Author Topic: Good News Bad News  (Read 23767 times)

Agent 12

  • Moderator
  • Zurvan Surfer (+2500)
  • *
  • Posts: 2572
    • View Profile
Good News Bad News
« on: June 06, 2009, 04:32:11 pm »
Congratulations everyone, I'm going out tonight so you get today's installment of the game early!

First things first:  We could only find the following source. This is unconfirmed I'd like to see atleast 2 sources saying this but until then we are counting on rpgsite.net being truthful:

http://www.rpgsite.net/news/342.html

Wow.....that's all I have to say. They have shut down 3 fan projects in the last 5 years. I'm pretty sure CTDS sales weren't that horrible considering it's a 10 year old port. If they really only care about money then please let them see this:  We will personally make you a new Chrono game for free.  You can have all the rights to it, keep all the money and it won't cost you a dime.  I really was clinging to hope that the C&D meant that they cared about the franchise, but apparently they don't :(

Second things second: People keep bringing up legal issues.  Here's the deal when I talk to lawyers they tell me that it's fightable BUT it would still more than likely go to court. I'm NOT willing to do that. I don't want to be remembered as the guy who went to court over a video game. I want to be remembered for my research, my accomplishments in school and my job. This isn't my life and in the grand scheme of things this really is just a ROM hack nothing more.  Maybe if it was 4 years ago, or 10 years from now I would be willing to do that but I have a new awesome job and the economy sucks. I don't want to tell my boss "hey I can't go to work for the next week cause I'm going to court against a multi-million dollar corporation".

Third things third:

Video 26
Video 27
Video 28
Video 29
Video 30

--JP
« Last Edit: June 06, 2009, 05:00:57 pm by Agent 12 »

Schala Zeal

  • Radical Dreamer (+2000)
  • *
  • Posts: 2148
  • 7th Elemental Innate, and vtuber
    • View Profile
Re: Good News Bad News
« Reply #1 on: June 06, 2009, 04:33:59 pm »
I simply enjoy your work, and you're always welcome to contribute to any of my projects.... Just saying...

FaustWolf

  • Guru of Time Emeritus
  • Arbiter (+8000)
  • *
  • Posts: 8972
  • Fan Power Advocate
    • View Profile
Re: Good News Bad News
« Reply #2 on: June 06, 2009, 04:49:48 pm »
Agent 12, it's unlikely we'll get confirmation on that article, and sorry to cause a stir if my own posts caused you to take that part down; it's all up to rpgsite.com to get its story straight. All we can do is take it at face value, so here's the link Pyt Fumv discovered, and which is the source of the story:

http://www.rpgsite.net/news/342.html

For those who haven't seen it yet, the gist is that the Chrono series is officially dead for lack of profitability. There's still some question about the veracity of this interview with SE's senior Vice President given the timing of the news post (right after a C&D on a Chrono fan project?) but until we discover that rpgsite has pulled stunts in the past, I can see why this would be true. SE had major concerns about CT:DS' profitability due to the early leak and subsequent piracy even before the game made it to store shelves, but then there's this:

http://www.vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=24237

A grand total of .88 million sold. Compare to some of the Final Fantasy rehashes:

http://www.vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=3310
Final Fantasy III nets 2.29 million on the DS.

http://www.vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=13437
Final Fantasy IV nets .98 million on the DS.

Now, I'm cherry picking -- there were a number of Final Fantasy titles for DS (Chocobo Tales, for example) that performed much more poorly. Also, I question whether VGChartz even took into account European sales. I mean, you've just released the game for the first time to a giant multinational market and netted only 60,000 sales? What? Furthermore, some work may actually have been put into the Final Fantasy games I mentioned (not sure about III, but certain IV since it was a full remake), whereas Chrono Trigger was pretty much a full-on rehash for quick bucks. This has two effects: first, the full remakes are more attractive for being updated, and secondly, development costs for the rehash should be far lower.

But if Square Enix's internal numbers match what VGChartz says, I can see where they're coming from. I don't agree, but I think the VGChartz numbers do lend some credence to the rpgsite story. Especially if SE is just looking at Japanese sales numbers.

RySenkari

  • Guardian (+100)
  • *
  • Posts: 156
    • View Profile
Re: Good News Bad News
« Reply #3 on: June 06, 2009, 04:55:57 pm »
They shit on the fans by ruining five years of your hard work, and then they tell us to buy more Chrono games?

WHAT THE FUCK ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO BUY? I bought the original SNES game, I bought the DS remake, I bought Chronicles, I bought Chrono Cross... what the fuck else? Are they going to do an official soundtrack release here? Are they going to sell plushies? (I'd buy a Schala one for 100 bucks!)

