Kresnik said:
Happy because I would rather Falcom stick with Vita. Sad because I still want Falcom to succeed since they're a lovely company who make awesome games. I would put Gust second behind Falcom in my "favourite niche Japanese developers" list, so I will be happy and sad if this Atelier flops too.
Oh, and since you're here, what's the deal with Tecmo Koei games going forward? Are they all going to be digital only? Did the retail versions of Deception/Dynasty Warriors/Toukiden not sell enough? |
I wouldn't worry about Falcom abandoning console gaming, they were just looking to expand their audience (and please some investors). That goes for Gust too. There really are developers that make games for fun and for fans, not for the highest possible profit. Not everyone is Capcom, they've made some really poor choices in particular. Unfortunately the bigger the company, the more soulless they tend to become...
Concerning KT and digital publishing in general, there's a growing attitude among publishers that digital emphasis is a good idea. It is, financially. You don't have to worry about logistics, a lot of laws and regulations fall into grey areas, and it pulls higher profit margins, giving a company a better chance of making money on a game. Not having to deal with middlemen like retailers and merchandisers, or manufacturers, makes a lot of people's jobs easier. The simple act of creating and distributing a physical product adds a lot of costs that might not be worth it, depending on the game.
That said, there's still what you could call "pride" in releasing a physical product onto the market, despite the added costs and headache. Having products displayed in and by shops is still advertisement too. I wouldn't count on seeing physical releases disappear from most publishers for a long time, but you could see some "limited" physical releases, things like limited production for fans, or only distributed to certain retailers, along with more digital only releases. Honestly though, most physical releases still at least make their costs back. But trends can change...
On another note, there's a growing trend among Japanese companies to just skip localization companies like Aksys or Xseed, and self publish digital games. It's a lot easier when you don't have to publish and distribute a physical product in a foreign country, and it allows the company to get direct revenue, rather than just selling off rights.
