Minori Changes Tune: “Dirty Foreigners Buy Our Games!”
- Categories: Games, News
- Date: Sep 29, 2010 04:43 JST
- Tags: Censorship, Copyright, Ef, Eroge, Minori, Translation, Visual Novels
In a sudden and unexpected about face, visual novel publisher Minori has gone from blocking non-Japanese users from its site with accusations of piracy and patronising suggestions they come to Japan if they want to play them, to asking they buy them in a joint venture with MangaGamer.
Even more surprisingly, the translations will be provided by the same fan translation group Minori was previously at pains to stop…
The joint venture between Minori and MangaGamers will see translation group No Name Losers provide their translation as a basis for officially sanctioned English releases of Minori’s titles.
Confirmed so far are ef-The First Tale, ef-The Latter Tale and Eden* – popular titles which in the case of the “ef” series have been adapted into anime.
MangaGamer claims these will be published uncensored in their “original, unedited form,” although as previously seen their interpretation of “original and unedited” has in at least one case involved removing all voicing from the title in question.
Minori itself was previously noted for banning non-Japanese from its site, blaming them for the short-lived talk of an eroge ban coming from some Japanese politicians:
It later clarified this, telling the barbarians it was their fault Japanese politicians were threatening a ban, and it was they and not the unsurprisingly spineless Japanese who had to fight the ban:
Now we will tell you the short detail about the reason why blocking you to this website, because of we, all Japanese EROGE makers were facing at the problem, the crisis of “Freedom of speech”.
Currently, The bill that allows to limiting the content (It is censorship. Isn’t it?) to all EROGEs is being discussed in the Diet because intellectuals and politicians said “Japanese EROGE were being problem and troubled with the foreign country. Therefore we should make EROGE hidden away from foreign country, and also its content should be limited and censored”.
Okay, now we trusted the word what they said at once. So we blocked you to make stay away from the trouble.
…Do you like that?
In later comments their CEO went on to rubbish the sale of eroge to foreigners, saying it was a tiny market and that they wanted to protect foreigners from potentially committing a crime by playing their games.
Subsequent developments saw them vandalise the website of No Name Losers, telling them they were a bunch of pirates, whilst telling foreign fans they should go to Japan if they wanted to play their games.
Now they display this cheery message as if nothing had happened:
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got to ask... why would i want to buy there games now after all the crap they called us?
Because we are better than they are. we see that there is no gain from their isolationist solution, both in our case and theirs.
Think of it this way... when you buy their games its like saying "we forgive you minori, for your cowardly ways."
If you actually care about the crap they call you in order to play the games then you, my friend, are really sensitive.
Square Soft could've called me a dumbass, dirty faggot and I'd still have played Chrono Trigger
He didn't say he won't get it he just mentioned that he won't pay for it. And I'm with him. Not gonna pay for anything from minori. Pirating however is a whole different thing. Not that I actually care for those visual novels.
Makes sense to ME...
The way I see it, Piracy can be used to either promote or boycott.
What the fansubers were doing initially was to promote Minori's products by making them available to a non-Japanese market.
True, those patches could either be used with an official Game, or a torrented .ISO, but people who could afford them would buy them to show their support ...which is also what most fansubbing groups encourage people to do anyway.
But that was BEFORE studio Minori decided to blame the rest of the world for Japan's political mishaps.
And when they finally realised that the rest of the world didn't care either-way, AND that they just alienated a seizable portion of their fanbase, they finally came to their senses it seems... not exactly a Happy-Ending, but a lesson to be learned in this for-sure.
So, because Minori got pissed due to piracy... You're going to pirate their games. Great logic, bro.
I doubt minori will be very concerned about people not buying these titles who didn't want them anyway.
You think they write the titles of Sankaku's articles or something?
Minori had to cover their ass as a priority, they are a business; not a civil rights for international porn action group.
Capitalism, ho!
Well, if you can't beat em, join em!
Sorry for you who lives in an overseas.
Don't get mad, get even.
haha pirate their games and sell it to make ur own profit... nice way to get even
"Hello!! minori's overseas expansion has started"
- it reads like "minori's overseas expansion for world domination has started" :)
That's how I read it as well.
In fact, by shutting themselves off from foreigners and then aiming to expand overseas, they are repeating Japanese history.
In a few years time, they will attack Pearl Harbor and the Americans will nuke Minori's offices
If they [minori] start the attack with loli paratroopers, expect to see more than a few people on the beach with white flags.
with their dying words "hnnnnnngghhhh.."
And fapping.
Fuck Minori!
I don't think it's a bad decision for them to welcome foreigners. If they apologized for their earlier message, I think things could run more smoothly. They don't seem to be sorry for their attitude before; instead, it seems as if they are trying to forget all about it.
So mind telling me what was there for their earlier message that they have to apologise for? So what was there that they have to be sorry for?
