On the topic of VNs based on anime

[Vagabond Scholar]

The recent official release of the Steins;Gate dating sim got me thinking about how screwed over western weeb fans of anime VNs have been over the years. That game, based on one of the most well known VNs in the world, didn't get an official localisation for nine years. Chaos;Head? Still hasn't.

Then I remembered all those anime series that I loved that got full scale official dating sims or VNs that, outside of the odd fan translation, never got to see the light of day outside of Japan. We're talking big name series here, shows like Spice and Wolf, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, and most recently Konosuba. The worst part is that in most of these cases I would be absolutely OK with buying these games in an official capacity if they released them in English (and didm't half-ass the translation), but since they wont I have to pray that they get picked up for a fan translation and wait for that.

I guess what I want to ask is: Do you think nowadays, since people in the western market seem more receptive to visual novels and dating sims as games, that the licensors/publishers should put more effort into bringing these kind of games over, at least if they contain a well known property?

 

[215303j]

To be honest I don't give much of a fuck about anime.

It's essentially a Japanese medium and because I'm not Japanese nor particularly interested in Japanese culture, I can live without it.

There is more than enough good Western stuff, which has stories and settings that I find easier to identify with.

I think the poll is missing a "meh" option because I really don't care either way. Maybe one of these untranslated VN's could be awesome and then maybe I could bring myself to play it. Then again, maybe not.

 

[polywog]

Some things will never be translated, nor should they be.
If you don't understand, and respect the culture, you wont get it even if it was in English.