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What were Nintendo and Atlus thinking when making #FE ?
- Thread starter GhostTrick
- Start date
cj_iwakura
Member
If folks are willing to take a dive in, this is all the commercials/promotions that happen ingame that revolve around the substories:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g44pzx9rHw
Very entertainment industry centric
These are great, but boy does this plummet the chances of a localization. Those are the most Japanese thing ever.
Linkstrikesback
Member
Eh, in retrospect it is, because the internet will moan about anything.
But the game is absolutely a crossover between the two series, just not in the sense of "we took a bunch of characters from each game series and put them in the same game", which certainly was implied in the initial reveal.
SinCityAssassin
Member
Nintendo foots the bill on a game an atlas development team wanted to make with the assets they had. If it fails to garner the audience it seemed then it's the fault of marketing and the initial trailer that seemed to make everyone focus on what MIGHT have been and then proclaim it as something that, to them, is what SHOULD have been while denouncing any sort of merit the actual game may have in its own right.
I've been thinking the same thing over and over as I'm playing it. The game is seriously entrenched in Japanese culture, from all aspects. I dread the songs, the references not making it over intact if at all. But as of recent, Atlus's youtube channel confirms it's still coming in 2016.
But anyway, those CMs give you an idea of just how much care and attention to detail this production was given,
Scientist Supreme!
Banned
Huh.
Thread with exactly as expected.
Thread with exactly as expected.
"They made the game they wanted to make" while seemingly making something that looks soulessly focus tested to appeal to a very specific audience.
It does seem sort of oddly timed anyway. It's leaning much more on the Persona style stuff (even if it has more Fire Emblem characters) with an actual Persona game not that far off.
It does seem sort of oddly timed anyway. It's leaning much more on the Persona style stuff (even if it has more Fire Emblem characters) with an actual Persona game not that far off.
GhostTrick
Banned
No one is here to say the game didn't received care. In fact, it's clearly what I would consider an AAA title, maybe with as much production values as the upcoming Persona 5. But that's also where I'm really doubtful. How could they throw that much money and production values into something like this, with such low chances to find recognition when they were cheaping out on so many first party releases, such as the upcoming Star Fox Zero.
This game is a mystery to me.
You obviously have a very shallow understanding of what persona is. and just to be clear, I'm a persona fan and I don't even the slightest interest in this game.
Star Fox Zero is another similar controversy in itself. Who knows if it's necessarily cheap or not. What I will say is I enjoyed the demo I played of it @ PAX last year. That said, they went big, they've said in prior interviews they want this to be a franchise going forward.
It's been from both sides with SMT and FE. Fans seem to have their own opinion of what makes a series apparently.
mocolostrocolos
Member
For what i've read, the game seems to be very good, and the connections between both sagas are there, but are not as deep as someone would imagine.
Although it has a shitload of details and references that need to be caught.
Can't wait to play it.
Oh, and Nintendo only distributed like 50K copies of the game or so, they weren't expecting big sales, and it sold around 25K.
Although it has a shitload of details and references that need to be caught.
Can't wait to play it.
Oh, and Nintendo only distributed like 50K copies of the game or so, they weren't expecting big sales, and it sold around 25K.
GhostTrick
Banned
Considering how fast Miyamoto wanted this game to be done (in 1 year at most), you can bet they were aiming for Star Fox to just fill a month in an empty release calendar. But that's out of the thread though.
I'd say it's a similar controversy in the sense that Nintendo had a really strange way to manage 1st party games this generation.
Possumowner
Member
They wanted to make profit,just like every other company that sells products. I've no idea on the total budget of it,but so far I'd say this game is in the red...maybe localisation may help
Straight up, the Hee-ho mart is more than you'd think. There's an additional Anna clerk in there that wears a Black Frost mask and ends everything she says with Hee-ho. Voiced.XD
Some of the posts here smh
I'm not surprised especially after some of the posts in the sales thread
I'm not surprised especially after some of the posts in the sales thread
Dang, now I really want to hear that dubbed just because lol
Yeah I'm really worried about this too, especially with Treehouse doing the localization and not Atlus themselves. I'll still pick it up anyway as long as it gets a physical release because it looks like a great RPG from the streams I've watched.
