Formlose Gestalt

On May 27th Sol Press announced in a Blog post that they will not license any new VNs and but are intending to release the titles that they have licensed.
Here is their quote:
Link: https://solpress.co/blog/803/where-we-are-and-where-were-going
 
Then today after silently removing it from their website and being asked about it on Discord, they announced that they won't translate The Future Radio and the Artificial Pigeons.
You can find the second blog post here: https://solpress.co/blog/846/news-regarding-laplacians-the-future-radio-and-the-artificial-pigeons
 
I just wanted to share that information here.
 
Personally I am disappointed with both news. I know that Sol Press doesn't have the best reputation, but with them gone there will be fewer VN translated in the future. I personally was looking forward to The Future Radio and the Artificial Pigeons. and Nukitashi, so I am especially disappointed by the second news. And it is a really bad look that they have to already walk back on something that they said 10 days ago. Even if a staff member explained on Discord that they said they where only intending to finish all announced projects.
I guess that is just the reality of the VN translation business.

On May 27th Sol Press announced in a Blog post that they will not license any new VNs and but are intending to release the titles that they have licensed.
Here is their quote:
Link: https://solpress.co/blog/803/where-we-are-and-where-were-going
 
Then today after silently removing it from their website and being asked about it on Discord, they announced that they won't translate The Future Radio and the Artificial Pigeons.
You can find the second blog post here: https://solpress.co/blog/846/news-regarding-laplacians-the-future-radio-and-the-artificial-pigeons
 
I just wanted to share that information here.
 
Personally I am disappointed with both news. I know that Sol Press doesn't have the best reputation, but with them gone there will be fewer VN translated in the future. I personally was looking forward to The Future Radio and the Artificial Pigeons. and Nukitashi, so I am especially disappointed by the second news. And it is a really bad look that they have to already walk back on something that they said 10 days ago. Even if a staff member explained on Discord that they said they where only intending to finish all announced projects.
I guess that is just the reality of the VN translation business.

On May 27th Sol Press announced in a Blog post that they will not license any new VNs and but are intending to release the titles that they have licensed.
Here is their quote:
Link: https://solpress.co/blog/803/where-we-are-and-where-were-going
 
Then today after silently removing it from their website and being asked about it on Discord, they announced that they won't translate The Future Radio and the Artificial Pigeons.
You can find the second blog post here: https://solpress.co/blog/846/news-regarding-laplacians-the-future-radio-and-the-artificial-pigeons
 
I just wanted to share that information here.
 
Personally I am disappointed with both news. I know that Sol Press doesn't have the best reputation, but with them gone there will be fewer VN translated in the future. I personally was looking forward to The Future Radio and the Artificial Pigeons. and Nukitashi, so I am especially disappointed by the second news. And it is a really bad look that they have to already walk back on something that they said 10 days ago. Even if a staff member explained on Discord that they said they where only intending to finish all announced projects.
I guess that is just the reality of the VN translation business.

A few years back I read Hanakos route and from my first impression she was by far my favorite character in the game. I ought to read the whole VN at some point. In any case even now I still have good memories and a high opinion of the game. ( At least the parts I read anyway.)

There has been no official confirmation, but the game has been found in the Steamdb as Meteor World Actor here. (Including a complete english opening here.) The translation company behind it is most likely ShiraVN (https://twitter.com/shira_vn) since they are partnered  with or a part/subsidiary/western publishing arm of DMM. Since the game hasn't been official announced they can't really comment on it, but I would be pretty sure that they are behind it.

