DOAX3 officially not being localized for the west

[BloatedGuppy]

SJWs and new feminism have, as they said on their own Facebook and Twitter, essentially put a stop to that because the risks from the shitstorms SJWs and new feminism kick up would decimate them and thus they won't do it.

Oh the poor wub wubs. My heart bleeds for them. The "SJWs" and "new feminism" really did a number on shit like Hatred and GTA, so I can totally understand their apprehension.

 

[I can't enter my old name]

SJWs and new feminism have, as they said on their own Facebook and Twitter, essentially put a stop to that because the risks from the shitstorms SJWs and new feminism kick up would decimate them and thus they won't do it.

So, uhh, how exactly would new feminism and SJWs decimate a game developer? With scathing critiques of their portrayal of women? With accusations of sexism? I mean, is this supposed to be the first victim of new feminism's decimation machine, because it seems like they'd be the first to actually experience anything other than reviewer criticisms, some twitter nonsense, and Overlady Sarkeesian using it as an example of sexism in one of her videos.

It changes perceptions of what quality video games are. If you think a game with sexist undertones are better without, then, there you go. A game considered sexist is a condemnation of its moral value, and it is also causes pressure on individuals not to support a game.

Game journalists don't outright attack games and call them sexist, they say something like "The depiction of women in this game makes me feel uncomfortable. Women in games have frequently marginalized in society, and video games are no different." This statement implies the portrayal of this video game is related to societal flaws. It is leading that one ought not support this video game's content, because it furthers society's marginalization of women, a statement which I believe is unconvincing.

The fact that Tecmo Koei has pulled localization of DOA for the increase of progressive video game activism is likely a contributing reason, it may not be the sole reason but nevertheless has contributed in the decision. It is fair to criticize progressives in this case, because they continue spreading negative perceptions towards games like these. They may have believed that an overseas release would have created lots of articles attacking DOA and a large backlash within the gaming community, making the brand one of those prime examples of sexist games to people who otherwise would have not cared if they hadn't been whipped into a frenzy by these websites. Of course, this brand will be dragged through the mud as a result.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Yes how dare those journalists say that they don't like the depiction of women in some video games.

And risk the marginalization of titty volleyball games? Where's the justice in that? Fire up your activist heart, for the protection of titty volleyball games everywhere.

First they came for our titty volleyball games, and I said nothing, because I did not play titty volleyball games! Well they didn't come for them specifically in this case, they just said mean things about them. Well, not really, but there was a consideration that they MIGHT say something mean about them, so it was best to just not make it. Well, that AND to make passive aggressive comments about it on social media, to relocate blame. And the titty volleyball game didn't sell very well either but you're not going to have your community manager say THAT.

But yeah I said nothing, and then eventually they came for me. They in this case being...Play Asia? They won't be releasing me to a NA audience, people will have to go online to buy me, which in today's day and age is a huge inconvenience. Jesus metaphors are hard. Just support titty volleyball games it's important because otherwise everything will be terrible*.


*everything will be exactly the same

 

[I can't enter my old name]

It changes perceptions of what quality video games are. If you think a game with sexist undertones are better without, then, there you go. A game considered sexist is a condemnation of its moral value, and it is also causes pressure on individuals not to support a game.

Game journalists don't outright attack games and call them sexist, they say something like "The depiction of women in this game makes me feel uncomfortable. Women in games have frequently marginalized in society, and video games are no different." This statement implies the portrayal of this video game is related to societal flaws. It is leading that one ought not support this video game's content, because it furthers society's marginalization of women, a statement which I believe is unconvincing.

Yes how dare those journalists say that they don't like the depiction of women in some video games. They should hold their damn tongue lest they pressure individuals to not support a game, which more often than not is given a decent score regardless.

In my opinion they should not be saying these misleading things in the first place. If we can't establish any evidence of harm, what is the point in trying to do so with rhetoric? Game journalists don't call out sexism because it's fun, but because they have strong beliefs and want other people to support them. Consequently, we have people who are utterly convinced there is a huge sexism problem in gaming based on the moral compass of a few voices. Unfortunately, there is not much reason to be had with this position.

The fact that Tecmo Koei has pulled localization of DOA for the increase of progressive video game activism is likely a contributing reason, it may not be the sole reason but nevertheless has contributed in the decision. It is fair to criticize progressives in this case, because they continue spreading negative perceptions towards games like these. They may have believed that an overseas release would have created lots of articles attacking DOA and a large backlash within the gaming community, making the brand one of those prime examples of sexist games to people who otherwise would not care if they hadn't been whipped into a frenzy by these websites. Of course, this brand will be dragged through the mud as a result.

