It's Happened - A Major Publisher (Square Enix) is Considering Using Crowd-Funding (Like Kickstarter) for Games' Localizations

[Nz17]

Basically, they'll bring over the big games, but the small, the niche, the "too Japanese" - they want your dollars up front for that.

And I'm actually OK with this.

At first I was, "Whhhhhhhaaaaattt?!" But then really reading the article instead of just skimming the headlines made it all click for me.

Generally, I don't want the big games. I'm tired of all that. I don't want the "gold" releases that are really the quality of early beta releases. I don't want DLC; please no DRM (but you know the big publishers); I don't want to be nickeled-and-dimed; no in-app purchases, no microtransaction, no "small number of in game turns per day"... and generally, larger small games and medium-sized games are where you avoid all that. Most of it is tied up in the biggest releases and the "free"-to-play ones.

I want the more small, the more slice-of-life, the every day that's magical and neat on a personal scale kind of games and those types of "gaming experiences." I want to try new genres, and things that are more about the gameplay than flashy cut-scenes and lots of voiced dialog.

People always say, "Vote with your dollars." What better way than this? And if they use a crowdfunding platform that is all-or-nothing, then nobody loses out on their cash if the localization's cost isn't met by financing the goal during the crowd-funding.

But they better localize something if any of those goals are met, because even if they underestimate the cost of the localization or they just overshoot the budget, they will get Hell from their fans and from the gaming media if they don't bring over what they said they would.

It's a double-edged sword. It's a fascinating change in the way things are done. And we are living in interesting times. I wonder how all this will pan out.

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/articles/z/1100-6431344/

[kai123]

I hate crowdfunding. It is good for a small project but I won't fund a corporation begging for cash just to localize a game. They could translate it and release it as a digital only download and avoid all the costs of the physical release. Plus the game is already done so how much would they consider enough to get a translation made? I fund these things by purchasing the items. It isn't my fault if they have terrible accounting and can't figure out how to not use all their cash on games we don't want or making them exclusive for no good reason.

Square/Enix is not what they once were and I feel no good will towards them or from them. They are a shell of what they once were. I know that doesn't mean much if you are obsessed with RPGs but I feel other companies have left them in the dust in the genre.

[theclaw]

If a specific audience is able to decide what they want, and pay for it up front, fine with me. The traditional model has companies spend ages developing a product in secret out of their own pocket, then get no money back until preorders open.

[kai123]

If a specific audience is able to decide what they want, and pay for it up front, fine with me. The traditional model has companies spend ages developing a product in secret out of their own pocket, then get no money back until preorders open.

I would assume that these companies have been making money for a very long time and now just want a bigger and bigger cut. I love how these big companies are expecting me to think they are some indie dev just getting their foot in the door. They have tons of weight in the industry and I am kind of tired of big companies treating me like they are a mom and pop place for me to feel sympathy for their plight against the big dogs. I know people will fork up the cash for it but I just don't see me doing it.

[Tanooki]

I personally won't support any crowd funding, and I think it's a hair underhanded a major company is doing it too, but since they're too cowardly on their own to release some amazing games, if people show up front with soft dollars they'd be willing to buy and pay in advance to get a physical release made and I'd like that game, I'd buy it on the back end.

[kupomogli]

I've been saying publishers like Sega, Square Enix, Namco, Falcom, etc should be doing this ever since the launch of Kickstarter. The game is already complete in Japan so if the niche fanbase are looking for reception, then reception could be shown for these games to see whether they're worth getting or not. Preorder without the possibility of cancellation before the localization and I'm fine with that. It's either that or never getting the game at all for how scared some of these publishers are at releasing their games westward.

[The 1 2 P]

I definitely wouldn't mind game localizations for a few select imports but I agree with others who said they wouldn't support this. Huge multinational companies worth tens/hundreds of millions/billions of dollars don't have to go down this avenue like many smaller indie companies do. Obviously SE and other publishers will do what they want(Sony also started a crowd funding initiative earlier this year but that one isn't specifically for games) but I can't put my money behind this. Plus I bet that the majority of these games will be for Sony's systems(with the newer systems favored) so I wouldn't be playing them anyway.

[Gameguy]

I'd only help pay for a translation if I became a part owner of the properly once it's released, as in I would get a cut of the profits from all copies sold. This isn't a small cash strapped company, it's a large one that doesn't need help with financing. It's really only the old games that I would care about getting a translation anyway, most modern games just don't interest me.

