kyrt

gehhh so much text, so little time to answer.
just wanted to let you know that grisaias mini episode, which hit steam awhile ago, has also been translated by their in-house squad. havent read it myself, but apparently the quality was pretty okay-ish, if not good.

1)because the campaigns site looks like some plain, rotten dick.
2)few tweets aside there´s not much advertising corona blossom
3)no indication how the goodies/merch do look like
4)no real gameplay vid, showing some proof of their translation being good/satisfactionary
5)more special tiers incl. limited whatsoever
6)some better interacting with their potential backers
7)oh, did i mention the page looking plain as fuck?

anyway, since it´s going to feature e-mote & those chicks do actually look pretty cute, i cant say going at least for the digital 18+ version is a bad thing to do. i mean, even in case the story turns out meh it can be still used for a good fap, like you wont get some (new)high-profile nukige for 15bucks either, so ---

I know we already have a Corona Blossom thread of sorts but I wanted to make it more specifically on the campaign itself. Discuss what's right and wrong with it and ultimately whether or not people plan to back. So I'll ask the question (before I scare people away with the length of this thread) What are your thoughts on the Corona Blossom Indiegogo Campaign. 
You know I'm surprised at the low amount of backers but when it comes to flexible funding I really shouldn't be. I really dislike kickstarter and indiegogo and not really knowing the translation quality of Frontwing's in house team makes this initially questionable. It does not help that we know nothing of the length...for all we know we could be paying money for an extremely short vn less than an hour or two. I think lack of information is probably the biggest reason why this campaign is not doing all that well.
Let's take a look at their actual indiegogo campaign https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/corona-blossom-a-visual-novel-by-frontwing/x/12572100#/
First thing to note is that all versions of the game will contain both English and Japanese text, with Japanese voices. This is an unexpected surprise and allows for people to choose how to read it. For those of us that know how to read Japanese we might actually prefer to read it that way instead of trudging through potentially cringe-inducing poor english dialogue. Then again nothing currently hints at that. Honestly I'd mark this as a point in favor of the game. 
Second thing to note is that the All-Ages version of Corona Blossom Vol.1 is scheduled to hit Steam July 29th for a mere $10 dollars. There are a number of things to take away from this sentence alone. 
The scheduled release date for both english and japanese version of the game is July 29th which likely means the translation is either going to be really quick or they are close to finishing it already. I can't help but think that Frontwing is simply using Indiegogo as a pre-order system. Admittedly this can save them money as well as they only need to create enough physical editions and extras for the amount of backers they receive. 
One area of potential caution is the fact that this is vol.1 usually this means that the story will not be fully resolved by the end of the game and that we are just getting a volume 1. The worry here is that the game is going to be really short similar to Nekopara which admittedly does have its fanbase like even the sakura titles . It means they can sell pieces of the game for cheaper. How many volumes will there be? If the game sells poorly will we even see any future sequels. How much is the game really worth? These are questions that the 'vol.1' makes people think about and is something to keep in mind when determining to back or not. edit: seems to hint that there will eventually be 3 volumes if it ends up succeeding. 
All-Ages version seems to imply there will also be an 18+ version and yes indeed a little further down they make mention of the fact that "ecchi fans, fear not - an 18+ patch, removing censorship and adding adult scenes, will be available at launch for an extra $10 (prices may be subject to change). It is likely the censorship being removed is not the actual mosaics and this is simply poor wording. They likely mean that any added censorship from the all-ages version will be removed and the adult scenes will be added in. Do not be expecting it to be free of mosaics. The patch is also 10 dollars which likely means the game's probably worth about 20 dollars to begin with. Not a huge visual novel but not a 2 hour one. We can probably expect something around 10-20 hours or maybe a bit more. The fact it will have adult scenes does make it likely it will have a story as this does not seem to be 'sex-romp'. If you scroll down a little bit more we get another big piece of information.
"The Physical copy version of the game includes 18+ content by default, and is currently stated for release in August at a price point of ¥2000 in DVD-ROM format. This will be sold at select stores in Japan, and for anyone outside of Japan, the physical copy is available as a reward on Indiegogo".
It seems that people who enjoy physical editions of visual novels their only chance to pick the game up is via Indiegogo (or buy from Japan). It does confirm the 18+ content is included on the physical copy of the game so that's also a plus. People who buy the physical version get a copy of the digital with the 18+ patch included. No hassle to install the patch on a disc version and potentially no wait to play once it releases on steam. The 18+ patch itself seems like it will appear by end of August if the perk date expectations are to be believed. What we are not told about however is whether or not the game will have DRM. This is something that I believe needs to be addressed before the end of the campaign.
Honestly I'm hopeful for the translation. The website for corona blossom is actually decent as far as the english goes while the story description is a bit awkward the character descriptions are written well enough. We've yet to see Frontwing translate in-house so we can't say for sure the translation is going to be good but neither can we say it is going to be bad.
The Staff:
Producer
Ryuichiro Yamakawa (frontwing's producer) 
Character Design/Art
nanaca mai (she is also doing the art for Purino Party coming out soon)
Super-Deformed Character Art
nanaca mai (did some Pure Girl and Grisaia art)
Story
Yuhi Nanao (did the story or a scenario for a number of games that can be seen here
Art Director
Yuji Kaneko (don't know much beyond does backgrounds for trigger)
Mechanical Design
Hiroyuki Taiga (done a number of mech designs in numerous anime)
Opening Theme
"Happy! Corona Blossom" by Haruko Momoi
Ending Theme
"Be Myself" by Ayumi.(Astilbe×arendsii)
BGM Production
Fuminori Matsumoto
Let's look at the pricing and perk tiers:
 