Pancakes R Us
Member
Is the game's actual name #FE?
The full Japanese title is: Genei Ibun Roku ♯FE
I would love to see this game dubbed because it would be absolutely hilarious with how Japanese this game is due to the entertainment aspect. More so than Persona was.
I really think Johnny Yong Bosch could pull off the singing for Tsurugi. Here's the live scene in the game: https://youtu.be/E_B-tyREkK4?t=5m11s
CaptainLoveline
Member
They announced it as SMT x FE, people were excited. Then they showed something that was far from SMT and FE, some people were disappointed.
The problem is that it barely resembles the source material anymore, they went crazy on the whole idol angle and only a niche audience cares about that. It's nice that they had an original idea of their version of Fire Emblem but once you get down to it, it's no longer a Fire Emblem save from a few characters and elements.
Had it stripped the Fire Emblem, became a new IP and then was available on PS4, PSVita and PC it would of sold much more everywhere. I know a few people who'd lap this type of game up, and those people are owners of PCs and/or PS4s... not Wii Us.
The problem is that it barely resembles the source material anymore, they went crazy on the whole idol angle and only a niche audience cares about that. It's nice that they had an original idea of their version of Fire Emblem but once you get down to it, it's no longer a Fire Emblem save from a few characters and elements.
Had it stripped the Fire Emblem, became a new IP and then was available on PS4, PSVita and PC it would of sold much more everywhere. I know a few people who'd lap this type of game up, and those people are owners of PCs and/or PS4s... not Wii Us.
It's pretty much a Megaten game with a modern fantastical Fire Emblem skin/elements thrown on it.
This is one thing that's also been bugging me with the current assumptions, having actually played it. It's pretty entrenched in both SMT and FE in their own ways that's not apparent enough from the material out there currently.
The fact that people keep going "It has the elements of neither SMT or FE!" really shows just how mismanaged the image of this game has become. Whether marketing is to blame or the press, this needs a salvage job by someone who can showcase just how much of those things are present in the game. Sadly I doubt Treehouse are capable of this.
Who are you to determine what developers want and don't want to make? EDIT: If anything, just cramming together the characters of both franchises would have been more soulless and guaranteed sales.
Linkstrikesback
Member
I'd love to meet the "focus test group" you've imagined was asking for this.
Haha, I agree. This seems like something that wasn't focus tested at all, but rather just straight out of the imagination of the Atlus devs. It's probably why it's so divisive, and makes it all the more exciting to me.
:O
First time I'm seeing that performance.
And with how the Bosch man is an actual singer, I'll be disappointed if he isn't one of the lead roles.
I'll say this, the game openly labels otaku and alike along with the anisong label, in which everyone but Barry is baffled about.
CaptainLoveline
Member
True. The way I'm seeing it, the idol thing just makes me cringe and really distracts from anything resembling an FE or SMT game, that's just how I feel. I'll probably still buy and play it though since it's such a ridiculous premise in the first place, it'll be a good laugh.
dampflokfreund
Banned
What Nintendo thinks? Probably the same when they made Frederation Force and Amiibo Festival.
In short: Nothing
In short: Nothing
Seeing as I'm already a fan of FE, SMT and Persona, and have a WiiU, I was looking forward to this. Maybe I'm the other way around to some people who were put off by the initial marketing, but the more I see of it, and the more I understand from reading the import thread, the more my enthusiasm dies, despite me usually being happy to give experimental stuff a fair shake.
Sure, it might have a classic SMT battle system with FE weapon triangles, summons and shopkeepers, and if that had been all I knew about it as a JRPG, I'd be all over it, just like I was with Devil Survivor. I understand entirely that there's no point in it being an SRPG when FE and DS have that covered. But the whole jpop/idol/teen exploitation/ 'isn't the entertainment industry vapid' /saving the world through opening your heart stuff just really isn't for me. I'm a 36 year old bloke who likes RPGs and strategy games and their mechanics, but if it's coated in a sugary-sweet skin of dressing up teenagers in swimsuits and singing pop songs I rapidly lose interest, just like I did with FFX-2 many years ago.
