I know what goes into translating games. I've never done it personally, but I've followed many projects. I do have to say even though this is true it isn't like there is a ton of localization going into the game and for ex in gds many of the genres and types seem to be a direct carry over. It isn't like mother 3 where there is a ton of pop culture references and no direct English translation. Heck, pss sorta just drops you in the game and doesnt say anything Anyways seems like KS has been getting a lot of fb questions and made updates saying new games are comin but be patient yatta yatta. They also said the jp games will take a long time to translate.
They also are probably pretty happy to have a steady stream of Japanese games and then have them come out in English with a delay. If they accelerated the localization process, they might get a couple of games out sooner but they wouldn't be able to maintain that higher rate of games, it's not clear there is a big benefit for them.
They might be happy, but I think a lot of english fans are getting frustrated with the way they conduct business. It is pretty bad when you have 357 likes on your FB page and the majority of the wall is asking why they aren't localizing games faster. Here is one there are a lot more posts like that. I think this next FB post sums up how I feel about KS. while i do not agree w/ the vulgarity of the post, them not telling us about why the games take such a long delay is sort of frustrating.
It is true that it matters what the vocal minority thinks, even though they are only a very small number compared to their total customers. The posters come across like spoiled children, to me. But spoiled children still matter. One could say we have an entire economy full of spoiled children. KS will probably be wise to adjust their plans as a result of their unexpected popularity and success in the US market. It is a problem they should be happy to have, but I agree it requires action. Having native English speakers who understand the nuances of communication and the expectations of the US market, handle their English language outreach, would probably be a prudent move, as your quote suggests.
They are acting like spoiled children. However, for such a big following and how big FB is, I find it hard to believe that only 357 have liked their page. I believe their twitter page has a rather low following, too. So to me, it seems like people who really enjoy their games will gander and follow them. I have them set up on my iPhone's RSS feed, so yeah. While this is all relevant and not a direct reflection on their business, it still seems odd that KS is not offering a reason why it takes so long and not addressing many of the fans questions. The games do not have a deep story-line and there is not that much localization needed. Even though that post was vulgar and over-aggressive, it has a point. If you look at KS response to everyone on that page it is basically like take what you can get. I don't know if this is due to the english-barrier or what? But some answers would be nice. The developers' keep everything so hush-hush. I can't help but wonder if jp customer service is like this?
It does not seem odd to me. If a US company suddenly and unexpectedly had great success in the Japanese or Korean market, I think it is equally likely that they would not understand those customers or their expectations very well. I think the cultures are very different. Well, isn't that common sense? People shouldn't take what they can't get. I think you are reading much more into it than is there. A factual statement that it is what it is, is not the same as a statement about what people should expect. Call it a language barrier, or more likely a cultural difference, but I think the nuances that you are inferring are not the ones they intend to convey.
It is odd to me, but maybe it is different because of my cultural background. Many people in Asia learn english as their second language. While many things need to be 'localized,' I don't think the KS have a ton of stuff that is different. So in that instance I believe it is easier for games to be translated for America. And what expectations are different from jp and eng? lol, all both sides want is more games. it is just a difference of who is getting them. I still to this day do not know why it took Nexon such a long time to bring over a lot of the games to the US that they did. Even to this day, games like Crazy Arcade/Tetris/Hidden catch have never been localized, and really, aall those needed were an American login screen. From a marketing stand-point no. The WWW has changed a lot and it has become a lot easier to communicate, spread the word and make the whole gaming process more 'inclusive.' I'm just saying that small companies like Mophie do an awesome job in communicating with their customer base via the web. Even TA is a product of this process. Many people come here, talk about the games they like, sometimes the developers chime in, sometimes they don't, but the whole premise is about upcoming games and a buzz. It just seems like KS made that post 2 days prior to releasing the game and was like here. I just don't understand the premise of having FB/Twitter if they are going to talk to their customers like that. That is why I said maybe it is possibly a language barrier, but maybe not.
People are just impatient, relax people. It's just a game. And there are plenty of other games to play. I still say 3 months is nothing, because it isn't. I mean so what they release a lot more games in japan than here. They are a japanese company. It's like all of the American game dev companies, where do you think they almost always release first?
I can't believe people are complaining about waiting 3 months for a new KS game. You're kidding me right? I really hope you guys didn't wait for Duke Nukem because I think your heads would have exploded by now. Do you guys even play the other KS games? Because if you have, you will know that you will be hooked for weeks, if not months! Kairosoft also likely releases games in Japan first to see which games get a pop and which games were a flop. So please, just relax everybody. Let Kairosoft do their part so that you enjoy doing your part, playing.
Well said crex, kairosoft games are amazing I still play game dev now after getting it months ago. If they released them any quicker it wouldn't give people much chance to play the previous game.
