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Western Localisation Of Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Features Costume And Age Changes

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The game already bombed in Japan. Do you really expect it to perform better in the West?

Big games can shrug off any really small controversies because of localization changes because the people complaining don't really matter in terms of the vast majority buying the game, but what the discussion keeps coming to is the "for #FE" specification, which is an important one. This game isn't going to do even 15% of what Fire Emblem Fates did.

No, I expect it to bomb here too. I just don't think these changes will affect what sales it does receive in any serious way. Anyone who really wanted the game isn't going to let a few less swimsuits & a different sleeping pose change their mind. Anyone who says such things are a deal breaker is either posing or was unlikely to buy the game in the first place.
 
No, I expect it to bomb here too. I just don't think these changes will affect what sales it does receive in any serious way. Anyone who really wanted the game isn't going to let a few less swimsuits & a different sleeping pose change their mind. Anyone who says such things are a deal breaker is either posing or was unlikely to buy the game in the first place.

Possibly, but then that goes to the point of why the changes were made in the first place. Like the reverse of what you contend, they can't possibly be gaining anything meaningful in terms of sales from these changes. Anyone who would go "I'm not buying this because I can see Tsubasa's cleavage" or "I'm not buying this because this has Hot Spring promo DLC" wouldn't be buying it even after those changes were made; there's no way.

It's especially the case when we consider how inconsistent the changes are, like how Tsubasa's swimsuit was changed in one scene but she's still seen in it in others, or how a demon monster's cleavage was blocked by fog during a cutscene but is visible during the actual battle.
 
No, I expect it to bomb here too. I just don't think these changes will affect what sales it does receive in any serious way. Anyone who really wanted the game isn't going to let a few less swimsuits & a different sleeping pose change their mind. Anyone who says such things are a deal breaker is either posing or was unlikely to buy the game in the first place.

I agree that censorship does not result in sales loss except for perhaps extremely niche games (that debut at 10K or less in NPD, and cater to extremely hardcore fans). Editing the game is a safe gamble from Nintendo. That's also the reason why I'm sad about it, because this unnecessary content policing is fully justified financially. :/

Possibly, but then that goes to the point of why the changes were made in the first place. Like the reverse of what you contend, they can't possibly be gaining anything meaningful in terms of sales from these changes. Anyone who would go "I'm not buying this because I can see Tsubasa's cleavage" or "I'm not buying this because this has Hot Spring promo DLC" wouldn't be buying it even after those changes were made; there's no way.

It's especially the case when we consider how inconsistent the changes are, like how Tsubasa's swimsuit was changed in one scene but she's still seen in it in others, or how a demon monster's cleavage was blocked by fog during a cutscene but is visible during the actual battle.

...This is true, it's not like the changes are even comprehensive. If they were demographic chasing, they'd have to put in way more elbow grease to even hope that this becomes approachable. Especially with a game that's sub only.

Suddenly the "spite" reasoning is suddenly starting to become more logically sound lol
 
Editing the game is a safe gamble from Nintendo. That's also the reason why I'm sad about it, because this unnecessary content policing is fully justified financially. :/

I don't know if I would say "safe." It's only safe if the resources that were put in to make these changes are outweighed by the benefits. They created all new assets and elaborately specific modifications that are probably present throughout the entirety of the game. One has to wonder—regardless of when in the development these changes were made—if that will really, actually benefit them.
 
Anyone who says such things are a deal breaker is either posing or was unlikely to buy the game in the first place.

I agree with you, though that is a bit of a 'No Scottsman' at the end. I honestly think that the biggest change they could have made, one that would have really cut into profits, would have been English VA with no dual audio. That would have cut off much more of the niche than any of these changes.

However, I will say - even with that I would still buy the game, As would many others. We are too starved for games this summer, especially on WiiU. Will these changes help? Doubtful. Will they make a noticeable difference in sales? Almost certainly not.
 
No, I expect it to bomb here too. I just don't think these changes will affect what sales it does receive in any serious way. Anyone who really wanted the game isn't going to let a few less swimsuits & a different sleeping pose change their mind. Anyone who says such things are a deal breaker is either posing or was unlikely to buy the game in the first place.

