137 replies to this topic

[Skyrius]

Here from anime expo, Aksys has just announced that they'll be bringing Hakuouki over on the PSP in English.

*cue screaming*

I don't know how many of you have heard yet, BUT EVERYONE SUPPORT THEM WHEN IT COMES OUT AND SPREAD THE NEWS!

Gotta run now, but I'll update this after Aksys's panel.

EDIT: Miscellaneous info of all types.

Ok, now with AX officially over and my wallet completely spent, I can update this post XD So, first thing first, since there seems to be some confusion over a few things. After the panel on Saturday (2nd day of the con), I managed to accost some of the Aksys staff at their booth in the Exhibition hall. I've also got some info from other sites as well as my own knowledge about how Sony America and SCEA operate, so here they are.

First off, PS3 vs PSP. Some information about the PS3 and SCEA for those of you who don't mind the nitty gritty stuff as much. Visual novels are not allowed on the PS3 in North America as SCEA does not consider them "games" and they do not meet the criteria required to be released on the PS3 (physically by disk or by PSN). This also means games like Umineko (the updated version by Alchemist) or Fate/Stay Night (once again, updated version) will most likely not see a release in NA anytime soon. Likewise, physical copies of games (disks) for the PS3 require, by Sony's contract in America, an English dub in order to be released. Aksys's other series, Agarest, is an example of how that can be an issue. Argarest is only available via PSN for this reason, as it has no English dub and only the Japanese voice track. English dubs would take more money and time, so for niche games it actually is usually more profitable not to bother with them. This rule only applies to the PS3 and not the PSP. As the people over on Siliconera have already confirmed, there will be no English dub for Fate/Extra or Hakuouki.

Next, onto the game itself. When I asked, Aksys did indeed confirm that a large reason that Hakuouki was chosen was because there is already an existing fanbase (if small) due to the anime. In addition though, surprisingly, they also said they think even a western audience would be fine with historical Japan since the Shinsengumi and the late shogunate period in general already show up in other series such as Samurai X (Rurouni Kenshin), Peacemaker, Gintama (etc etc, I can think of a few more) so it's not completely unheard of.

Also, as most of you know, Aksys's partner is Idea Factory. For them to acquire the rights to another third party group (Koei's Neoromance line for example) would be considerably more expensive. So, their first game would have to have come from Otomate. During the survey, and for initial Japanese sales, the most popular games from IF would either be Hakuouki or Hiiro no Kakera. The amount of text in both games is considerably large, so the real decision came down to which game would mostly likely sell better.

I can say right now that I know for a fact that Hakuouki (the anime) already has fans in the west while I get a much more "huh" reaction if I mention Hiiro no Kakera.

UPDATE 2.0: Moved here: http://forum.my-neor...for-translation

[litewolf]

Too busy 'chatting' on the other thread about it lol

Unfortunately, it's known already but for me it's bad news. Hiiro I would have given a thought to buy, Hakuoki no. Just no. Really no. Over-rated isn't even enough.

Happy that the IF interview was trolling and that companies are taking steps anyway.

[Roses4Aria]

Words can't express how excited I am! I'll definitely buy at least two copies, LOL. It says they plan to release a special edition. I wonder what that will include...

[Fandramon]

I was watching the SiliconEra liveblog of the panel, [here] and got so excited seeing the "Second game is set in the feudal era of Japan and has ridiculously hot men?!" comment, then having it turn out to be Hakuoki instead of Hiiro no Kakera [or even HarukaNaru, however doubtful that would be XD] was a colossal disappointment *sigh*
I'll probably buy it anyways, and hope for something better to come :/ [that reminds me, I still need a PSP XD]

*The other game was Fate/Extra, but I have no idea what that series is all about.

*edit* more info here: http://www.siliconer...rst-otome-game/
Coming in Q1 2012.

[Savvy]

I would have preferred Hiiro No Kakera as well, but Hakuoki has an anime series going for it, so this isn't unexpected. Even so, I'm SUPER excited about it and can't wait to play. I really hope it does well, simply so we have a chance of getting more otome games.

[Skyrius]

I would have LOVED Harutoki instead but even if I hated Hakuouki I'd still buy it. The otome game industry won't get anywhere in America if there's no support.

I can't say I'm surprised though seeing as the Hakuouki anime did fairly well. And beggars can't be choosers. If it does well they can bring over other games

[Savvy]

My love for Aksys right now simply cannot be expressed in words.

Spoiler

[Satomi]

How disappointing. I was looking forward to this announcement, and it ends up being Hakuoki. For personal reasons I stay as far away as possible from things concerning demons, so I won't be getting this. But I really wanted to support English otome games...

