Sekai Project April Q&A Livestream highlights

[Decay]

SP had a livestream today where they answered a bunch of questions from their forums and stream chat.

I'll list off the highlights:

1) Uncensored/uncut Maitetsu release: This was like the third question asked. "We definitely have something to announce by Anime Expo or sooner, we're just working out the logistics." I doubt the announcement they're hyping up will be "lol steam only." They recognized that it's controversial content, but said "we're working on it." "The intent is to bring Maitetsu over as best we can."

2)  Kokonoe Kokoro (oh god why): engine issues are holding it back.

3) Dovac's favorite game of all time is Final Fantasy 8. wtf.

4) G-senjou 18+ version: akabeisoft just doesn't seem to like it? SP proposed it but got shot down.

5) One of the biggest takeaways of the stream is that if you want something, just ask for it. Post about it on SP's forums, try to rally others to support the thread, that kind of thing. Japanese companies tend to need strong evidence of fan desire before they act on something. Basically, my interpretation of this is that instead of just sitting on some dark corner of the internet calling them idiots and criminals, actually attempting to open a dialogue and trying to reach out to the people making the decisions is a million times more effective at making a difference.

6) Tenshin Ranman: "It's just sitting there." 16% translated, they want it to get further before they start promoting it. 18+ maybe. My interpretation is that they seem to be stretched a bit thin and simply haven't really started that in earnest yet.

7) Wagamama High Spec: One guy said that 18+ version is going to happen and there will be more info at Anime Expo, another said that it's still in discussion. The developer seems interested in pushing the all-ages version first and foremost, in order to cross-promote with the anime (which will obviously not be 18+).

8 ) Chrono Clock: Only about 10% done. They didn't have the engine code and had to do extensive assembly hacking to get it to work right in English.

9) Other Unison Shift titles: Focusing on Ley Line for now. They only just announced it and seem to still be working out the particulars of the deal. Flyaaabbleee Heaaarrttt.

10) Grisaia no Meikyuu: As their latest KS update indicates, engine differences are causing the 18+ version to be postponed, and some of the 18+ content is still being translated. It will lag a month or so behind.

11) Root Double: They can't say much, it's "complicated," they're working on it, Soon™.

12) Console versions: They have Vita and PS4 devkits, they're working on some console versions (no word on if that extends beyond the KS stretch goals they've met). Very often, console versions of VNs are published by different companies than the original creators of the PC versions, and require you to either establish seperate licensing deals which may not be possible, or do the ports themselves, which they presumably don't have infinite skilled manpower for. 3DS has weird software limitations.

13) Someone basically asked about Kindred Spirits and Gahkthun being on steam and if that will influence to SP re-evaluating their censorship policies. So, the transcript SP provides basically shuts down the question and says that they have their own guidelines they'll follow, but the stream got into a lot more detail. Essentially, they've taken notice of Gahkthun getting rated by the ESRB and releasing on Steam, and said that they're looking into that route, but it could also backfire if they rate a game AO and suddenly Sony is asking questions about whatever console ports they may be working on. They also said that in general, they've been relaxing the content guidelines a lot in recent times. Whereas before Sakura Spirit was scandalous, now it seems rather mundane. They said they have some possible controversial content coming to Steam in the future.

14) Alternative pricing models: A "recent example of bad DLC segmentation" (Sharin no Kuni) is something they wouldn't ever willingly do. In the case of G-Senjou no Maou, the voiced/unvoiced versions was something AkabeiSoft2 thought would really help, and the buying habits for that title seemed to have somewhat reinforced that belief. According to them, it used to be an even more drastic split and SP had to talk them down. AkabeiSoft seems to really like doing that kind of feature segmentation.

[VirginSmasher]

1 hour ago, Decay said:

5) One of the biggest takeaways of the stream is that if you want something, just ask for it. Post about it on SP's forums, try to rally others to support the thread, that kind of thing. Japanese companies tend to need strong evidence of fan desire before they act on something. Basically, my interpretation of this is that instead of just sitting on some dark corner of the internet calling them idiots and criminals, actually attempting to open a dialogue and trying to reach out to the people making the decisions is a million times more effective at making a difference.

