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NEWS: CAPCOM: Dai Gyakuten Saiban Localization Prevented By 'Number of Circumstances'


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Fronzel



Joined: 11 Sep 2003
Posts: 1906
PostPosted: Fri Jun 17, 2016 9:29 am Reply with quote
Oh, well. There's always the route Gyakuten Kenji 2 took.

Quote:
The game is set during the 18th century in Meiji Era Japan.

19th century.
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G_Spark233



Joined: 15 Jan 2015
Posts: 22
PostPosted: Fri Jun 17, 2016 9:42 am Reply with quote
I just hope that someone manages to do what they did with Investigations 2.
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ChibiGoku



Joined: 29 May 2004
Posts: 677
PostPosted: Fri Jun 17, 2016 9:50 am Reply with quote
Some people over at NeoGAF speculated it could be the Sherlock Holmes license causing some issues. Some territories might not be allowed to release it without some headaches.

Kinda like Sherlock Hound. Some areas got it under the Sherlock Holmes name, while other got it under the Sherlock Hound name.

(Quick Edit: Worth mentioning, on April Fools, there was cross promotion with Sherlock Hound on this game, probably to gear up for the Figurine release that was happening that same year. You can see the joke trailer here and the piece of music included on the website at time here. )
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Viberum



Joined: 16 Apr 2016
Posts: 15
PostPosted: Fri Jun 17, 2016 9:55 am Reply with quote
I really want to play this game! I wish I knew what the circumstances are about!
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Fronzel



Joined: 11 Sep 2003
Posts: 1906
PostPosted: Fri Jun 17, 2016 10:00 am Reply with quote
ChibiGoku wrote:
Some people over at NeoGAF speculated it could be the Sherlock Holmes license causing some issues. Some territories might not be allowed to release it without some headaches.

Kinda like Sherlock Hound. Some areas got it under the Sherlock Holmes name, while other got it under the Sherlock Hound name.

You're mistaken; Sherlock Holmes is public domain: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/sherlock-holmes-now-officially-copyright-and-open-business-180951794/?no-ist

Viberum wrote:
I really want to play this game! I wish I knew what the circumstances are about!

Probably just the impossibility of changing Meiji-era Japan into the weird America-kind-of?-but-also-Japany setting the other Ace Attorney games drifted into after the first game. The game might includes ideas like Japan being behind the West and trying to catch up that just cannot be transplanted to an American context.
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amcnulty



Joined: 29 Aug 2014
Posts: 48
PostPosted: Fri Jun 17, 2016 10:08 am Reply with quote
Viberum wrote:
I really want to play this game! I wish I knew what the circumstances are about!


Ditto! I really can't believe they won't do a download-only release of this and Investigations 2.
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WhosAsking



Joined: 19 May 2009
Posts: 79
PostPosted: Fri Jun 17, 2016 10:34 am Reply with quote
Fronzel wrote:
ChibiGoku wrote:
Some people over at NeoGAF speculated it could be the Sherlock Holmes license causing some issues. Some territories might not be allowed to release it without some headaches.

Kinda like Sherlock Hound. Some areas got it under the Sherlock Holmes name, while other got it under the Sherlock Hound name.

You're mistaken; Sherlock Holmes is public domain: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/sherlock-holmes-now-officially-copyright-and-open-business-180951794/?no-ist


But that only concerns copyrights. The works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle have been public domain for about two decades now since it's been a long time since his passing.

But there are still lots of derivative works, each with their own copyrights. Furthermore, what if there's a trademark attached as well? These are more permanent, broader in scope, and trickier to negotiate legally.
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Apterous



Joined: 20 Mar 2005
Posts: 78
PostPosted: Fri Jun 17, 2016 11:13 am Reply with quote
Oh, there's circumstances. That's nice.

What are they specifically?

I hate BS corporate non-answer answers. These kinds of answers will not stop people from barging in and asking about where the game is.
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John Thacker



Joined: 28 Oct 2013
Posts: 1006
PostPosted: Fri Jun 17, 2016 11:24 am Reply with quote
The Japanese reviews of the game, at least on Amazon, are very mixed. A lot of comments praising the game, but then saying that the game ended abruptly, rather than having the expected climax and resolution. Still would like to play it.
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Mew Berry



Joined: 02 Apr 2016
Posts: 186
PostPosted: Fri Jun 17, 2016 11:54 am Reply with quote
Fronzel wrote:
Viberum wrote:
I really want to play this game! I wish I knew what the circumstances are about!