You know these tiers are not bad...however not having anything above 550 for backing means some of those more rich-ish folks have nothing to overly back on. Which is not a bad thing as honestly these tiers are pretty decent (if you live in the U.S.) The only thing they need to do before the end of the campaign is to show off the goods.
For a mere 7 dollars you can get the game on steam for backing. That's good. It does however lead into the qualms about how long a game it might be but there is also the possibility that Frontwing is simply giving backers a really good deal as well. 
For 15 dollars you can get the game on steam and an 18+ patch. I imagine this is closer to the amount the actual game should cost. If they release the game on steam for 10 dollars it might actually pick up enough traction to convince people to buy it and then if they like it they can try picking up the patch for 10 additional dollars which people likely will do as people on steam are that type of crowd more often than not. For an extra 10 dollars you can get the digital soundtrack with. 25 dollars for the game and soundtrack is not bad at all.
For 40 dollars those of us that prefer physical copies can back and get a physical and digital copy of the game. All physical copies are 18+ so essentially this would give you an 18+ version and an all ages version plus a digital soundtrack. This is about the same that games tend to go for physical at a place like JAST (unless it's a big game) so this is yet again a very nice price. For an extra 10 dollars you can get a shikishi (likely the pre-order item in stores in Japan). For 60 dollars you get the 40 dollar perk plus an art book.
For 80 dollars you can get the 40 dollar perk plus either tapestry A or B (of which neither are currently shown which is likely why they have no backers). For 140 dollars you get the 40 perk tier plus a traditional happi coat or a one color hoodie (which is neat but like everything else really needs to have an image to see what people are getting) and get your name listed in the end credits. 
For 150 dollars you can get the standard collector's edition which is everything from the 40 perk tier plus a shikishi, an art book, name in credits and both tapestries.
For 240 dollars you get boobs. (you get a giant 3D Boob Mousepad and the 40 dollar tier).
For 550 you get everything in all the other tiers.
In all I actually think this indiegogo campaign is more of a way to check interest and allowing people to pre-order. There are a number of concerns about this potential release but there are a lot of positives about this particular campaign as well. It has a month to reach goal and is only at 30% the lack of any stretch goals make this all the more likely a means of pre-order. The flexible funding is a concern as they get the money whether they make goal or not but at the same time I'm pretty sure this will get released regardless of indiegogo. 
Would I back this? Originally I believed it was a bit too early to say. More information is needed regarding length and perks. For seven dollars (15 for adult) the price is actually quite good. Do you think Frontwing can do a good game and have a proper translation? Then I'd say yeah go ahead and try them out. I've backed a number of kickstarters and indiegogo's in the past to varying degrees of success and results. Frontwing has yet to release a game in-house and I personally have nothing to base their translations on outside of a bit of a questionable move with chirchiru idol. I'm willing to give them shot. If this ends poorly or the game isn't what it's advertised as then so be it. Decide for yourself if it's worth it and if it is feel free to back. 
Is there anything you believe Frontwing can do to make it more appealing to people? Why do you believe this isn't getting as much notice as other games...are people simply sick of indiegogo and kickstarter and has fatigue finally settled in? Discuss below. 
 

