New VN localization company: MoeNovel

[sanahtlig]

I have one question though: is it possible to say that this is censorship?

To quote Wikipedia:

Censorship is the suppression of speech or other public communication which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or inconvenient as determined by a government, media outlet, or other controlling body.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship

Content is being cut that would be considered objectionable to their target audience (the mainstreamers who don't acknowledge that games with porn can have literary and artistic value). So yes, this is without a doubt censorship. But I think a more appropriate term is "Westernization", as the creation of an all-ages version for a console could also be considered censorship, yet what really ticks people off is when an all-ages version is created for localization.

[swiftnissity]

Just got an email from Play-Asia saying the game has been pushed back to June.

edit:

Copy and paste from my post on the JASTUSA forums:

Some interesting info coming out on 4chan from people ripping apart the trial.

The h-scene images are in the files still (no word on if they're uncensored or not). If they still exist in the final release I wonder if it'll be GTA:SA all over again?

References to "SweetLovePatch" are in the registry with the installation files. It has a registry key which is set to 0. ( 18+ DLC?)

http://i39.tinypic.com/35a969t.png

It says it was developed by MoeNovel not Pulltop.

The name MoeNovel seems to have been chosen last minute. The files reference 'Our Brand' fairly often. The name 'MoeNovel' only comes up twice.

edit 1:

I just downloaded the trial and ripped the material myself.

18+ thumbnails are in the trial game files but they are censored.

18+ character dolls are in the trial game files and they are uncensored. (However they look like barbies with nothing below. Still, breasts are on display which would fall under an 18+ content tag)

edit 2:

From my registry:

http://i43.tinypic.com/11jp05u.jpg

[shcboomer]

Just got an email from Play-Asia saying the game has been pushed back to June.

edit:

Copy and paste from my post on the JASTUSA forums:

Thanks for the information, let's hope it doesn't spark too much controversy. Last thing we need is even more fear from Japan to localize.

[Metaler]

The localizers will simply have to make sure the ero is completely removed and no traces of it remain.

Though to be fair, the fact that these guys submitted the game to the ESRB is starting to worry me...

[Forythos]

Some people's arguments here and on Siliconera(open thread) are starting to make me reconsider my position, so... I guess I'll try the demo.

Though looking at the specs on Moenovel's website I'm not sure my junky old PC can run it hah.

[sanahtlig]

I wrote an e-mail to MoeNovel customer service and received a response. I'll post both here.

My e-mail:

Dear MoeNovel staff,

I yesterday heard about your entry into the market, and as a fan of visual novels I wanted to welcome you and offer some advice and feedback from myself and others.

The fandom learned yesterday of MoeNovel's entry into the English market, and was very excited about the excellent title KonoSora by Pulltop. This excitement turned to dismay when information began to trickle in that the title would be edited to remove the ero content and make the game more suitable for a mainstream audience. As the fandom came to realize the heavy editing that would be require to accomplish this (fans estimate that more than 50% of the CG will have to be altered or removed), many fans have decided not to purchase the title in protest.

Western VN fans are very much opposed to censorship, and you will lose support from the hardcore fanbase if you go this route. On the other hand, releasing an all-ages version may allow you to attract a more casual audience. You should think very carefully about this issue because if the hardcore fans don't support you, and you also don't market the title at all, then your sales will probably end up being very low. As it stands, by selling the game through Mangagamer and PlayAsia your game will be primarily noticed by existing VN fans. These fans will learn of the changes made for localization and many who would have purchased an unedited product will choose not to purchase the edited product. Existing fans do not prefer an all-ages version. To take advantage of an all-ages title, you have to sell the game in places that only sell all-ages titles and market the game in places where VNs are not currently marketed. If you fail to do this, you will not gain any additional sales, and overall sales will be much lower than they would've been if you'd localized an unedited product.

Below I've linked to a discussion thread on Mangagmer's forums talking about your company and this release. Please read the comments and note the enthusiasm and concerns of the fanbase.

http://forums.mangagamer.org/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=1390

In addition, to reach out to the fanbase, I would do at least one of the following:

1) Create a discussion forum on your website

2) Create a Facebook page

3) Create a Twitter account

Best of wishes in your entry into the market, and I look forward to playing your games unedited the way they were released in Japan!

Sincerely,

An Enthusiastic but Concerned Fan

Their response:

Hi [sanahtlig],

Thank you for your concern about our game. I would also like to thank you for the information and opinion of venturing into the localized VN game market.

