Magicbox: PSU release on 12/29

[Dark_Heal_v2]

According to Magicbox
http://www.the-magicbox.com/gaming.htm

- UNCONFIRMED: Sega's PS2 RPG Phantasy Star Universe will be released in Japan on December 29, according to online shops, Sega has yet announced an official date.

[Kent]

It was supposed to come out sometime at the end of this year in Japan, so that's most likely close.

[Rion772]

So what's this mean? were getting the game 1 month early?

[omegabuild]

thats teh release date for japan, but we ve seen no propganda from teh company offically stating it. However even if it comes out in dec for jp, theres no guarantee we will get it in early, or even on time

[PhruitBaskit]

Why can't the English version come out the same time as the Japanese version!?! I just think it's stupid!

[Kupi]

On 2005-10-12 10:42, PhruitBaskit wrote:
Why can't the English version come out the same time as the Japanese version!?! I just think it's stupid!

Sega is a Japanese company releasing to their primary audience. They want their game to be the best it can possibly be, so they're going to spend every second they can making it better before they hit their release date. Once the game is finished and polished, then and only then will they begin work on the translation and localization for their secondary audiences, hence the asyncronous release dates. That's the way it works for practically every game that gets translated in either direction.

[SubstanceD]

On 2005-10-12 10:42, PhruitBaskit wrote:
Why can't the English version come out the same time as the Japanese version!?! I just think it's stupid!

You should try living in Europe. Think about how bad we have it. We're probably going to have to wait an extra 2-6 months from the US release before PSU is realeased over here. It's especially frustrating when you live in a country where everyone speaks English because the old exscuse about translating the text just does not cut it.

[Rion772]

Try living in Australia, I think their going to get it last. Also I hope it comes out later(ish), by that I mean I really love it and I want to play it A.S.A.P. but my moms tight on money so broadband isn't an option until mid to late january.

[OdinTyler]

On 2005-10-12 11:55, Kupi wrote:

On 2005-10-12 10:42, PhruitBaskit wrote:
Why can't the English version come out the same time as the Japanese version!?! I just think it's stupid!

Sega is a Japanese company releasing to their primary audience. They want their game to be the best it can possibly be, so they're going to spend every second they can making it better before they hit their release date. Once the game is finished and polished, then and only then will they begin work on the translation and localization for their secondary audiences, hence the asyncronous release dates. That's the way it works for practically every game that gets translated in either direction.

Sega is a Japanese company releasing to their NATIVE audience. The PRIMARY audience isnt Japan. Its everywhere else: the US, Europe, etc. Generally, a good portion of players (rpgs & otherwise) take to a game, have their fun, & move on. More & more non Japanese RPG fans can be found all over the world & the fact is we keep a good game going long after 'pop culture' has moved on to other things. We kinda have to after we get games, cards, cartoons, etc much later.
Translations dont take as long as they used to. Its sad that something even as fun as video games can become so political. There are some great developers out there that could just as easily do a translation, in less time, & get us the products we're so desperately waiting for. I know of one such developer that used to be on Sega's side. How I miss them. Even if we had to wait a bit, it would most assuredly be worth the wait & I doubt highly that there would be more in game content in one country than another.
I remember reading once how when translating for Europe was predominantly issued in both English & Spanish. Thats kinda not right considering how many multitudes of languages there are out there. We dont hear too much out of company divisions in other countries. I can only imagine that such developers would be just as annoyed as the US ones. The problem with translations is that the content isnt really 'translated.' Language is changed to a readable form by a certain country but when content is altered, its more like 'transfigured' & I can speak for many a player when I say 'thats not what we're paying for.'
I can only hope that one day companies will get smart & create multi-lingual games & release them in various countries simultaneously. Why not just have test markets in major cities in different countries? A main city or 2 in Japan, the US, a couple in Europe/Australia. It would work wonders. I understand most games originate in Japan & for that reason, there should be a way to contact/support our respective countries' developers. Let them know the games we want to see & then they can pick up the distribution rights to a game & thus, get it to us faster. Just my thoughts as a long time gamer...

[Dark_Heal_v2]

Actually Sonic Team themselves have been pretty keen on keeping the same release dates for their games; we could see that from the Sonic series.

But I think for games like PSU which has a story and is pretty language intensive would take some time for translation. After all, the people making the game are mainly Japanese and they're not as great in English. Probably they'll need to hire another group of folks to work on translating the game only after they had completed the JP version. Which would take some time.