I'm looking forward to a few reviews out of interest in RPGs and the WiiU in general though, but I suspect it's problem with a western release is the older audience, and whether the relatively small amount of SRPG/JRPG nuts who also happen to own a WiiU like me are going to somehow be more likely to buy the game than teenaged SRPG/JRPG nuts in Japan.
None of that is me saying its a bad game- the combat sounds great and might well be its saving grace (for me) if it is released here. It does seem unlike Nintendo to fund something that clearly only has cultural relevance at home and sod-all chance outside of Japan, when if they wanted to do something surely the template could have something a little bit closer to P4- everyone can relate to moving home and being at school, not everyone can relate to being at magical teenage j-pop star academy.
Sure, it might have a classic SMT battle system with FE weapon triangles, summons and shopkeepers, and if that had been all I knew about it as a JRPG, I'd be all over it, just like I was with Devil Survivor. I understand entirely that there's no point in it being an SRPG when FE and DS have that covered. But the whole jpop/idol/teen exploitation/ 'isn't the entertainment industry vapid' /saving the world through opening your heart stuff just really isn't for me. I'm a 36 year old bloke who likes RPGs and strategy games and their mechanics, but if it's coated in a sugary-sweet skin of dressing up teenagers in swimsuits and singing pop songs I rapidly lose interest, just like I did with FFX-2 many years ago.
I'm looking forward to a few reviews out of interest in RPGs and the WiiU in general though, but I suspect it's problem with a western release is the older audience, and whether the relatively small amount of SRPG/JRPG nuts who also happen to own a WiiU like me are going to somehow be more likely to buy the game than teenaged SRPG/JRPG nuts in Japan.
None of that is me saying its a bad game- the combat sounds great and might well be its saving grace (for me) if it is released here. It does seem unlike Nintendo to fund something that clearly only has cultural relevance at home and sod-all chance outside of Japan, when if they wanted to do something surely the template could have something a little bit closer to P4- everyone can relate to moving home and being at school, not everyone can relate to being at magical teenage j-pop star academy.
BLACK AMERICAN PSYCHO
Junior Member
Game would have sold 100x better if it was an actual SMTxFE game. Devil Survivor gameplay with some FE elements would have been great. Not sure what the hell they were thinking. Why would SMT or FE fans be interested in a fucking idol master themed persona clone?
The devil survivor team.
I can personly garauntee it would have not sold 2 million copies opening week if it what you said it was
I also don't really think it would've sold anymore then what it did if it was what you wanted
Maybe if it was on 3DS
#1 - Have you ever played Idolmaster?
#2 - But it's not Idolmaster themed...?
A game about high school magical idols doesn't seem a bit derivative and widespread in anime and Japanese games lately? The game is riffing on a bunch of recent trends.
It might not be WESTERN focus tested, but I somehow doubt there's just oodles of devs out there waiting to take their turn at involving teen idols in their games, yet somehow they keep cropping up a lot. Do you think all of the otaku bait games that have come out in the past 5 years or so have been done out of pure artistic intent?
100x better? Really? There are already two FE and two DS games on 3DS, along with a handful of other SRPGs, that's where the fanbase is.
Dunno what everyone was expecting here.
Atlus made a game they wanted to make. Nintendo said sure go for it.
Apparently the game plays more like SMT than SMT4 even did. Sure the idol thing's weird, but there's nothing wrong with weird ass games coming out of the woodwork. It's better than the usual super serious war trope we get with every Fire Emblem (which is fine, but this isn't a Fire Emblem game.)
It probably would have fared better on 3DS rather than Wii U, but the console's almost impossible to redeem. Thus any risky niche game will be completely buried on the console.
