[todorok1]

Hello Everyone.

Steve here from Idea factory again. I put together a little poll and we would really love it if you took some time out to take it for us. Yoroshiku ne!

[Hikari-Rekka]

I wouldn't replace the seiyuus with English voices. They tend to mess up the character's personality and I've heard of fans buying the games just 'cause a seiyuu's there.

[lilinnocence]

I'm happy about Idea Factory's games going into English~

Anyway, for the voices, I think English voices is a good option but if you could have the game with the japanese seiyuus and subs it'd be nice also.

The reason why I bring this up is because although the people in this forum may prefer the original seiyuus, there are many other people who'd rather listen to a language which they are more familiar with.

I chose Japanese with translations on the poll but thats just my preference :]

[kyrie]

I'm so glad you guys are interested in expanding to English markets ^^

I think most people would definitely rather hear the original voices because many of us are huge fans of seiyuus and perhaps some, like me are sometimes ONLY interested in a character because a certain seiyuu is voicing that character XD

Personally I love games that have a lot of interaction, so the more mini-games and rpg elements in the game the better. I would play any type of otome game though so I honestly don't mind~

Anyways, I'm looking forward to seeing your games in English!!

[Ningyo]

I don't mind if the games have mini-games or not, so I chose both.

I'll also say again that even if english voices could maybe be good for gamers that aren't as much into the genre, you should still keep the japanese voices too.

[todorok1]

Thanks for all the support! :-)


@lilinnocence

That's a good point. However it's unlikely we can afford to provide both English and Japanese voices which is why I didn't include that option on the poll.

@kyrie

I think there's a real chance we will release an otome game if all goes to plan so I look forward to letting you all know when!

@Hikari-Rekka

Yes we have some personal experience of this with our game Chaos Wars which is infamous on the internet for having some of the worst English voice overs ever. Not something we`d like a repeat of! ;-)

[chocochell]

Hmm, definitely Japanese seiyuus all the way. English voice actors just don't have that sort of appeal Japanese seiyuus have, for some reason.

As for the last survey question, if Idea Factory did something on say, Fruits Basket or Saiunkoku Monogatari . . . I'd love Idea Factory for life =D Also you'd get people ordering the games before it even hit the stands, especially maniac fans of the mangas/anime themselves *cough*

[chemistry]

This is just my opinion, but I wouldn't want Idea Factory to expand the RPG elements at the expense of the quality of characters.

Interaction such as mini games and partial RPG elements is fine, and helps to improve my enjoyment of the game, but the main reason why I play otome games is for the characters. If I wanted extended RPG elements I would just play an RPG-genre game like Final Fantasy. There is however, a stark difference between otome games and general RPGs, and that is the visual novel appeal.

So, I hope that you will take these comments into consideration when expanding the Idea Factory english otome game division, though I realise that my opinion does not represent the general opinion of other gamers.

[lilinnocence]

todorok1, on Jul 10 2008, 07:23 PM, said:

Thanks for all the support! :-)


@lilinnocence
That's a good point. However it's unlikely we can afford to provide both English and Japanese voices which is why I didn't include that option on the poll.

No Problem. :]

If you want to, you can have an option like in Hiiro No Kakera where you can disable the voice if you end up doing only Japanese seiyuus.
I think you'll attract more people if you do English voiceovers since you're trying to not only get otome gamers to purchase it but others who aren't aware about it but would be interested.
Just as long as the V.As are suited for the people in the game I'm happy. :]
I think our forum consists only of a small portion of people who would probably purchase the game because we know about the genre like Ningyo mentioned.
I guess it's up to the company though. It's just that I know a few people who'd rather listen to English dubs than Japanese anyday because they are more familiar with the language even if there's a translation for it or they are learning it at school.

@ Chocoshell: Saiunkoku Monogatari! XD I wouldn't be the only one who'd love to play an otome game version of this :]

[chocochell]

lilinnocence, on Jul 10 2008, 05:49 PM, said:

:wink:

@ Chocochell: Saiunkoku Monogatari! XD I wouldn't be the only one who'd love to play an otome game version of this :]

Deshou? xD I'd like to see Kou Kijin's face in a S.M. otome game - imagine the possibilities for romancing characters (apart from the 4 main guys)!

As for the voice dubs, maybe it really depends on where you are, because most people I know, who are anime-mad, hate English voice dubs with a passion and wouldn't touch Animax within a ten foot pole because the subs are changed to suit English language needs and the English voice acting is. . . well I may be biased but the ones I heard were horrible! Also I don't really see the need to add English voice actors/dubs because there's already a script/subs there, but that's just me.

Personally, I think that using Japanese seiyuus in otome games would be like killing two birds with one stone for otome gamers who don't understand Japanese because they get to learn a bit more of the language that way.

[lilinnocence]

chocochell, on Jul 10 2008, 08:18 PM, said:

Deshou? xD I'd like to see Kou Kijin's face in a S.M. otome game - imagine the possibilities for romancing characters (apart from the 4 main guys)!

