Yes it was kind of obvious, still...I was hoping I'd be able to play the rest of the infinity series and 12 Riven someday;_;Now I'll really have to stop procrastinating and learn Japanese...
But I'm too stupid goddammit!Too stupid!
This brings back old memories of when I learnt English with Xenogears and FF7, FF wasn't too bad but Xenogears forced me to have the dictionary near me all the time.
But I believe that if one publisher exits, another will enter...
Korina Sanchez: Ex-sensei Mel, we've met again.
Mel Tiangco: I'm expecting this from my former student.
Korina Sanchez: I know all along the reason for your presence.
Mel Tiangco: Of course. Your hairbrush.
Korina Sanchez: Snatch it again? Well, you're mistaken. It's because my hairbrush's container is packed with security features. What's your say?
Mel Tiangco: If you can do security... (pause) then 120% of my strength will shatter it!
That news really soured my mood this morning. Even if the chance was incredibly small, I was hoping they'd be back with another release. Although, now I'm more determined to get my game finished and out there, since it was Hirameki that got me into all of this in the first place.
Guess I better start learning Japanese now too... D:
Yeah, it's too bad. They brought us several very good visual novels, my favorites being Ever 17 and Hourglass of Summer. If anyone wants them, I'd suggest buying them sooner rather than later, before the sales stream dries up.
Supporting creators since 2004 (When was the last time you backed up your game?)
What a pity. That's quite a blow to the English-language VN scene... And I haven't even started playing E17 nor Exodus 1... should pre-play them to decide whether to still buy the rest of the series. ;_;
Maybe we should make a tribute splashscreen in our VNs that says something to the effect of 'RIP Hirameki-I did this because of you' but said much nicer of course. Imagine if all OELVNs have this and the VN scene takes off again in 2008/9!
DaFool wrote:Maybe we should make a tribute splashscreen in our VNs that says something to the effect of 'RIP Hirameki-I did this because of you' but said much nicer of course. Imagine if all OELVNs have this and the VN scene takes off again in 2008/9!
There is still J-list one the scenes, and with Evospace from Moonlite Chronicles and Shingo from HD working there, the company should be still solid for a some time.
Shit happen when you don't handle well marketing, and we have a perfect example here, no need to mourn on spilled milk so better keep working on our own work and hope another company will rise from ashes.
Noooooooooooo. *weeps bitter, "Bad End"-style tears* And I just finished Ever17! Pleeeease Hirameki, think of the infinity series!
Seriously though, this is disappointing, to say the least. I know marketting was a struggle for them (there was an article about their struggle to get their VNs in brick-and-mortar stores awhile back, if memory serves) and they struggled with quality/proofreading issues for awhile, but I still can't help but appreciate what they did by bringing over VNs.
Hmmmm... if it was so hard to get the game into brick and mortar stores, why did they not consider selling the games on the internet?
A lot of indie game developers do that these days: pay a sum to get a direct download. If you want the original dvd/cd? Fine, pay a bit more + shipping to get the disc.
They tried it with Piece of Wonder, but that wasn't a very good game.*
I think Hirameki's problems were as much with supply as demand. Ever17 came out in December 2005. After that was Animamundi and PoW. PoW wasn't very good, and Animamundi was shonen-ai.
Going for 2 years without a major release and 1 year without any release, and with no release annoucment, is a sign that a company will eventually go under.
* I strongly suspect PoW was released before it was ready. I mean, there was no sprite art for the monsters, and I think fighting colored cheese-wedges is sub-optimal.
Supporting creators since 2004 (When was the last time you backed up your game?)
But I loved fighting the cheese-wedges! Granted, POW is not the best_ game_ ever, but it was highly entertaining and replayable, well worth my money. I couldn't have completed the game without a strategy guide, but I loved how you have to tweak your character's leveling up to better match the bosses that come later on.
(even if it was kind of obvious by now....)
... They were the only ones distributing non-hentai stuff eh?
Granted, POW is not the best_ game_ ever, but it was highly entertaining and replayable, well worth my money. I couldn't have completed the game without a strategy guide, but I loved how you have to tweak your character's leveling up to better match the bosses that come later on.
- I hope they at least continue to reprint some of their games...