I think the problem is the amount of games coming out around #FE. If enough changes, I wouldn't be surprised if someone decides to buy another game and wait for this game to be cheap.
 
I agree with you, though that is a bit of a 'No Scottsman' at the end. I honestly think that the biggest change they could have made, one that would have really cut into profits, would have been English VA with no dual audio. That would have cut off much more of the niche than any of these changes.

However, I will say - even with that I would still buy the game, As would many others. We are too starved for games this summer, especially on WiiU. Will these changes help? Doubtful. Will they make a noticeable difference in sales? Almost certainly not.

Maybe if Wii U is your only console/handheld. I'm actually in the position of there being so many other games I want coming out in June/July that I can safely skip this one because of the stupid alterations being made. Just in June there's Star Ocean 5, Odin Sphere, Atelier Sophie, Grand Kingdom, Zero Time Dilemma, Mirror's Edge 2 and God Eater Resurrection that I'm interested in. There are 2-3 more in July, too.
 
I think the problem is the amount of games coming out around #FE. If enough changes, I wouldn't be surprised if someone decides to buy another game and wait for this game to be cheap.

It's a Nintendo game and an RPG at that. It's unlikely to become cheap. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if physical copies of this game become quite valuable in a few years - I doubt Nintendo is going to overproduce.

And what exactly is coming out around that time that's going to crowd out a turn-based JRPG on the Wii U? The Wii U's lineup is pretty much dead around there. I guess somebody could buy NMS or Star Ocean instead, but those are all different enough (and on different platforms) that I don't really see them as direct competitors.

It's especially the case when we consider how inconsistent the changes are, like how Tsubasa's swimsuit was changed in one scene but she's still seen in it in others, or how a demon monster's cleavage was blocked by fog during a cutscene but is visible during the actual battle.

That could just be because the game is still under development.
 
Maybe if Wii U is your only console/handheld. I'm actually in the position of there being so many other games I want coming out in June/July that I can safely skip this one because of the stupid alterations being made. Just in June there's Star Ocean 5, Odin Sphere, Atelier Sophie, Grand Kingdom, Zero Time Dilemma, Mirror's Edge 2 and God Eater Resurrection that I'm interested in. There are 2-3 more in July, too.

See, I've never gotten into many of those. ZTD and Mirror's Edge 2 are the only ones I'm really wanting out of those. I know that that doesn't change the games coming out (more than I may have initially thought), but for WiiU itself, good luck.

Also, Star Ocean 5 had a similar costume controversy as well, did it not? I don't follow it, but I'm fairly certain I heard something along those lines at some point recently.
 
See, I've never gotten into many of those. ZTD and Mirror's Edge 2 are the only ones I'm really wanting out of those. I know that that doesn't change the games coming out, but for WiiU itself, good luck.

Also, Star Ocean 5 had a similar costume controversy as well, did it not? I don't follow it, but I'm fairly certain I heard something along those lines at some point recently.

They changed the size of the underwear for one character and that was it. That was a change that happened for every region rather than just one.
 
See, I've never gotten into many of those. ZTD and Mirror's Edge 2 are the only ones I'm really wanting out of those. I know that that doesn't change the games coming out (more than I may have initially thought), but for WiiU itself, good luck.

Also, Star Ocean 5 had a similar costume controversy as well, did it not? I don't follow it, but I'm fairly certain I heard something along those lines at some point recently.

The SO5 thing was a change that was made in development (and blown out of proportion) and is the same for Japan as the rest of the world.
 
No, I expect it to bomb here too. I just don't think these changes will affect what sales it does receive in any serious way. Anyone who really wanted the game isn't going to let a few less swimsuits & a different sleeping pose change their mind. Anyone who says such things are a deal breaker is either posing or was unlikely to buy the game in the first place.

I went ahead and bought the Japanese version when it became obvious the game was getting cut to ribbons. The changes are more severe than "just swimsuits" as you like to put it when were losing DLC and having story content altered. By all means continue with your condescending assumptions though.
 
