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General discussionXSEED Interview + AMA: The challenges of bringing Japanese games to Western markets (114 posts)(114 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted February 24, 2017
It definitely takes more than just a long flight over the ocean.

Japanese games are largely governed by a particular aesthetic approach, while at the same time offering a unique perspective in storytelling and gameplay mechanics. It's what makes them instantly distinguishable from their western counterparts, why we're so fond of them, and why we gathered them together for our current <span class="bold">Kawaii Sale</span>.

But some of these differences can also make their transition to the global market challenging. Ken Barry, executive Vice President of XSEED, is one of the people whose mission is to overcome those obstacles and bring some of the most popular Japanese games to the rest of the world.

What are the main challenges of bringing Japanese games to the Western market?

I would say cultural issues as they pertain to text are still a major challenge, though to varying degrees for each project. As a recent example, our parent company Marvelous put out a game called NetHigh for Vita in Japan not too long ago where the gameplay focused on solving puzzles a la the Ace Attorney games, but instead of solving cases in a courtroom you’re trying to reveal the true identity of people on the internet. Our hopes of being able to localize it were quickly dashed once we realized that most of the puzzles were based on Japanese puns and wordplay using written kanji characters which often have multiple meanings. Seeing that it also had a lot of text displaying from top to bottom rather than our way of reading from left to right sealed its fate of definitely not coming to the West.

The rest of the world seems much more receptive to everything Japanese these days but there are still things keeping the markets apart. What are those differences, in your experience?

I know this is something that’s been examined before, but the Japanese culture is much more tolerant of sexuality while graphic depictions of violence are frowned upon, whereas here in the US we are very tolerant of violence but much more conservative when it comes to issues concerning sex. This is a huge fundamental difference in the videogames being created in Japan, and their culture also having an affinity for cute and innocent-looking things and then often combining that together with sexuality can be quite shocking at times, resulting in such things as Hello Kitty sex toys.

Which are the necessary adjustments that you usually have to make for the jump to be as smooth as possible (subtitles, game names, dubbing, etc.)?

There is no single element, you have to factor all things and consider how best to immerse the player in the world created by the original developers that happen to be of another culture. For example, all our Senran Kagura games have only the Japanese voices in them because not only were we extremely lucky to get them, but also because we weren’t quite sure how the sexual nature of the content would be received in the West when first bringing over the series years ago. Seeing something lewd happening onscreen and hearing a girl say something in a different language while the sub-title “Don’t touch me like that” appears is very different from hearing a girl in English verbally expressing her objections.

Are there any kinds of games (due to genre of theme) that you can't really see making that jump in the foreseeable future?

We always thought the “otome” genre geared toward female players that often involves developing a romantic relationship with one of the many male characters would be difficult, but we’re not quite so sure anymore. We continue to get fan requests for this kind of game, so it’s one that we wouldn’t mind testing out in the future at some point to see if there really is a market for it or not.

Can you share with us a story about a game that you handled and things took an unexpected turn along the way?

Well, we published a cute game on 3DS a while ago called Lord of Magna: Maiden Heaven that was by the producer of the Story of Seasons series and being made by the Rune Factory developers, and sure enough playing the first few hours it was just as cute and adorable as we had expected it to be given the pedigree. So I start pitching it to all our retail partners as our next family-friendly 3DS title because I’m expecting an ESRB rating of Everyone 10+, only to find out months into the project from our localization producer that there’s a totally gratuitous scene at a hot spring where the lead character, who had been a very nice and caring guy with nothing but love and respect for all the girls working at his inn until then, somehow gets convinced by his buddy to go sneak a peek at the girls as they bathe. This results in a completely out of place 30-second animated cutscene featuring the girls in the hot springs together, and we were lucky to get away with a Teen rating. Needless to say I had to go back and revise my sales pitch on the title to more of a “coming of age” type of story.