As for the voice dubs, maybe it really depends on where you are, because most people I know, who are anime-mad, hate English voice dubs with a passion and wouldn't touch Animax within a ten foot pole because the subs are changed to suit English language needs and the English voice acting is. . . well I may be biased but the ones I heard were horrible! Also I don't really see the need to add English voice actors/dubs because there's already a script/subs there, but that's just me.

Personally, I think that using Japanese seiyuus in otome games would be like killing two birds with one stone for otome gamers who don't understand Japanese because they get to learn a bit more of the language that way.

LOL I wonder how hard it is for the artist to draw his face XD It has to be even better than the other bishies XD Even guys fall for him! That'd be priceless :] I'd so waste my money just to see that.

I actually don't care whether there's translations or not but where I am, there's not many anime mad people that I know of. (Australia! XD) I guess you've made a good point but I've played some Atlus games where the voices were okay IMO. Maybe I'm not picky about RPG games because they have very little voices and I usually cut it off halfway through. -.-''

[tam-timmy-toe]

Hahaha nobody wants the English dubs... I don't think anyone needs to elaborate on why. :P

But it'd be really great for games to come out with subs. Then lazy people like me will have easy access to understandable games. (Yay!)

[Ningyo]

todorok1, on Jul 10 2008, 11:23 AM, said:

I think there's a real chance we will release an otome game if all goes to plan so I look forward to letting you all know when!

I'm so excited about hearing that xD I can't wait to know more.

[piccu]

Hi Steve, since I agree with the general concensus I'm probably just repeating everyone else, but here's my opinion.

Firstly, I'm definitely advocating for keeping Japanese seiyuu, (I'd be horrified to see my favourite character being voiced by an unfit voice actor that I'd rather turn off the sounds alltogether :/) but if it's possible, the option of switching the voice language would definitely be the most productive since it's appealing for both experienced otome gamers and people who aren't that familiar with animanga in general.
Furthermore, if you want to appeal to non-gamers, the games will probably sell best if there's a PC version *coughhinthintcough* ;D

While mini-games are fun, I agree completely with chemistry and I don't mind text based games with limited choices at all, but a nice mix is the most entertaining IMO.

A Saiunkoku Monogatari otome game would be awesome and I wouldn't say no if a shounen/seinen manga got adapted into an otome game either....
However, it would be never be a crucial criterion to buy a game just because I liked the series it's based, it really depends on how the characters and otome game elements were implemented.

[Butterfly Girl]

so if you guys are more interested in games with minigames, how much to buy the rights to one of the pure vns? lol.

[liannesan]

For a long time, video game companies said visual novels wouldn't do well in English...but then came Phoenix Wright. As long as there's a decent amount of interactivity, I think, a visual novel can do decently in the West. And I think the female market is exactly right for visual novels. Dating sims for boys have never done well in English, but games heavy in story and bishounen have done very well with girls, thus otome games could be an untapped hit for female gamers (who are getting quite numerous in this Age of the Girl Geek).

Idea Factory did the Ouran game, right? And the English release of that anime is coming out soon. I've never heard more requests for an otome game in English from casual gamers than I have of that game. Because it's got the popular anime tie-in, I think Ouran might be exactly what Idea Factory needs to draw attention to the otome game market in the West.

[Hikari-Rekka]

I agree with Lia here. You should bring in Ouran too since it's pretty popular in America and it might bring people to understand the otome game market a bit. Though I'm hoping if you ever do localize it, I hope you don't take out the Japanese seiyuus and replace it with English(Or at least put an option where you can choose which voice you want to here)...

[poetryinmotion]

Age of the girl geek, hurrah! Mm, I definitely agree with the pollers here- don't replace the Japanese Seiyuu with English dubs. Yo Jin Bo did Japanese voices with English subtitles and I thought it worked brilliantly- helped with understanding and didn't detract from the game. Nuance of the voice is so much, even if it's in another language. And as for games vs the text-based love story, I'm all for some mini-games but mostly text. I've played some game-heavy otome stuff *(koffkoff Fatal Hearts koffkoff) and ended up needing a game guide just to get through some of the puzzles so I could get to the endings because there were SO MANY at every turn!
Ooh, Ouran game? For English speakers? That would be amazing! Girls would totally go for it. I know I would. :D

[Hikari-Rekka]

I know a friend who really loves Ouran, since in the series right now it looks like that Haruhi's going to fall for you-know-who(Trying not to spoil people), it's great to get a HikaHaru pairing in there(Which I'm a big fan of)

[Hazuki]

Since everyone is saying why it's natural to leave the Japanese voices in with subtitles I'll also add in some more thoughts.
I think that it's a good idea for the people who actually understand Japanese and who have bought the original game because you know how both men and women speak differently. Also, the way a character speaks is part of their personality.

I think it's important to keep a balance with the game play and text, you know...make it fun and interesting at the same time (fun game play and interesting story that makes sense.)

I would buy an otome game based off of good reviews. When I bought the Fushigi Yuugi Genbu Kaiden game I was disappointed with it. The story wasn't bad...but there wasn't that much character interaction...and the way you ended it off with the characters in Hokkan weren't that great...