This is one of the things that I can't comprehend to this day. I see so many of you criticizing Sol's license pickups, but none of you go out of your way to explain what exactly it is that Sol should've been picking up. Actually, I don't even see much difference in NN and Sol Press pickups. Both have comedy and moege VNs in their portfolio. The only difference is that NN was able to go after more famous ones, and was lucky enough to make a partnership with a Chinese localization company. That's it. Other than that, the genre of VNs they are both doing is the same. We can talk about what a shitshow Sol Press is behind the scenes and their poor handling of projects and PR, but as far as localization choices go, I don't see any problems with their pickups. In fact, I'd argue some of these should have been bestsellers, yet Sol had an unfortunate luck to be... well, Sol Press xD I mean, if they couldn't sell Onikiss, then they definitely did something wrong. It's the kind of title that MG made banks back in the day (and is still making to this day).
But the whole VN medium is kinda niche, more or less. What do you expect Sol to do? Not everyone can get Yuzusoft and Aokana. They picked up some okay average VNs, I don't see what's so niche about picking up, I dunno, My Fair Princess over Hello, Goodbye. They are both niche just as much as each other.

You have to accept what I said earlier. Not everyone can get Yuzusoft/sprite on board. Are we supposed to shun a company just because they can't make a big name studio give them the rights to their titles? Besides, I don't think many famous companies are left for picking. Maybe Eushully and August, but that's about it. Everyone else is as obscure as you can get.
That sounds like some tech problems or lack of QOL features. I don't know which VNs you mean, but I'll assume it's Sakura Sakura/Yotsunoha or that Laplacian VN. Whatever the case, not every VN is going to be like that. I guess they're limited by what they can do with the original VN engines, which by the way, most of the time suck and is one of the reasons why NN wants to have and use their own homemade engine for all their future VN releases.
And here I thought OniKiss was a big name. Damn. I guess it boils down to who considers what famous.
Yeah, they are "literally who"-games, but it's very likely that Sol doesn't have the means to pick up anything else. You usually pick up some smaller stuff just to get off from the ground, but apparently, it didn't work for Sol. Not to mention, they had to use a Kickstarter for their first two titles, Sakura Sakura and Newton. Obviously, they are very small, and they had no means to pull off what NN did.
I beg to disagree. For the first month Fureraba was out, I saw quite a few discussions about it, and I had an impression it was doing very well as NN's first VN. I agree it may have been a "literally-who"-game (although even that is arguable... I had an impression SMEE titles weren't all that obscure in the first place), but it still put NekoNyan on the map. Can't say the same for Sol Press. They did at least 3 VNs at the beginning, and none of them seemed to have put them on the map. Not Newton, not Sakura Sakura, and not Under One Wing. And somehow, even Onikiss seemed to have been received poorly. I don't know how they managed to do that, but I guess their poor PR hit them in the ass, as well as lack of ability to put it on Steam (still... MG never needed Steam to make Imopara a success story).
Anyway, my point is - not everyone can get a well-known publisher. You talk about that, but if we go by that logic, most companies should just buckle up and leave when they are unable to get any big name stuff. It's very unfair, especially towards some new companies that may want to enter the market one day. Aside from the fact that there aren't any many really famous companies left for picking, you also have to accept that it's literally impossible to get some stuff. And besides, other localization companies used to survive on some obscurer titles than what Sol is putting out. That's why I am 100% convinced it's not their licenses that hurt Sol the most, but the way they handled them, how they advertized them, etc. That's their biggest problem even today. I mean, Nukitashi and Iroseka should be at least decent, even if we disregard how famous they became in Japan. But Sol's handling of them is... "eh" at best. That's one of the things that puts NN and Sol Press apart. The way they handle their projects and licenses. Neither has bad picks, it's just that Sol has no fucking clue what they are doing. I attribute this to poor leadership and management.

I have added spoiler tags to the thread. Please be mindful of spoilers when talking about a title that literally just released!
(Incidentally, for people who reply to spoilers, you can put the contents of the quote inside a spoiler tag yourselves, if you feel it necessary.)