Well the only thing that makes me a little happy is that it's an otome game being translated into English! I'm hoping that if this does well, it'll open the door for more games to be brought over.

[tegami]

Kinda disappointed as I'm over Hakuouki. How many times have some of us already bought that game anyways? But I knew it would be something from Otomate (since it's Idea Factory).

[mariko85]

Im happy to hear Hakuouki will be translated into english since I always wanted to play it in english even though I have it for my japanese PS 2 . At the sametime im upset about it since I was hopeing it might come out for the PS 2 or PS 3 but nope it has to come out for a system that I do not own and I really dont have the money to get a psp. Its to expensive. I hope they will bring the anime over here. The first season was good but I was very DISAPPOINTED with the second season. Just watching it made me angry and sad at the sametime.

[~Yukiruchan~]

Actually I think Aksys should release it on PS3 too (or maybe as DLC that can be used to patch the Japanese version or something)
Because the PS3 version is just awesome.

[Skyrius]

I actually borrowed my friend's PS3 version to see what it was like but it's kinda like Umineko. It's in HD but to begin with I didn't really need that to enjoy the game.

A lot of people have probably already imported it but that makes sense since Aksys would definitely try to start with a successful series for the first ever English otome game. I've already played it but I'm still buying it.

[caddyalan]

I thought licensing Hakuouki was an odd choice. I know that Aksys focuses on complex games, so I thought they'd pick up an otome game with simulation gameplay, such as Wand of Fortune. Other translation companies have said it's tough to sell straightforward visual novels on Windows, so I don't know if there are many people who will buy a romantic VN on a console.

Also, I didn't expect it to be announced for the PSP, much less given the choice of UMD or paid download through PSN. It's often said that English speaking fans rarely buy games on UMD. (These days, Gamestop stores rarely stock more than one or two niche PSP games, and other stores carry only the most mainstream-ish PSP games.) I'm not complaining that there's an option -- after all, UMD games are region free, and will work with the first three models of the PSP. But I'm worried that copies of Hakuouki will sit on shelves.

The option of subtitled Japanese dialogue or dubbed dialogue seems like a good idea. Hopefully both will work well.

A while back, the NIS America staff stated that their English version of Sakura Wars 5 sold poorly, and that Sony wouldn't allow the PSP port of Sakura Wars 1-2 to be translated since it allegedly didn't have enough complex gameplay. So I'm really not sure why Hakuouki got a green light. Does it indicate a change in policy, or is it just a coincidence?

[Harroe]

Oh yes! I can't wait for this game to come out. I never thought I'd see otome games with English text on the official market. This makes my day and probably my next few months. It's good that this title will be for sale on PSN as well since the Vita is coming. Since I have a PSP I'll probably get the UMD version of it.

And as for the concern about the games reception, I don't know if the old research on the success of these games in the western world still apply. There is a much more wide spread awareness of otome games now than before. Lots of people have seen anime based off them or read manga that was also based off of them. Now there will be an eagerly awaiting horde of fan girls for these games if they are well advertised. That's probably the biggest issue right now is that there needs to be decent advertisement for these games. If they get that, I think they will do well.

[Skyrius]

I thought licensing Hakuouki was an odd choice. I know that Aksys focuses on complex games, so I thought they'd pick up an otome game with simulation gameplay, such as Wand of Fortune. Other translation companies have said it's tough to sell straightforward visual novels on Windows, so I don't know if there are many people who will buy a romantic VN on a console.

Also, I didn't expect it to be announced for the PSP, much less given the choice of UMD or paid download through PSN. It's often said that English speaking fans rarely buy games on UMD. (These days, Gamestop stores rarely stock more than one or two niche PSP games, and other stores carry only the most mainstream-ish PSP games.) I'm not complaining that there's an option -- after all, UMD games are region free, and will work with the first three models of the PSP. But I'm worried that copies of Hakuouki will sit on shelves.

The option of subtitled Japanese dialogue or dubbed dialogue seems like a good idea. Hopefully both will work well.

A while back, the NIS America staff stated that their English version of Sakura Wars 5 sold poorly, and that Sony wouldn't allow the PSP port of Sakura Wars 1-2 to be translated since it allegedly didn't have enough complex gameplay. So I'm really not sure why Hakuouki got a green light. Does it indicate a change in policy, or is it just a coincidence?

Acutally, with the case of Sakura Wars 1-2, it was the fact that SCEA rejected before when someone other than NISA tried to bring it over (don't take that at face value though, the whole situation was ridiculously confusing when it was going on with about 10 different reasons flying all over the place). Plus, that was a few years ago. At this point in the PSP's life, SCEA pretty much said "screw it" and let restrictions down a lot. It's also the reason why, ironically, a LOT of the good PSP games are actually coming out towards the end of it's lifespan (I have a LOT of PSP games I like coming out or were out within the last year or so).