Maybe if Wii U is your only console/handheld. I'm actually in the position of there being so many other games I want coming out in June/July that I can safely skip this one because of the stupid alterations being made. Just in June there's Star Ocean 5, Odin Sphere, Atelier Sophie, Grand Kingdom, Zero Time Dilemma, Mirror's Edge 2 and God Eater Resurrection that I'm interested in. There are 2-3 more in July, too.

And that's fair enough. Only game on that list I'm especially interested in on that list is Mirror's Edge 2 and that's a completely different kind of game.

The thing is, I can't even remember the last really great turn-based JRPG on a home console that I played. And with Persona 5 probably not coming out here until the end of the year (or next), TMS looks like it'll be a cool drink in a desert of games.

I went ahead and bought the Japanese version when it became obvious the game was getting cut to ribbons. The changes are more severe than "just swimsuits" as you like to put it when were losing DLC and having story content altered. By all means continue with your condescending assumptions though.

And for people who really care that much about the DLC (which is just alternate swimsuit outfits & a handful of character skits) & the other changes, they can go ahead and import the game. You're still buying the game.
 
They changed the size of the underwear for one character and that was it. That was a change that happened for every region rather than just one.

The SO5 thing was a change that was made in development (and blown out of proportion) and is the same for Japan as the rest of the world.

Just looked up a little bit as well. Apparently hand gestures were changed as well? Strange the things we never think of that change like that.

I just think it's silly that people would get worked up over that. However, I feel it's almost equally as silly in this case. I can't see much of a difference in the two. If they made the same changes in the Japanese version, people would still be deterred by that, would they not? It just seems like it's the same thing in spirit to me.
 
And for people who really care that much about the DLC (which is just alternate swimsuit outfits & a handful of character skits) & the other changes, they can go ahead and import the game. You're still buying the game.

Well, I can't import the game because 1) I can't read Japanese and 2) I don't have a Japanese Wii U.

So I'm not buying this, because I'm really tired of Nintendo telling me that certain things aren't appropriate for me just because I'm American and not Japanese. I'm tired of being treated like a child and the extent of these changes combined with flat out cutting out content is ridiculous to me. Without the DLC I am getting a less complete game than Japan is and that's the straw that broke the camel's back and I can't support NoA's nonsense.

I didn't buy Bravely Second (of which the so called "localization" had a massive personal offense to me) and Fire Emblem Fates because of this awful behavior and I think that supporting these bad localization teams is the wrong thing to do. I really hope that the next Xenoblade game isn't as badly mangled as TMS or I may skip out on the NX altogether.
 
It's a Nintendo game and an RPG at that. It's unlikely to become cheap. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if physical copies of this game become quite valuable in a few years - I doubt Nintendo is going to overproduce.

And what exactly is coming out around that time that's going to crowd out a turn-based JRPG on the Wii U? The Wii U's lineup is pretty much dead around there. I guess somebody could buy NMS or Star Ocean instead, but those are all different enough (and on different platforms) that I don't really see them as direct competitors.

I got Pikmin 3 for $17, and a number of 3DS games much cheaper than their launch price. Sure some of the big names might not go down in price, but even Xenoblade Chronicles can be gotten for less than launch MSRP right now and lower if you want used. Hell I got Wonderful 101 for free. Bayonetta 2 is going for 21 right now.

I like a lot of different genres, and I don't care if I am playing a turn based game on my PC/Console/Handheld. A turn based game coming out for the Wii U would only mean something to me if I didn't own a Wii U. I don't care where I play my games.

Don't get me wrong I preordered this game the first day it went up. Nothing changed so far will stop from getting the game, but it doesn't stop me from being displeased with the changes. At this point they can only lose my sale, and there is enough coming out around then that I am going to have to choose what to buy and what to play.
 
Just looked up a little bit as well. Apparently hand gestures were changed as well? Strange the things we never think of that change like that.

I just think it's silly that people would get worked up over that. However, I feel it's almost equally as silly in this case. I can't see much of a difference in the two. If they made the same changes in the Japanese version, people would still be deterred by that, would they not? It just seems like it's the same thing in spirit to me.