--AMA coming up!--
But that's not all! If you're looking to learn more about the intricacies involved in this process, make sure to tune in today, Friday, at 6PM UTC. We're holding an AskMeAnything session with XSEED's Localization Producer, Tom Lipshultz, right here on the forum!
Post edited February 25, 2017 by maladr0Id
Posted February 24, 2017
Hello, Tom. Thanks for taking the time out for the AMA. I don't frequent the forums but I got wind you were doing an AMA here so I had to come have a looksee.

1) It's been some months after the release of Trails of Cold Steel 2, and Trails in the Sky 3rd is coming up in a few. What's the general outlook for the future of the Trails series in the west? Is it good? Bad? Can't say?

2) What's status of Sky 3rd, now that we're talking about it? Close to release yet? A few months off? Eager to play it!

3) What was the initial reaction among XSeed's staff at seeing Rean's CS3 design for the first time?

4) Can you say anything else about CS3, even if it's just your general thoughts? Full of dread, anticipating the size of the script? Excited?

5) Why is Duvalie the best girl? Also, her English voice is fantastic. I can still hear her "Get back here, daaaammiiitt!" ringing in my ears.


Side note: I really wish Ys VIII could have XSeed's anti-censorship, "convey the tone/message when translating" touches for localization. I love that about XSeed. I don't really care much for dual audio, once everything is properly conveyed. With NISA handling it, giving how I've been burned by NISA before... it's up in the air and I can't be sure. It's weighing on my heart.
Posted February 24, 2017
Hmm, I wanted to ask about senran kagura too, oh well too late now. I know you can't be specific about the why not and stuff, but I'm glad to hear that we shouldn't get our hopes up. Rather than 'we're trying to get it on gog, but there are some technical issues'.

That brings me to a question of mine: I see a lot of japanese/anime games arriving on gog's competitor. In comparison, gog's share of the japanese market is rather small. My gut feeling tells me that the japanese market is scared of the DRM-Free approach. Embracing DRM even (like square-enix, namco-bandai etc). My question is: working with the japanese market, do you know why they seem to be so reluctant to the DRM free approach? Or is it just my illusion?

My second question: Are we going to be seeing (a lot) more japanese games on GOG this year?
Post edited February 24, 2017 by Senteria
Posted February 24, 2017
Good read! Thank you GOG and XSEED!
Posted February 24, 2017
tell me what does xseed and marvelous in general think of stardew valley? has anyone there given it a go yet?
I haven't personally, but I know at least one person in the office has played it and really enjoyed it.
and any word on if a Bokujō Monogatari game or rune factory is coming out for pc
We can only hope! That would be really awesome, and if a PC version of any title from either of those series were to be developed, I think I can say with confidence that we would love to be a part of it.
Are there any kinds of games (due to genre of theme) that you can't really see making that jump in the foreseeable future?
Wow, that was quite the post! I'm not really sure I understand your question, though -- what "jump" are you referring to? The jump from a specialized in-group to a more outward, worldly audience? If so, then I suppose there are -- there are a lot of very fetishized games out there, and some are just so specific and so taboo that I doubt we'll ever see them make a Western debut... through official means, anyway.

The fans tend to find a way, however. If they want to see something in English badly enough, and no publisher will take up the charge, then there's no doubt in my mind the fans will take matters into their own hands and make it happen themselves. Because no matter how specialized a niche may be, there will always be people who favor that niche in every corner of the world.
I'd like an answer directly from Tom if needed. I still don't believe this argument when NISA and Aksys both got the JP voices so easily. Unless XSEED believed they could had gotten Japanese voices for Ys VIII. But seriously I have so really high doubt about that, hence why I'm asking. I used to give XSEED the benefit of the doubt, but with 2 companies getting JP voices in a row, I'm starting to doubt a lot.
Falcom may have contracted out the voices for those games with worldwide distribution in mind -- they are the two most recent releases in their catalogue, after all.