But it's always easier calling Sekai Project the Hitler of VN localizers. 

[RikiSanic]

Good list of highlights; I sat through the whole thing myself and there were some interesting tidbits.

One thing I thought was worthy of note was Dovac emphasizing that the only title of theirs to never get its 18+ version released was G-senjou no Maou. They seemed much less hush-hush about 18+ versions and implied that they are currently discussing the possibility of releasing them with their partners on a few of their upcoming titles.

Also, they teased something involving S&M... New Denpasoft only title?

[Decay]

2 minutes ago, RikiSanic said:

One thing I thought was worthy of note was Dovac emphasizing that the only title of theirs to never get its 18+ version released was G-senjou no Maou.

Well, more accurately, it's the only title of theirs that has an 18+ version in Japan but hasn't gotten one in the west. They tried, but AkabeiSoft2 shut them down.

[sanahtlig]

My respect for Sekai Project has increased after looking through this.

50 minutes ago, Decay said:

1) Uncensored/uncut Maitetsu release: This was like the third question asked. "We definitely have something to announce by Anime Expo or sooner, we're just working out the logistics." I doubt the announcement they're hyping up will be "lol steam only." They recognized that it's controversial content, but said "we're working on it." "The intent is to bring Maitetsu over as best we can."

You never know--this is dovac we're talking about.  If they do manage to pull off an official release of Maitetsu with adult content intact I'll be obligated them to support them on principle, regardless of my interest in the game itself.  Sigh.

[Deep Blue]

I love this types of answer from them

"11) Root Double: They can't say much, it's "complicated," they're working on it, Soon™."

you gotta love SP 

[bigfatround0]

Who's dovac? The guy with the jacket or one of the fat guys?

 

7 minutes ago, sanahtlig said:

I'll be obligated them to support them on principle, regardless of my interest in the game itself.  Sigh.

This coming from the guy who said buying VNs because of principle is a bad thing...

[solidbatman]

1 minute ago, sanahtlig said:

My respect for Sekai Project has increased after looking through this.

You never know--this is dovac we're talking about.  If they do manage to pull off an official release of Maitetsu with adult content intact I'll be obligated them to support them on principle, regardless of my interest in the game itself.  Sigh.

You really dont have to you know? Just say, "Glad they got it, but its not a game I'm interested in" and call it a day

Anyway, its really nice to see SP try to clear up a lot of the misunderstandings going around. As I've said before, I may not always agree with their method, but I generally give them the benefit of the doubt and look to the partner company as the source of trouble. 

 

Just now, Deep Blue said:

I love this types of answer from them

"11) Root Double: They can't say much, it's "complicated," they're working on it, Soon™."

you gotta love SP 

Review keys are out btw. So I'm hoping it isn't too much farther. 

[Chuee]

2 minutes ago, bigfatround0 said:

Who's dovac? The guy with the jacket or one of the fat guys?

The one on the right. 

[bigfatround0]

Just now, Chuee said:

The one on the right. 

The skinny one?

[Chuee]

Just now, bigfatround0 said:

The skinny one?

Yep, the one on the couch. 

[Kawasumi]

Thank you Konami for showing other japanese companies the right way!

[bigfatround0]

1 minute ago, Chuee said:

Yep, the one on the couch. 

He looks way different than I imagined.

[Decay]

12 minutes ago, Deep Blue said:

I love this types of answer from them

"11) Root Double: They can't say much, it's "complicated," they're working on it, Soon™."

you gotta love SP 

I'm guessing it's some business bullshit with Regista/Yeti that they legitimately can't talk about. 

[sanahtlig]

14 minutes ago, bigfatround0 said:

This coming from the guy who said buying VNs for the principle is a bad thing...

