Is the Valkyria Chronicles series dead?

SykoTech said:
Welp, might as well abandon all hope now. :(
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I know. :(

But at this point, I still consider it a more likely scenario than SEGA doing something meaningful without some form of financial backing.

The only other possibility which might be remotely viable is a 3DS release, but I would far, far prefer it on a console. Any console. I would buy an Xbone if it came to that.
 
SamuelSupreme said:
It was dead when they moved it to PSP....I thought it sold close to 500,000 surprised that was considered a disappointment given how niche it was
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Yeah, it went from pure awesome, with decent sales and a cool little anime series on the side, to PSP obscurity, formula change, failure, and discontinuation. So disappointing...
 
ArchangelWest said:
Yeah, it went from pure awesome, with decent sales and a cool little anime series on the side, to PSP obscurity, formula change, failure, and discontinuation. So disappointing...
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If Valkyria Chronicles 3 came out first instead of 2, I think it would've done a lot better. The shift in tone and that painfully generic academy setting in 2 almost killed it for me. I stuck around for the gameplay on the go.
 
I think it can still happen, on 3DS maybe.
Not anytime soon anyways. And Skies of Arcadia 2 needs to happen first! :p

That restructuring report was referring to western branches retail release mostly, the fact that Yakuza isn't mentioned there is the very reason we're all so deperate waiting for a localization announcement that might never come.
 
Aeana said:
The problem is that it doesn't really have a good place to go at the moment. Even the PS3 would be a risk now as we move into a generational transition. I think it's very possible we'll see it again, but not for a couple of years.

I guess that's me trying to be optimistic.
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3DS? I hear Fire emblem did okay
 
Funny thing is PSP games sold well with both reaching 200k in Japan so it's mostly Sega insane expectations that killed it.

If we are lucky we might see Japan only ports to 3DS or Vita but even that is optimistic.
 
It's Sega, so its dead.
Sony shoould buy the IP, give it to a decent studio/people and make it a Fire Emblem of their own. Sega is seriously stupid at managing their own IP. I hope those old executives at the top get replaced as quickly as possible.
 
Retro_ said:
It's dead

Sega is only producing games in proven IPs for the forseeable future. and Valkyria Chronicles was far from that it seems
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I think this could have been a flagship RPG-ish franchise for Sega if they just kept it in the PS3. They nerfed it before it really got a chance to really grow.
 
Sega seems intent on not taking this franchise seriously, which is a damned shame. It's not quite dead, but its life is somewhat dependent on VC3 being localized. Somewhat in the sense that we see Shining continue though its Western releases stopped a couple entries ago, but such a development is one that's wholly undesirable for any fan. The other problem is while Capcom is public about their reasoning, Sega keeps their lips sealed about stuff so they don't communicate much about their IPs, at least as far as Sega West is concerned. This doesn't inspire confidence from fans. They couldn't even bring themselves to create a character trailer for Project X Zone like Capcom did, and I don't think they advertised the release of the Valkyria Chronicles 3 Artbook on any of their blogs. What bull.

I would hope that if that E3 rumor about Sony buying exclusivity to two Sega franchises is true, Valkyria Chronicles is one of them. It would seem probable considering the franchise's history.

thefro said:
Vyse is both a Skies of Arcadia and a Valkyria Chronicles character.
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It's a cameo. His native franchise is Skies of Arcadia. He doesn't factor significantly into VC (except for the fact that it's fucking Vyse)

Coxy said:
Dont see why it would be, VC3 sold twice as much as the shitty shining game using the engine. and god knows they will never stop making those. the fact sega didnt localise VC3 doesnt really say anything beyond psp being dead in the west and VC2 deservedly selling poorly, they havent announced Yakuza 5 or PSO2 either and those are hugely successful and on viable platforms and will both undoubtedly get further titles.

The series certainly hasnt been forgotten anyway, they're extremely busy giving Selvaria a cameo appearance in dozens of games they run. At least her outfit and hairstyle were welcome in PSO2
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Yes. On your second comment, I'd like to add that Alicia and Selvaria are featured in....this mobile thing, which is heavily fanservice-y so not worth getting that excited about. Sega is at least interested in paying tribute to the franchise, but as is to be expected of them nowadays they're satisfied just to pay tribute to the franchise which is terrible.

