Last week marked the release of a high-profile Japanese RPG on the PS3: Tales of Graces F. But like most console games in the series (and the genre, for that matter), we’ll most likely never see the game translated into English and released on this side of the pond. In Japan, the Tales franchise by Namco Bandai Games is a high-budget powerhouse, but one that in recent years has begun to erode. Much like our Guitar Heros and Tony Hawks, games in the franchise are well known and marketed; however, actual sales are declining. Why?
It isn’t a question of quality. The last three games in the series have garnered positive reviews from Famitsu, with the improved PS3 version of Tales of Vesperia landing a (9/9/9/8), the Wii version of Tales of Graces receiving a (9/9/9/9) , and Tales of Graces F taking the franchise’s highest review score to date with a (10/9/9/9). All three games have been passed up for release outside of Japan. In fact, no game in the franchise (console or portable) has made it out of the Land of the Rising Sun in almost three years.
The latest non-spin-off title in the series to receive an English localized release was the Xbox 360 version of Tales of Vesperia in the summer of 2008. Tales of Vesperia was met with positive reviews in Western media and had fairly decent sales numbers for an Xbox 360 Japanese RPG, though reportedly its sales numbers fell short of Namco’s expectations. That was immediately followed in the winter of 2008 by the nail-in-the-coffin for international Tales fans: the often-lauded Wii exclusive Tales of Symphonia side story, Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. The gameplay was closer to a Pokemon clone than a Tales game, and the title lacked the production values of a typical entry in the series (despite the localization, which was admittedly quite good). Needless to say, it bombed, both critically and commercially.
After Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World became a bargain bin staple, Namco made a fiscal decision to turn its back on its international Tales fanbase. Instead, it continues to pour money into developing console and portable games in the series – both spinoffs and mothership titles – and releasing them in Japan only. In the last two years, Namco has reported financial problems and studio closures (both international and domestic). Most of these issues are related to the Japanese gaming industry being incapable of adapting to a worldwide audience with different preferences than the Japanese domestic market, and are affecting more companies than just Namco. However, in the case of how the Tales franchise is handled by Namco’s management, several recent blunders are immediately apparent:
1.) Controlled Release: Launch Date Shenanigans
There’s no kind way to put this: the original Tales of Graces was sent to die, and I firmly believe that the timing of the game’s release was to blame. In Japan, most of a game’s lifetime sales are achieved in the first week of a game’s release. Given this fact, why would Namco choose to release a mothership Tales title right between New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Final Fantasy XIII? Is it arrogance, or inability to change business direction? In the US, we see many game companies delay a title to get out of a retail “blast radius” created by a Call of Duty or Halo title. In fact, this “duck and cover” form of release has assured very fruitful first quarter results for games that normally would not have made a blip on the sales radar.
2.) Pest Control: Quality Assurance Nightmare
Not only was Tales of Graces sent to die, but it was kicked out the door half-baked. There were reports from players almost immediately regarding bugs in subsequent playthroughs of the game. Reported bugs include missing enemies, team conversations, and key items. Also, performing certain actions could apparently change the type and number of items in a player’s possession. All of these issues resulted in a costly recall procedure that forced players to give Namco their buggy discs and receive new discs in exchange. The entire ordeal was not good PR for Namco (or Famitsu, for that matter, which failed to mention the bugs in its glowing 37/40 review score for the game).
3.) Zerg Rush: Too Many Games
In the time between the last localized mothership title was released in the US and today, Japan has received the following games in the Tales series: Tales of Hearts, Tales of Graces, Tales of Vesperia PS3, Tales of Graces F, Radiant Mythology 2, Tales of VS., and Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon X. Additionally, Namco has taken some flack from fans of the series for releasing “incomplete” versions of a title and then releasing an updated version on another console a short time later (Tales of Vesperia and Tales of Graces F are examples of this). Updated versions are nothing new, as Square Enix makes a decent profit releasing its Kingdom Hearts “Final Mix” titles in this way. However, flooding the market with franchise titles does appear to impact sales, as the Guitar Hero franchise has shown.
4.) International Relations: Policy for Policy’s Sake
Namco may be in dire financial straits, but its stubbornness at leaving high-profile titles overseas is unusual. Yes, admittedly, the Japanese RPG isn’t as popular of a genre as it used to be. However, given the dearth of Japanese RPGs on console systems, I am surprised Namco does not see an opportunity at bringing over Tales of Graces F (and the upcoming PS3-exclusive Tales of Xillia). The worldwide market is more console-based than Japan’s domestic market, and other niche publishers have made a killing on localizing relatively low-budget software: Aksys Games, Nippon Ichi Software America, and XSEED are notable examples of this. If Namco is afraid to take a marketing risk by localizing a Tales game, why not hand it off to one of the extremely talented localization groups at one of the publishers I listed above? Nippon Ichi Software America, for example, continues to sell enough copies to turn a profit localizing their Disgaea and crossover titles, and those games are far more niche than a Tales title. Apparently Namco doesn’t want anyone else translating their software, and would rather have it sit in Japan than give it a chance at worldwide release with a publishing partner.
My point is this: I feel Namco is making a lot of mistakes with its headlining Japanese RPG franchise, mistakes that certainly include neglecting an international fanbase. Additionally, Namco’s stance on keeping Japanese RPGs overseas is going to make other publishers nervous about localizing them for the West. I ask: where is Xenoblade? Where is a localization announcement for The Last Story? Or even White Knight Chronicles 2, or Ni No Kuni for that matter? Unless someone takes a chance at localizing these stellar titles, the rest of the world may never get a chance to experience them, and that is a real shame.
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