WD's Victor Ireland is Back! (Oh, And He Wants Half-A-Million Bucks.)

[Press_Start]

It's gettin' really late for me. So I'll let the article speak for itself.

http://www.siliconera.com/2012/03/27...sical-release/

Great to see Victor back!

[Aussie2B]

Uh-huh. I'm sure the whole reason why Atlus didn't bother to bring the sequel over themselves was because the first Class of Heroes wasn't all that popular and didn't sell well enough to justify pursuing the series further.

[Kitsune Sniper]

I think I'll give money to other projects that deserve it.

Victor, NOBODY BUYS GAMES FOR THE EXTRA CRAP ANYMORE. At least, not on the Working Designs level of crap.

[megasdkirby]

I think I'll give money to other projects that deserve it.

Victor, NOBODY BUYS GAMES FOR THE EXTRA CRAP ANYMORE. At least, not on the Working Designs level of crap.

Hey, I like extra crap.

But I would not donate money towards his projects, though. He was, and might still be, a huge douche. And I doubt he has changed over the years...but who knows.

[Bojay1997]

I really don't understand this at all. He is already going to release it digitally with or without the funding, so there is no point to this Kickstarter. If he wants to release a deluxe physical edition, all he needs to do is partner with a distributor which can extend a line of credit and take pre-orders. There is absolutely no reason he needs to use Kickstarter for this effort.

[Oobgarm]

I can see why, gauging interest in the project by having those who'd buy donate. Makes sense over using credit to produce a quantity that may not be entirely consumed.

Especially on a PSP.

[Edmond Dantes]

He was, and might still be, a huge douche.

How so? (Speaking as someone who generally knows next-to-nothing about WD except for what Sega CD and Turbo games they localized)

[xelement5x]

How so? (Speaking as someone who generally knows next-to-nothing about WD except for what Sega CD and Turbo games they localized)

He's gone kind of crazy with all the entitlement rants and believing that modern localizers should pay homage to him. The whole sabotage of the Lunar: Silver Star Harmony localization by getting the voice actors to refuse to work with XSEED because XSEED wouldn't hire him as a translator/consultant for the project was kind of a dick move in my humble opinion.


I still love the stuff that Working Designs brought out, but as a person he comes off a bit abrasive.

On the topic of the Limuted Edition from the Kickstarter page though:

We’re offering a Physical Deluxe Pack of Class of Heroes II for the PSP® system that will be the craziest Deluxe Pack we’ve ever done. And if you know our work at Working Designs, that’s a pretty high bar already. This will NOT have digital content you download. It will NOT have codes for in-game armor or weapons. It will NOT have a picture flip book passed off as an art book. It will not ship with DLC on the disc you have to pay for again later. It will NOT come in a tin box passed off as Steelbook. It will NOT be what's usually advertised as a Collector's Edition in 2012 - a wimpy, atrophied shadow of what a real Deluxe Pack should be.

It will be an awesome Deluxe Pack with real, collectible, limited, awesome stuff based on the game, including an arranged soundtrack.

We’ll be shipping these Deluxe Packs directly to fans, hot off the press. This will be an exclusive, very limited, one-time release. It will not be in stores or anywhere else. Starting at the $59 ($49 for the Deluxe Pack w/$10 shipping) level, you will get one of these Limited Edition Deluxe Packs and some sweet swag perks for supporting this effort. In fact, more swag than we’ve ever done for one game - more swag than any other console game I know of. This is epic stuff.

I'm happy to see a physical release, and a limited edition that doesn't suck, but the whole thing seems like a money grab. If they're so up in arms about physical releases, then why make it required to buy the PSN version of Vanguard Bandits in order to purchase the Vanguard Bandits pin they're selling?

I doubt this will reach $500K, but if they still produce the whole thing and there are unsold copies I'm betting they'll wind up in his closet again to be sold on eBay 10 years later for a tidy profit.

[Griking]

I think I'll give money to other projects that deserve it.

Victor, NOBODY BUYS GAMES FOR THE EXTRA CRAP ANYMORE. At least, not on the Working Designs level of crap.

Really? I seem to remember people (myself included) loving the old Working Designs games because of their packaging.

[Kitsune Sniper]

Really? I seem to remember people (myself included) loving the old Working Designs games because of their packaging.

This was before. I imagined the people who liked that stuff in those days would like it now, too.

But in my opinion, he's putting entirely too much effort into the goodies instead of, you know, the game itself.

[TonyTheTiger]

But in my opinion, he's putting entirely too much effort into the goodies instead of, you know, the game itself.

To be fair, marketing can play a huge part in a game's success or failure. Creative ways to get your product to stand out among the sea of similarly themed titles can be extremely important. In some ways, putting effort into the goodies over the game (although it doesn't have to be a zero sum game either) might actually be the best course of action if the game will have trouble selling itself on it's own merits. And on the PSP, it just might.

[Nz17]

Own a PSP? Like Class of Heroes? Want Vic Ireland's most deluxe Deluxe Edition... perhaps the most fancy-schmancy Premium Edition ever? Just want to support JRPGs in the West? Then look no further than the Super Mega Deluxe-su Edition of Class of Heroes 2!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...the-psp-system

The good boys and girls over at Gaijinwork's new Kickstarter project are trying to amass $50K monies to make a megalu deluxe version of the game. How supreme will it be? Well...

Meeting the Kickstarter funding will allow:

* A Physical Deluxe Pack to be made
* English Voice Acting in the Digital and Physical releases
* English Opening Song and Video in both releases
* Extended game fixes and features (extra save slots, better controls, etc) for both releases
* Translation and release of Class of Heroes II webcomic series during development

Exceeding the funding limit by 15% will allow:

* Additional language localizations
* Clear license to retain Japanese audio option

What's in the Deluxe Pack?