And as for your first comment, yeah I do believe the Shining games have been outsold by VC. Actually, VC1 as I understand was a passable performance once it received its price cut in the West, as sales accelerated quite sharply. VC3 was indeed a strong seller in Japan: 100k in opening is pretty good shit. I assume Shining is continuing because it's even cheaper to make.

IIRC VC2 was just a mediocre seller on the whole, though the drop in Western sales was huge? In any case, with the CANVAS engine already developed, some development costs (financial and time) should have been shaved off. VA'ing and a healthy squad roster count weren't shaved off in future games, though apparently the maps left something to be desired in the PSP games

Steve Youngblood said:
Ugh, absolutely not. I feel so strongly about this that if what you suggested ever transpires, I'm holding you personally responsible and banning you. Skies or Valkyria would be infinitely preferable.
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What stakes! Heh heh.

Not to pick a fight, but I think it goes Shenmue < Skies < Valkyria as far as likelihood goes

Lindsay said:
Imca?!

I'm guessing Project X Zone greatly misrepresented her character type and personality huh? In a game full of fanservice why ever would they they turn her into a gloomy serious business type when she's clearly a shy but fun loving beach babe?
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:lol

Great comment.

Opiate said:
Best chances for a revival are iOS.
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Sadly as much as I think I understand your suggestion, BreathOfFFire'ing this franchise would also probably kill it, the fanbase most definitely. I don't think anyone is interested in making an iOS title that can rival or scratch the scope of the first Valkyria.

AniHawk said:
i'm glad skies of arcadia never met this fate.
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I eagerly await a mobile game with exaggerated proportions on Aika and Fina. Skies of Arcadia 2, finally! =P
 
If Sega stick to Sony's platform, I don't think VC4 would cost as much as original VC did budget wise since they don't have to build an engine from scratch (just improved it, canvas engine is good already) and PS4 being an easier platform for developer to work on. But hey, its Sega. Common sense isn't something they usually get used to.
 
Shengar said:
Featuring Welkin's Father as the main character?
I would throw all of my money for that
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Actually, I'd like a series of games that tell the stories of the following characters up until VC1:
Selvaria Bles
Maximillian
Radi Jaeger

I always felt like Jaeger had an interesting story to tell. He had an intriguing personality...and he is a tank commander, which is awesome.
 
VC1 was one of my favourite games this generation, but barring an IP takeover by Sony I don't think we'll see anything but new iOS installments to the franchise. (if that)

I still have hope though, VC4 on PS4 would be a dream come true.
 
The greatest mistake of the franchise was not releasing it on a portable console, it was the change in direction for the second game. The slice of life school setting did not fit the franchise, it was an effort to capture the Persona and Monster Hunter crowd and it failed miserably. Ironically, if VC2 was released on the PS3 it would have killed the franchise in one sequel. The slice of life, anime pandering, and school setting would have gotten so much more pushback if it reached the same PS3 fanbase.

VC3 wouldn't have been possible on the PS3 since VC2 with its school setting would have killed it and buried it in 5 feet of dirt.
 
I just wanted to play VC3. It seemed like a good mix of all the things VC1 and VC2 did right, but back to a more serious setting. I really wanted to play it.

:(
 
Karsticles said:
Actually, I'd like a series of games that tell the stories of the following characters up until VC1:
Selvaria Bles
Maximillian
Radi Jaeger

I always felt like Jaeger had an interesting story to tell. He had an intriguing personality...and he is a tank commander, which is awesome.
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Oh man, see the war from Imperial perspective would be good. We could either see Jaeger in earlier part of the war where they mostly battled the Confederacy or simply back in the day of the first Europan War.
 
A quote from a friend in a different forum.

houkoholic said:
SEGA aren't stupid and you can't blame them - they reportedly lost money on the first game both domestically (software only, they made it up from the merchandise and licensing later which is why the franchise was kept alive) and overseas even with the acclaimed reviews received everywhere due to the high cost of development on the PS3, which is why they took the series to the PSP with its much cheaper development cost for the sequel.

