DOAX3 officially not being localized for the west

[gyrobot_v1legacy]

For the record its not as simple as total sales. Localization is basically paying publishing costs all over again, sometimes atop of additional costs as well, while also turning a smaller profit from each sale. Also being a blatantly sexual game means its difficult to stock in stores. Dark Souls is easy to sell in Wal-Mart, Boob-Jiggling Simulator 2016 isn't. Societal double-standards, yes, but I'm just pointing it out for what it is. Its harder to market for, harder to stock and its less profitable. Its surprisingly easy for a localization to make little profit. But little profit is better than no profit, right? Not always, usually with taxes involved. Then there's the matter of explaining this marginal investment to investors. On top of that sometimes its simply more profitable to move the money you spend localizing and dump it into another project that may give it more proportionate yields.

Doesn't really hold water when they're releasing a physical collector's edition of Atelier Escha & Logy exclusive to the NIS America store, a completely different SKU which will never be released in a physical store and it's a Vita title. This isn't a one off either, KOEI TECMO games has released 2 other niche titles (Atelier Shallie and Ar nosurge Plus) this year alone, these are remakes of extremely niche games on the Vita and they're willing to put out boxed collectors editions.

I mean if they're putting the money into localizing Samurai Warriors 4-II (and yes, also with a store exclusive collector's edition) then there's another reason they're not releasing the third title in an established franchise which is an offshoot of their best selling franchise.

That series also, as noted, sells far better in the United States than it does in Japan.

TN and KT could literally just say "Fuck it" to the Japanese edition and just make a Western version and they'd still make money.

And maybe throw a couple of topless nudity since the west is doing and people have been looking for official nudity

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

I will be perfectly honest here ifPlayasia sets a VERY bad example and cause an ip lock on certain games so it is as difficult as it get to buy from them. Illusion and Alicesoft did this to keep the foreigners from taking notice

They have literally no reason to do this, they don't stand to lose money like Illusion did. If anything, the Koei twitter literally points people at playasia so they can import the game. Also, note that playasia doesn't MAKE the games and they're located in Hong Kong. They just are a site that sells imports to people. They have no method of locking the IP of anything.

 

[Leoofmoon]

Sounds to me like a company deciding that the US market for the game is too small to make the localization profitable. Then someone makes a BS excuse so the fans are upset at someone else.

Hmmm... What evidence do you have of this?

OT: This is pretty troubling. Hopefully this doesn't become a trend or anything. Not that I was planning on buying the game myself, I'm sure other people in this region of the world would have liked to buy it.

Too late. There are people who will yell at anything they dislike even if they would never buy it anyway.

 

[mysecondlife]

Publishers refusing chance for profit due to fear of backlash? I feel like I am living in a backwards universe here.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

Publishers refusing chance for profit due to fear of backlash? I feel like I am living in a backwards universe here.

When either the entire universe or your past beliefs seem backwards, it is rational to assume that you were wrong in having those beliefs.


Specifically here, this belies the point of the effect that this backlash actively has in these game developer's choices.

 

[Lightspeaker]

Publishers refusing chance for profit due to fear of backlash? I feel like I am living in a backwards universe here.

Even games companies are made up of people at the end of the day. I can't imagine being sent death threats and hate and being screamed at that you're a "sexist monster" or whatever is much fun.

Can't really blame them for wanting to try to avoid all that by just not releasing it in the west; especially since its very far from clear exactly what they'd have to do to avoid that kind of nigh-inevitable backlash in this day and age.


On a side note it looks like a lot of people over at NeoGAF have bought into the "it must be because of sales or something, it can't possibly be what they specifically said it is, they're lying" thing.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

On a side note it looks like a lot of people over at NeoGAF have bought into the "it must be because of sales or something, it can't possibly be what they specifically said it is, they're lying" thing.

The prior game sold better in the west than in Japan so if the western sales were too bad to make the game viable the Japanese ones ought to be even less viable so if that was the actual reason the game would just not exist at all.

I wonder how they think around this hitch over at neogaf.


(also note that the game is already translated for the Asian release and they could release without an English Dub so most cost issues regarding localization are negligible compared to the profits)

 

[Lightspeaker]

I wonder how they think around this hitch over at neogaf.

As far as I can tell their position appears to be that because there is no active backlash already going on against this as-yet unreleased game then this cannot possibly be a response to it and so its a manufactured controversy to cover for the fact they don't want to release it for financial reasons. And then they start demanding the specific sources of people who are complaining about this game when a handful of people have tried to raise the issue of a possible backlash. Because either people are complaining about this game right now or the possibility of a backlash ever happening doesn't exist.

Just...you know...completely ignoring the mass of criticism previous DoA games have gotten and the fact that things have only got worse over the past couple of years. Apparently preemptive preventative actions don't exist in the world of neogaf users.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

This still doesn't answer the "why is it being made at all in the first place then???" part of the question. Ah damn it, too much logic, need more emotion.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

It seems the import website is now being attacked by journalists and SJWs for continuing to sell the game. Blacklists are being mentioned. This is basically what Koei Tecmo feared actually occurring.

http://blogjob.com/oneangrygamer/2015/11/former-ign-and-gamespot-journalists-threaten-play-asia-for-supporting-dead-or-alive-xtreme-3/


(apologies for dual post x.x)

 

[R.K. Meades]

Somewhere in Hong Kong, Play-Asia employees are shaking their heads at the cretins who have been engaging in a spot of recreational outrage. I can hear them now, muttering "white people..." This could end up being another Protein World situation, as everybody knows that weebs love throwing obscene amounts of money at anime titty.