* Deluxe blind-embossed box
* Soft faux-leather embossed manual/art book
* Arranged soundtrack CD
* Character Standees
* Game UMD

Three additional items will be voted on by backers from this list:
* Watch
* Pendant
* Cloth map
* Dagger letter opener
* Coin bank
* Inflatible sword
* Pen/pencil set

So check on out http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...the-psp-system if you wanna make it happen. The time to contribute will end in 13 days from the date of this posting... so getcha pledgin'!

[Gameguy]

Meeting the Kickstarter funding will allow:

* A Physical Deluxe Pack to be made
* English Voice Acting in the Digital and Physical releases
* English Opening Song and Video in both releases
* Extended game fixes and features (extra save slots, better controls, etc) for both releases
* Translation and release of Class of Heroes II webcomic series during development

Exceeding the funding limit by 15% will allow:

* Additional language localizations
* Clear license to retain Japanese audio option

Does that mean that if the kickstarter funding doesn't meet it's goals the regular edition of the game won't contain any audio track at all?

[Press_Start]

First of all, the Kickstarter is asking 500K, no 50K.

Second, there's already a thread on the topic.

[Nz17]

First of all, the Kickstarter is asking 500K, no 50K.

Second, there's already a thread on the topic.

Well the 0 I hired for the role said it could do the work of two zeroes. I believed him, but he obviously didn't pull his weight and we're just going to have to hire a second 0.

As far as there being another thread, well I just found out about this and my search for an existing topic only spanned the previous week of threads... the moral of the story is to make sure your search terms aren't too exclusive. But it makes me feel better to know that the two threads are now merged into one.

Does that mean that if the kickstarter funding doesn't meet it's goals the regular edition of the game won't contain any audio track at all?

The way I figure it is that if they don't mean their funding goal for this Kickstarter campaign that either means A) no Japanese nor English voices or B) no Japanese songs/singing. I don't imagine that Class of Heroes 2 has any singing in it though (Admittedly, I haven't played it so I wouldn't know.), thus I think he means no talkity-talk but there will still of course be English dialog to read either way.

Doesn't look like it was too bad of an idea for me to make a post about the topic anyway as nobody had mentioned the actual Kickstarter link until then. So while I'm at it... the short URL for the project is [ http://kck.st/HbYV1w ].

That begs the question though: has anyone from here actually financially backed this project?

[Gameguy]

The way I figure it is that if they don't mean their funding goal for this Kickstarter campaign that either means A) no Japanese nor English voices or B) no Japanese songs/singing. I don't imagine that Class of Heroes 2 has any singing in it though (Admittedly, I haven't played it so I wouldn't know.), thus I think he means no talkity-talk but there will still of course be English dialog to read either way.

I forgot about dialog boxes like in old games, I thought he was just going to make a mime based RPG or something similar to Machinarium in terms of communication.

[old_skoolin_jim]

Jeez, what is his obsession with the damn character standees?!
I mean, good on him for getting back into the spotlight and such, but resurrecting the marketing tactics that killed off Working Designs in the first place probably isn't such a sound business strategy.

As for people questioning his personal character, just read his eBay feedback (if it's even still around)... I think his seller profile was "games_genie" or something along those lines. From what I recall, buyers would occasionally leave neutral or negative feedback because (surprise surprise) he would delay shipping products he sold, sometimes for weeks, and then berate the buyers for having the audacity to complain. Oh, and he would also sell sealed WD games and call buyers "mental" for opening them up. Also, if that XSeed boycott is true, then yes, he's kind of a self-centered dick.

That being said, I absolutely loved WD's efforts on the Sega CD, Saturn, and PS1, but the constant and never-ending delays on ALL their games just drove me bonkers. Vic, if you're lurking in the shadows of this forum, PICK AN ATTAINABLE RELEASE DATE AND STICK TO IT.

[xelement5x]

Also slightly on topic, he did a podcast on Anime News Network recently with the main guy from MonkeyPaw games. While part of it is the call for monies to make Class of Heroes II, it's also interesting to them recount some cool stories about Working Designs localizing games and the failure of the TurboGrafx.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/anncast/2012-04-13

[TonyTheTiger]

Jeez, what is his obsession with the damn character standees?!
I mean, good on him for getting back into the spotlight and such, but resurrecting the marketing tactics that killed off Working Designs in the first place probably isn't such a sound business strategy.

That's most certainly not what killed Working Designs. From what I gather, the extra trinkets weren't a problem. The limited options of games to localize as well as a rather unfriendly atmosphere at Sony was.

[Daria]

Jeez, what is his obsession with the damn character standees?!
I mean, good on him for getting back into the spotlight and such, but resurrecting the marketing tactics that killed off Working Designs in the first place probably isn't such a sound business strategy.

As for people questioning his personal character, just read his eBay feedback (if it's even still around)... I think his seller profile was "games_genie" or something along those lines. From what I recall, buyers would occasionally leave neutral or negative feedback because (surprise surprise) he would delay shipping products he sold, sometimes for weeks, and then berate the buyers for having the audacity to complain. Oh, and he would also sell sealed WD games and call buyers "mental" for opening them up. Also, if that XSeed boycott is true, then yes, he's kind of a self-centered dick.

That being said, I absolutely loved WD's efforts on the Sega CD, Saturn, and PS1, but the constant and never-ending delays on ALL their games just drove me bonkers. Vic, if you're lurking in the shadows of this forum, PICK AN ATTAINABLE RELEASE DATE AND STICK TO IT.

I bought my Nall plush straight from Ireland on eBay, and he shipping was delayed a few weeks. But when I questioned him on it he apologized profusely, apparently Nall had fallen down behind a filing cabinet and missed his shipping date. So from my personal experience he was nothing but professional and courteous.