Some pople seem to have access to the game now (it seems to depend on the timezone?) so if you are interested check out JAST USA website.
Alos there is no Steam entry for those waiting on the Steam version, but the release seem to be on the 25th.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1293820/YOU_and_ME_and_HER_A_Love_Story/

After a delay tomorrow is the day!
YOU and ME and HER (Kimi to Kanojo to Kanojo no Koi.) releases tomorrow May 5th!
https://twitter.com/jastusa/status/1257491308115042304
 
You can find the game on JAST USA and on J-List. The game has been send to Steam for approval, but it seems as of right now there are no news on that front. If you preordered the physical edition you will get the digital key tomorrow since shipping is delayed with all that is going on in the world.
Here is the opening:
As a side note the YouTube page lists 05.12.2018 as the upload date for that video. It was just unlisted since then. (Really makes you wonder if there is  a Muramasa video just beside it is...)
 
And for those of you looking for a walktrough here is a word from Verdelish the translator.
https://twitter.com/verdelishJP/status/1257534198312665088
She also recommends going for Miyuki route first.

Some pople seem to have access to the game now (it seems to depend on the timezone?) so if you are interested check out JAST USA website.
Alos there is no Steam entry for those waiting on the Steam version, but the release seem to be on the 25th.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1293820/YOU_and_ME_and_HER_A_Love_Story/

After a delay tomorrow is the day!
YOU and ME and HER (Kimi to Kanojo to Kanojo no Koi.) releases tomorrow May 5th!
https://twitter.com/jastusa/status/1257491308115042304
 
You can find the game on JAST USA and on J-List. The game has been send to Steam for approval, but it seems as of right now there are no news on that front. If you preordered the physical edition you will get the digital key tomorrow since shipping is delayed with all that is going on in the world.
Here is the opening:
As a side note the YouTube page lists 05.12.2018 as the upload date for that video. It was just unlisted since then. (Really makes you wonder if there is  a Muramasa video just beside it is...)
 
And for those of you looking for a walktrough here is a word from Verdelish the translator.
https://twitter.com/verdelishJP/status/1257534198312665088
She also recommends going for Miyuki route first.

If the "What types of visual novel would you most like to see more of?" question has more weight and the presented answers are representative of what Mangagamer thinks people want it's a catastrophic outlook for me personally. But what ever.
But in the end I couldn't agree more with you on the rest of your post, there are too many factors involved with the licensing process, some of which you already mentioned. One I thing I found interesting is that on the Mangagamer Discord people where encouraged to explain why they want certain titles translated to convince a staff member of that title so that she/he can argue for the title internally. I guess having a staff member that is actually interested in working on a title is actually a factor that shouldn't be underestimated, besides all the business decision going into it. Because for example who ever get's to translate the game in the end has to spend months working on it and staying motivated. In another industry where the pay is better, that could be compensate for that, but in the VN industry is still (at least in part) driven by passion.
Besides that I think the license survey is also at least partly a form of community engagement. Sure they get some data and suggestions, but the people also look forward to that and talk about it and Mangagamer as a extension.

I am happy to see DameKoi/The Most forbidden Love in the World coming in second when it comes to Mangagamer sales.
 
As for the survey I would love to see some coordination between chuunige fans to get a title into the results akin to what the Otome and BL fans did last year, but I don't know how it would best to coordinate that, and I guess the readership is a bit more fractured.
 
Having said that I am  probably going to vote for my usual choices.
1. Evolimit
2. A liarsoft title (Maybe Alpha Nighthawk or Dungeons & Daimeiwaku)
3. A chuunige that is not from their existing partners (Last year I voted for Bradyon Veda but this year since Lights self publishing ended maybe it would make sense to vote for something like Silverio Vendetta)

So, it's again that time of the year when Getchu's Bishoujo Game Awards 2019 are out and the glorious winner is: Uh... Nukige Mitai na Shima ni Sunderu Watashi wa Dou Surya Ii Desu ka? 2 (aka Nukitashi 2). Congratulations to Qruppo for it!
It follows a list of the twenty best VN's of the contest:
1.) Nukitashi2 by Qruppo

(Also best Music)
So this title is supposed to be super good, eh? Doesn't really look like it. 
2.) Sakura, Moyu. -As the Night's, Reincarnation- by Favorite
 
