxe edition Kickstarter that did not fund will get a special UMD label art that's different from the general run.

AND

By signing up for this "Special" mailing list, I'm indicating I have the need and funds to know the satisfaction that comes from buying a physical version of Class of Heroes 2 for the PSP (with a digital download code included as well). If enough signups are made here for at least 2500 copies within the next 7-10 days, an official ordering link through Amazon Payments will be opened, the physical version of the game will be a go, and fans can reserve their copy or copies with the Amazon link.

The only thing that gets me that there is no way to purchase the other UMD variant. I'm sure many extras will be found in a closet 2 years later though ;)

[Bojay1997]

Here's the pertinent information for anyone interested:

If we can pre-sell at least 2,500 copies of a Physical PSP version with a color manual, UMD with color disc label, and a digital download code, we can do a physical+digital combo version for $34.99, shipped to you. At this time, all we want to do is gauge interest in this offering, so if you want to purchase this version were it made available, sign up using the form below with your email address, your name, and the number of copies you want. As an extra special thank-you, supporters of our Deluxe edition Kickstarter that did not fund will get a special UMD label art that's different from the general run.

AND

By signing up for this "Special" mailing list, I'm indicating I have the need and funds to know the satisfaction that comes from buying a physical version of Class of Heroes 2 for the PSP (with a digital download code included as well). If enough signups are made here for at least 2500 copies within the next 7-10 days, an official ordering link through Amazon Payments will be opened, the physical version of the game will be a go, and fans can reserve their copy or copies with the Amazon link.

The only thing that gets me that there is no way to purchase the other UMD variant. I'm sure many extras will be found in a closet 2 years later though ;)

If you backed the previous Kickstarter, you can buy a copy of that UMD art, as well as the regular version per Vic's posts on NeoGaf. I am actually very happy with the release plan for this as I thought the CE was a colossal waste for this particular game, but I am more than happy to pay $35 for the game on UMD.

[Bubble_Man]

I've played Maniac Mansion and Monkey Island, but the two most recent games of his that I've played are Brutal Legend and Costume Quest, which the two recent ones suck ass. I don't give two shits about the games in the past when his current games aren't worth a damn.

Saying a Tim Schafer game is going to be good because it's a Tim Schafer game is like saying Star Wars 1, 2, and 3 would be good because it's George Lucas.

Brutal Legend is one of my favorite games of this entire gen. Mowing down demons in an open world while listening to metal is a blast.