I couldn't really say how Aksys and NISA got the rights to use the Japanese voices in those titles, however. All I know is, we've tried in the past with all of our Falcom titles, and we've never succeeded, despite our best efforts.
Could we get any news updates about Ys VIII, or if Falcom is interested in future PC development more alongside console releases with their successes on digital platforms? Thanks! :)
Falcom began life as a PC developer, and has always had ties with PC. But the PC market in Japan started to dry up about a decade ago, which is why Falcom made the switch over to PSP and, eventually, other Sony platforms. I think the various Western PC releases of their titles have seen enough success, though, that it's caught their attention, so I suspect PC ports of Falcom titles moving forward may be more likely to happen as a result.
1) It's been some months after the release of Trails of Cold Steel 2, and Trails in the Sky 3rd is coming up in a few. What's the general outlook for the future of the Trails series in the west? Is it good? Bad? Can't say?
Well, I think we've said before that Trails FC on PC saw a lot more success in just its first week than we had anticipated, proving to us that the PC market for the Trails series is red hot. How that will translate to the future of the series, I couldn't say, but suffice it to say, it definitely caught our attention!
2) What's status of Sky 3rd, now that we're talking about it? Close to release yet? A few months off? Eager to play it!
It's still on track for spring 2017, and is progressing nicely. If you keep an eye on the Trails series Facebook page, Brittany frequently updates it with the game's current status: https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=the%20legend%20of%20heroes%3A%20trails%20series%20-%20xseed%20games

She should be updating people with more specific details on March 10th.

3) What was the initial reaction among XSeed's staff at seeing Rean's CS3 design for the first time?
The general consensus is "I lost consciousness," for whatever reason. Not sure what that means...?

Brittany happened to be in Japan for the Tokyo Game Show when CS3 was unveiled, though, and she was one of the first people to get the clear file that revealed Rean's new design. I think she was one of the first to post it online, too! So she's excited.
4) Can you say anything else about CS3, even if it's just your general thoughts? Full of dread, anticipating the size of the script? Excited?
Game's not even out yet in Japan, so we're trying NOT to think about it just yet. ;)

5) Why is Duvalie the best girl? Also, her English voice is fantastic. I can still hear her "Get back here, daaaammiiitt!" ringing in my ears.
Hmmm... Maybe because her name is cool? Because really, "Duvalie" is an awesome name.
Posted February 24, 2017
Over the years we've seen some games XSEED published end up on PC by other publishers. Games like Way of the Samurai 4, Killer is Dead, EDF and Onechanbara. Can you tell us how that works?
Are Marvelous and XSEED separate companies? I see they have published games like Half-Minute Hero on PC What's up with that?
Love you guys. Keep up the excellent work.
Posted February 24, 2017
I have a few questions for Tom.

1) Would you ever consider doing physical PC copies of your games? While GOG is great in the sense that you can print physical copies of PC games, there are people like me who would rather support official DRM free hardcopy releases of your games. Maybe make a standard edition Amazon exclusive with a bundled Steam code like MangaGamer do? I acknowledge that PC gaming is cheaper due to digital however there are still gamers that prefer physical PC media.

2) With regards to Net High, why did you guys wait for so long to tell us it won't be coming? Because of this people have been led on thinking there's still a chance of it coming West, only to be disappointed more than a year later. I anticipated this would be a challenge fot anyone to localise, but I'm still disappointed. I hate it when pubs do this, not just you guys. And is it likely to be picked up by anyone else?

3) Would you ever consider porting a previously console-exclusive game for a PC-only release in the West? An example of this could be porting Fate/Extra CCC for an official English release in the West, whereas in Japan it was a PSP exclusive.

Thank you, and have a nice day! Keep being awesome ^^
Posted February 24, 2017
Oh man, Killer Is Dead. I always wanted to play that game. Forgot it even existed -- kinda got lost in the noise of all the morons complaining about how sexist it supposedly was. Or wasn't.
Posted February 24, 2017
How much is sensitive content an issue when localizing games or selecting games to localize?

I'm asking because it's a matter that's extremely important to me. Personally, I strongly despite when a culture prevents creative freedom from fully blooming in any art form, so seeing direct or indirect censorship happen so frequently in the video games industry is quite disheartening to me.
Posted February 24, 2017
II think alot of the translation effort you guys are doing is great especially trails in the sky games wich i imagine was a huge effort.
But there is one question that has always bugged me.
Are you guys planning to make your own game sometime?
Maybe something inspired by japanese games?