(Also best Scenario and Character with Kuro)
This reminds me that I'm still waiting for the translations of Hoshimem -Eternal Heart- and Irohika. When will we get those?
3.) Tsuki no Kanata de Aimashou by Tone Work's

I'm kinda interested in that one since it has some adult heroines for a change. I wonder if this will also picked up for translation by this hyper-fanboy Tsurezure Scans translation group.
4.) Cafe Stella to Shinigami no Chou by Yuzusoft

(Also best Graphics and Movies)
What, no first place this year for Yuzusoft? Shame on them! Must surely be a terrible title then. 
5.) 9 -Nine- Haruiro Harukoi Harunokaze by Palette

Jay, I like the 9 - Nine series and can't wait for the title with my favorite heroine - Empress. 
6.) Nee-chan no Susume ~Onee-chan no Itazura Seiseikatsu~ by Atelier Kaguya Bare & Bunny
NSFW
Impressive, Atelier Kaguya got two titles into the top ten. And both from team Bare & Bunny - no love for their rivals HonkyTonk Pumpkin.
7.) MUSICUS! by Overdrive

Whu, what?! Overdrive got a title into the top ten? Shouldn't they be dead by now? Though that was supposed their last title I think. Maybe they reconsider if sales are good.
8.) Motto! Haramase! Honoo no Oppai Chou Ero ♥ Appli Gakuen! by Milk Factory
NSFW (Also best Ero)
I guess it's the same here like with their previous titles - good art but far too many heroines and poor story even for nukige standards. Atelier Kaguya should have gotten the Ero title. 
9.) Mamagoto ~Mama to Naisho no Ecchi Shimasho~ by Atelier Kaguya Bare & Bunny
NSFW
I actually liked this one a bit more than the higher ranked Nee-chan no Susume, but both were good. 
10.) Kin'iro Loveriche -Golden Time- by Saga Planets

So, since we're getting Kin'iro Loveriche, I guess this one is a possibility too now. Well, we'll see how the the first one turns out.
11.) Raillore no Ryakudatsusha by 3rdEye

I really don't understand why 3rdEye is so obsessed with their double protagonists. Sorcery Jokers would have been much better if they'd left the dork at home.
12.) Aonatsu Line by Giga

Looks pretty generic to be honest. What's up with Team Baldrhead?
13.) Evenicle 2 by Alice Soft

I guess MangaGamer will have an interest in that considering the first one sold so well. But they've still Rance titles to translate, so this will probably have to wait.
14.) Haha Ranman by Alice Soft

This doesn't seem to be as popular as their other Milf titles - I wonder why. Art looks a bit odd, but certainly not bad.
15.) Kimagure Temptation by Silky's Plus Wasabi

Hmm, Nanairo Reincarnation was already a bit of a so so experience with lights and shadows and this is much lower rated.
16.) Study § Steady by Marmalade

Not sure what to think about this one. Seems a bit bland.
17.) pieces / Wataridori no Somnium by Whirlpool

So that's from the company that made the Neko-nin exHeart from Sekai Project? Didn't read that, but the VNDB rating wasn't particularly flattering. This seems to be a lot better though.
18.) Ryuusei World Actor by Heliodor

Never heard of that company before, but apparently it's new and this is their first title. Plot sounds interesting with urban crime mystery and stuff, but I'm not sure about the quality of it.
19.) Ren'ai, Karichaimashita by Asa Project

So this is from the makers of Sankaku Ren'ai: Love Triangle Trouble! we got from NekoNyan? That was rated rather average, so I'm not conviced about that one either.
20.) Waka-sama no Zasuru Sekai by Minato Carnival

I'm actually a bit surprised that this is tagged as a comedy title in VNDB, because the images look more like a dark fantasy setting - and I think I wish it was. 
And oh yeah, the list of best selling titles is here: Getchu's sales ranking 2019.
Yuzusoft might not have won the Bishoujo Game award, but they can at least take comfort in being the bestseller again. 
Clochette and August are both in the top five best sellers as well, but surprisingly neither of their title made in into the Bishoujo Game award list.