Even though the sequel wasn't as well received they actually made more money from it than the first game in Japan, and again the low cost of PSP development means localization for the sequel was a low risk investment.

This of course all naturally led to them continuing the trend of going to PSP for the third game.

Also keep in mind that the overseas market was never part of the plan, so serving the domestic PSP install base (which is huge due to Monster Hunter boom) was their only priority.
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Bolded for most important part of the whole writeup.

Basically SEGA didn't give a shit that VC sold well overseas because it wasn't profitable, and chose to abandon that market entirely by going PSP, only serving their domestic market at a lower cost.
 
Videoneon said:
And as for your first comment, yeah I do believe the Shining games have been outsold by VC. Actually, VC1 as I understand was a passable performance once it received its price cut in the West, as sales accelerated quite sharply.
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I don't think the way VC1 "sold well" made Sega happy. The game didn't receive a price cut so much as it was bargain binned, and it made the majority of its sales at clearance sale prices.

The sequel was a litmus test of sorts, to see if the first game made enough of an impression on Western gamers for the series to sell. Obviously, given the problems with the PSP, and Western gamers vastly preferring consoles to handhelds, it couldn't. VC2 really did kill the series in the West, not because it was a bad game (I hated the tone but loved the game), but because it sold awfully.
 
I loved Valkyria Chronicles. It took me a while though. I don't really like it, when my soliders die, so the mission in the desert aggrevated me to the point i thought it's the worst game i bought that year. Then i learned how to properly S-Rank and that made me enjoy the gameplay and the story to the point i consider it one of the best SRPGs i ever played.

I like the game so much, i had to buy this one years after used for a big buck:
alter_selvaria_bles_valkyria07.jpg


I just picked up VC2 for 10$ at PSN. I have the UMD for my PSP, but i'd rather replay it on that georgeous VITA-screen :)
 
Nightengale said:
A quote from a friend in a different forum.



Bolded for most important part of the whole writeup.

Basically SEGA didn't give a shit that VC sold well overseas because it wasn't profitable, and chose to abandon that market entirely by going PSP, only serving their domestic market at a lower cost.
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I actually predicted this. 2008 isn't the year where PS3 development is cheap. Sega is being so bold actually by developing a HD TRPG game with a load cast of characters. Not to mention the new engine they build from scratch for just one game. I could also sympathetic of their platform change move to keep the series alive and kicking. My main problem with VC2 is why should they make it focus tested to otaku-audience? Even with horrible western PSP performance, VC2 wouldn't bombed as hard if they maintain the tone of the game.

I know they have good reasons behind their every move for the series. It just some of the execution is badly planned that it somehow screwed up in the overseas market. Now with PS4 in mind, being more developer friendly than PS3 is for developer to work with and canvs engine itself, they could make a sequel or at least spiritual sucessor that have cheaper development cost than VC1 did in 2007/2008.

Watashiwa said:
I don't think the way VC1 "sold well" made Sega happy. The game didn't receive a price cut so much as it was bargain binned, and it made the majority of its sales at clearance sale prices.

The sequel was a litmus test of sorts, to see if the first game made enough of an impression on Western gamers for the series to sell. Obviously, given the problems with the PSP, and Western gamers vastly preferring consoles to handhelds, it couldn't. VC2 really did kill the series in the West, not because it was a bad game (I hated the tone but loved the game), but because it sold awfully.
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I think the tone of the game have the effect on sales, since it gives pretty bad impression for those who are not getting used to Japanese game. The word of mouth also killed VC2 in the west, not just the platform move.
 
Megidolaon said:
I really like this series. Is there any hope that Sega will make any more installments in this series? I know that it had a hard time financially. First one saw disappointing sales and went to PSP. Second one saw even poorer sales so the third wasn't even localized.

Is there still a chance that this series can come back? I'd hate to think one of my favorite IPs this gen has died. Even if it doesn't have the budget to be back on consoles like PS4, maybe Vita? Vita could use a game like VC4.
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VC Triology HD for WiiU
 
Watashiwa said:
I don't think the way VC1 "sold well" made Sega happy. The game didn't receive a price cut so much as it was bargain binned, and it made the majority of its sales at clearance sale prices.

