Localizing iDOLM@STER 2

[JNiles]

Calling it: Yukiho will be a DLC character in Street Fighter x Tekken.  I hear sales are terrible (at least in the US), so they need to boost sales pronto.  I just hope they don't nerf her shovel special.

[xkillo147]

Godamnit Japan stop playing around, my heart is to weak for iM@S.
offtopic:I remember Ono doing some lines off the SF movie=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2ad2-Mlcis

[NaitoNii]

I wouldn't mind a localized version Idolmaster for the European market too. Our market usually gets skipped on good imports.

[Yodudes0]

That Tweet got me a little excited, but logically I know that iM@S will almost certainly never be localized for many, many, many reasons.

[Cael K.]

Idolmaster Vs. Vocaloid: Fate of Two Productions.

I want to see this happen.

[DereDereAngel]

To quote an old post of mine:

The iDOLM@STER will never be taken outside of Japan in the foreseeable future. Here's why:

1. No audience. Well, yes, there's us. But that's not enough compared to how much it would cost Namco to do it. Also, Namco have a pretty poor history when it comes to localising stuff outside Japan. Just look at Tales series.

2. Innuendo and under-age girls. This will not fly at all in the United States and similar countries. Of course there's nothing even ecchi about iM@S, but that's not how a mainstream Western audience would see it.

3. The biggest reason: The iDOLM@STER is more than just a video game series. It's a whole franchise. I don't believe Namco would ever want to bring just bits and pieces of it across. It'd be all or nothing. Which, in our case, means nothing. Even if if they did decide to bring it all, they would have to dub ALL the music released on CDs. Can you even imagine how much that would cost?

In relation to this topic, Namco would NEVER give rights to NIS America to do anything with the iDOLM@STER. It's their cash-cow baby. Also, if Victor Ireland asked Namco, they'd laugh at him. In a polite Japanese way, of course.

And, call me elitist, a jerk, or whatever, but I would be really [insert expletive here] if they did. I don't want the crazy western anime crowd to get a hold of it.

[Garraboa]

I thought the main reason why it would never see a localization was because of the DLC. Never mind the seyuu's licensing issues and all that jazz, we COULD get an im@s 2 even if it was in Japanese with subtitles only, but with no DLC. No CHANGE!!, no Brand New Day!!, no recolors, no Extends, no nothing. And that wouldn't sell within the fanbase. :/

[Daverost]

That's a very small price to pay if you ask me.

[NaitoNii]

I only know of one similar case like this with Valkyria Chronicles 3.

Valkyria Chronicles sold like a bomb on the PS3, they made a part 2 for the PSP and the sales in the West were quite low, which led to decision to not localize Valkyria Chronicles 3 on the PSP. Even though there are a lot of fans out there that want part 3 to be localized to the West. (Yes, I´m one of them XD)

[furix]

Here is one thing though...

This is HARADA, this guy is responsible for making Tekken print money(If im@s is Namco's baby, Tekken is Namco's eldest prodigy genius son). I am sure if Harada asks to let him handle a im@s localization, they'll hand him the baby for sure.

Of course, I still don't want to get my hopes up. It's likely just custom items for TTT2.

[Yodudes0]

Here is one thing though...

This is HARADA, this guy is responsible for making Tekken print money(If im@s is Namco's baby, Tekken is Namco's eldest prodigy genius son). I am sure if Harada asks to let him handle a im@s localization, they'll hand him the baby for sure.

Of course, I still don't want to get my hopes up. It's likely just custom items for TTT2.

If something is almost impossible to make a profit on, no one can fix that. Not even Harada. iM@S localization just has so many hurdles it would have to cross. It would be a lot of work, a lot of decisions to make, and a huge risk that's almost guaranteed to fail. Tekken is so different from iM@S...

I'm not saying I don't want a localization, but I don't think it's close to possible.

[SakuraMaxX]

Game files for iM@S 2 are encrypted, and it would be very hard for most people to even play a fan translated version as it would require the modification of an Xbox 360 system to play it.  iM@S SP files were much easier to work with, and modifying a PSP had much less drawbacks and risks associated with it.

[Rihsa]

What about the PS3? One group is fan translating Tales of Vesperia (PS3).

[SakuraMaxX]

Problem still stands that iM@S 2's files are a bit more heavily encrypted and no one feels like going through the trouble of cracking them.  One of the guys over at xentax tried extracting models but he was like "lolnope"

iM@S 1's file system was so easy to work with but no one wanted to try starting a translation project. iM@S 2 is even harder to work with so I really doubt I'd see a fan project come up.

[TheTanStar]

im@s 1's engine was an off the shelf middleware engine. It comes to reason that the files would be easier to decrypt/examine/modify/etc. im@s 2's engine is (If my memory serves me right) a proprietary engine, which means a lot of problems for people trying to hack/analyze it without the source code.

HALF-LIFE 2: EPISODE 3 and STARCRAFT 3 WILL COME OUT BEFORE THIS EVEN HAS A CHANCE AT LOCALIZATION.

I still stand by my statement.