FUCK THEM. If I saw a Square employee on the street right now I'd run outside and break his jaw. If they don't want to release another Chrono game, and then they want to shit on the fans... fuck them all. How DARE that fucking son of a bitch say "buy more Chrono games" after his company treated the fans like this.

If it's true that it's only the American legal team coming after the Compendium, and that no one in Japan has anything to do with this situation, then you find that guy, and you e-mail him, and you tell him what his company is doing to the Chrono fans, and you tell him that if he ever wants us to buy any more Chrono stuff, that he can start by telling the American legal team to back the fuck off of CE, and that he can continue by releasing a full American soundtrack.

Chrono'99

  • Guru of Reason Emeritus
  • God of War (+3000)
  • *
  • Posts: 3605
    • View Profile
Re: Good News Bad News
« Reply #4 on: June 06, 2009, 05:05:11 pm »
FaustWolf, personally I don't see where they're coming from. Hashimoto gave this answer "when asked by RPGSite staff if he could forsee Square handing off other much-loved but neglected franchises to external developers as with Front Mission".

CT:DS sold .88 million units.

The Front Mission game which sold most units (Front Mission 1) sold .60 million units, while the most recent installment, Front Mission 2089, sold barely .05 million units.
http://vgchartz.com/worldtotals.php?name=front+mission&console=&publisher=&genre=&minSales=0&results=50&sort=Total

Basically, the FM series sells like shit yet it's getting a revival, while the Chrono series does well and gets nothing. I'd have accepted yet another cliché answer about how the development team can't be reunited, but this...is just frigging surreal. It makes no sense whatsoever.
« Last Edit: June 06, 2009, 05:08:46 pm by Chrono'99 »

Happy-Dude

  • Earthbound (+15)
  • *
  • Posts: 47
    • View Profile
Re: Good News Bad News
« Reply #5 on: June 06, 2009, 05:11:59 pm »
They shit on the fans by ruining five years of your hard work, and then they tell us to buy more Chrono games?

WHAT THE FUCK ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO BUY? I bought the original SNES game, I bought the DS remake, I bought Chronicles, I bought Chrono Cross... what the fuck else? Are they going to do an official soundtrack release here? Are they going to sell plushies? (I'd buy a Schala one for 100 bucks!)

...

I sympathize with you, my friend. There are only so many Chrono out there (that I can play...).

Yes, please, can someone contact these guys? Show them the video, get a contract, you know... Please?

Chrono has been abondoned. It's been for years. It will until they finally see what fans in the states are doing. Someone, please, email them about Crimson Echoes, Resurrection, Remake.... It looks like it only attracted American eyes, but not the eyes in "the land where the sun rises".

Anyone? CE has made the game... Now with the actual *rpo* dudes there, they can polish, add, and cannon-ize it even more. PLEASE!! SQUARE ENIX OF JAPAN IS CLUELESS TO THIS :'O !!

EDIT::
Oh, nice job on the vids btw -- I was watching the last batch and went "wtf, there's more :D !?!"

RySenkari

  • Guardian (+100)
  • *
  • Posts: 156
    • View Profile
Re: Good News Bad News
« Reply #6 on: June 06, 2009, 05:12:55 pm »
That's what made me go off the handle. They've got something against this series. I don't know what it is, but someone high up at Square has something against the Chrono series and he's actively working against producing new Chrono content.

TVTropes had a good article on this called "Screwed By The Network". I've adapted it a bit for this, but I think it serves the purpose nicely:

Nevertheless, the need to keep the stores populated with new games means that their commissioning bods will keep putting forward all kinds of games that may or may not appeal to the company executives' sensibilities.

For this reason, the execs will sometimes find themselves in the unfortunate position of being in charge of a game franchise that they do not understand and therefore do not know what to do with. This presents them with a tricky situation: if the game is a failure they risk losing face, but if the game is a success then they'll look redundant.

Alternatively, the franchise may be a legacy commission under your predecessor, which is worse - because if it's a success they'll have one up on you, but if you abandon it straight off, you'll lose all plausible deniability when people call you petty and small.

The answer to both of these problems, of course, is to screw the franchise over completely. Make ports of old games instead of new installments, delay the games' development, refuse to announce a new installment until the fans forget about the series entirely, release it against the new Grand Theft Auto game... do everything you can to stop it from building up a fandom that's not quite big enough to warrant the budget, but just big enough to cause some trouble when you refuse to make games for it for not "selling enough copies".