edit: did I really just type all this warning wall of text ahead apologies.
I definitely prefer JAST. Physical copies offered every time (with a download copy usually given as well), most of the events J-list or JAST show up Peter shows up and sometimes get wrapped up in talking with fans at his booth. His panels are often a lot more organized enjoyable and while question wise they sometimes can't answer everything the way you'd want (if he can give an answer he does). He's a professional which is a big difference from both mangagamer and sekai project panels that I've seen. They try to only release games fully uncensored which is something sekai project has yet to do for any of its japanese games (likely not  their fault). Generally they also have good prices (at least in the U.S.) and a good variety. The main issue with JAST is the release schedule for games, the acquisitions, and the quality of translations are sometimes leaving much to be desired. I'm pretty sure a bunch of the people working for JAST are freelance with maybe a few actually working. I also get the feeling that they've not had the best of luck with partners. I also have to say the customer service while sometimes a bit slow is usually excellent. I'm expecting a few announcements this year and a few additional releases besides sonico but they definitely don't release quite as many games as the second best.
Mangagamer on the other hand the only thing I have fully against is the lack of physical copies and the DRM. While they have definitely gotten better with that the recent issue with not giving steam keys with purchases and not doing physical editions (where they could put the steam keys and have no issues) definitely hurts in my eye. Their lineup of games has definitely gotten better over the years and their ability to release about one game a month is a very nice bonus the problem lies that they get games that are not top tier. The majority of Mangagamer's games are not anything special. They release more oelvn and nukige than good quality story driven games but like I said that is getting better. Especially recently I've been buying at Mangagamer more often now that the majority of their new games require no DRM. I have a huge stance against DRM and for the longest time the only way I bought their games was via physical copies. The problem here is that their physical copies are often limited runs and if I don't have money at a particular time there is always a chance that when I do have the money they will be out. They to my knowledge do not reprint titles nor have they gone back and gotten rid of DRM from everything which means some DRM still exists. They also are quite a bit more expensive for the better quality titles. I also have to praise their ability to keep us informed on titles they've announced. Allowing us to see where they are with each title is not just a good gesture to the community but is a good marketing strategy. Now people can predict when they will need to scrounge for a bit of extra dough (or take it from the grocery budget), this makes it more likely someone will be able to purchase their games. Like JAST the few times I have had to talk to customer service the service has been impeccable and the quickness at replying might actually be quicker than JAST.
Both JAST and Mangagamer also take care of All Ages and Adult fans and release titles on both sides of the spectrum rather regularly. Honestly both are very good companies and while each will have an occasional spot of bad every so often generally they are both very good companies.
Sekai Project: Oh boy this one. I may not have the most favorable of opinions on this company but I do appreciate them. It's thanks to Sekai Project that we even have the chance for official versions of certain titles and despite my dislike of how they go about their business they have spread visual novel awareness to more than regular visual novel fans. I would not go as far as to say they've made visual novels popular in the west but they have made them noticeable. Sekai Project generally releases pretty cheap games which is a plus as well however it has its fair share of problems as well. The lack of physical copies. The majority of all of their released games have been digital only or kickstarter physicals only. While business wise this is a sound method as a fan and collector it really annoys me. Sekai Project also has the bad habit of releasing only all ages titles and while they do have an adult spin-off website under denpasoft it's treated like a neglected child. Sekai Project's habit of releasing via kickstarter or indiegogo only if successful is also a real annoyance for those of us who expect acquisitions of licenses to mean they actually already have the rights to release the game. Sekai Project has made it possible for things like Clannad to release westward but has also caused a shift in the way japanese visual novel companies think about licensing. I imagine this hurts the chances of some big names coming to Mangagamer or Jast because they wanna try the kickstarter route. I see kickstarter as eventually not working as a means of funding projects and hopefully once this happens the japanese companies will try the normal way or will release titles themselves (with proper translators). Sekai Project has had a few failed kickstarters (or extremely delayed kickstarters) because they like to fund the little guy which is alright and good so long as the little guy does not fall through on his promise. Another big area of concern is that because the majority of their games are steam only they do not offer a way to get them outside of the Steam DRM which is really annoying for someone who wants a DRM-free game. Sekai Project is not the greatest of the visual novel companies but it's also not the worst either and despite most people's disatisfaction toward them it cannot be denied that Sekai Project has had a profound effect on the visual novel market in the west.
Denpasoft: Technically a part of Sekai Project for the longest time denpasoft was ignored and even now is not overly hyped up. Denpasoft never has a panel or a mention at Sekai Project's visual novel panels at cons. It has a very limited selection of games the most of which are extremely short or were only added because of kickstarter. Going forward Sekai Project does not wish to release full games but rather only 18+ patches that you buy separate of the game. They don't seem to bother with trying to get titles mosaic free. Recent announcements have made them decide to try indiegogo for an adult title one of which they announced over a year ago (with no kickstarter/indiegogo...it was likely Karakara's fault this is now happening), they fail to release the higher quality titles with the 18+ content they were originally released with (G-Senjou), and they do not keep people well informed about the games in their lineup. They take no risks which business wise is probably a smart venture but is really irritating for those of us who are sick to death of funding via indiegogo/kickstarter. It is almost June and the last update on the website was back in February when they announced the removal of steam keys. They also seem to be having issues with having adult only titles and an actual payment processor which isn't their fault but is yet another thing that just isn't working. It does not help that because most of denpasoft's games were either from a kickstarter, available elsewhere, niche genre, or really short that people have a habit of pirating their games more than anyone else. Part of this likely comes from the bad rapport denpasoft has made with the fans. The change of the website from the original is a nice change but that was months ago and nothing new has been updated outside of a single release that may not have even gotten a news update. Sekai Project is essentially ignoring Denpasoft. I want to like Denpasoft as much as the others but until Sekai Project gives it the due attention it needs (which I do think will happen eventually) it's just going to be taking a backseat to the visual novel companies that do the same things better.
Moenovel: The Black-sheep of visual novel localization companies. One of the worst releases of a popular visual novel yet. Censored for 12 year old french girls so they could play it. The translation was awful, the censorship was beyond simple sex/nudity, and the release was a joke. They've released a total of one game. If anything it did show what not to do with a visual novel release. It did however have a physical edition and did have a pretty decent record of keeping people informed about the release leading up to it. I think it would be incredibly smart of them to work with the current (does this exist still?) translators of the restoration patch and have them re-release the game without the cut content as they'd make some money from it but then that's unlikely as well. Nothing really worked about this release and it's considered quite possibly to be the worst of the vn localization companies.
Honorable Mentions (verdict is still out): Degica (Muv-luv no idea on translation quality), Mikandi Japan (Libra of the Vampire Princess no idea on translation quality), NISA (released Danganronpa and Psycho-Pass vns), Aksys (blazblue, norn, virtue's last reward, hakuoki, fate/extra, sweet fuse), frontwing (nothing in house yet), and capcom (iffy translation for phoenix wright games but usually enjoyable nonetheless)