We are indeed aiming for a broader market, and appealing the game to casual players. The reason for doing this is so that we can venture into a new market. We are also planning to market the product, but as the release date is towards the end of June, we are only starting the promotions this week.

We will have a Facebook, Twitter, and a Pinterest account up soon.

I understand that censoring and removing the original content brings dismay to the existing fans, and we apologize for that, but I hope that the existing players can still enjoy the game.

Thank you for supporting our game, and I hope you will continue to do so in the future.

Kind Regards,

Moenovel support staff

[shcboomer]

Interesting response there, I'm quite surprised they haven't started using social media yet. Seems like a bit of a flaw considering the close release date, the whole removal of H-scenes seems to be a bit much. I doubt they really understand the market well, maybe they will learn from this mistake.

[Metaler]

They're incessant desire to appeal to a broader audience has made me decide not to buy this game. Appealing to everyone is the same thing as appealing to no one. Also, I'm starting to feel that the removal of ero almost the same thing as some radio station cutting The Rime of the Ancient Mariner to four or minutes to appeal to an audience who doesn't have the patience to listen to a thirteen minute song.

And damn... Some people just want to fap in peace. orz

But yeah, i don't like this. Going mainstream is a terrible idea.

[Steve]

And damn... Some people just want to fap in peace. orz

yeah xD

But yeah, abandoning the current audience and trying to appeal to a new, non existent one seems like a very bad idea.

[sanahtlig]

I just thought I'd point out the irony that the VNDB discussion thread for this topic was locked, and within hours Mangagamer's thread was taken out by a catastrophic forum reset.

I compiled a summary of news to date on MoeNovel's release of KonoSora:

MoeNovel is the newest localization company to enter the market. The company appears to have connections to Active Gaming Media and Will, Pulltop's parent company.

VNTLS MoeNovel news summary: http://vntls.org/news/

MoeNovel's debut title will be "If My Heart Had Wings" or KonoSora (http://vndb.org/v9093), one of Pulltop's most successful story-driven titles, and is slated for release at the end of June 2013. The original title was winner of 3rd place in the 2012 Bishoujo Game Awards, and ranked 4th place for Scenario. News that the English release will be all-ages (no such version exists in Japanese) has attracted criticism.

Summarizing currently known information from the closed VNDB discussion of this title (http://vndb.org/t4066):

Content rating: The game has received a rating of T from the ESRB and 12 from PEGI.

Demo and translation quality: MoeNovel has released a demo. The translation is questionable and probably performed by a non-native English speaker: it appears to be accurate, mostly grammatically correct, yet very awkward. MoeNovel claims the script is still undergoing editing, and the final product should be more polished than the demo.

Overall content edits: The game's art will have to be heavily edited. The original game had 17 H-scenes and 5 heroines (2 of which are twins). Shini's count of the game's CG are as follows (note that these counts include variations of the same base CG):

Non-H: 463 (includes swimsuits, wet t-shirt with bra showing through, scene where it looks like a girl has nopan)

Ero: 646 (includes CGs that are part of H scenes and bath scenes with visible nipples)

SD: 110 (chibi characters)

Known alterations outside of H-scenes: Kissing CG will be altered to hide facial contact / sexual suggestiveness. Heroines will be covered by towels in the bath scenes.

Availability: The game will be available for sale from Play-Asia, Mangagamer, and J-List. An unconfirmed leak from Play-Asia suggests a Steam release may be possible.

Promotion: The game has received coverage from several anime and gaming blogs including Siliconera, Anime News Network and Japanator. MoeNovel will be utilizing social media to promote the game, including Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

[Metaler]

Kissing CG will be altered to hide facial contact / sexual suggestiveness. Heroines will be covered by towels in the bath scenes

Are you fucking kidding me? This is NOT cool, man. Not cool at all. I am losing a lot of respect for these guys.

[sanahtlig]

Here's the source (a customer support e-mail posted on VNDB):

Thank you for your mail. I understand that the censoring and removing of original content brings disappointment to the fans of the Japanese version.

However, we are aiming for a broader market audience and would like to venture into a new market. Thus, with a different target audience in mind this time, we have produced a game that teens and above can play.

Although the kissing scenes do not show lips touching each other, the animation does make it abvious to the player that it is a kissing scene (i.e. the main character's head will be covering a female character's head. It will be like a back view scene of a couple kissing.)

I understand your disappointment, but i do hope that you will still continue to support our games, be it the English or the Japanese version.

Thank you.