Honestly this thread reads less of a "what caused this game to fail" and more of the same schadenfreude we get with every other Wii U thread lately. The incredible misinformation of the game kinda proves that already.
The crux of the problem in this thread. Western tastes weirded out by weird Japanese tropes.
Atlus made a game they wanted to make. Nintendo said sure go for it.
Apparently the game plays more like SMT than SMT4 even did. Sure the idol thing's weird, but there's nothing wrong with weird ass games coming out of the woodwork. It's better than the usual super serious war trope we get with every Fire Emblem (which is fine, but this isn't a Fire Emblem game.)
It probably would have fared better on 3DS rather than Wii U, but the console's almost impossible to redeem. Thus any risky niche game will be completely buried on the console.
Honestly this thread reads less of a "what caused this game to fail" and more of the same schadenfreude we get with every other Wii U thread lately. The incredible misinformation of the game kinda proves that already.
The crux of the problem in this thread. Western tastes weirded out by weird Japanese tropes.
Silent Chief
Member
Atlus is trying to limit their development cost and the Nintendo platforms are ideal for that.
Nintendo wanted a game that wouldn't get ported somewhere else later.
Nintendo wanted a game that wouldn't get ported somewhere else later.
If the gameplay is indeed great under the jpop coating, we might see a few more sales through word of mouth than might usually be the case with front-loaded JRPGs, but who knows, the damage is already done.
DrunkShogun
Member
It's a shame because the concept of the crossover is so much stronger than anything new idea they could think of. Think they were trying to hard which made them forget the obvious path which was naturally a strong mix.
Neither does the lead, Itsuki, can relate either. He's just dragged into it, and fighting for his friends (You think I'm kidding, but that's really his reasoning)
... ... ... I need this game
Space Medafighter X
Member
I'm not gonna lie, I was totally expecting a SMTxFE game like in the original teaser. But I'm happy they made it completely different and unique.
I like how whenever these games appear there are these posts that claim Japan used to make things they enjoyed and now they make nothing but Otoku pandering games. There's literally a new SMT game coming out next year lol.
I like how whenever these games appear there are these posts that claim Japan used to make things they enjoyed and now they make nothing but Otoku pandering games. There's literally a new SMT game coming out next year lol.
I don't think they though about it too much. Maybe i'm wrong but if Nintendo try to not shake thing TOO much for serie like Mario (I mean, you don't see suddenly a futuristic Mario or something like that), they seem to grant a lot of liberty for other projects like Splattoon.
I think #FE was a project which seemed cool to do by the development team so they did it. As long as it's a new IP and the game seems solid enough, Nintendo have a board mind. They authorized a very Western kind of atmosphere with Disaster : Day of Crisis, they authorized a crazy parody like Captain Rainbow, so why not a very Japanese idol-themed RPG game ?
I don't think they though too much about if it will sell or not... Because if they did, they would now the oktaku crowds clearly isn't on WIi U. No if a concept seems fun to them, they just give full liberty.
I think #FE was a project which seemed cool to do by the development team so they did it. As long as it's a new IP and the game seems solid enough, Nintendo have a board mind. They authorized a very Western kind of atmosphere with Disaster : Day of Crisis, they authorized a crazy parody like Captain Rainbow, so why not a very Japanese idol-themed RPG game ?
I don't think they though too much about if it will sell or not... Because if they did, they would now the oktaku crowds clearly isn't on WIi U. No if a concept seems fun to them, they just give full liberty.
Is it really though? I thought SMT/FE was pretty well explored through Devil Survivor's grid-based tactical battles, but maybe that's just me.
What do you think would have been the obvious path while coming up with something different to what FE, DS, SMT and Persona have already covered?
As Atlus told us, the game's direction changed from Yagami's original vision because it was more challenging than expected to make a Fire Emblem X Shin Megami Tensei cross over game. Instead, Nintendo allowed Atlus to change the game's direction.
Atlus & Nintendo explain the game's origin:
Atlus & Nintendo explain the game's origin:
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