Also, give us a hint about upcoming titles, maybe a secret suprise one :p
Post edited February 24, 2017 by Lodium
Posted February 24, 2017
high rated

That brings me to a question of mine: I see a lot of japanese/anime games arriving on gog's competitor. In comparison, gog's share of the japanese market is rather small. My gut feeling tells me that the japanese market is scared of the DRM-Free approach. Embracing DRM even (like square-enix, namco-bandai etc). My question is: working with the japanese market, do you know why they seem to be so reluctant to the DRM free approach? Or is it just my illusion?
No, that's a very astute observation. I think as with some Western developers, it's fear of piracy that makes developers hesitant to support DRM-free gaming -- especially overseas DRM-free gaming, since it's much harder to keep tabs on pirate activities from the other side of the world.

The way I see it, though, piracy is going to happen, no matter what. DRM-free or DRM-laden, pirates sadly always find a way to distribute your game. You can slow them down, but you can never really stop them.

My second question: Are we going to be seeing (a lot) more japanese games on GOG this year?
I dunno about A LOT, but... you might. You'll have to wait and see! ;)

Over the years we've seen some games XSEED published end up on PC by other publishers. Games like Way of the Samurai 4, Killer is Dead, EDF and Onechanbara. Can you tell us how that works?
Are Marvelous and XSEED separate companies? I see they have published games like Half-Minute Hero on PC What's up with that?
Marvelous Japan and Marvelous USA ( = XSEED = us) are separate, but connected, entities. Marvelous Japan has given us a pretty high degree of autonomy, so we and they operate completely independently of one another, but we each benefit from what the other does in some way. Again, as a localization producer, I'm not privy to the nitty-gritty details here -- I just work on text all day and let Ken and the other senior staffers handle the numbers and such. ;)

Regarding our games being published on PC by other publishers, it's primarily been the developers (or their overseas branches) that have published those titles on PC, because ultimately, those are still their games, not ours, so it's entirely their call.

1) Would you ever consider doing physical PC copies of your games? While GOG is great in the sense that you can print physical copies of PC games, there are people like me who would rather support official DRM free hardcopy releases of your games. Maybe make a standard edition Amazon exclusive with a bundled Steam code like MangaGamer do? I acknowledge that PC gaming is cheaper due to digital however there are still gamers that prefer physical PC media.
I'd love to do physical copies of our PC games at some point, but the right opportunity to do so hasn't come up yet. Maybe one day, though!

2) With regards to Net High, why did you guys wait for so long to tell us it won't be coming? Because of this people have been led on thinking there's still a chance of it coming West, only to be disappointed more than a year later. I anticipated this would be a challenge fot anyone to localise, but I'm still disappointed. I hate it when pubs do this, not just you guys. And is it likely to be picked up by anyone else?
It's always a bit awkward to "de-announce" a game -- like, one doesn't usually make an official statement that something *isn't* happening, right? It would be pretty hard to justify, from a PR perspective, taking time out to talk about what you *aren't* doing when you should instead be focused on talking about what you *are* doing.

I get where you're coming from, though, and I wish there were more of a precedent for doing that sort of thing.

As for whether or not anyone else will pick up Net High... I mean, we can't really answer that! That would be up to other people. As Ken noted, though, the game does not lend itself to easy localization, so it doesn't seem likely -- but you never know!

3) Would you ever consider porting a previously console-exclusive game for a PC-only release in the West? An example of this could be porting Fate/Extra CCC for an official English release in the West, whereas in Japan it was a PSP exclusive.
I can't speak to Fate/Extra CCC specifically, but yes, I think it's entirely feasible to port a previously console-exclusive game for a PC release in the West. We've brainstormed that sort of thing before, and would happily pursue it if the right opportunity came along.