The sequel was a litmus test of sorts, to see if the first game made enough of an impression on Western gamers for the series to sell. Obviously, given the problems with the PSP, and Western gamers vastly preferring consoles to handhelds, it couldn't. VC2 really did kill the series in the West, not because it was a bad game (I hated the tone but loved the game), but because it sold awfully.
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I don't see how the way I wrote my post was an obfuscation of the facts, assuming that was the thrust of your first paragraph. I said that once it received the price cuts sales increased. If you want me to use stronger language, I don't think it makes a significant difference. I more or less acknowledged it wouldn't have sold nearly as well otherwise. My point was it should have sold passably when all sales concluded (IIRC I've seen someone mention it hit 300-400k in the West)

That being said, I think Valkyria Chronicles' new price point, as disappointing of a move it was for Sega and absurdly risky as it was, serves as a prototypical reference point of alternative pricing schemes for games - a topic that every so often gets brought up in this forum.

As for the PSP thing, well it was a highly dangerous move to make so early in the franchise's life and it wasn't that great of an idea. A noticeable degree of the first game's capital was attached to its great production. The major tonal shift (see Hcoregamer00's post) notwithstanding. I think it should have set up two or three releases on one platform, offering a more or less consistent experience on the whole, before exploring other ones. I don't think much of Sega's reasoning actually holds up but they just went with it anyway.
 
Aeana said:
The problem is that it doesn't really have a good place to go at the moment. Even the PS3 would be a risk now as we move into a generational transition. I think it's very possible we'll see it again, but not for a couple of years.

I guess that's me trying to be optimistic.
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I just can't imagine that its next iteration will be what the 1st 3 were. I thought the simulation elements were a smart addition, as were the aesthetic shifts, but it still failed to ignite. If it returns, there's no reason to do it by-the-book, and that's a bad thing given its quality and Sega's current staff.
 
I liked Valkyria Chronicles just fine, but I'd much rather have a traditional JRPG from Sega instead of a strategy one. Hell, just get the Phantasy Star Collection over here!
 
Neifirst said:
I liked Valkyria Chronicles just fine, but I'd much rather have a traditional JRPG from Sega instead of a strategy one. Hell, just get the Phantasy Star Collection over here!
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The last traditional JRPG from Sega was Skies of Arcadia.

Which was... 13 years ago.
 
How expensive would it be to continue the series on PS3, since all they need to do is re-use, tweak, and add on to the original V.C. assets, and perhaps throw a slightly different 'filter' over it for most of us to be satisfied? I really didn't get the move to PSP. Looked like they were trying to cash in on the PSP taking off sales-wise at the time, (saw a greater potential there) and it backfired on them.

I say bring it back to PS3. I'll be gaming on it still for quite a while anyway since Namco seems content to bring Tales games only to PS3 for the forseeable future. Would be great to have V.C. back.
 
Here is the thing, people assume that a hypothetical Valkyria Chronicles 2 would have been a more somber, dark storyline had it stayed on the PS3.

The problem with that mindset is that Valkyria 3 was made so dark because of the pushback from the Japanese and western markets. The tonal shift was done in response to Valkyria Chronicles 2's storytelling and setting. The franchise in general was also headed to a more anime-style, pandering, moe-ificarion of the franchise. The Edy detachment DLC that was made after Valkyria Chrinocles focused on pandering to the characters with the bigger fans. They shockingly are also the most two-dimantional and least developed of the Valkyria cast. Then we got the biggest offender, the Selvaria DLC that softens the character and makes her very "moe." It transforms a well developed and charismatic character into fanboy fantasies.

They were already headed in the ultimate direction that Valkyria 2 took, and had it been on the PS3 the direction would have been even more disastrous.
 
I would really like to play this on the PS3 after playing Fire Emblem but would prefer a digital version. If it isn't on PSN just now does that generally mean it never will be?

A PS+ sale or giveaway might have been a good way to breath some life into the series and maybe lead to a sequel.
 
