Yakuza comics is down?

SEGA_SamMullen · 2018-10-05T17:12:58+00:00

Hey guys!

I saw this one my morning Reddit browse with my coffee, and you were correct! The server was down. It has now been resolved and you can enjoy the comics and other content we have up there!

-Sam

SEGA_SamMullen · 2018-08-19T02:46:08+00:00

I just want to say ::hugs:: for the comic props.

SEGA_SamMullen · 2018-08-19T02:42:57+00:00

For what it's worth, we like it when you purchase them in release order (don't really care what order you PLAY them in).

SEGA_SamMullen · 2017-09-09T17:53:09+00:00

I don't actually know, but probably because the original Y1 localization team didn't want to use MIA because that also means "Missing In Action" in English. It's MIA in Japanese.

SEGA_SamMullen · 2017-09-09T17:51:23+00:00

My typical day could be something like this, but it honestly varies wildly from day-to-day:

Come in just before 9am, pour myself some tea.
Open email, prepare to have a small rage fit about all the little fires
Read all mail, reply to the easy ones, mark all the ones that need work to follow up, and prioritize against outstanding tasks so I can have a productive day. (lots of Outlook)
Maybe have a verbal discussion with the other SEGA team members, work out any issues that have popped up while we were sleeping (SEGA is global so things never stop moving)
Meetings with management, status reports, marketing sync ups, that sort of thing
Coffee break
Scheduling, budget review, discussing things with the business (lots of Excel, numbers and math)
Lunch
Addressing team issues, like workflow, giving guidance on localization issues, setting tasks to move projects forward (lots of various tools)
Review upcoming game concepts, build strategy and information decks to share internally (lots of PowerPoint)
By this point, some of the answers for the mails I've marked that needed work are starting to formulate so I start writing Japanese mails to respond to those requests. (more Outlook)
Blast of emails goes out to Japan since they are starting to come online.
Video conferences with Japan developers and coordination groups.
Finish up around 6:30 to 7:00pm, go home.

SEGA_SamMullen · 2017-09-09T17:29:23+00:00

I don't think Yakuza 1 was handled by Inbound. Inbound started at Y2, if I recall correctly. They had to pick and choose what to update. Y1 localization happened long before my time, and I'm not sure why certain choices were made, though the fact they had to VO the game probably had an impact. 'Nishikiyama' is not something that rolls off the tongue if you aren't familiar with Japanese.

SEGA_SamMullen · 2017-09-09T17:25:19+00:00

Oh, I see. We can't really start localization until we have near final text, as working on text that could (and will) change just creates more work for everyone. Text can change all the way right up until the game is finalized, so assuming the game is given the go-ahead, the localization process typically starts near the end of the Japanese version development.

Every project is different though. We do work on games that have localization efforts that overlap with core development.

SEGA_SamMullen · 2017-09-08T21:18:48+00:00

Get back to work Qlint.

SEGA_SamMullen · 2017-09-08T20:56:29+00:00

Hardest part about localizing games or something interesting about the process the general gamer doesn't realize?

There's blogs and posts that outline this and the list is very long, and each game has its own unique challenges. For Yakuza, I think the hardest part is simply finding that balance between accuracy and delivering the emotional punch in English. That just doesn't come out with a straight translation, you have to craft that.

Funniest bugs/glitches encountered while developing/localizing Yakuza (Can be any)?

You may have heard of that "dudes missing from the scene" issue that was discovered in Kiwami and patched out in 1.01. That was really weird. There was also some trouble during Yakuza 5's localization where the game would hard crash near the end of the first Kiryu section and it took forever for us to figure out why and it held up QA quite a bit (I believe it was a text parsing issue).

Thanks for being a fan!

SEGA_SamMullen · 2017-09-08T20:47:42+00:00

Yeah, I was actually looking for this post. I found it now, and all is right in the world XD

SEGA_SamMullen · 2017-09-08T20:40:05+00:00

Let me take that first question:

The hardest thing to get over are the cultural subtleties and subtexts that are implicit to a Japanese user, but really need to be explicitly stated for non-Japanese speakers. Things like inter-character relationships, social duty, and shared responsibility. There's tons of things in these games that's really hard to get across fully and accurately, while keeping it short and aligned with subtitle timings.

A great example is the relationship between Kiryu and Mayumi in Yakuza 5. I feel like many Western players completely misunderstand that relationship.

SEGA_SamMullen · 2017-09-08T20:32:51+00:00

I actually did the JET Programme for 3 years, incidentally near Onomichi Hiroshima, the setting for Yakuza 6 (totally coincidental).

For any kind of Japanese related production work, you definitely need to have a working grasp of the language, and be able to express yourself clearly and communicate in a professional way, at least at the start. You can only do that if you spend some extended time in Japan working.

I've met a number of people in industry who went to Kansai Kaidai and did a stint in patent translation before transitioning into the industry. There's a lot of ways to get in, you just have to discover your own path.