Watching a loli game go viral on Steam (and perhaps stoking it) is on my list of experiences I want to have before I die.  It'd be like the fall of the Berlin Wall for someone living in East Berlin--a defining moment after living under oppression all one's life.

[the_dive]

Takeaway here for me is at 33:25, "We will always try to get 18+ if we're allowed to." Good shit.

[solidbatman]

22 minutes ago, sanahtlig said:

Watching a loli game go viral on Steam (and perhaps stoking it) is on my list of experiences I want to have before I die.  It'd be like the fall of the Berlin Wall for someone living in East Berlin--a defining moment after living under oppression all one's life.

This is one of the most retarded things I've ever read... and I've read Little Busters. Please be sarcasm 

[Deep Blue]

42 minutes ago, Decay said:

I'm guessing it's some business bullshit with Regista/Yeti that they legitimately can't talk about. 

At this point "business bullshit with X company" seems to be a pretty accurate synonym for SP, it seems like there is always a problem with the people they work for, which obviously they never can't talk about or say anything at all. I'm not surprise anymore. Boy they have bad luck 

[Nekolover]

1 hour ago, Kawasumi said:

Thank you Konami for showing other japanese companies the right way!

So where is from those 3 hot ladies from? My reasons are pure.  

OP How big is their team? Because it seems like way too much for them to handle by themselves?   

[Decay]

1 minute ago, Nekolover said:

So where is from those 3 hot ladies from? My reasons are pure.  

OP How big is their team? Because it seems like way too much for them to handle by themselves?   

Like all major VN localization companies, Sekai Project makes heavy use of freelancers, and the number of people working for them at any given time is in a high state of flux. I have no idea how many people are with them right now or anything like that. It's a decent number, though.

[Zenophilious]

Wish they'd make a habit out of being this open.  It's nice to actually get some info how how they run things instead of just seeing dovac's endless whining and their typical meaningless PR on Twitter.

3 hours ago, Decay said:

They also said that in general, they've been relaxing the content guidelines a lot in recent times. Whereas before Sakura Spirit was scandalous, now it seems rather mundane. They said they have some possible controversial content coming to Steam in the future.

Good.  I honestly don't know why they thought they needed to be that conservative anyway, when games like Leisure Suit Larry are on Steam and haven't had any sort of problems getting there.

[Kaykeiokay]

Dovac's favorite game is Final Fantasy 8????? Now I might have difficulties holding anything against him, as arbitrary as that sounds.

Spoiler

Dat Triple Triad, though.

 

Putting that aside, SP really needs to focus on releasing what they already have announced. It seems like they're spreading their already small staff paper thin with all of these active projects, making progress slow down to a snails pace. Give me results Sekai, not empty promises.

[atorq]

51 minutes ago, Zenophilious said:

Wish they'd make a habit out of being this open.  It's nice to actually get some info how how they run things instead of just seeing dovac's endless whining and their typical meaningless PR on Twitter.

You would think that this is the way you would have to do it if you wanted the public to fund your shit, and, maybe, hopefully, it's starting to go that route. Or maybe it really just is a extremely shitty pre-order system, I sure hope not. 

[DarkBlade]

Well, my big takeaway from this is that Akabeisoft has no intention of localizing with 18+ content, especially with the SnK prefundia info we recently got.  Also nice to get some info about games I honestly thought they forgot about, like Tenshin Ranman and Wagamama High Spec. Though I guess they are holding off adding them to the tracker page until they have consistent progress on them.

[Decay]

Their tracker page doesn't reflect games that don't use their universal translation and editing system. Hmm, I don't remember if they said anything more specific about WagaHigh. I don't think they did, but I still suspect that it's pretty far along. They've said elsewhere that they've done a lot of translation in tandem with the development. When they first announced it, it sounded like they were initially gunning for a near-simultaneous launch, but I guess now we're waiting until at least AX, since they're saying we won't hear more about it until then.