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Rikusu, the top banner image of http://www.arsenaal.tk is too big for its frame, so the menu remains hidden behind the bottom frame. The only way for me to view the menu is to click somewhere in its space and press PageDown. I just found out this happens both in Mozilla 1.6 as well as IE6 on my computer (Win2K, I'll try Linux later). Have you tested it in more than one resolution?

You must be running on 800x600 or something... Works fine at 1024x768 and up!

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I think I'm in danger of taking this thread off-topic.

Awww

Back to topic... I see Ys 6 can be ordered at galbatron.com, the price is pretty steep tho! 107 euro!! Even imported MSX games were never more expensive than 70 euros... Also, the game costs less than 50 euros in Japan... :/

Most of that money goes directly to the state (VAT, customs, etcetera) and the post office (forwarding charges) unfortunately Don't forget that Holland is a very expensive country to live in.

One of the reasons by the way why MSX games were cheaper in those days is the fact that most import companies (including ours) didn't charge VAT (BTW), which is illegal. That alone counts for 19,5% already. Also, Ys is more expensive than other software packages and costs more than 50 euro in Japan with the current exchange rate

On top of that, Falcom charges about 15 euro extra for international mail orders. Add that and the cost price is 70 euro already. Also, you should not forget that prices in Japan are always stated excluding 5% VAT, which makes the total price for a Japanese user more expensive than stated on the box.

Our profit is a mere 18 euro, which is nothing if you consider that we write Japanese e-mails for that, clear the customs, pick up the packages, pack and seal them, and bring them back to the post office to send them to our customers. Not to mention the back office and the support we will provide our users with (including standard guarantee and translation of Japanese correspondence should the game not run according to specs).

I find it pretty unbelievable that we can accomplish this for only 18 euro extra. Comparing is a good thing, but you should make the right comparisons

I'm not saying you make a too large a profit or anything... I'm just saying it's a damn high amount of money to pay for a game

Then again, it's a very special game

That said, I will do everything in my power to negotiate special discounts. The more people order, the stronger our position will become.

Well, I can safely say: The game rules. MRC is planning to do a little review of it as well, of course linking back to its MSX history as well (as the story of the game does as well!) To me, it's one of the little games where a 3D engine does not negatively affect gameplay.

I might just buy this game I don't buy many PC games actually, coz I don't like many. Last game I bought is Red Alert 2 But this title really sounds like some old fashioned gaming...

But ehm I like the gaming portal BTW Read someone say it shouldn't be PC only, and I think he's right. Many cool Japanese games are published on non-PC platforms aswell.

Thanks Bart!

I've actually thought about featuring PS2 games too, but the thing is that the people who are actually able to play these games will be even fewer than the people who are interested in Japanese PC games. The thing is that Japanese console games are not region-free, which means that there's no way you can play them unless you use some hacker tools. I wonder how many people have these tools.

So one of the things I'm struggling with is the fact that I'd be investing time in something most people won't be able to play anyway. And even if they play these console games (in the form of illegal ROM images that can be downloaded anywhere), there should be something in it for us too... The entire site is currently maintained on a voluntary basis, which is a good thing, but if we really want to make a difference, then we need to turn this in a profit-generating company. The idea behind the site is that the news will trigger some people to buy PC games they find interesting, which gives us the opportunity to expand and for example invest resources into officially endorsed translation patches and such. Console news would not help accomplishing these goals, unless people are actually willing to pay for console news.

Banner adverts are one way to make this profitable, but then you're talking about thousands of visitors a day. I'm afraid we're not in that stage yet.

On top of that, console news is covered pretty well already on international sites, especially in the ROM hacking scene. Basically we'd start competing with individual hackers who just crack Japanese games for the fun and the heck of it - and there's no way you can compete with these guys.

Last but not least: translation patches for PC games are in a very grey area already. However, we're trying to get official endorsements from the Japanese software houses to start offering these patches. However, translation patches for ROM images are illegal by definition, as ROM images by themselves are illegal already. And there's no way you can patch ROMs without the actual illegal image. I'm afraid there's no way we will ever obtain a license for translating games that are illegal from the very start.

This is a pretty complicated problem. Suggestions and opinions would be much appreciated.

The URL has been changed to

www.japangames.nl

And you forgot to mention that the PC games market in Japan is very, very small. About 95% of the entertainment titles released for Windows in Japan is in some way pornographic. Only 5% of the games offered is interesting. Is it possible to dedicate a games portal to such a small amount of games?

I, too, am really interested in Japanese Windows games (and I already own most of the good ones, mainly Falcom by the way), but it's a little disappointing to see that they are produced so little.

The negotiations about translations with the softwarehouses probably will be difficult. Especially in the case of Ys 6. If I am correct, Konami will release this game for the PS2 as well in America and (probably) Europe. Translating and distributing the Windows-version will probably destroy a part of the market.

Older games of which no plans are made for distribution outside Japan probably cause less problems in negotiations. But they might as well be less interesting to translate and distribute.

Anyway, I'll be in Japan again within two weeks, so I hope some nice new games have bee released in the mean time

Btw. Amaterasu: thanks to you for the link on your site, too!