Hand gestures were changed because shock, the scenario was rewritten!

From what I could gather, the new scenario involves Tsubasa being in some teen magazine photoshoot and it's all about being boychic.

The original scenario involved Tsubasa being in a pinup shoot, and the gestures/poses made go on to emphasize on that. From cutesy and pinup like shots to DX cross-armed gestures. What. Mind you, this also tied into Maiko's former past as being a Gravure Idol. No idea what they've rewritten Maiko to now.
 
If I had to take a guess, the whole dungeon/storyline in this case is less about fanservice in this scenario then and about the whole message itself. I can see why they may want to change the message about being brave enough to be in a pinup/fanservice shoot. Not really sure why the subject's different than it just being changed to regular modeling if that's the case.
 
No, I expect it to bomb here too. I just don't think these changes will affect what sales it does receive in any serious way. Anyone who really wanted the game isn't going to let a few less swimsuits & a different sleeping pose change their mind. Anyone who says such things are a deal breaker is either posing or was unlikely to buy the game in the first place.

True enough. I tend to view these changes as ridiculous not a deal breaker. I mean on average the number of people who are actually more likely to buy games because of these changes is ~1 per thread (excepting the somwwhat problematic potion support thing in Fates). They can't possible make sense on sales (and no GAF is not representative but NotGAF is unlikely to ever hear about this game let alone buy it).

It only really makes sense in an utter terror of Twitter controversy way which I find about as socially appealing as I did the utter terror of news paper/talkback hosts and talking heads that preceded it.
 
Just wondering, but has NOA ever come forward with why they're changing some things and leave others as is. And not just this game, but in general? I understand Lin's more questionable underwear choices without bumping her age up to 18 for example. But the other games are all very inconsistent in the changes (with this seemingly being a new high) and some don't really make much, if any, sense.

I think Bill would be the most logical person to ask who also does interviews. But I doubt he'll be able to awnser that fairly...
 
Rumour has it that the localisation on that game is being finished up by NOE right now. So hopefully that game mostly dodges the censorship.
 
You know, seeing some of those costume changes... they aren't all that bad. It's like they actually got someone to come in and make an actual costume instead of the shit that happened with XCX.
 
You know, seeing some of those costume changes... they aren't all that bad. It's like they actually got someone to come in and make an actual costume instead of the shit that happened with XCX.
The costumes themselves are fine. Them replacing costumes that were also fine is the bad part. Especially if they clash with the original context or have had their context rewritten.
 
Oh, no wonder I couldn't find it. Was searching for Innocent Sin in thread title. So was it actually DLC or stuff that should have been on the UMD? Would it have been more of an issue if stuff was cut from the original game?

I guess Atlus developed games just get stuff removed on dead platforms :P

It was definitely extra context (Midnight Theatre didn't even exist in the original game so any content was extra), it is a little bit hangy though since some of the Midnight Theatre stuff was on the UMD, I never got to it, so I can't say if it feels incomplete without the DLC content.
 
Rumour has it that the localisation on that game is being finished up by NOE right now. So hopefully that game mostly dodges the censorship.

Is there a decent source for this? Would be awesome if true. I wouldn't get my hopes up though, Fatal Frame/ Project Zero V for example was identical to the US version in the EU.
 
I went ahead and bought the Japanese version when it became obvious the game was getting cut to ribbons. The changes are more severe than "just swimsuits" as you like to put it when were losing DLC and having story content altered. By all means continue with your condescending assumptions though.

See everyone? This person did it! Anyways, I really think that the only valid argument against the cuts is that cuts like these are generally done in the name of giving the game more mainstream appeal, but the problem with that is with or without these cuts the idea of this game gaining mainstream popularity is laughable at best.

We live in an age where at least in the US it seems that a lot of Japanese entertainment has become a niche thing here again much like it was in the 90s. With or without questionable sexual content it seems like a lot of people just bounce off of games that wear its Japanese origin on its sleeve. I mean, the only Japanese developed games in recent memory that have had consistent mainstream success here in the states are made by either Nintendo or From Software.

