(no subject)

Subject: Working Designs

>From: xxxxxx@fuse.net

Rumor.  A stupid one at that.  Especially considering that
Victor Ireland and Game Arts have a a great working
relationship.  They own the exclusive rights to Lunar in 
the States.  They've only really delayed Lunar twice.  
It's companies and print publications that make up
release dates that keeps getting pushed back.  It's
taken Atlus 2 years to try and port Tail Concerto...
And Square denies us game after game.  Where's
Front Mission?  Where's Tobal 2?  

>I was suprised to read someone's post earlier (can't 
>remember which list it was on) that GameArts dumped WD 
>because of continuous delays. 

Grandia's license, coupled with WD's full plate of titles 
already are some of the reasons why WD opted to
decline Grandia.  They'd love to get it, but with the titles
they have coming down the line, but Sony has the 
money for the license and has the man-power.  Although
I'd choose a WD translation over anything else, at least
we are getting it.  Did Sega Port it over?  Nope...

>The reason shocked me at first but then made some 
>sense as I remember reading that Grandia is supposed to 
>be out over here later this year in the US but WD won't have 
>anything to do with and it'll be Sony who's bringing it out. 

See above, WD delays, but not as often as some would imply.
Babbages and PSM are infamous for making up release dates.

>All I can say is...serves 'em right. I can't understand how 
>a company like that can have continuous delays on games 
>like that. I constantly joke with my friends and tell them 

Lunar's license is owned EXCLUSIVELY by Working Designs.
No one else can port a Lunar game to the states.  Neither
Atlus nor Sony can produce and release a Lunar game period.

>I wonder what's this mean for Lunar Eternal Blue for PSX? 
>Will Sony snag it up or will some other company like Atlus get it?

As they've stated over and over, they will not port the Y's Series
due to the fact that the gameplay and graphics are so dated and
would only go to a small audience.  

Sense of humor is a matter of taste.  It's not for you to decide.
Some people like it, some people don't.  I'm not a big fan of Square's
translation "humor" either.  Off course!  At least WD can use 
common sense.  

>As it were, GameArts was pretty much WD's bread and butter 
>line. I half expected them to get the PSX version of 
>Grandia when I initially heard about it. Someone else 
>posted that they were interested in translating a 
>compilated Ys..the very thought of which sends shudders 
>down my spine. I just couldn't see classic WD "humor" 
>tainting a vaunted series like Ys. It just ain't right. :)

ESP did the port for Game Arts/Studio Alex.  GameArts
just published the title.  Of course WD has to give credit 
where credit is due.  ESP is a Japanese conglomerate,
not a US one.  WD is a translation company.  They port
and improve.  If you don't think so, pick up a copy of
Albert Odyssey import.  And notice the difference in load 
times and improved engine mechanics.  Crave Entertainment's
recent efforts, like Shadow Madness, pale in comparison to
ANYTHING WD has put out ever.  Big deal!  Atlus doesn't make
their games over here in the states, they just port!  Your point 
is moot, ESP is Japanese, not a US company.  As for SM ripping
off FF7, the battle system is much different, the map, while not
exactly innovative, it's original.  The story is supposedly better 
than FF7, which I felt lacked imagination and depth.  FF7 was
ok, but I liked FFTactics, Persona (even though the voice acting
was terrible...), and Legend of Legaia's story better than FF7's.

>Lastly, for those that have seen the promo box in EBs and 
>Babbages for Lunar, did anyone else notice the ESP logo on 
>the box? I'm assuming it was put there for the sake of Game 
>Arts, who is a member of that group. I can't see them 
>allowing WD in considering they produce no games on their 
>own and only license from other companies. Heck, Crave Ent. 
>had a better chance of making it in than them (though I 
>wouldn't want to see them in either) 'cuz at least they 
>have a game done in house. It ain't the best and totally 
>rips off Final Fantasy 7 (if you copy, you copy one of the 
>best I suppose) but at least it's an original product. Ah 
>well.

That's because WD has a reputation of doing QUALITY
translations, not quantity.  Look how much they added
for Elemental Gearbolt.  They added a whole new depth to 
a shooting game, a genre, I feel, really lacks in innovation
and replay value.  So their humor is not your style, how's
the game besides that?  Play the import yet?  It's gratingly
slow and move's at rock's pace.  At the very least, the
load times should be enough to thank WD for.  Even if you
don't like their "comedy."

>The loss of GameArts hurt I'm sure but there's plenty of 
>fish in the pond left for WD. They were able to snag stuff 
>like Albert Odyssey, Vay, Alundra, and Elemental Gearbolt 
>for release so it wouldn't suprise me if they just latched 
>on to another company for release material. Speaking of 
>Albert Odyssey, I just started playing that and I'm about 2 
>hours into it...so far I can't believe how much "comedy" 
>was put in the game.

Arc the Lad 1 & 2, will not be ported by them.  As Vic has stated
before, they are dated now and they will not port them.  Though
Arc the Lad III, they may try to get, if Sony doesn't publish it
themselves, it is a sony made game... 

>Maybe now WD will go back and pursue publishing Arc the Lad 
>1 and 2. Yeah... (though I wish they did come over here).

>Richter

Your Jedi Bitch,
Jedi666Boy