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Falcom almost made a command RPG Ys for the DS

duckroll

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Oct 25, 2017
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http://news.denfaminicogamer.jp/projectbook/180724/3
http://www.siliconera.com/2018/07/2...-to-nintendo-explains-why-they-went-with-psp/

In response to Japanese online trolls saying Falcom hates Nintendo, Kondo reveals they once visited Nintendo for approval to develop a menu driven Ys RPG for the DS.

近藤氏：
結果としては、僕らは「良かったな」と思っています。ただ、京都に行ったときはコマンドRPGタイプの『イース』の企画書を新たに書いて持って行ったんですよ。それが実現できなかったのは残念でしたけれど……。
そこまでやっているのに何で「ファルコムが嫌ってる」って言われなきゃいけないの？ という（笑）。
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Toshihiro Kondo: As a result, I believe we felt that "it went well." However, when we visited Kyoto that time, we went with newly written plans for a command-based RPG type of Ys game. It's a shame that we couldn't make it happen… So we went that far and still had to be told "Falcom is hating"? [laughs]
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Falcom hates Nintendo?
I always thought they were super small and had to be careful with how they prioritize resources.
 
Lant_War

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Oh, what a shame. I love playing RPGs on the DSi / 3Ds, the simply have a "feel" to them that other games in other consoles lack.
 
Comic Obsessed

Comic Obsessed

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Fine, they don't hate Nintendo.

Now can I have Ys: Memories of Celceta, Trails of Cold Steel and Tokyo Xanadu on Switch please?

EDIT: I didn't think the /s was needed...
 
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foxuzamaki

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Is it really trolling if the response was falcom tried to make a game for a nintendo platform?
 

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Smiles said:
so they admit they were part of the Nintendo is Kiddy mentality/movement
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I think their answer isn't that good considering other DS RPGs were doing well, but this isn't exactly what they truly said. They just thought more of their audience would be on PSP, another big system. No big deal (and the games sold well).
 
Ghostsonplanets

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"from a certain message board" Were they talking about old place? Or was that response from a strictly japanese point of view?
 
RyoonZ

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Missed opportunity. Can you imagine how huge Ys series would be right now? Thankfully Ys is on Switch right now, so not too late.
 
Nanashrew

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The DS statement is odd to me. DS had a wide range of ages playing the system and JRPGs were doing good.

Though the DS did at least get Ys Book 1 & 2.
 
UsoEwin

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Ehhhh, Ys is best staying as an action RPG. Make something new if you want command based.
 
sinonobu

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Oct 25, 2017
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Since YS8 is seemingly doing well it'd be cool if NISA brings Sen 3 & 4 to Nintendo Switch as well!

Maybe even Sen 1 & 2 Kai to familiarize the audience.
 
Sandfox

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Phantom Thief said:
Falcom hates Nintendo?
I always thought they were super small and had to be careful with how they prioritize resources.
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Based on what I have read from Falcom, my understanding has always been that they just don't see Nintendo platforms are a good fit for their games vs Sony platforms.

Of course now they have the success of YS on Switch to look at, though I doubt it will change their minds any.
 
Strings

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BassForever said:
Labor laws what are those?

Seriously falcom employees must be working mangaka esque hours for the insane stories they write.
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Y2knEbN.jpg


Their output from ~2000 to 2011 was obscene in terms of quality and quantity.
 
Fularu

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Sandfox said:
Based on what I have read from Falcom, my understanding has always been that they just don't see Nintendo platforms are a good fit for their games vs Sony platforms.

Of course now they have the success of YS on Switch to look at, though I doubt it will change their minds any.
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Falcom needs a new revenue stream now that the Vita is dead worldwide.

The western PC audience isn't as receptive to their full priced games as the consoles one and from what we can see so far, the Switch one (it seems JRPGs sell best on Switch in the west compared to PS4 by a significant margin)
 
Etain

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duckroll said:
http://news.denfaminicogamer.jp/projectbook/180724/3
http://www.siliconera.com/2018/07/2...-to-nintendo-explains-why-they-went-with-psp/

In response to Japanese online trolls saying Falcom hates Nintendo, Kondo reveals they once visited Nintendo for approval to develop a menu driven Ys RPG for the DS.
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Looked at the article, I guess it's just something that didn't work out internally? Isn't even them specifically spurring Nintendo or vice versa, just "they had an idea, but it never got off the ground."

But wow, I'm sure that'd REALLY set off the people who didn't like the Kiseki-fying of Ys! Hell, I have to admit that isn't really what I'd want out of Ys, especially if it ended up being Ys VII but with a Kiseki battle system. Or even just another command based system really.
 