The fact that Tecmo Koei pulled localization for the increase in progressive video game activism shows that their a company run by utter cowards who can't handle their game being criticized. Regardless of that, though, I'd hardly call a company not localizing an incredibly underperforming title to be the decimation of said company, nor is the speculation that feminists would kick up a large backlash and frenzy to drag the entire company through the mud over the game.

I would hate if my game was paraded as sexist trite, and every major gaming website or forum had a discussion about its depiction of women being sexist. Then there is the fact that, I would be misrepresented by the media, which must feel awful. Like I said, it's not the sole reason, but these kind of attitudes make us look unfriendly to them.

 

[NiPah]

You know, wouldn't the more likely reason be that this game only sold 245k worldwide?

Given their other current prereleases and past history, doubtful.
The afraid of failure just doesn't hold water given the evidence, the fact that they've outright stated the reason being they're afraid of bad PR points to this being the reason.

 

[nomotog_v1legacy]

I don't believe them. I'm calling it now, they're pulling the ol' Rupert Murdoch page 3 stunt.

"Political activists have taken this thing from you, look at it, don't you want it? Well you can't have it, because of them."

A short while later

"It's back people, they tried to take it from you and they failed, now buying our pornography is a form of political protest. BUY IT NOW, HAVE YOUR VOICE HEARD, FOR ONLY $59.99.

I kind of wonder about this aspect. Sure is is cynical as duck, but I who isn't guilty of buying a product more for what it represents then what it is. Like, I have bought games because I really like the developer and wanted to support them or because I am just happy people are making horror games again. Most of the time they are also good games, but that wasn't the entire reason.

 

[I can't enter my old name]

So you think a reviewer shouldn't speak about the things they dislike in a video game if they're not capable of establishing some sort of evidence of harm? Is their discomfort not evidence of some small degree of harm, or does there need to be some sort of study done (that can be immediately disregarded by people who want to pretend everything's fine) that shows that sexism still exists?

It all depends on the content. Some articles are really just trying to get people angry at a moral transgression. Some articles are just one line about sexualized women, not much to say there. I would prefer if they were insightful, introspective, and polite; I don't know if there are lots of them, but none come to mind. I want these critiques to be as sound as possible, and not trying to imply the people who are defending these games are perverts, or are supporting sexism in the vaguest way possible. I don't want them fueling people's progressive outrage.

I imagine most people would hate for their creation to be paraded as anything less than a great creation, but the only control we have over how people respond to our creations is in the act of creating. And I'm just going to disagree with this idea of misrepresentation because calling something sexist is only a misrepresentation if there's actually been some misrepresentation. Disagreeing with them and considering it not sexist does not make their claims misrepresentation.

Well, we all have different opinions on what is sexist. But you are right. As long as journalists don't make a mountain out of a molehill, then it's fair critique. However, I really don't think it should be a negative term like "sexist" or "problematic", as really those words are dysphemisms and, in my opinion sound like a harsh attack.

If Team Ninja made DAOX3 with playable men and body shapes of all type, there would still be people complaining about the voyeuristic nature of this game. The good news is that there would be less outrage it would be easier to defend, but some people do not like the idea of women on display. Would you consider this adequate enough to be not sexist? Personally I saw nothing worth calling this series sexist.

 

[deadish]

I never thought I would ever see "US market" and "too small" in the same sentence.

The US market is enormous. The US market for this title is extremely small.

Frankly the global market for the title is so small it's a wonder they're bothering to make one at all. Games that sell ten to twenty times as many copies are viewed as crashing disappointments.

So "extremely small" that they made a movie banking on it's name?

 

[Carceri]

I never thought I would ever see "US market" and "too small" in the same sentence.

The US market is enormous. The US market for this title is extremely small.

Frankly the global market for the title is so small it's a wonder they're bothering to make one at all. Games that sell ten to twenty times as many copies are viewed as crashing disappointments.

So "extremely small" that they made a movie banking on it's name?

I just want to point out that in the US market the movie bombed.
In the US it grossed $480,813 in 505 theaters over 21 days.

 

[CrystalShadow]

I highly doubt the potential backlash from people who would get their balls in a twist over this are not the reason the game is coming to the West. From what I've seen of companies who mostly work in Japan, they really don't care at all what people think about them in the west. Just look at the ongoing Techmo Koei's PC ports, the forums are flooded with people complaining and they really don't seem to care at all.