Fondacio: You studied at the Arsenaal as well? Did you do Japanese? When was it? Did you finish your study?

The site, by the way, is best viewed in 1024x768 indeed. I still have to make adaptations so that the site is displayed correctly in 800x600 pixels.

Hi Rikusu,

You're right when you say that the PC games market in Japan is very small. Almost everything there is console these days. Basically you have Falcom and the rest (mostly hentai indeed) - then again, the games that Falcom makes are very interesting.

It will probably be impossible to obtain a license for Ys 6. However, Legends of Heroes 6, which will be released this spring, is a very different story. As Ys 6 is an experiment for Konami too, I don't expect any new 'surprises' from them soon. First they'll need to finish Ys 6 and see what that leads to... they won't start any new experiments until they have analyzed the results. This will probably take at least a year - and that's our window of opportunity.

I'm planning to take things to a higher level and am currently negotiating with several game publishers, to see whether they are interested in releasing Legends of Heroes 6. Even if we take care of the translation, there's still things like distribution etc. that must be outsourced.

These are very exciting times... ofcourse I will keep you up to date about any progress we make!

Apart from the Falcom games, there are a couple of very nice looking online games. I forgot most of the titles (I myself am not particularly fond of online gaming), but I do remember one by the name of Ragnarok (or Ragnarok was part of the title). The screen shots looked very promising. Oh, and of course there's Final Fantasy XI. But if almost all the players of such an online game are Japanese, it becomes really hard to communicate with other players for people who don't speak Japanese. So I guess it'll even be more difficult to try and create a market for such games outside of Japan.

But hey, if you succeed in making deals about the translation of games, keep me in mind, as I am a sworn translator Japanese and always in for some translation work!

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I've actually thought about featuring PS2 games too, but the thing is that the people who are actually able to play these games will be even fewer than the people who are interested in Japanese PC games. The thing is that Japanese console games are not region-free, which means that there's no way you can play them unless you use some hacker tools. I wonder how many people have these tools.

Them 'hacking tools' are commonly called modchips , and you can NOT play any PS2 DVD images, nor import games, without. So even though PS2 DVD images are relatively easy to find, they are not 'cracked' so that every PS2 owner can just burn and play them, like it happened in the MSX days. My PS2 is also chipped so I can play import games and DVD's without trouble, aswell as play DVD's through my SCART cable. However, what I import are (a few) US games like Xenosaga... I personally don't feel like paying big bucks for a game I can't understand. And if a game were so cool I just have to have it, and I had to get it from the internet anyway, I'd go for the cheapest offer. Which would for example mean to order it directly from Japan.

By the way, assuming that with 'ROM images' you are referring to those DVD-ROM images for the PS2... There's not much to hack, it is just a matter of copying the DVD, and the modchip will take care of the lack of copy protection. I tried just recently (I tried to apply a 60Hz patch to my FFX-2 PAL version), and that's really all there is to it.

Anyways, I have to confess I also download & burn Japanese games. That way I can get a preview look of upcoming games (Star Ocean 3 seems very cool ), but I don't really play them at length because, as I said before, I don't understand it. But, even though I do that, I really really like originals (and own a lot of them, so don't get me wrong here ). So if I knew Japanese, and I would really play them, I would want the originals, and that would be the market you're aiming for. People who copy everything and who you say are forming a risk for distributing PS2 titles - I don't think the case is much different on consoles than on PC (did I mention I have an illicit copy of Ys 6 laying around somewhere?), nor are you taking any risk that other PS2 distributors aren't taking. In the contrary, I think the common PC user has a more 'copy warez' attitude than the common console user.

No, the risk involved only lays in the region protection on import titles (I can't begin to fathom why companies invent such systems), which disables common PS2 owners to play them. However, in the case of Japanese games I do not think you are talking about common PS2 owners, instead it is a very specific target of people who know Japanese and play Japanese titles. Of those people who are really interested in playing imported Japanese games on PS2, I think that a large number of them already either have a Japanese PS2 or a chipped PS2 to play those games on. So that makes the risk smaller, however on the other hand the group is small which makes for a high risk by itself. Plus, those people probably already have a channel through which they purchase their import titles, so you'd have to convince them to use your site instead. But, ofcourse, that goes for PC games aswell.

But, for the Gameboy Advance things are a little different. Maybe it is one of those 'solutions' you were looking for . You see, GBA games are not region-protected, so there should be no import problems (none not language related anyway ). Also, they are less easy to copy (if you don't want to use an emulator at least), as PC's don't come commonly equipped with a GBA-cart-burner ;p.

Also, maybe you could also add 'Japanese-but-suitable-for-international-public' games. This would mean games which can be played without knowledge of the Japanese language, and it would make the target audience larger. An excellent example of this is Sega's Japanese Puyo Pop release, as it is fully multilingual. And I would actually definately be interested in buying that, it is a very charming game. On the other hand... I am in no hurry to spend my money, and as it is multilingual and also includes languages like French there's a fair chance for a EU release... But then again, with import it will probably always be a battle against time before it gets released outside of Japan, so that shouldn't hold you from it ...


~Grauw

I guess it's not very practical to make translation patches for GBA cartridges

Hm-hm... you got a point there ;p.

~Grauw