CAPTCHA: have fun (they don't know how to, friend)

 

[gyrobot_v1legacy]

Somewhere in Hong Kong, Play-Asia employees are shaking their heads at the cretins who have been engaging in a spot of recreational outrage. I can hear them now, muttering "white people..." This could end up being another Protein World situation, as everybody knows that weebs love throwing obscene amounts of money at anime titty.

CAPTCHA: have fun (they don't know how to, friend)

Unfortunately, Japan and us Asians in general doesn't have marketing sense as SJWs has no commitment to supporting the stuff they want to see. They don't want this kind of advertising. Expect a crackdown from Koei Temco Japan coming soon.

This is very unprofessional on Playasia's part despite my support for it.

 

[Namehere]

Somewhere in Hong Kong, Play-Asia employees are shaking their heads at the cretins who have been engaging in a spot of recreational outrage. I can hear them now, muttering "white people..." This could end up being another Protein World situation, as everybody knows that weebs love throwing obscene amounts of money at anime titty.

CAPTCHA: have fun (they don't know how to, friend)

Unfortunately, Japan and us Asians in general doesn't have marketing sense as SJWs has no commitment to supporting the stuff they want to see. They don't want this kind of advertising. Expect a crackdown from Koei Temco Japan coming soon.

This is very unprofessional on Playasia's part despite my support for it.

I'm sorry... are you serious? Do you really think that little of DOA's publisher? Unprofessional? LMAO Koei Temco Japan are gently stirring a simmering caldron of guerilla advertising they couldn't have paid for thanks to this.

Think about it, nobody's talking about DOAX on it's own, but everyone's talking about it. Everyone knows you can get at playasia now. Some people are being driven to "Buy it on principle!" It's hilarious! And all because people who likely wouldn't have bought it in the first place are throwing a fit over its existence and their own no less. This is absurdity of the highest caliber. The game's biggest detractors are also it's biggest sales people and Koei Temco isn't paying them a penny. My hat's off to them. This is a coup of unmitigated proportion. Well played.

 

[sonicneedslovetoo]

My problem with the DOA volleyball games is this: they aren't porn enough for it to be worth getting caught with them, and they aren't really good enough to break through the "I play it for the (reason here)" barrier like say Bayonetta is. So they get caught in this middle-ground where I wouldn't buy it because I can play with one hand, and I wouldn't buy it to play normally either.

I mean I can completely understand why some people play them, but for me it generally just doesn't feel worth it at all.

 

[Here Comes Tomorrow]

My problem with the DOA volleyball games is this: they aren't porn enough for it to be worth getting caught with them, and they aren't really good enough to break through the "I play it for the (reason here)" barrier like say Bayonetta is. So they get caught in this middle-ground where I wouldn't buy it because I can play with one hand, and I wouldn't buy it to play normally either.

I mean I can completely understand why some people play them, but for me it generally just doesn't feel worth it at all.

Honestly, I always found the vollyball in them really good and the friendship mechanic was pretty fun. I sometimes felt genuinly insulted if my partner didn't wear the bikini I just bought for them.

They're really good games for relaxing. Really dissappointed that I'll have to import it.

 

[Erttheking]

I shake my head in disgust at the fact that apparently there were death threats, that's messed up.

I'm not going to hold my tongue about what I feel about the game though. We live in a wonderful world where I can say a game sucks and everyone who disagrees with me can play it anyway.

 

[WindKnight]

It seems the import website is now being attacked by journalists and SJWs for continuing to sell the game. Blacklists are being mentioned. This is basically what Koei Tecmo feared actually occurring.

http://blogjob.com/oneangrygamer/2015/11/former-ign-and-gamespot-journalists-threaten-play-asia-for-supporting-dead-or-alive-xtreme-3/


(apologies for dual post x.x)

Eh, its more to do with them being childish dicks about how their doing it, than that their doing it. The pushing of the SJW boogieman is braindead and stupid.

 

[Here Comes Tomorrow]

Interesting turn to the story.

The Huniepop dev has offered $1m if Tecmo Koei will let him publish DOAX3.

Another dev, Instacodez has offered an additional $2m for the European rights.

 

[VanQ]

http://nichegamer.com/2015/11/no-plans-to-bring-dead-or-alive-xtreme-3-west-developer-koei-tecmo-fears-backlash/

Well it has happened, finally the fears that the hostile press responses has finally made one dev capitulate to their demands by refusing to localize

Sounds to me like a company deciding that the US market for the game is too small to make the localization profitable. Then someone makes a BS excuse so the fans are upset at someone else.

Sorry bud, but in this case the developers themselves already stated their reason on their twitter.

 

[EyeReaper]

Boo. Boo(b) I say! As someone who would've still played the game if all the characters were fully and modestly dressed, I'm incredibly disappointed at you, Koei. Volleyball and faux dating sim mechanics made for a light hearted relaxing fun time, and no other game company (that I know of) can offer me that.

Someone needs to head over to Change.org and get a peTITion going asap. Sure, it won't really do anything, but I need gratification!