edit: did I really just type all this warning wall of text ahead apologies.
I definitely prefer JAST. Physical copies offered every time (with a download copy usually given as well), most of the events J-list or JAST show up Peter shows up and sometimes get wrapped up in talking with fans at his booth. His panels are often a lot more organized enjoyable and while question wise they sometimes can't answer everything the way you'd want (if he can give an answer he does). He's a professional which is a big difference from both mangagamer and sekai project panels that I've seen. They try to only release games fully uncensored which is something sekai project has yet to do for any of its japanese games (likely not  their fault). Generally they also have good prices (at least in the U.S.) and a good variety. The main issue with JAST is the release schedule for games, the acquisitions, and the quality of translations are sometimes leaving much to be desired. I'm pretty sure a bunch of the people working for JAST are freelance with maybe a few actually working. I also get the feeling that they've not had the best of luck with partners. I also have to say the customer service while sometimes a bit slow is usually excellent. I'm expecting a few announcements this year and a few additional releases besides sonico but they definitely don't release quite as many games as the second best.
Mangagamer on the other hand the only thing I have fully against is the lack of physical copies and the DRM. While they have definitely gotten better with that the recent issue with not giving steam keys with purchases and not doing physical editions (where they could put the steam keys and have no issues) definitely hurts in my eye. Their lineup of games has definitely gotten better over the years and their ability to release about one game a month is a very nice bonus the problem lies that they get games that are not top tier. The majority of Mangagamer's games are not anything special. They release more oelvn and nukige than good quality story driven games but like I said that is getting better. Especially recently I've been buying at Mangagamer more often now that the majority of their new games require no DRM. I have a huge stance against DRM and for the longest time the only way I bought their games was via physical copies. The problem here is that their physical copies are often limited runs and if I don't have money at a particular time there is always a chance that when I do have the money they will be out. They to my knowledge do not reprint titles nor have they gone back and gotten rid of DRM from everything which means some DRM still exists. They also are quite a bit more expensive for the better quality titles. I also have to praise their ability to keep us informed on titles they've announced. Allowing us to see where they are with each title is not just a good gesture to the community but is a good marketing strategy. Now people can predict when they will need to scrounge for a bit of extra dough (or take it from the grocery budget), this makes it more likely someone will be able to purchase their games. Like JAST the few times I have had to talk to customer service the service has been impeccable and the quickness at replying might actually be quicker than JAST.
Both JAST and Mangagamer also take care of All Ages and Adult fans and release titles on both sides of the spectrum rather regularly. Honestly both are very good companies and while each will have an occasional spot of bad every so often generally they are both very good companies.
Sekai Project: Oh boy this one. I may not have the most favorable of opinions on this company but I do appreciate them. It's thanks to Sekai Project that we even have the chance for official versions of certain titles and despite my dislike of how they go about their business they have spread visual novel awareness to more than regular visual novel fans. I would not go as far as to say they've made visual novels popular in the west but they have made them noticeable. Sekai Project generally releases pretty cheap games which is a plus as well however it has its fair share of problems as well. The lack of physical copies. The majority of all of their released games have been digital only or kickstarter physicals only. While business wise this is a sound method as a fan and collector it really annoys me. Sekai Project also has the bad habit of releasing only all ages titles and while they do have an adult spin-off website under denpasoft it's treated like a neglected child. Sekai Project's habit of releasing via kickstarter or indiegogo only if successful is also a real annoyance for those of us who expect acquisitions of licenses to mean they actually already have the rights to release the game. Sekai Project has made it possible for things like Clannad to release westward but has also caused a shift in the way japanese visual novel companies think about licensing. I imagine this hurts the chances of some big names coming to Mangagamer or Jast because they wanna try the kickstarter route. I see kickstarter as eventually not working as a means of funding projects and hopefully once this happens the japanese companies will try the normal way or will release titles themselves (with proper translators). Sekai Project has had a few failed kickstarters (or extremely delayed kickstarters) because they like to fund the little guy which is alright and good so long as the little guy does not fall through on his promise. Another big area of concern is that because the majority of their games are steam only they do not offer a way to get them outside of the Steam DRM which is really annoying for someone who wants a DRM-free game. Sekai Project is not the greatest of the visual novel companies but it's also not the worst either and despite most people's disatisfaction toward them it cannot be denied that Sekai Project has had a profound effect on the visual novel market in the west.
Denpasoft: Technically a part of Sekai Project for the longest time denpasoft was ignored and even now is not overly hyped up. Denpasoft never has a panel or a mention at Sekai Project's visual novel panels at cons. It has a very limited selection of games the most of which are extremely short or were only added because of kickstarter. Going forward Sekai Project does not wish to release full games but rather only 18+ patches that you buy separate of the game. They don't seem to bother with trying to get titles mosaic free. Recent announcements have made them decide to try indiegogo for an adult title one of which they announced over a year ago (with no kickstarter/indiegogo...it was likely Karakara's fault this is now happening), they fail to release the higher quality titles with the 18+ content they were originally released with (G-Senjou), and they do not keep people well informed about the games in their lineup. They take no risks which business wise is probably a smart venture but is really irritating for those of us who are sick to death of funding via indiegogo/kickstarter. It is almost June and the last update on the website was back in February when they announced the removal of steam keys. They also seem to be having issues with having adult only titles and an actual payment processor which isn't their fault but is yet another thing that just isn't working. It does not help that because most of denpasoft's games were either from a kickstarter, available elsewhere, niche genre, or really short that people have a habit of pirating their games more than anyone else. Part of this likely comes from the bad rapport denpasoft has made with the fans. The change of the website from the original is a nice change but that was months ago and nothing new has been updated outside of a single release that may not have even gotten a news update. Sekai Project is essentially ignoring Denpasoft. I want to like Denpasoft as much as the others but until Sekai Project gives it the due attention it needs (which I do think will happen eventually) it's just going to be taking a backseat to the visual novel companies that do the same things better.
Moenovel: The Black-sheep of visual novel localization companies. One of the worst releases of a popular visual novel yet. Censored for 12 year old french girls so they could play it. The translation was awful, the censorship was beyond simple sex/nudity, and the release was a joke. They've released a total of one game. If anything it did show what not to do with a visual novel release. It did however have a physical edition and did have a pretty decent record of keeping people informed about the release leading up to it. I think it would be incredibly smart of them to work with the current (does this exist still?) translators of the restoration patch and have them re-release the game without the cut content as they'd make some money from it but then that's unlikely as well. Nothing really worked about this release and it's considered quite possibly to be the worst of the vn localization companies.
Honorable Mentions (verdict is still out): Degica (Muv-luv no idea on translation quality), Mikandi Japan (Libra of the Vampire Princess no idea on translation quality), NISA (released Danganronpa and Psycho-Pass vns), Aksys (blazblue, norn, virtue's last reward, hakuoki, fate/extra, sweet fuse), frontwing (nothing in house yet), and capcom (iffy translation for phoenix wright games but usually enjoyable nonetheless)