There has been no official confirmation, but the game has been found in the Steamdb as Meteor World Actor here. (Including a complete english opening here.) The translation company behind it is most likely ShiraVN (https://twitter.com/shira_vn) since they are partnered  with or a part/subsidiary/western publishing arm of DMM. Since the game hasn't been official announced they can't really comment on it, but I would be pretty sure that they are behind it.

Contacting the mangagamer support is an option. But I can tell you that "The Most Forbidden Love in the World" savegames are under
c:/user/(your username)/saved games/manggamer/The Most Forbidden Love in the World
 c is usually where your operating system is installed but it could be different for you.
So you can go there manually deleted your savegames and the game should have a fresh start. If that doesn't work try reinstall it again after deleting the savefiles.

Glad that it worked. Have fun with the VN!

Kind of surprised to see Nekonyan drop all the announcements at once, when last year they said to announce titles closer from release and not before they at least are 50% done. Now the lesser hyped titles will have the problem that they fade away into the background by the time they are released.
Personally I had hoped for at least one title that isn't a (moe-)charage, so these announcements where not that great for me. But people seem to love them, so that is how it is.

On the Muv-Luv Kickstarter they posted an survey what people want to see next from âge!
Kickstarter:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/muvluv/muv-luv-a-pretty-sweet-visual-novel-series/posts/2739853
Survey:
https://forms.gle/NE3hnyxp9YWMygk1A
 
They ask explicitly " Which among our game titles are you looking forward to the most to be localized in English* next?"
The offer the choice between Schwarzesmarken, Kimi ga Nozomu Eien, Muv-Luv Unlimited The Day After, Muv-Luv Alternative - Total Eclipse or another work of your choice.
 
So what should we rally behind?

On the Muv-Luv Kickstarter they posted an survey what people want to see next from âge!
Kickstarter:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/muvluv/muv-luv-a-pretty-sweet-visual-novel-series/posts/2739853
Survey:
https://forms.gle/NE3hnyxp9YWMygk1A
 
They ask explicitly " Which among our game titles are you looking forward to the most to be localized in English* next?"
The offer the choice between Schwarzesmarken, Kimi ga Nozomu Eien, Muv-Luv Unlimited The Day After, Muv-Luv Alternative - Total Eclipse or another work of your choice.
 
So what should we rally behind?

On the Muv-Luv Kickstarter they posted an survey what people want to see next from âge!
Kickstarter:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/muvluv/muv-luv-a-pretty-sweet-visual-novel-series/posts/2739853
Survey:
https://forms.gle/NE3hnyxp9YWMygk1A
 
They ask explicitly " Which among our game titles are you looking forward to the most to be localized in English* next?"
The offer the choice between Schwarzesmarken, Kimi ga Nozomu Eien, Muv-Luv Unlimited The Day After, Muv-Luv Alternative - Total Eclipse or another work of your choice.
 
So what should we rally behind?

While the duology isn't new to people who have a PS4 and played the games, the cruising onto PC on Steam is a big thing for those of you who prefer to do everything with their computer (including me).  A few days ago, these two games, which are very much a treat for those who liked the original game or anime, became available.  
For those who have only watched the Utawarerumono animes (both of them), Mask of Deception covers the same area of the story as the second anime, albeit in more detail with some changes.  My personal opinion of it was that it was great... but I found myself wanting H-scenes about halfway through (too many mimikko and those mischievously erotic twins).  
The second game (Mask of Truth/Futari no Hakuoro) is considerably more serious than the first from the beginning until the end.  As such, it provides quite a different experience.  For those who were annoyed by the sudden way the second Utawarerumono anime ended, this is a good way to see the rest.
For those who have already played both... well why not do so again?  I know I will.  

I am calling you out for not including the marketing campaign of a fast food chain! How dare you!
 
Jokes aside it funny how many games Cherry Kiss Games released this year! I would have never known without those videos.