* * *

OK, so it's lunchtime now, and I've got a pizza waiting for me in the other room, so I'm going to go AFK for a bit. I think this is a good time to say "no more questions," too -- I mean, you gotta call it sometime, right? -- though if there are any pending questions that have been asked since my last posting, I'll try to address them after lunch before leaving this topic.

Hope my answers were illuminating, and thanks for the support, everyone!

-Tom
Post edited February 24, 2017 by wyrdwad
Posted February 24, 2017
Thanks for the explanations, man! :)
Posted February 24, 2017
Hi Tom,

I don't have any questions (although... who should we be nagging for SENRAN KAGURA SHINOVI VERSUS? It looks nice but I don't buy Steam games anymore...) and I just wanted to thank you for being here, taking time for us and I want to thank you for releasing your games here! :)

And enjoy your pizza!! :-P
Post edited February 24, 2017 by Experiment513
Posted February 24, 2017
Appreciate the responses, Tom. XSEED kicks ass.

Edit: And actually, this inspired me to finally buy Little King's Story. Been meaning to do that since Durante fixed it up; this seemed like the right opportunity. Now I've got all of XSEED's GOG releases.
Post edited February 24, 2017 by Chacranajxy
Posted February 24, 2017
Aw, I'm late.

Disappointed that Senran games don't seem to be coming to GOG. I REALLY hope that's not a problem on GOG's end.
Also I hope that despite Senran games not getting English dubs initially, that we may someday see them get English dubs. Funimation managed it with the anime.
Posted February 24, 2017
high rated
Back to address the last few questions I missed before lunch!

How much is sensitive content an issue when localizing games or selecting games to localize?

I'm asking because it's a matter that's extremely important to me. Personally, I strongly despite when a culture prevents creative freedom from fully blooming in any art form, so seeing direct or indirect censorship happen so frequently in the video games industry is quite disheartening to me.
I completely understand, and 100% agree with you. Freedom of artistic expression has been one of the things that I've actively fought for since I first got my job here at XSEED a little under seven years ago, and it continues to be something I ardently defend.

However, that only applies to the first part of your question: "when localizing games." When selecting games to localize, I think it's important to carefully consider issues like this, and ask yourself, "Is this something I'm comfortable putting my name on?" If the answer is no, then you should probably let someone else localize the game. If the answer is yes, then you should make sure to localize every part of it as accurately to the original Japanese as possible, even if some part of it bothers you or seems at risk of bothering others.

That's the way I see it, anyway. This is a pretty heated topic throughout the industry as a whole right now, and our office is no exception to that -- there are people of all different persuasions among us, and discussions on this matter have certainly come up on more than one occasion. I could talk at length about this, but suffice it to say, your concerns are totally valid, and the subject of those concerns is absolutely being carefully considered with every new title we release.
Are you guys planning to make your own game sometime?
Maybe something inspired by japanese games?
We have talked about it. And like pretty much everyone else in the industry, we *all* have ideas -- and some pretty darned good ideas, in some cases! As well as some pretty darned stupid ideas, mostly in my case. ;)

Now that we've dipped our toes in the indie gaming scene with titles like Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, Exile's End, Touhou: Scarlet Curiosity, and -- of course -- the original indie PC release of Corpse Party, it feels like the time might be right for us to take the next logical step by not just publishing an indie PC title, but developing one ourselves, too. The biggest problem is simply... time! We're all really busy, and making a game takes many long hours of coordinated dedication.

If we should ever find the time to spare, though, we might just give this a shot one day! Fingers crossed, I guess?
Also, give us a hint about upcoming titles, maybe a secret suprise one :p
What? How did you find out about Grave of the Fireflies Online?!

...I-I mean... sorry, we have nothing to announce at this time. ;)

And that's it, guys -- I've gotta get back to work! But it's been a pleasure answering your questions, and I hope you were able to glean something from my rambles.

Take care, and thanks -- once again -- for all the support!

-Tom
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Community
General discussionXSEED Interview + AMA: The challenges of bringing Japanese games to Western markets (114 posts)(114 posts)
(114 posts)