Kind Regards,

Moenovel support staff

http://vndb.org/t4066/14#349

[Beato]

How do the kissing scenses look originally? If they're the frenching with sluurrrrrp sounds and saliva kind of kisses then I can understand them removing them (though I still don't like it) if it's not then yeah that's plenty weird. Kisses are common in almost all our media even the kind geared towards children. O_o

[Metaler]

EDIT: Nevermind, I'm just rambling. I'm being very undude right now. =/

[sanahtlig]

How do the kissing scenses look originally? If they're the frenching with sluurrrrrp sounds and saliva kind of kisses then I can understand them removing them (though I still don't like it) if it's not then yeah that's plenty weird. Kisses are common in almost all our media even the kind geared towards children. O_o

I recall an image where two characters are parting from a kiss, a trail of saliva connecting two outstreched tongues. I can't find the image anymore--it might've been in the Mangagamer forum thread that's now lost.

[Steve]

maybe I should apply as the main censorguy, im pretty good at it, look.

(this is a CG from all-ages game http://vndb.org/v5244 )

original:

censor1:

censor2:

which would do you think the steam community would like better?

[solidbatman]

Steam community would go for this I bet

[Steve]

yeah, I bet they would xD

[DrKleiner]

maybe I should apply as the main censorguy, im pretty good at it, look.

(this is a CG from all-ages game http://vndb.org/v5244 )

original:

censor1:

censor2:

which would do you think the steam community would like better?

This one:

[Forythos]

The one with the bird made me lol.

Also, people can't tolerate sex in video games, yet 50 Shades of Grey gets a movie, go figure. (Yeah I know it's unbelievably popular with women.)

[Steve]

The one with the bird made me lol.

Also, people can't tolerate sex in video games, yet 50 Shades of Grey gets a movie, go figure. (Yeah I know it's unbelievably popular with women.)

Its because its 2d. People can tolerate sex everywhere, game of thrones (even gay scenes), witcher 2, fifty shades, whatever. It just has to be real people doing it, not animated ones.

For many people "japanese" means "perverted".

[InvertMouse]

I have no interest in the H scenes, but like many have said here, it's probably in their best interests to keep them in~

[Metaler]

Its because its 2d. People can tolerate sex everywhere, game of thrones (even gay scenes), witcher 2, fifty shades, whatever. It just has to be real people doing it, not animated ones.

For many people "japanese" means "perverted".

Indeed. And this is incredibly ironic. I have to wonder, though: is the censoring of h scenes and whatnot an example of intolerance?

Also, I know I have been posting a lot of crap here, but this is seriously bugging me. :/

[ryouuuuu]

I read the first post and immediately went to watch the PV. Without even knowing that this VN had H-scenes, I did find the PV to be very appealing. Very nice art and story looks good.

The thing I'm trying to say is that a normal person who never heard of the original game wouldn't really care if the H-scenes were removed. The game (story + art) itself looks very good and that's what counts. He'll play through the game and reach a normal ending, that's it.

I then read the entire thread after that...LOL! So basiclly, you guys are saying that the removal of the H-scenes could alter the story and make it look bad? I mean there a tons of stories with no H-scenes that are very good xD Removing them will only make the endings more innocent-like. Stuff like "Happily ever after" is also good sometimes...Although I never heard of de-H-ing a game before.

I might be biaised because I'm a complete baka on VNs, but I'm saying this as a casual VN player.

The marketing & publicity aspect of the VN is a completely other sory tho...LOL

I'll give this game a shot without playing the Demo. It's only 35$ for crying out loud xD

[Metaler]

I read the first post and immediately went to watch the PV. Without even knowing that this VN had H-scenes, I did find the PV to be very appealing. Very nice art and story looks good.

The thing I'm trying to say is that a normal person who never heard of the original game wouldn't really care if the H-scenes were removed. The game (story + art) itself looks very good and that's what counts. He'll play through the game and reach a normal ending, that's it.

I then read the entire thread after that...LOL! So basiclly, you guys are saying that the removal of the H-scenes could alter the story and make it look bad? I mean there a tons of stories with no H-scenes that are very good xD Removing them will only make the endings more innocent-like. Stuff like "Happily ever after" is also good sometimes...Although I never heard of de-H-ing a game before.

I might be biaised because I'm a complete baka on VNs, but I'm saying this as a casual VN player.

The marketing & publicity aspect of the VN is a completely other sory tho...LOL

I'll give this game a shot without playing the Demo. It's only 35$ for crying out loud xD

There's a difference between a VN that's meant to not have any ero and one that is meant to. It's part of the experience.