Also, this is just my personal opinion, but Wand of Fortune's "hybrid" system annoyed the hell out of me. THE GAME DRAGGED LIKE ALL-....my point being, it was NOT a friendly system. Repeating the same actions and going through that stinking system W)_FK#)_FWK. See, Persona 3 did it right. WoF....not so much. Granted, the game was fun. I can't say that it has the best storyline or characters though.

That being said, Hakuouki is one of IF's successful otome titles, so it makes sense that Aksys would publish that or Hiiro no Kakera first. PLUS, Hakuouki has an anime and manga, which some fans will probably know first before the game. They probably hope to pull more customers in like that, which as far as marketing goes, is the smarter move. You'd rather start with a game that has a periphery fanbase set already. I know for a fact that quite a few anime fans have seen Hakuouki, even in America. My anime club at school says as much XD. Hiiro no Kakera also has a crapload more text @_@ (at least if felt like that when I was playing through it), so I don't blame them.

The best thing I can think of still is just supporting them. EVEN the people who don't want to buy the game, at least drop by Aksys's website and forum and leave a note telling them that you appreciate what they've done. I mean, this is the FIRST real otome game in America (Princess Debut I don't count and Yo-Jin-Bo wasn't widespread enough (aka is pretty much flopped)) so I have high hopes for this.

[litewolf]

Also, this is just my personal opinion, but Wand of Fortune's "hybrid" system annoyed the hell out of me. THE GAME DRAGGED LIKE ALL-....my point being, it was NOT a friendly system. Repeating the same actions and going through that stinking system W)_FK#)_FWK. See, Persona 3 did it right. WoF....not so much. Granted, the game was fun. I can't say that it has the best storyline or characters though.

The best thing I can think of still is just supporting them. EVEN the people who don't want to buy the game, at least drop by Aksys's website and forum and leave a note telling them that you appreciate what they've done. I mean, this is the FIRST real otome game in America (Princess Debut I don't count and Yo-Jin-Bo wasn't widespread enough (aka is pretty much flopped)) so I have high hopes for this.

still better than Hakuoki if only because it's original

And no please, it's not the first. Yo-Jin-Bo is as real as Hakuoki, it was simply released way too early (for example, I still didn't came to interact with otome games back then and soon after Hirameki went under) and didn't manage to create a fanbase. Also, while a good localization, it wasn't appreciated that it came at the cost of translation (soccer vs baseball vs football anyone?). On Princess Debut I agree lol

By the way, when you can you might want to update the first post with the info on Japanese voices and that the game won't be out any sooner than 2012 ^^

[LenxKaho]

Here from anime expo, Aksys has just announced that they'll be bringing Hakuouki over on the PSP in English.

*cue screaming*

I don't know how many of you have heard yet, BUT EVERYONE SUPPORT THEM WHEN IT COMES OUT AND SPREAD THE NEWS!

Gotta run now, but I'll update this after Aksys's panel.

I'm excited. I mean adding another translated otome game on the list, why not? And it's psp, so YES!!

[Cloudy]

Seeing as how Hakuoki is getting more popular because of the anime, it makes sense for them to pick that as a release, especially since it's already so popular in Japan.

Though it was really funny because the moment I saw the guy dressed as Saito, it was obvious to me. Hopefully enough people will buy the game so that they'll release more right?

[reira]

I'm SO glad that Aksys is going to translate Hakuouki. Playing it when it first came out on DS was what introduced me to otome games in the first place (and really, the reason why I decided to buy a PSP (*´ー`)

Call me a nit-picking noob -
but part of what made Hakuouki so awesome to me is its complex backstory and historical setting. So I'm just worried that it wouldn't be as smooth a translation, as say, Wand of Fortune, and that Aksys might tweak things/dumb parts down a bit to sort of "Westernize it" o.o

And I hope they don't decide to dub it either. I LOVED the voices in the original game　(＾▽＾)

[Remoneko]

^They've confirmed that it's going to be Japanese voices only, which is great news.

http://www.siliconera.com/2011/07/04/fateextra-and-hakuoki-will-only-have-japanese-voiceovers/

I've never liked dubs, and particularly considering the historical material they're working with, dubs would be pretty odd. The idea of the Shinsengumi running around speaking with American accents makes me break out in hives. XD Also, from the comments I've seen on Siliconera, people are saying that Aksys has done a good job with other translations?

Either way, I'm just happy to have Hakuouki in English! I've wanted to play it so badly but had pretty much given up on it ever since the DS translation project basically died.