ArchangelWest said:
How expensive would it be to continue the series on PS3, since all they need to do is re-use, tweak, and add on to the original V.C. assets, and perhaps throw a slightly different 'filter' over it for most of us to be satisfied? I really didn't get the move to PSP. Looked like they were trying to cash in on the PSP taking off sales-wise at the time, (saw a greater potential there) and it backfired on them.

I say bring it back to PS3. I'll be gaming on it still for quite a while anyway since Namco seems content to bring Tales games only to PS3 for the forseeable future. Would be great to have V.C. back.
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The move to the PSP was also likely due to the poor sales of the original game. It sold well under Sega's expectations. Most of the sales done in the west was when the game was retailer discounted to get rid of stock, well below the price SEGA wanted when they printed so many copies. The original game engine was supposed to cost around $11 million to make. Add in the cost of printing, voice acting, marketing, translation, and the game was easily the most expensive SRPG ever made. With such a huge investment, there was a huge expectation of sales. That is what led to huge print runs and disappointing sales at the price points they were expecting.

Lots of people pointed out that word of mouth helped sales greatly in the west, but the very slow burn happened after SEGA was disappointed with initial western sales and already shifted strategy.
 
Since everyone goes how VC2 sold badly in west does anyone have number ?

I remember 90k being mentioned somewhere but that would put it above anything xseed ever did and bigger than almost everything atlus releases.
 
Hcoregamer00 said:
Here is the thing, people assume that a hypothetical Valkyria Chronicles 2 would have been a more somber, dark storyline had it stayed on the PS3.

The problem with that mindset is that Valkyria 3 was made so dark because of the pushback from the Japanese and western markets. The tonal shift was done in response to Valkyria Chronicles 2's storytelling and setting. The franchise in general was also headed to a more anime-style, pandering, moe-ificarion of the franchise. The Edy detachment DLC that was made after Valkyria Chrinocles focused on pandering to the characters with the bigger fans. They shockingly are also the most two-dimantional and least developed of the Valkyria cast. Then we got the biggest offender, the Selvaria DLC that softens the character and makes her very "moe." It transforms a well developed and charismatic character into fanboy fantasies.

They were already headed in the ultimate direction that Valkyria 2 took, and had it been on the PS3 the direction would have been even more disastrous.
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This is sort of an insignificant post on my part, but in the interest of clarification I'm inclined to make it.

I meant not to imply that the PSP produced the tonal shift. I know about the Edy Detachment and Behind her Blue Flame, though I didn't play them. And from what I understand the Valkyria Chronicles anime (of the first game) massacres the characters. There's also fanservice model figurines or w/e and art that were decidedly fanservice-y.

They had a future direction in mind. I'm just acknowledging that a noticeable amount of people have pointed to the graphical power of the first game, the maps, and such as significant things they liked that were important to the experience, even if they aren't the only things that matter.
 
Videoneon said:
This is sort of an insignificant post on my part, but in the interest of clarification I'm inclined to make it.

I meant not to imply that the PSP produced the tonal shift. I know about the Edy Detachment and Behind her Blue Flame, though I didn't play them. And from what I understand the Valkyria Chronicles anime (of the first game) massacres the characters. There's also fanservice model figurines or w/e and art that were decidedly fanservice-y.

They had a future direction in mind. I'm just acknowledging that a noticeable amount of people have pointed to the graphical power of the first game, the maps, and such as significant things they liked that were important to the experience, even if they aren't the only things that matter.
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I wasn't talking about you or anyone in particular. I was merely making the point that Valkyria was already headed in a direction that western fans didn't like. There would have been some sort of negative response regardless. Whether it was the PS3 or the PSP, Valkyria 2 would have sunk the franchise regardless. Just the magnitude of it would have been far more on the PS3 due to expectations and the development costs.
 
I could see Hcoregamer00 point about VC already headed toward otaku-pandering tone as their strategy of sale and I agree with it. But I could said that VC2 is being "crossed the line" and make it extremely unpopular. If I'm not wrong though, VC2 have less merchandise or media spin-off compared to VC1 or even VC3.
 
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