[Graham Mitchell]

There aren't many exclusively Japanese modern games that I'd really want to play, other than cave shooters and Darius burst. I'd participate in a crowd funding "pre purchase" of games like that, but not all these half-assed jrpgs they put out nowadays.

Unless there's something I'm missing here...is there some amazing piece of brilliance they're holding hostage here? Or are they just trying to scam us into funding a game that, 3 years ago, they would've localized anyway?

Seems like a scam.

[theclaw]

Who knows. It might just be some bizarre game, whose odds of cataclysmic failure warrant such measures.
The article doesn't specify which games they're considering this for.

[celerystalker]

No chance of me supporting this. I understand that this business model could mean more localized niche games, but it's not my responsibility as a consumer to fund an unfinished product. I rarely purchase newer games in general due to their incomplete nature. This isn't an investment, it's an entertainment expense, and it's no better than demanding a presale quota in exchange for production. This isn't some guy in a garage with a dream to tug at my heartstrings. It's a major content provider hedging its bets at the expense of its most loyal fans.

I know that companies have to adapt and change business models in order to stay relevant. My interest may just be a casualty of the times.

[sfchakan]

Very low chances of me backing anything from a big company like Square Enix. It would have to be a very niche property with no chance in hell of otherwise coming out here.

So many of these asshats never know how to stick to a budget and deliver the promised product on time.

Why would I trust Square Enix to do what so many others cannot?

[kupomogli]

^The games are already complete, just not localized. It's nothing like funding a developer then having no idea how the game is going to turn out. We alteast have a bit of an idea by those who have played the Japanese release. A good example. It's no different than going to Gamestop and preordering Divinity Original Sin for $60. The game is already out on PC so you can look up gameplay videos of it, reviews of it, etc. In this case, the game will be out in Japan so you can still look up gameplay videos of it, import reviews, etc, and it's still a preorder, you just can't cancel and get your money back once you put it down. People didn't mind supporting when Victor Ireland did it for some mediocre dungeon crawler. It didn't succeed, but I know some of the people here tried to back the release of the retail version of Holy Invasion of Privacy Badman. Paying for the copy in advance to get the limited release. The second game received a retail release with the first game unlockable by using a cheat code so we got it at retail anyways.

A recent game that Square Enix has copyrighted for the west is the newest SaGa game for the Vita. Square Enix won't even localize Dragon Quest 7 and 8. Do you really think they're going to localize SaGa, and for the Vita no less? The SaGa series is similar to your regular RPGs but a bit unconventional in how some of the mechanics works, yet aside from Unlimited Saga every game that's released in the west has been fairly good. Who would even want to develop a game in the SaGa franchise or why would Square Enix bring the franchise back other than for the creator, Akitoshi Kawazu? The series is niche as hell. Even though Unlimited Saga is the worst in the series and a bad game, it had a lot of great qualities. Adding the reel system in the game is what really killed it. With the game being copyrighted in the west, if they feel crowdfunding is the only way they'd release it, I'll be one of the people supporting it. Because it's one thing supporting a game from an unproven developer with pretty much no idea how it's going to turn out than a game that's already finished and you have gameplay videos, developer videos, etc to look on and even previews and reviews.

I completely agree there's no reason that these companies should be asking for the western gamers to do this as the cost to localize is practically nothing compared to the development costs. If Sony didn't step in, Sega would still be giving the middle finger to Yakuza fans and while digital only(meaning I'm not going to purchase it until it's dirt cheap despite being a huge fan of the series,) we'd never be able to enjoy the game otherwise. It's definitely better than not getting the game at all, and this certainly isn't as bad as people are making it out to be. Atleast the developers are giving us a chance to get the games they'd never otherwise release.

[celerystalker]

I'd rather not have the game at all. It's a shift in business model that I won't support in any way. I won't preorder either. I will buy a complete, finished product that allows for a fulfilling experience with on-disc/cart content. I'm okay with not getting to experience everything out there; I will support a competently released product that appeals to me. I can live with playing games in Japanese if that's what it needs to be, or just not playing them at all. It's how I'm used to playing most SaGa games anyway. Had a lot of fun with Romancing SaGa 3.

The real head scratcher to me is that large-scale translation work and even patches get done for free all the time by fan groups and organizations. A company the size of Square-Enix could easily do this so inexpensively that it's insane, and digital releases cost them next to nothing, and it's even easy to slap out a no manual compilation disc from time to time and sell them like many companies have and scrape up those bucks from us physical copy nerds out there if they so desire.