Probably just the impossibility of changing Meiji-era Japan into the weird America-kind-of?-but-also-Japany setting the other Ace Attorney games drifted into after the first game. The game might includes ideas like Japan being behind the West and trying to catch up that just cannot be transplanted to an American context.


I always figured they could get around that by saying Phoenix's ancestor was from Japan. I don't think any other ancestors of familiar characters show up so in my opinion it wouldn't be that difficult to explain that way. But who knows if they felt that was practical or not.
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Levitz9



Joined: 06 Feb 2007
Posts: 1022
Location: Puerto Rico
PostPosted: Fri Jun 17, 2016 11:59 am Reply with quote
Apterous wrote:
Oh, there's circumstances. That's nice.

What are they specifically?

I hate BS corporate non-answer answers. These kinds of answers will not stop people from barging in and asking about where the game is.

Companies aren't beholden to give us any answers if they don't feel like it, no matter how many copies of their product we buy.

NISA tried explaining themselves down to the last detail, they got nothing but grief for it.
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whiskeyii



Joined: 29 May 2013
Posts: 2245
PostPosted: Fri Jun 17, 2016 12:01 pm Reply with quote
Fronzel wrote:

Probably just the impossibility of changing Meiji-era Japan into the weird America-kind-of?-but-also-Japany setting the other Ace Attorney games drifted into after the first game. The game might includes ideas like Japan being behind the West and trying to catch up that just cannot be transplanted to an American context.


So I've been watching a subbed version of this on YouTube, and the translator has posted answers about why they think it's not getting localized (mild spoilers) here and here, but basically, there's a lot more Japanese-ness going on here (one of the defendants is a famous Japanese author, there's a lot of not-so-veiled racism against the Japanese, there's quite a lot about solidarity among the Japanese) that would just make the transition from the typical Western setting (which benefits heavily from globalization in fudging its location) to a more Asian-centric setting very, very bumpy. Plus, yeah, that uber-strict Sherlock license.
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poisondusk



Joined: 08 Aug 2006
Posts: 63
Location: Brighton, UK
PostPosted: Fri Jun 17, 2016 12:10 pm Reply with quote
Having played the game, I think it's more likely to be difficulties in localising the setting and characters than any kind of legal complications. The cultural differences between the Japanese and English characters are really very prominent, both visually and in the dialogue, and it's quite heavy-handed in some of the dialogue about how foreign the protagonist is. There's also the very obviously Japanese setting of the first case. It's not something that would translate easily into English-American relations, and if they maintained the Japanese angle, it would be harder to link it back to the main franchise.

As for the unfinished nature of the story, the cases themselves are all solved, but there are definitely a lot of unanswered questions relating to the wider politics and intrigues in the game. I would only consider this a negative point if it doesn't get a sequel, because clearly it was made with one in mind.

I really hope it does get localised for non-Japanese speakers, because it's a lot of fun, but I can see why they would choose to focus on Ace Attorney 6 first.
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uzuki99



Joined: 14 Jun 2016
Posts: 10
PostPosted: Fri Jun 17, 2016 1:12 pm Reply with quote
It is most likely the racism and "sexist" undertones (as minimum or non existent as they can be perceived) the game has, which will make it a target in turn by feminists and internet white knights, the west is denied once more.

If you do not believe me, remember the main heroine Susato is a Yamato nadeshiko, this stereotype of the ideal japanese woman, which is highly criticized in the west. This being a nintendo game, I dont find it strange they rather not release in the west and avoid any agendas by certain groups.

The extreme japanese setting also plays a role.

This is the same scenario that prevented the two yakuza games set in the distant japan to be released on the west, the extreme Japanese setting and in kenzan lets remember Haruka was traning to be prostitute as an underage character....


Last edited by uzuki99 on Fri Jun 17, 2016 1:34 pm; edited 1 time in total
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FenixFiesta



Joined: 22 Apr 2013
Posts: 2581
PostPosted: Fri Jun 17, 2016 1:31 pm Reply with quote
uzuki99 wrote:
It is most likely the racism and "sexist" undertones (as minimum or non existent as they can be perceived) the game has, which will make it a target in turn by feminists and internet white knights, the west is denied once more.
.

Probably also toss on "expected relatively low sales" I remember when Square was disappointed that one of the modern tomb raider releases "only" sold 1 million copies during the launch window, Capcom doesn't just want to "break even" they want a significant profit margin as well.
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