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Shizuka said:
Like Ys Strategy?
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I'm sure you know this, but Falcom didnt develop that...so not at all like Ys Strategy. I'm sure it would have been good, had it happened.

On topic, I think speculation that "Falcom hates Nintendo" is dumb. They are a small company of about 50 employees, so they are very resource constrained and out out games at a pretty rapid pace already. In the early 2000's they developed mainly for PC, but that didnt mean they hated Sony. They go where they think their market will be.
 
BassForever

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Eusis said:
Looked at the article, I guess it's just something that didn't work out internally? Isn't even them specifically spurring Nintendo or vice versa, just "they had an idea, but it never got off the ground."

But wow, I'm sure that'd REALLY set off the people who didn't like the Kiseki-fying of Ys! Hell, I have to admit that isn't really what I'd want out of Ys, especially if it ended up being Ys VII but with a Kiseki battle system. Or even just another command based system really.
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As much as I hate the modern Ys games for getting bogged down in boring stories with bland characters with inferior combat systems. I'd probably be more receptive to a spin off with a different combat system that had a larger focus on story and characters.
 
Etain

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BassForever said:
As much as I hate the modern Ys games for getting bogged down in boring stories with bland characters with inferior combat systems. I'd probably be more receptive to a spin off with a different combat system that had a larger focus on story and characters.
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True. I'm just imagining them converting Ys VII to this or something (and given the heavier story focus/multiple characters it actually seems plausible!) and... yeah, that probably wouldn't be too hot.
 
Pasokon Deacon

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Heartskips said:
I think their answer isn't that good considering other DS RPGs were doing well, but this isn't exactly what they truly said. They just thought more of their audience would be on PSP, another big system. No big deal (and the games sold well).
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What really helped is that Falcom had a porting partner in Kure Software Koubou (themselves a staple of the Japanese PC fantasy wargame community), and KSK likely had more experience with porting to PSP in the mid-2000s when Falcom wanted to push the Trails games onto portables. So Falcom didn't have to dig around or pay extra for their port efforts so long as KSK wanted to take the contract. This company loves to squirrel away their savings because they're used to commercial drought like what happened at the tail-end of the Japanese PC era. Switching to primary development for Nintendo consoles would mean taking big risks to interact with Nintendo, learn new SDKs and methods, etc.

BassForever said:
Seriously falcom employees must be working mangaka esque hours for the insane stories they write.
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Falcom prefers to recruit die-hard fans who will go well beyond the minimum when developing games. Anyone who makes it through their strict interview process has the chance to write, program, and visualize any odd part of an upcoming game because of Falcom's open-contribution system. It's likely the case that anyone credited to a set position in the credits roll did mostly that while adding little bits here and there.

sibarraz said:
Falcom owns the localizations, so if NISA wanted they could reléase games that were localized by XSEED
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By the same token, XSEED's able to port whichever Falcom game has an English loc. NISA worked hard to get full platform coverage for Ys VIII and deny any competitors the chance to bring that release elsewhere with Falcom's patronage. I wouldn't be surprised if XSEED's initial Falcom releases on Switch focus on the PC heavy-hitters.
 

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Phantom Thief said:
Falcom hates Nintendo?
I always thought they were super small and had to be careful with how they prioritize resources.
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That's not sensationalist enough.

UsoEwin said:
Ehhhh, Ys is best staying as an action RPG. Make something new if you want command based.
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I can see them experimenting with systems like that for the Tokyo Xanadu sequel, it still has room for distinction compares to Ys and Kiseki both.
sinonobu said:
Since YS8 is seemingly doing well it'd be cool if NISA brings Sen 3 & 4 to Nintendo Switch as well!

Maybe even Sen 1 & 2 Kai to familiarize the audience.
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You can troll better.
Strings said:
Yeah, to put it into perspective, Falcom had 49 employees in 2016.

The company that puts out a huge, meaty JRPG every single year.
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They currently have 55 employees which seems to be their highest ever. I can see them breaking 60 in a few years even.
 
sfortunato

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Bad business decision to not release such a game?

DS niche jRPGs sales in its heydays were pretty good in the US. Something like Knights of Nightmare did close to 50k.
 
Nightengale

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Any Falcom business decision making back then and even today are centered around their sales potential in Japan.

Even today, 75% of their business revenue are derived from local Japanese sales, and it's clearly way more skewed prior to the broader expansion of their products in Steam/etc via the western publishing partners.
 
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