Like others have said, it's most likely a money thing. They don't think that the cost of localizing, which most likely would have to include a dub, will profit them enough. I mean think about, since when has Japan cared about what people in the West think about them?

I wouldn't go so far as to say they don't care at all.
Some of them clearly do...

See if you can find some of the discussions that were held in Japan regarding the legal status of Lolicon.
Or, their apparent reasoning for banning the commercial production of actual child pornography.
... Something they only did in 1998 by the way...

You'll almost certainly run into a lot of stuff that relates to how the rest of the world thinks of Japan.
Kinda disturbing really, if you think about it...
That their justification for banning child pornography may not have been 'this is wrong', but 'the rest of the world thinks we are weird and creepy.'

Yeah...

They might not care that much, but I wouldn't go so far as to say they don't care at all...

 

[Ragsnstitches]

I never thought I would ever see "US market" and "too small" in the same sentence.

The US market is enormous. The US market for this title is extremely small.

Frankly the global market for the title is so small it's a wonder they're bothering to make one at all. Games that sell ten to twenty times as many copies are viewed as crashing disappointments.

So "extremely small" that they made a movie banking on it's name?

Bloodrayne and Postal both got movies (Uwe Bol says hi). That's not a barometer of quality or popularity.

They are just easily exploited IPs that were sold to sutdios for peanuts. It also bombed miserably as both a commercial and critical failure, something it shares in common with DOAX2 funnily enough.

So yeah, extremely small would be what I'd say too. Niche is the key word. Niche can work though, but obviously Play Asia and Koei Tecmo don't think it's viable.

 

[deadish]

I never thought I would ever see "US market" and "too small" in the same sentence.

The US market is enormous. The US market for this title is extremely small.

Frankly the global market for the title is so small it's a wonder they're bothering to make one at all. Games that sell ten to twenty times as many copies are viewed as crashing disappointments.

So "extremely small" that they made a movie banking on it's name?

I just want to point out that in the US market the movie bombed.
In the US it grossed $480,813 in 505 theaters over 21 days.

I would like to point out the fact that they even bother to make a movie out of it ...

 

[Defective_Detective]

What cynical marketing rubbish. They snatched "SJW" as a buzzword from the Twittersphere, and are trotting it out as a cynical, nonsense excuse.

They don't want to front the (pretty hefty) cost of localizing a game that will have a niche American audience. These kinds of decisions are something which they and other Japanese developers have chosen to take in the past. It's a pretty critical decision to make when the costs of over-reaching into the international market can eat into the "safer" and less risky gains to be had in Japanese domestic market.

Also, not being "localized" doesn't mean there isn't an international release. There will be one, but it'll have subtitles.

By not localizing, they just didn't want to bother re-scripting for better english language text, provide english voice work or edit strange Japanese cultural references. And that's because all of that costs a significant amount of money.

This isn't "SJW" censorship. This is a corporation doing what a corporation is incentivized to do. Make money. And they're taking advantage of a feminist/anti-feminist culture clash as an excuse so it doesn't hit their PR with the US fans.

 

[Superbeast]

This might not have anything to do with "SJWs" at all.

https://twitter.com/koeitecmoeurope/status/669507094584950784

We said the CM was honest to confirm that isn't coming to the west.We don't approve that he put the blame on anyone.

Given the official facebook was used as proof SJWs were behind the lack of localisation, I assume the official Twitter is valid proof that said facebook statement does not have full company backing?

++EDIT++

Why are there 3 threads on this? Given this Twitter announcement is quite important I feel it needs to be put in each thread, but at the same time it feels like I'm spamming.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

I would like to point out the fact that they even bother to make a movie out of it ...

Generally speaking, deadish, people use "sales" as a metric to gauge market size, not "did it get a movie made out of it".

And since the movie was a bomb too, you pointing out its existence only further establishes the point that hardly anyone gives a shit about this franchise. In fact, I'd wager that none of the people presently wringing their hands over it not coming west give a shit about it either, save as ammunition in their ongoing crusade against the SJWs infidels.

This might not have anything to do with "SJWs" at all.

https://twitter.com/koeitecmoeurope/status/669507094584950784

We said the CM was honest to confirm that isn't coming to the west.We don't approve that he put the blame on anyone.

Unfortunately no one is going to care. The truth of the allegation was never important, simply that it was made.

 

[RJ 17]

Soooo yeah, anyone know a good site to import games from? I've never done it before.