It's a bad precedent to allow these large producers operate this way, much like concepts such as required online connection for single-player games, on-disc DLC, and day-one patches. Anything we don't reject, they will continue to test the boundaries. It's how they evolve their profit avenues, and it's up to each of us to choose what we are willing to accept. If you believe the reward is worth committing to these sorts of endeavors, it's your valid viewpoint, to be sure. I'm emphatically on the other end.

Edit: I don't mean to imply that this is as bad as those other practices I mentioned, as there is at least potential consumer benefit if this were to be handled properly. I just don't believe it will be.

[bb_hood]

No chance of me supporting this. I understand that this business model could mean more localized niche games, but it's not my responsibility as a consumer to fund an unfinished product. I rarely purchase newer games in general due to their incomplete nature. This isn't an investment, it's an entertainment expense, and it's no better than demanding a presale quota in exchange for production. This isn't some guy in a garage with a dream to tug at my heartstrings. It's a major content provider hedging its bets at the expense of its most loyal fans.

I know that companies have to adapt and change business models in order to stay relevant. My interest may just be a casualty of the times.

Yeah I agree. Its absurd for a large company to ask consumers to pay for development costs when they will be profiting off the final product.

At this point in time square/enix should really understand what consumers outside of Japan want.

[sfchakan]

You act like there's ~20 years of online documentation about fan's wants, desires, and opinions, bb_hood. What if they release a lazy HD remaster of something and it doesn't sell extremely well?

What if Tomb Raider sells millions of copies, yet doesn't meet their expectations and is thus a failure?

Also, budgeting is really hard. Sticking to one is impossibru!

[kupomogli]

I'd rather not have the game at all.

It's not like this is day one DLC with disc locked content and season pass. It's requiring you to "preorder" the game to get it. So you'd ignore a game you're interested in coming to the west just because you don't want to support a larger company who is afraid that it won't make a profit and requires to receive enough preorders to localize?

Also let's be for real here. Sure you've played Romancing SaGa 3 using a translation hack you downloaded on Romhacking.net or downloaded a prehacked rom. So let's go over to Romhacking.net shall we? Search RPGs translated in English and it comes with 316 results. Only 316 results? Oh wait, look here. Five different versions of Arle no Bouken: Mahou no Jewel, all unfinished. Two to four versions of every single Dragon Ball and Dragon Quest. Not counting, but pulling an estimation out of my ass, there's probably around 100 unique RPGs, rarely anything that's on something CD format. So good luck waiting another 15 years for the newest SaGa game to be in playable form in English without having to waste your time and go back and forth consulting a guide, losing pretty much all enjoyment. I'd rather learn to read Japanese than do that, and not really that interested in learning Japanese only to then have to learn how to read Japanese to get any use out of what I want to use it for.

I'd say that if they want you to prepay for a game in order for it to be localized that you're interested in, then just pay for what you're interested in. No one is making you fund every single game that's released, especially if it's not a well reviewed game and looks like it isn't very good. It really is no different than preordering Final Fantasy 15, etc, day one.

[celerystalker]

Nah, I played Romancing SaGa 3 untranslated on the actual cart, and yes, I'd rather not have the game than to have to preorder it in order to get a copy.

This isn't the most insidious, vile thing ever or anything, but I won't be forced to preorder a game in order to get it released. My primary concern in this case is that an increasingly large number of games will get limited print runs and require preorders to get a release.

It's just a business model that I feel is an abuse of fan loyalty to extort preorders. I wouldn't condemn anyone for feeling differently. It's a difficult decision to make corporately to be the first major manufacturer to try this. I happen to think it's too rife with potential for abuse, so I won't support it. I think the strength of conviction in my wording probably makes me sound like I'm pontificating more than I mean to... whatever happens, I hope it works out to fans' benefit, but I just don't see it going down that way.

[Tanooki]

Hell I think at this point no one should feed them a penny. This request coming from a company that whined embarrassingly like little babies to the press how Tomb Raider failed them when it only sold 4M copies. The nerve, 4M people bought a game and that wasn't enough. If you can not profit with that many copies bought across platforms you're doing it wrong and most definitely don't deserve to be propped up by extra gamer money since you can't manage a budget or resources properly.

[Graham Mitchell]

Unfortunately now these big budget publishers have painted themselves into a corner. Now that they've been spending billions of dollars making these high-profile movie/pseudo-games the audience is going to expect them to keep it up, and even exceed previous efforts. At some point, the snake is going to eat it's own tail and they're simply not going to be able to recoup the losses incurred by developing the game, unless they charge over $100 for it.

And maybe they will. It's happened before. Remember when phantasy star four launched at$99.99? All early SNES games or $70 retail. And that's 1990s dollars. That would be a $150 game now.