So, my point to all of this is that you can probably assume that the bulk of the people who are buying this game are the type of people who would be upset about cuts like this because of this maybe it would be better to just leave this content in.
 
Oh, no wonder I couldn't find it. Was searching for Innocent Sin in thread title. So was it actually DLC or stuff that should have been on the UMD? Would it have been more of an issue if stuff was cut from the original game?

I guess Atlus developed games just get stuff removed on dead platforms :P

It was just DLC, but it was DLC written by Satomi Tadashi, and I'd heard some of the quests were very interesting.
 
Well, fuck it. Did indeed cancel my preorder. I'll pick the game up used or on a firesale. Rewriting scenarios is where shit has moved past annoying into excess.

Thankfully it's on Sony only consoles. RIP indeed if it was on Nintendo console though.
Not really. Nintendo has been butchering their own shit, not other companies' games. I can say that NoA is easily the last place I want localizing a game or having any involvement in whatsoever though.
 
Well, fuck it. Did indeed cancel my preorder. I'll pick the game up used or on a firesale. Rewriting scenarios is where shit has moved past annoying into excess.


Not really. Nintendo has been butchering their own shit, not other companies' games. I can say that NoA is easily the last place I want localizing a game or having any involvement in whatsoever though.

Judging by how fast it lowered its price in Japan due to huge sales bomb, I suspect you don't have to wait for a long time to get it cheap.

Seriously though those censorship (even after it got the sufficient age rating) is weird. If I buy a mature/teen game I can handle fucking swimsuit.
 
Judging by how fast it lowered its price in Japan due to huge sales bomb, I suspect you don't have to wait for a long time to get it cheap.

I don't know about that. Not only is it a Nintendo game, but it will certainly be produced in relatively low quantities, which will maintain its value.
 
Thankfully it's on Sony only consoles. RIP indeed if it was on Nintendo console though.

Not really. Nintendo has been butchering their own shit, not other companies' games. I can say that NoA is easily the last place I want localizing a game or having any involvement in whatsoever though.

This. As shown several times in this thread, they don't care as long as they don't fund or publish things. We're not MK SNES era anymore, despite the current problems.
 
Expecting this one to price drop fast? LOL.

Unlike games like Codename STEAM or W101 they are very aware about how niche this game is so they most likely are going to print very few copies and the game will mantain a stable price long after release unless they make a 2nd print.

I can see #FE is going to serve Devil's Third price stability realness.
 
Thankfully it's on Sony only consoles. RIP indeed if it was on Nintendo console though.
I'm not going to lie, when I was watching the newest Persona 5 trailer all I could think was how glad I was that it's not on a Nintendo console. They would censor the hell out of it. :/

As for #FE, I still haven't decided what I'm going to do. I've been looking forward to this game ever since it was originally revealed. The gameplay portion still looks fun, but I can't help shake the feeling that we're just getting the "made for TV" version, and not the release we should have. It's not even edited in a smart way, it's just...sloppy. I mean, covering the cleavage of a female boss with mysterious "black flame"? Honestly, they should have just inserted beams of light there, at least I'm used to that in the anime I watch (although that's no less frustrating).

It's a lose situation either way. I can pass on the game, and never play something I might enjoy, or purchase it and essentially support Nintendo in these changes. I guess I could wait and buy it used, but I doubt many copies of this game will be sold anyway, so finding one used might be difficult. Well that, and I never buy used games. I'm a collector, so if I purchase anything it's going to be new so I can be sure of its condition.

Needless to say, my hype for the game has dropped a lot, which is a damn shame. I know there will be a lot more edits than the ones currently known too.
 
I'm not going to lie, when I was watching the newest Persona 5 trailer all I could think was how glad I was that it's not on a Nintendo console. They would censor the hell out of it. :/

Oh stop with this, no they wouldn't. This is turning the theater of the absurd comedy of this release into a drama to make the Greeks entertained with how far people are embellishing reality with nonsense.