If they are selling physical prints, im buying.
hahaha. guess who in need of money? still don't like their games , too complicated and dramatic , not enough moe.
FUCK EM' You wanna be JAPAN 'ONRY then dont' come around begging for my filthy Gaijin money
Money talks, bullshit walks.
Prostitutes.
Everyone pirate the shit out of this
sorry, but now all I can think of is this http://dagobah.net/flash/ambex_pirate.swf
thanks alot :V
Why would one pirate the shit out of this when we, as foreigners, have won. Is this not exactly we wanted?
Keep in mind what kind of social and fiscal sanctions you are promoting and keep in mind what kind of consequences those sanctions will promote.
All negative sanctions at this point will accomplish is telling them their first stance was correct.
Trying way too hard bro
We haven't won shit. Fan translations have always been about nonprofit and you are sitting back and admitting to supporting greedy companies exploiting what bullshit copyright claims they wave around at a nonprofit fan translation.
I guess I should stop humming my favorite songs in front of others because the recording studios will be on my ass for my own interpretation of their fucking song huh?
To add to that, they hired an amateur translation group. If any of the terrible VN English patches out there are an indication, this one will be no exception. I'm not paying money for some shit tier translation that would have otherwise been free.
Then again, I guess beggars can't be choosers eh? Well thank god I'm not a beggar.
From what I played of NNLs release of ef the quality of the fansub was definitely on the right side of ok, especially when considering the alternative is auto translating programs which spew out mumbled garbage half the time.
Obviously the translations aren't going to be as good as the originals, but this doesn't mean they're terrible. In any case, you can hardly claim translations deserve to be free as they take time and effort to produce, that's the whole reason there are relatively few VNs with english patches. It's great when fans are willing to translate these things for free, but it's their generosity to do so, not anyone's right.
The VNs I've played had pretty decent translations, especially considering the text can often be more complex than anime dialogue.
I'm fairly sure that you've never compared the translated text to its original if you believe what you wrote.
While I agree anime dialogue tends to be more simple than that in eroge, there's no denying most if not all eroge translation groups are not at the level to be reaping profits for their work.
But hey, do what you want with your money. Like I care.
One man's trash is another man's treasure indeed >.>
>To add to that, they hired an amateur translation group.
______
Amateur translation groups are often better than the professional variety.
The few VNs I've bothered to play in English have all had terrible translations.
The same level of quality you see in a lot of fansubs for TV animation doesn't carry over to these games.
If anyone is so desparate to play eroge, they are better off studying the language than paying for half assed translations that are slow as hell and deserve to be free in the first place.
They should have done so in the first place. You reap what you sow. They lost me as a paying customer months ago and I stick to what I say. Even though this hadn't much of an impact back than, as I don't know japanese and thus wouln't have buyed anyway. But now things are different!
It's not about forgiving it's about paying.
I'm sure loss of revenue will annoy them that much more!
Forgiving your enemies is a stance only losers and appeasers take.
“Always forgive your enemies - nothing annoys them so much.”
I'll tell you the same thing i told Metalica, NO I will never buy your games you begin a dick about it and calling me a "Dirty Foreigner" lost you a customer.
Not exactly something one would call impressive.
Hey, at least they realized the error and had the balls to try to fix it instead of sticking by/defending their stupid previous stance like politicians. That's commendable.
I am a Christian, forgiveness is something that is part of me. I will buy, I will play and I will enjoy something of good quality.
If you don´t forgive the past you will be living there unable to move forward into the future.
Forgiveness... you have checked the Mangagamer prices... this is not related with forgive or not at all... so expensive, so expensive!! T_T
Assholes the lot of them. If they continue with their Xenophobia it will be a shame. The Japanese have adopted alot from American/Western culture, seems ridiculous that they're concerned about "defending their culture" when more than half their culture is either westernized or completely western. Hypocrites. Now they act like every things fine and dandy? Honestly...
anime\manga\eroge gods PLEASE let this be the start of something good. The fan subbers & translators have always had good access and done great work, so work with them, start charging, and hopefully it will work out great for all. I for one would gladly buy what I enjoy, especially if done well. I stand buy this for manga as well. A good scanned, good translated chapter out for a little bit of $$? Fuck yeah. Me being me, I'd even still buy the collected volume because I like to collect the physical copy.
Dear Minori:
As a "dirty foreigner" in response to your rather "bipolar" behavior, please heed these words..
GO BANKRUPT!!
What a bunch of phonies.
haha, so tsundere (￣‿‿￣)
Eh their games suck anyway. I tried to get into Wind~ a breath of heart but its nothing compared to Key stuff. Although Key isnt blameless--they made their latest game only playable on Japanese systems too.
Now, now let us be rational! Let's boycott Minori. Not Japan.