I will never understand these hostage analogies.
Who wants the games? You. Who pays for the games? Also you. Who gets a cut for being the intermediary? Them.
What's the problem? If enough people pay for the game, want the game, they release it. Else they don't. Most of the time kickstarters and indiegogo's even offer more rewards for those willing to spend more money for them.
Kickstarter assures a company turns in a profit, regardless of the game's sales - EDIT: Which in turn assures the intermediary remains in the game, contacting more Japanese companies and bringing more stuff over, faster than any of the 3/10 Fan Translation Teams which deliver anything after years of slow progress.
It also gives the fans more merchandise, cheaper prices, and more info and control over the direction they take (via Prefundia, for example - Some vehement complaints suggestions have changed a company's mind in aspects that, if they hadn't made a kickstarter, we wouldn't even know about until release. Muv-Luv's initial 'editing of the existent release' turning into 'pretty much retranslating the game' or Sharin no Kuni's "devilish" DLC policies being done away with).
I don't get the supposed disadvantages of Kickstarter... What does it matter to you which black hole the money gets sucked into? If enough people want the game, are willing to pay for it, they'll get it. But if everyone kicks up a fuss over things that don't matter (a company whose sole objective is to make profit is being greedy? Better call the papers), nobody gets anything.
EDIT: Of course, failure to meet the conditions imposed on the Kickstarter with no valid justification is good enough reason to stop backing a particular group. "Fool me once..."

