I'd rather Cave license out Deathsmiles II to Aksys for a localized retail release at $30. I'm not terribly keen on digital distribution. I've bought some DD games but only because they weren't available in retail form. The $50 price point that Deathsmiles 1 started out with in North America was a bit high. They did have a limited edition sku which included a Deathsmiles faceplate and soundtrack CD at no extra cost. Which is a nice treat to hardcore shmup fans over here. But they alienate the more casual audience this way by not making the standard edition cheaper (like $30). I remember seeing a lot of Xbox 360 gamers on here who aren't otaku nerds or hardcore survival horror enthousiasts picking up Deadly Premonition precisely they thought, "seems like it might be interesting. $20, what do I got to lose right?" I myself picked up Deadly Premonition a few months back and it doesn't seem to be my type of thing (gameplay-wise. The story is kinda interesting) but at the time I figured, "hey, $20".
Many not necessarily feel that it's a bad thing to charge $50 for a shmup (hardcore shmup lovers) but in the North American market, these games are perceived to have too little content to warrant a high price tag. After all, shmups are not about quantity of content, it's about trying again and again to get your high score up as high as possible and achieving a 1cc (1 credit complete). It's a game in a pure form that you don't often see in this day and age. And that's what's refreshing about these games. Too many games these days are bloated monstrosities that are far removed from the arcade spirit. This type of game is like straight out of the '80s but with prettier, more detailed 2D anime graphics.
At the end of the day, I'd rather take digital distribution than nothing though. Hopefully we get to see some of the Xbox 360 visual novels and dating sims (lol) get translated and put on this service (ideally I'd prefer retail but if they can't afford it, then I'll take digital distribution over nothing). We've seen RPGs and SRPGs with dating sim elements get localized on consoles but no straight up dating sims. There is a big market of western otaku perverts that is being neglected.
