Some news from our meeting with Nitroplus earlier this month. First, things are proceeding smoothly with Saya no Uta, Hanachirasu, and Sumaga. We expect to have all of these games out before AX.
Second, as per the wishes of Nitroplus management, we’ve decided to offer Saya no Uta ~ The Song of Saya and Hanachirasu separately rather than combine them on a single disc. Nitroplus believes, and we concur, that this is the best way to represent each of these wonderful, atmospheric works. Saya no Uta (written by Urobuchi Gen, who also created Madoka Magica) is known in both Japan and the West for its disturbing and beautiful themes, and Hanachirasu is a true “samurai drama” that uses a finely-crafted world to explore themes that many readers of English-language visual novels will never have encountered before. We know fans and collectors will want to own both games!
So we’re making the following changes:
- Saya no Uta will be sold for $24.95.
- Hanachirasu will be sold separately for $19.95.
- Customers who preorder both games will receive, in addition to free shipping, $5.00 off the total.
- All current preorders of the J-List Saya/Hanachirasu set will be moved to Saya and the price will be reduced. Refunds will be made as necessary. You will also be able to add Hanachirasu to your order to receive the discount. Please reply to the emails the J-List staff is going to send out, or get in touch at http://help.jlist.com.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Meanwhile, have some great images from Saya.
And from Hanachirasu
28 Comments
Although I’ll still probably buy both games, because they look good, I think it’s a poor business practice to change the price after it has already been announced, even if it is a pre-order.
Can you please tell us why is Nitroplus taking so long?
Also, “before AX” is so vague. I was really hoping for a more solid release date.
I agree, but Nitroplus reconsidered the original plan and decided that splitting the games would be the best way to present them to fans around the world. That means two packages and two sets of royalties, so we have to change the price.
Nitroplus is very protective of their brand, which they have a right to be, so everything they do takes a lot of time and deliberation. Not to mention the fact that we always come in second to their domestic projects. We’ll give you a concrete release date as soon as possible. It is not possible to do so now.
Hey, is it possible to add the Soundtracks to the games?
Maybe for the pre-order or as Limited Bundle.
Hopefully the games will be released soon!
Nor Saya or Hanashirasu seems really interesting to me. Too dark to first sigh. Hanarushi seems a little better to me. I could buy it if there were something like a game of conquist. I thoght it could have it because the map but it seems like it isn’t. Still i wish them good sales.**
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Ugh… and that 2 for 1 deal sounded awesome as well. No sale for me, now.
I am really disappointed in the way Saya no Uta/Hanachirasu have been handled. When I originally pre-ordered the bundle, I was expected a Fall/Winter 2011 release date. I believe this was indicated somewhere in the description of the games. And now we have to pay $10 more for two games we were supposed to get as one bundle? If I didn’t love Saya no Uta so much I would be cancelling my pre-order. No wonder certain fan translators have forsaken partnerships to get their translations officially published. Why should they care about supporting the industry when the Japanese industry doesn’t care about supporting us?
Thanks for your comments, and we agree that getting these games out can be frustrating for all involved. We’re doing the best we can, and the Japanese companies are also doing the best they can, but it always takes longer and requires jumping through more hoops than any of us would like. We ask for your continuing patience and support as we move forward. If we can make another couple of successful Nitroplus releases, then Nitroplus is likely to be less cautious in the future.
Question: What does “AX” mean?
I can’t say I’m entirely too surprised-I love Nitro+ releases but they are really dragging their feet with the western market. It’s kind of insulting. What hoops need to be jumped through, specifically? Sounds like they are getting cold feet about their financial investment and decided to play it safe(?).
Does fortune favor the bold? We’ll never know the answer regarding importing Japanese ero-games.
@Roxanne: Anime Expo. It’s a yearly anime convention held in Los Angeles.
I just recently got email about this from J-List and have to say that I’m disappointed.
Delivering later than expected, requiring to re-consider the entire deal with ~1/3 higher price than agreed on (and agreed on quite a long while ago) – these are not business practices I can agree with.
I’ll now at most just buy one of the two games, maybe I’ll cancel the order entirely.
I like this change.
On the one hand I can relate to negative comments about this change – more money is pulled from our pockets. On the other hand, however, many fans of Saya no Uta /or/ Hanachirasu will be pleased to see their favorite game as one piece and not as part of the bundle with another game(s). Personally, it awakened my collector’s self. Since I was a bit disappointed when I wanted to order my favorite game (which I only knew from fan translations since it hasn’t been possible to order to my country and wanted to now acquire a clean CD version) and found out that it would not be the only game on the disc. It felt like I’m buying some “platinum collection” which I’m not really fan of. But I get that it’s all about personal taste.
I’d have to say I’m also quite fond of this move. When the pack was first announced, I took a glimpse at the Hanachirasu screenshot (of the guyslashing the two others) and immediately decided that it was as good as a cheap bonus I’d hardly enjoy. But now that they’ve been split, I can take the time to actually consider its real value.
Forget buying things just because they’re bargains. I’m more than happy to support a company who will take pride in their work by selling them separately.
@Makoto: Good thing you said LA or I would have gotten confused with the London AX and come back in May and wondered where these were. Haha.
I’m just hoping that these open up some more Nitro translations. Specifically their Chiral works but I completely understand that there’s a smaller market for BL/yaoi visual novels. I want Saya No Uta more than any other game at the moment, so I’m happy.
Is there a finalized release date for either of the games?
Luchi: Not yet.
Then I’ll preorder after I know a release date.
Good news…but what’s more important: How are things going with Steins;Gate and the possible Steam release ?
Seriously people – support the people who made the game. This isn’t a big business where millions of dollars made over night. The same goes for translating, it doesn’t happen over night – it takes months of hard work.
Support JAST and Nitroplus+ by purchasing both of games.
I will be pre-ordering both games and look forward to future visual novels from Nitroplus+ and other producers.
MikeXA: I’m not going to buy a game just for the sake of supporting a company. I’m going to buy a game because I want to play it. I’m not interested in Hanachirasu so I’ll just be buying Saya no Uta when it’s released.
That and I have limited funds.
I think I’ll give Saya no Uta a try, from what I’ve heard it seems interesting to me. I like creepy, Lovecrafty-ish storylines. I’ve only played BL games up until now so I figured I’d start with something Nitro+ since I love Nitro+CHiRAL so much.
Still praying for some more BL games though…
“We expect to have all of these games out before AX.”
Which was in late June, early July. Now it’s October. Any thoughts of an update or a release date?
@Heiji: Nitroplus expects to be done with the Saya engine very soon. I don’t want to make any estimates until we have all the pieces together.
Any updates on this? : (
@rein: We are currently working with Nitroplus to fix text display issues with Saya no Uta, after which the game should be complete.
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