Seriously? You see nothing questionable about this? I really regret backing Karara now as it seems quite obvious that was a huge mistake. Sekai Project is bloody going to indiegogo and kickstart every single one of their japanese vn products and while that decision is theirs to make I myself do not agree with it. The success of their karakara indiegogo campaign is obviously to blame for this. Had that failed they likely would not have decided to do this. I am a huge reader let's say that a book is announced for sale but a release is not scheduled immediately because the author needs to finish it. One year later after the author has announced they've finished it instead of releasing it they hold it hostage behind a kickstarter or indiegogo. You want this book you are going to have to back it. People have been waiting for this release and the publisher has been giving information on its progress for over a year and never mentioned of its release contingent on a campaign that may not even succeed now. Because this is what Sekai Project is doing. They are essentially saying the game will not be released unless you indiegogo/kickstarter campaign. It does not help that it comes down to expectations. The majority of their adult titles have not had a kickstarter/indiegogo campaign. People expected this to especially be true of a game announced a year ago that they've been showing english screenshots for, website of, information about its release 'coming soon', 66 percent translated, etc...when really that is a blatant lie because now the game is only coming if the indiegogo succeeds for it. 
Indiegogo is sketchy itself because of the way people collect money. If Sekai Project is doing this to determine limited releases of the title then my entire argument is out the window. Since I am not currently sure how it is going to be organized and can only speculate based on past releases via kickstarter/indiegogo my expectations may be subverted. If Sekai Project announces an indiegogo campaign but mentions that the game will be coming regardless of whether it succeeds (and essentially uses it as a glorified pre-order system with a way for people to get extra content and physical editions and that type of thing) then I would begrudgingly be okay with it. If however the game is contingent on a successful campaign to being released then yes I will call them out on it.
What if Mangagamer and Jast pulled this? I think people have gotten used to Sekai Project's bullshit antics that they think it doesn't matter. How will anything change though if we become accepting of conditions which are simply not something we as fans should expect. If Mangagamer and JAST tried this stunt people would outrage but because it's Sekai Project people have gotten used to it. That itself is dangerous thinking.
If Sekai Project wishes to take the kickstarter and indiegogo approach for all of their Japanese visual novels (and some OELVNs) then that's fine. Hell the title in question I have no real interest in to begin with however I can't make an exception just because it's a title I don't want. It's the indiegogo campaign, however, that is something I'm personally not comfortable with them doing and so I'm boycotting the purchase of their kickstarted/indiegogo attempts. I'm not saying I won't buy the games if they succeed in their campaigns I'm merely saying I will not be backing any of these campaigns. If this means some products don't get made then so be it. What difference will one person make? Probably nothing but at least I will hold true to my convictions on the topic if nothing else. 

I can't be the only person who is absolutely pissed that they are doing an indiegogo campaign for princess kaguya. I do not even care about the game but I think it's a dick move to announce a game last year and then demand an indiegogo campaign for its release a year later. 

And the surprise winner of ACen is JAST USA, because at least nobody expected anything from them.

I can't be the only person who is absolutely pissed that they are doing an indiegogo campaign for princess kaguya. I do not even care about the game but I think it's a dick move to announce a game last year and then demand an indiegogo campaign for its release a year later. 

I already own the game but I decided to rebuy it on steam to support more good gameplay vns getting released...I'm hopeful they will actually release the adult content this time around but I'm not overly pissed if they don't. Part of me thinks Jast will take a chance and release a patch though down the line if they think it will help sales (it will probably be a website patch however similar to what they did with Romanesque). It's a good game and for 12 dollars right now (old or not) it's a steal. I would love for them to release the adult content (as bad and shoehorned in as it is) but if they did it would take some time to translate...the vague comment on steam does mean it's not completely off the table however which is more than we usually get for any other vns released on steam. I will remain hopeful and take a wait and see attitude.