They sure censored Stella Glow, must have been straight up 18+ sex scenes before Nintendo got their hands on it!
 
I'm not going to lie, when I was watching the newest Persona 5 trailer all I could think was how glad I was that it's not on a Nintendo console. They would censor the hell out of it. :/
It'd be fine. Maybe if Nintendo bought Atlus and made the calls for how to localize it, but it'd figure if they turned around and left Persona alone mostly while being very picky about #FE.
 
Oh stop with this, no they wouldn't. This is turning the theater of the absurd comedy of this release into a drama to make the Greeks entertained with how far people are embellishing reality with nonsense.

They sure censored Stella Glow, must have been straight up 18+ sex scenes before Nintendo got their hands on it!
I'm not saying all games are edited by Nintendo of America, but Persona has always skewed more towards the mature, particularly in their content and character designs, which I can't see NoA being okay with. They're already editing a boss in #FE, and I'm sure there will be more. I haven't play the game yet (obviously), so I could very well be wrong on that. I hope I am.

It'd be fine. Maybe if Nintendo bought Atlus and made the calls for how to localize it, but it'd figure if they turned around and left Persona alone mostly while being very picky about #FE.
True, it might be more of a Fire Emblem thing and them not wanting to "tarnish their franchise". If it were just a core Persona game it would probably be fine.

Anyway, I apologize. I didn't intend to turn this topic into a "this game would be better on (insert console here)". This particular game wouldn't exist in the first place if it wasn't for Nintendo (it's a cross-over with their Fire Emblem series, after all), so at the very least, I'm appreciative for that. I'll probably still go through with my purchase, but I still wish Nintendo (particularly NoA) was more confident in the original product and not so eager to edit things as they are, especially considering the rating wouldn't likely change anyway even if they left it all intact.
 
I just don't understand this damn game. The ENTIRE point of it is anime titties and fanservice, and that was clear from the first real trailer of it. Even if you don't count the fanservice, they made this game so ridiculously specific to Japan, and it bombed even there. NOW they're trying to salvage it for the rest of the world? Why would they let Atlus even make this game in the first place if they were going to go and censor the shit out of it?

If they'd just made a straight FExSMT crossover there never would have been this problem, and it would've had a ton more sales potential in the US. I don't get it. I feel like Atlus made this as a troll and then blew the money on cocaine
 

Kind of a bad article. It states that there are no narrative changes and has that holier-than-thou twitter activist tone to it.

I went and checked my #fe import purchase and it was 75$ for the special edition which is actually cheaper than the US MSRP. That doesn't mean a whole lot with GCU, etc. but still.

What bothers me the most about this is I actually try to avoid imports that get western releases. I do translation so I like supporting as many of those efforts as I can even if I end up paying more. My having to import 5 big Nintendo releases in such short succesion just shouldn't be necessary.
 
I'm not saying all games are edited by Nintendo of America, but Persona has always skewed more towards the mature, particularly in their content and character designs, which I can't see NoA being okay with. They're already editing a boss in #FE, and I'm sure there will be more. I haven't play the game yet (obviously), so I could very well be wrong on that. I hope I am.

This is why I raised you Stella Glow. The game ends with (depending on chosen character arcs)
implied very, very heavily and openly with characters in a sexually (very) active relationship
. The game also wastes no time in having clevage, event spoilers
brutal murder
, and all sorts of other adult themes.

I find this notion that you are raising, for titles that are not Nintendo's own and/or published with a heavy branding (Stella Glow, again, has a cast of young adults to late teens to a character spoiler
sociopathic and psychopathic child
), as nothing short of nonsensical on evidence of titles launched not many months ago.

P5? They wouldn't care. Its not their product nor does it have Nintendo branding or publishing associated with it.

Nintendo is not Godot, and you needn't wait for their arrival to censor everything.


Edit: Oh and everyone should go play Stella Glow. Its the best damn jRPG I've played in a long while (except XCX when I got to fly in a Skell, fuck all other games after that moment).
 
At least Europe is getting this the very same day as North America thanks to Nintendo. There's some positives to Nintendo's involvement.
 
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