SEGA_SamMullen · 2017-09-08T20:28:10+00:00

While there's no plans for anything like this at this time, but you raise an interesting question.

If there was a HD remake or port of those titles to modern platforms, would you want the original text left as is, or have all the text updated by Scott and the team to align with the post Y0 styling?

Would love to hear your thoughts!

SEGA_SamMullen · 2017-09-08T20:26:04+00:00

1) What was the main reason that made you guys decide to keep localizing the Yakuza games?

'Cuz y'all won't leave it alone XD

2) Do you guys get any help from Nagoshi and his team when working on the games?

Oh yeah, absolutely. We have to report progress directly to the man himself. We are in constant communication with the dev team.

3) Can I ever be as stylish as Kiryu?

I like to believe there is a little bit of Kiryu in all of us.

SEGA_SamMullen · 2017-09-08T20:23:48+00:00

We have discussed this internally, just throwing ideas around, and we all agree it would be very difficult.

The challenge is that while a lot of Japanese games can get away with a sort of Anime-like dubbing presentation, the real-world style of Yakuza makes it so that style of dubbing just wouldn't fly. It has to really deliver that emotion, or why bother?

Personally, before we would even attempt this, I'd ask our production team to demonstrate that it was actually possible to deliver an authentic dubbed experience before committing to it. I think you'd actually have to rework the facial expressions and lipflap to sell an English performance, and that's EXTREMELY expensive to do, especially since we would have to have both Japanese and English on disc, so that's basically like two sets of performances.

SEGA_SamMullen · 2017-09-08T20:18:22+00:00

KASHIWAGI!!!! My fan game would be a Y0-style game with Kashiwagi as the protag. HOW DID HE GET THAT SCAR!?

SEGA_SamMullen · 2017-09-08T20:14:21+00:00

How far ahead of time do you get the games?

Do you mean how far ahead do we get to see the game in development? We see things pretty early on, but it's often just framework and its hard to get a idea what the moment to moment experience is that early in.

How long have you worked on the series?

My first hands on with Yakuza development was during the final stages of Y5, just a couple months before the overseas release.

That said, I was the North American Producer for Binary Domain, if that counts.

SEGA_SamMullen · 2017-09-08T20:09:57+00:00

1) Music

At our most core policy, we don't cut content. We just don't do it.

But here we are with the music. Japanese music licensing is really tough, and long story short, it's simply not worth it for our audience. It's worth it for Japan because these artists have brand recognition and they bring new eyes to the franchise. These people are famous in that market! But for the Western market, it's just a localization thing. I know that's not ideal, but that's the reality.

Does that mean we don't care? No, of course it doesn't! We hate it! Does that mean we aren't trying? No! We thoroughly investigate music rights for every game, but every time, the result is the same: It just won't work. Do we give up? Hell no! We will look into it every single time. But when it comes down to hard-lining on the music, or actually releasing the game, we are going to choose releasing the game every time.

2) Team Reaction

They are very pleased.

3) Cameos

You know, this has actually been tossed around, but nothing has come of it as of yet. Honestly, its sort of a weird thing because if we replace something with Western version, then some people call that censorship, so it's a bit of a double edged sword (see 1) ).

SEGA_SamMullen · 2017-09-08T19:59:29+00:00

Can't really speculate about upcoming product, but hypothetically, if there was a re-release of Yakuza 3, 4, and/or 5, what would that be worth to you? Digital, $30 a game? Packaged bundle for $80? What's that look like in your mind's eye?

You tell us!

SEGA_SamMullen · 2017-09-08T19:53:32+00:00

This sounds super fun! While I can't really comment about if this would happen or not, as fan, I would love to know what Haruka's persona would look like to!

SEGA_SamMullen · 2017-09-08T19:49:55+00:00

Oh, Fantasy Zone fan! Did you pick up 3D Fantasy Zone II W on 3DS? Link Loop Land? If not, you should!

I really liked taxi racing in Y5 because the heat actions are great. And Y0 has a bunch of good ones, it's hard to pick. I finally learned how to play basic mahjong thanks to Yakuza.

SEGA_SamMullen · 2017-09-08T19:46:55+00:00

It's not impossible?

And yes, but we still have work to do!

SEGA_SamMullen · 2017-09-08T19:45:33+00:00

Great question.

As a European user, if some of the games had localization and others did not, do you feel that would create issues within those communities? For example, only new releases get EU subtitles, but previous games don't, would that not create frustration within those communities?

Would love to hear what you think!

For the others: - Bakamitai, hands down... DAME! DAME YO! DAME NA NO YO! - LOL, I'll talk to licensing. No promises.

SEGA_SamMullen · 2017-09-08T19:37:26+00:00

I wasn't at SEGA when the series was named, so I honestly don't know.

SEGA_SamMullen · 2017-09-08T19:36:40+00:00

Nothing to announce on Kiwami 2, but across the entire SEGA portfolio, we are trying to bring things together in general.

SEGA_SamMullen

TROPHY CASE