Some good, cheap VNs this sale:
Romanesque for $16.24 - A fun, simple raising sim/VN hybrid. It's pretty long and has a LOT of variation for multiple playthroughs. The story is super laid back, generally speaking.
Clannad for $25 - It's Clannad, and it's $25.
Amnesia Memories for $4.49 - A pretty lengthy, apparently very good otome game. Rooke likes it a lot. It's dirt cheap, too!
Fault Milestone One and Two for $3.74 and $7.49 - Pretty decent medieval fantasy adventures for super cheap.
The Fruit of Grisaia  for $19.99 - Easily one of the best VNs ever officially released, and the best VN on this whole list, for just twenty bucks. I doubt there's many of you who aren't already aware of this, though.
eden* for $8 - Fairly decent romance/tragedy. 
Cho Dengeki Stryker All Ages for $12.24 - Pretty fun shounen action story. The action is pretty ridiculous and over-the-top, and sometimes it gets a little generic, but it's still good, mindless fun. I liked it a fair amount. I promise you that you will not miss the ero content, it's very short, infrequent, bad, and totally shoehorned in.
Tokyo Babel for $27.99 - I've been trying to keep to games that have a significant discount but Tokyo Babel is my favorite VN in quite a while and $28 is a steal for it, in my opinion.
Higurashi Ch.1 and 2 for $9.09 - Although it's still practically just the opening of this ridiculously long story, Higurashi is a very good VN about the powers of friendship and all that with elements of horror and mystery.

That's one way to not miss a release date.  Just don't announce one.

Hopefully dovac realizes that visual novel fans are not going to pay for a game twice and those who want an 18+ version are not going to support an all ages version.  Hopefully they release them simultaneously so they can accurately see the difference in sales. By releasing an all ages version and then an adult version months later it would not be giving them accurate information. Even people that originally had an interest will likely just find other things to buy if they wait too long in between the all age and 18+ release. At least they're talking in a better direction hopefully at the next convention they actually discuss 18+ titles and hopefully this isn't just talking out the ass for PR. The saying goes actions speak louder than words...let's wait and see.
As for wagamama anime it sucks. So hopefully they don't try to appeal to the western market in the hopes the anime actually does well. They'd be better off targeting 18+ simply because the amount of people watching and actually giving a damn for wagamama is minute compared to almost any other anime this season. It doesn't help that most anime fans do not give a shit about shorts. 

Hopefully dovac realizes that visual novel fans are not going to pay for a game twice and those who want an 18+ version are not going to support an all ages version.  Hopefully they release them simultaneously so they can accurately see the difference in sales. By releasing an all ages version and then an adult version months later it would not be giving them accurate information. Even people that originally had an interest will likely just find other things to buy if they wait too long in between the all age and 18+ release. At least they're talking in a better direction hopefully at the next convention they actually discuss 18+ titles and hopefully this isn't just talking out the ass for PR. The saying goes actions speak louder than words...let's wait and see.
As for wagamama anime it sucks. So hopefully they don't try to appeal to the western market in the hopes the anime actually does well. They'd be better off targeting 18+ simply because the amount of people watching and actually giving a damn for wagamama is minute compared to almost any other anime this season. It doesn't help that most anime fans do not give a shit about shorts. 

Hopefully dovac realizes that visual novel fans are not going to pay for a game twice and those who want an 18+ version are not going to support an all ages version.  Hopefully they release them simultaneously so they can accurately see the difference in sales. By releasing an all ages version and then an adult version months later it would not be giving them accurate information. Even people that originally had an interest will likely just find other things to buy if they wait too long in between the all age and 18+ release. At least they're talking in a better direction hopefully at the next convention they actually discuss 18+ titles and hopefully this isn't just talking out the ass for PR. The saying goes actions speak louder than words...let's wait and see.
As for wagamama anime it sucks. So hopefully they don't try to appeal to the western market in the hopes the anime actually does well. They'd be better off targeting 18+ simply because the amount of people watching and actually giving a damn for wagamama is minute compared to almost any other anime this season. It doesn't help that most anime fans do not give a shit about shorts. 

I just received an email as well from PCR distributing. Considering I have nothing else from J-list/JAST right now I think it is quite likely that this is Seinarukana and we will be getting an update on the website later today to let people know packages are being sent. It would be about when we should have expected considering it went golden master on March 16th and they just gave an update about them being printed on April 16th. One month later is in line with typical golden masters. I should be receiving mine in 1-3 days so guess I'll know by the end of this week.

I almost feel as if this is going to be the thread where people give and explain their fetishes...

Tabletop Simulator is $9.99 on Steam right now. Buy it. I am salty I paid $19.99 for Nosebleed's copy a day earlier. Fuck me.
Seriously, buy the damn thing so I can play games with people. Secret Hitler and Arkham are the bee's knees.

Honestly I'm not really concerned about this whatsoever. They've already confirmed it will still maintain the Japanese audio as well so if JAST wants to try something different like this all the power to them. As long as we don't have to worry about english replacing the japanese audio this should do nothing but open up the game to a wider audience.

Perhaps the avoidance of sekai project is because of their uncaring attitude towards adult games which is what people quite obviously want. I can hope that's the case anyway. I have no intent to support this game unless it gets a proper release 18+ content included (be that patch or otherwise) as I simply am fed up with games releasing with censorship. I'm still extremely skeptical of frontwing because of the way they handled the chirchiru game (which I still haven't gotten).