Mm-hmm, I think it's a pretty safe bet that the Japanese market tends to provide more sales than the English-language one does. Another thing about KS's games is that there are a lot that are very similar, almost bordering on clones, and the plan appears to be that the English-language market will receive the most distinct ones. It's irritating seeing morlocks going on about how they have issues with the way KS operates as a company. What, you mean the way they operate entirely professionally? Their primary focus as a business is to make money, and if that is best served by not attempting to release a new translated game every month, so be it. They're not insulting you, or kicking your dog. If they tell you to be patient, enjoy the games you have now (one of which only just came out), and look forward to the next release, well, that's just common sense, isn't it? In your position as consumer, you're not entitled to - and the developers are not obligated to give - any explanation or information regarding their development process or release schedule; if they tell you anything, that's a bonus. If you get nothing at all, that doesn't mean they're being unprofessional. The idea that they'd "hire more translators" and create an unnecessary and pointless expense for themselves just because you demand instant gratification and want to get the game a couple of weeks sooner is laughable. You'll buy the game anyway when it comes out, and you know it.
I don't think people feel like they are entitled to new games all of the time. They are just mad (and understandably so) at how Kairosoft's PR is so spotty and blunt. They don't really tell you anything, and when they do it can certainly come off as rude or abrasive.
This. My comments to KS were deleted on their fb page. I wrote a comment asking when they are planning to release their next game and which one. I also asked under one of their status updates if they could provide us with a reason why jp games are coming out a lot faster than English ones. This was relevant to their status update, as it said expect English games to take longer to translate. I wasn't rude or aggressive in any way. People are acting like the 3 month wait time is too long, IMO it is when jp is getting two releases in that time period. It is all relevant to their jp release dates, not pertaining to the actual time frame it actually takes. And companies who have strong marketing abilities never withhold dates or quarters. Imagine if square enix was short and blunt with their release dates and just had the attitude hey, it'll come when it comes. The fans of this company would be disheartened and sad.
Well For those that don't like to wait, many of their games (including game dev story 1 & 2) can be downloaded for free on their website. I like the PC versions better, but they are in Japanese. If you do not know Japanese, you could probably learn enough in between the time of all their releases.
I just read through Kairosoft's Facebook page again, and not one of their responses is rude, abrasive, or anything of the kind; if that's the way you're reading them, then you're just deliberately looking to be offended. They give very straightforward answers; honestly, what exactly are you expecting them to say? They're not there to soothe you or stroke your ego. The most you can complain about is that they don't write big speeches explaining things that can be answered in one word or two, which can largely be chalked up to language/cultural differences. On the other hand, the posters telling them to hire more people or release games faster are genuinely unhelpful, so if those posts are being trimmed to remove clutter, that's fine. They are a Japanese company, their main market is Japan, their employees are primarily Japanese, and translation/localisation takes time. That'd cover the main reasons. Like I said, though, they're under no obligation to divulge that information, and there may be very real reasons why they simply can't. If I asked you to write English and Swahili versions of your next post, which one do you think you'd finish writing first? Accurately, mind you. So? It's not going to be a 1:1 correlation for a number of reasons, and I suspect you'll find one of the big ones is that the games, while popular, don't sell anywhere near as many copies here as they do there; there's no incentive to commit an equal amount (or more) of time and resources to an endeavour in those circumstances. That's nonsense, and you probably shouldn't have chosen SE as your example, given that the iOS version of Final Fantasy Tactics was announced and pushed back multiple times, which actually is something a company shouldn't do. Conversely, Blizzard, one of the biggest players in the PC market, doesn't give a release date for anything until it is almost ready to release, takes as much time as they need to actually get it ready, and benefits highly from doing so.
Yep, i'm really actually baffled to how this came to be? It seems some other comments were deleted as well. edit: i also asked them when we can expect another game to be released and what game? Actually, a lot of them do. Sorry it doesn't come off that way to you. It is not like Sky and I are the only way who feel this way. You can try to invalidate us as much as you want, but the fact remains a lot of their responses can come off as blunt. And the part that I bolded I said way earlier back. A lot of those posts are still there. Hm, let me ask you... what language do most foreign countries learn as a second language? Ask me to say something in Korean and I will oblige. Let me ask you to say something in Korean, probably not as fast. but if you learned spanish, french, etc... at some point in your life it'd probably be pretty easy to translate/write it in that language. I also addressed this earlier. that is the problem. that is why a lot of people are asking them to translate games as fast. i don't know why KS doesn't do something like included a multi-language pack esp b/c their games are relatively small in size. I would jump at the opportunity to be able to play the game in my native language. LOL, you think I haven't been waiting for WotL? I'm talking about as far as their company goes as a whole. There is not much we can do if they push the game back due to technical difficulties, it is that KS isn't involving the consumer in anything what-so-ever. When they do it comes off blunt and rude. And even though that is true for Blizzard, they still offered beta for SC2. Many Korean websites also had updates coming in for Blizzard so there was all this hype about it. So I don't see your point. I'm saying frmo a business standpoint, which is so about the money, like I said before I might add, it would make more sense for KS to build a hype about a game rather than post two days before the game comes out on twitter to expect the game. Imagine if SE did this w/ one of their FF games. oh, 2 days before the game comes out they announce on their twitter that it is coming out. nice. edit: btw, i never said i was entitled to any of this information. I just said it is odd that KS will not address this question head-on, and chooses to reply to people who state on their wall "you need more translators" here is also one of the posts they deleted... that is on my wall/displaying my comment to KS. ^^ that is the status update I commented on.
This is, of course, flat out wrong since many of their games do play on PC, just not in English. And deleting posts by people is just terrible for PR in general.
um, i took the person's name who wrote that comment out. that wasn't me. my comment starts w/ "When are you planning to release..."