Then wipe your beaded brow, pop a few pills, put on your best happy face and chant your power mantra. So long as you look good in the eyes of others then everything will be fine. And that's what this job is about, right? Right?

FaustWolf

  • Guru of Time Emeritus
  • Arbiter (+8000)
  • *
  • Posts: 8972
  • Fan Power Advocate
    • View Profile
Re: Good News Bad News
« Reply #7 on: June 06, 2009, 05:20:33 pm »
Oh wow, take a look at the Front Mission VGChartz:

http://vgchartz.com/worldtotals.php?name=front+mission&console=&publisher=&genre=&minSales=0&results=50&sort=Total

When you put it in that light, Chrono'99 is right. Even put together, they're way below Chrono numbers. Maybe it's time to fire off an email to SE and see if they deny what the Senior VP is supposed to have said. It's the only way to be sure.

Happy-Dude

  • Earthbound (+15)
  • *
  • Posts: 47
    • View Profile
Re: Good News Bad News
« Reply #8 on: June 06, 2009, 05:27:36 pm »
Heh, I just had a bit of my fantasy moments...

So, if SE does commission CE team to make a CT sequel (well, interquel), imagine the art, music, depth, and transitions there will be... More hours, more gameplay, more everything than what a fan project can hope for...

And image cover art with a mix of Toriyama's style with the CT gang (then a blurry break thing) and then Nobuteru Yuuki with the CC gang...

Full blown maturity cycle, the product of ages...

*****

But seriously, please contact SE of Japan?

Corpse69

  • Porrean (+50)
  • *
  • Posts: 96
  • Without a fight no one lives on
    • View Profile
Re: Good News Bad News
« Reply #9 on: June 06, 2009, 05:28:18 pm »
this pisses me of completly and i just woke up someone needs to shit on enix WTF they have made some real stupid choices but saying if we want another chrono game buy more WTH they would probably port crhono cross over to ds or psp or even worse make a crappy piece of shit of a sequel and shit it out with in 2 weeks >.> ive seen the quality of there mana games on ds i hated them and FF for ds isnt that good ether GODFUCKENDAMNIT anyone wanna burn square enix usa down?

what total fucken pole smoking uncle fucking ass spelunking cock munchers that fuck themseves in the ass

im so pissed

Happy-Dude

  • Earthbound (+15)
  • *
  • Posts: 47
    • View Profile
Re: Good News Bad News
« Reply #10 on: June 06, 2009, 05:47:19 pm »
Contact SE of J, give them the game, ask them what they want to do with it...

Work with you guys, or take it in their own hands? What to keep, take away, add (Schala, Human-Glenn, etc.) ?

I still think there's miscommunication here: SE of America != SE of Japan...

(Sorry if I'm ranting too much/ posting too much. I've been up since 4:30 today and really am tired, but CE vids.... And et. all. If I'm getting annoying, just say the word and I'll shut up until next time ;) )

EDIT::
Oh my god @ Truce Canyon- Reptite variation!! (and the haziness of my mind right now makes it so much better...) drooollls.

thegreatentropy

  • Iokan (+1)
  • *
  • Posts: 7
    • View Profile
Re: Good News Bad News
« Reply #11 on: June 06, 2009, 06:23:35 pm »
It was fun the fact that it doesn't mather when it is or what timeline it is, there's aways some enemy being bullied by others in Truce Canyon :lol:

phelph

  • Earthbound (+15)
  • *
  • Posts: 20
    • View Profile
Re: Good News Bad News
« Reply #12 on: June 06, 2009, 06:23:52 pm »


First things first:  We could only find the following source. This is unconfirmed I'd like to see atleast 2 sources saying this but until then we are counting on rpgsite.net being truthful:


lol

Happy-Dude

  • Earthbound (+15)
  • *
  • Posts: 47
    • View Profile
Re: Good News Bad News
« Reply #13 on: June 06, 2009, 06:45:31 pm »
Just finished... and all I can say is just wow...

Soo many moral issues (I never played CC, so I dunno the *impact* completely)...

And I LOVE THE MUSIC :D !!

And might we viewers get an explaination: Save Ayla vs Attack (what is the result?) -- what did Chrono do exactly?

(I do hope that in the final versions, some of the dialogue for Chrono was polished up to a certain prose instead of just *shut up and die*?)

phelph

  • Earthbound (+15)
  • *
  • Posts: 20
    • View Profile
Re: Good News Bad News
« Reply #14 on: June 06, 2009, 06:47:51 pm »
(I never played CC, so I dunno the *impact* completely)...




what are you waiting for, plaaaaaay CC :P