Perhaps the avoidance of sekai project is because of their uncaring attitude towards adult games which is what people quite obviously want. I can hope that's the case anyway. I have no intent to support this game unless it gets a proper release 18+ content included (be that patch or otherwise) as I simply am fed up with games releasing with censorship. I'm still extremely skeptical of frontwing because of the way they handled the chirchiru game (which I still haven't gotten).

Nosebleed forgot to mention that due to the protagonist, "Yuu," causing confusion with the pronoun "you," we're going to change his name to "Antwon."

Dracu-Riot! Completion Project
Project Info:
As i said in a previous post, if the Dracu-Riot scripts were released, I will translate Miu's route, and that's exactly what I'm announcing in this thread.
But I'm not alone in this crusade, I've partnered with the wonderful people at The Oxford Comma is Superior Subs so we can deliver the best possible final product and lay the Dracu-Riot memes to rest. We also got several people from the Fuwanovel community to help speed up things even more.
How is the project going to go down, you ask. Well you can read this post if you want detailed info, but the tl;dr version is that we are aiming to release multiple patches.
The first patch aims to translate the remainder of Miu's route as well as any remaining untranslated content (images, menus, etc.) with complete editing to polish the current patch.
We are going to try and release this in about 2 months, if everything goes according to plan.
The second patch is meant to be more heavily translation checked as that's when Fiddle has enough free time to go over the whole game.
There is no ETA for this second patch.
This doesn't mean the first patch will be terrible, we will of course strive for a good product, but we would still like to inform you of our schedule. If we waited for Fiddle to be completely free, it would take much more time to release Miu's route, and so we've decided to do it this way.
I hope you look forward to future updates.
FAQ:
Why not just make a Miu partial patch, why do you want to go over the whole game?
There are actually 3 main reasons for this:
The first and biggest one is that Insem's patch only works with the physical version of Dracu-Riot! which is very hard to get in the West and we want to make a new patch that works on both the physical and digital versions of the game, this way people can purchase the digital version and patch it, thus supporting Yuzusoft. The second one is that we want to americanize the writing style as well as make sure everything is edited properly, because Insem didn't have time to finish the whole thing. The last one is translation checking. Although we don't doubt Insem's abilities, we really want to try and make sure the translation is accurate. We also want to include translation notes in the game. Only 2 months? That seems way too fast.
2 months is indeed fast, if we were translating the entire game, but we're actually only translating about 4,000 lines and we're splitting those lines between two main translators, this will hopefully make that 2 month deadline possible.
Please do note we will not jeopardize translation quality for the sake of reaching the deadline. If we can not make it in time, we will delay the release until we're satisfied with the end result.
Will the translation have memes?
Yes, but only the dankest ones.
Why aren't The Oxford Comma people making the announcement here?
So I can get those sweet, sweet internet points.
I want to help!
Contact @Fiddle and beat him in a pipe bag showdown (plaid skirt is mandatory).

I've finally finished translating Tsubame's route and uploaded my changes so it's 100% complete (except for text on graphics). As stated previously, I'm not that strong a translator so the translate check/editor will have their work cut out for them but I feel it's reasonably solid. There's a fair amount of Kansai dialect from both Tsubame who tries to disguise her accent and much more so from her brother who does not, but fortunately I've done work with Kansai before (twins in To heart 2) so it didn't present the most difficulty.
This was a mostly fun route to translate. Her story was very easy to get involved in and she's absolutely adorable. The drama is very light and easily resolved but serves as a nice counterpoint to make her story more fulfilling. The H scenes start out very hot right from the start and then... become quite absurd by the end. I think I lost millions of brain cells on that last one. One part I did not enjoy was translating H sound effects which drove me mad in this and ended up being the main thing delaying progress. I can only face so many sucking and slurping sounds before questioning why I was wasting my time translating what looks crap by the time it's in English and this VN has more than I've ever seen. Fortunately most people gloss over the sound effects when faced with an H scene so you wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't pointed it out. Anyway I'm going to take a rest from translating having finished this route since I'd rather actually play the rest of the game through than translate it now.

Sekai Project continuing to piss off fans (probably) by licensing games it does not have the balls to release properly. I could care less about the game but I can't help but be a bit curious on whether it will be getting a indiegogo or a kickstarter...not that an 18+ version will appear even if it did end up on gogo. Why did they license this? Why didn't Loss/Lose partner with Mangagamer or even JAST (lol) who actually can release the game properly? Very strange title for Sekai Project to pick up and it makes me wonder who wanted to reach out to this particular company.
As for Mangagamer this is to be expected considering the first con they go to is always their weakest for titles getting announced. Imouto Paradise 2 is not a huge surprise and they have to save the best titles for the places where they make the most money and get the most advertising (since for some reason announcing things via the internet isn't a good way to announce things?). It also shows that they want to wrap up a few more projects before announcing some more (which they likely will at the next con they go to but some more titles should have gotten released by then).