No opening song in the US release?

[Brumathan]

The siliconera article about the collectors edition also happened to mention that the opening song wouldn't be in the international release. Is that only refering to the OST that would come with the collectors box or is it refering to the game itself? The article wasn't very clear on this point.

[Ringwraith]

It may possibly be in the game, although that might not be possible either, as I think the opening had to be switched for Bleach: Soul Resurrección for probably the same reasons, licensing and whatnot.
Although we don't know for sure yet.

[saberseven]

No I hope that they don't take out the opening song." No Scared" is one of the coolest rock songs
I've heard in awhile.

[shymel94]

We spoke with NIS America and there is one more change for the box set. It will not include a UMD version of the game. The North American version will include the White Rock Shooter figma, art book, and soundtrack CD minus the song from One OK Rock.

The way I read it, the CD will be missing the song, not the game. Here's from the Prinny Bomb:

Dood! The totally awesome Black Rock Shooter Premium Figure Box Set is currently a big hit in Japan, and we want our fan's opinion on whether or not you would love to be able to get your hands on the figurine, artbook, and soundtrack (minus opening theme)*. Head on over to Siliconera to submit your vote to participate in the poll and to read all about the box set! Your opinion matters to us, doods!

[MulderYuffie]

So wait I heard that the premnium edition doesn't come with a UMD copy of the game.....is this true is it only a download code? I was maybe going to buy it but with no UMD copy i'm not sure....

[LAMV]

So wait I heard that the premnium edition doesn't come with a UMD copy of the game.....is this true is it only a download code? I was maybe going to buy it but with no UMD copy i'm not sure....

If the limited edition comes here it would contain a download code instead of the UMD. Probably because the PSP really will be dead by the time BRS releases here and the Vita would be right around the corner.

[MulderYuffie]

So wait I heard that the premnium edition doesn't come with a UMD copy of the game.....is this true is it only a download code? I was maybe going to buy it but with no UMD copy i'm not sure....

If the limited edition comes here it would contain a download code instead of the UMD. Probably because the PSP really will be dead by the time BRS releases here and the Vita would be right around the corner.

.....but still UMDs are cheap to make.

[Discoceris]

So wait I heard that the premnium edition doesn't come with a UMD copy of the game.....is this true is it only a download code? I was maybe going to buy it but with no UMD copy i'm not sure....

If the limited edition comes here it would contain a download code instead of the UMD. Probably because the PSP really will be dead by the time BRS releases here and the Vita would be right around the corner.

.....but still UMDs are cheap to make.

It's not UMD being cheap or expensive, it's the fact that the Vita is using a different form factor. Since both PSP and Vita can also play off downloaded games, they're going to go to the common factor and not take a risk of getting stuck with piles and piles of unsold UMDs. Let's face it, most folks who could afford a premium set will most likely get a Vita by the time NIS America rolls out the game.

[MulderYuffie]

Still they could do a low print run like HDN for us physical copy supporters and collectors. Maybe just by pre-ordering it off the NISA store even? I would totally do that I don't support downloadable games unless absolutely needed.

[Ringwraith]

Still they could do a low print run like HDN for us physical copy supporters and collectors. Maybe just by pre-ordering it off the NISA store even? I would totally do that I don't support downloadable games unless absolutely needed.

They'd have to print a certain amount in order to justify the cost as simply printing one comes with overhead costs which have to be paid, it's not quite as simple as "each disc costs x to produce", as there's another charge put on top of that which probably wound't change much if they printed one or one thousand.

[Houk]

Still they could do a low print run like HDN for us physical copy supporters and collectors. Maybe just by pre-ordering it off the NISA store even? I would totally do that I don't support downloadable games unless absolutely needed.

Physical copies are not as cheap as you seem to think, and you also don't seem to be taking into account economies of scale and the risk of surplus merchandise. If we feel like we'll lose money on it, we can't in good conscious go through with it. That's really all it comes down to.

[Solice]

More on this... I seem to recall an experiment that NISA ran with regards to doing a possible physical copy of Badman 1. Their target was 1000 copies to pre-order (thus instantly cover losses on release) to cover the additional production cost, and they didn't even come close to it. Now, I'm certain the margins would be much different (and possibly orders of magnitude higher) for a game with a higher licensing and production bill like BRS, but that should give you an idea of what kind of offset would have to happen.

I really do wish there was a way to make the numbers work.

[Dubbo]

As much as I'd like a collector's edition with physical copies as well, I know market here for these titles isn't as big as they are in Japan. We're probably lucky enough they get translated at all.

The only way I can think of to fully enjoy the limited edition is perhapse to learn Japanese ourselves and import the jap versions of the game, but lazy people like me just don't have discipline to learn another language

[Discoceris]

Still they could do a low print run like HDN for us physical copy supporters and collectors. Maybe just by pre-ordering it off the NISA store even? I would totally do that I don't support downloadable games unless absolutely needed.

This would put NIS America in the same situation as small print publishers, like the company that produced and published strategy guides for the Disgaea series. Once you sold out your run (let's say, 50,000 copies) then you get into this tricky territory.

These people usually higher consultants that make a living crunching numbers and have become good at what they do in predicting consumer behavior. When you have a game, you need to figure out (a) what kind of players will play this game and (b) what is their "accessories" consumption. I consider strategy guides an accessory, because they are not mandatory to play the game and most players tend to go without.

When you have a title that sold X number of titles (or predicted to sell that many) and then you predict that Y number of people are going to buy a strategy guide for it, then you publish a run with cost constraints factored in and you figure out how much to sell for.

What happens if the title is wildly popular, sells out and then a few years later, gets on to the "Bestseller" list and gets reprinted due to demand? How many more copies were sold? How many more players will purchase your guide? Usually, the answer is, "not enough players" and then what happens is that they go into "per order" printing, which is 2-3x more expensive.

So, for the example I just gave, I believe it was Doublejump that ended up continuing to publish for some games but at an exorbitant cost (where it used to sell for $12.95 on Amazon.com, the same books are sold online at $40)

----

For this game, who knows how many people are going to buy BRS? The name is wildly popular on the internet, but how many of those people actually purchased the DVD title (anime)? Most would've downloaded fansubs or pirated copies of the titles. So, how many of these people would be willing to buy the PSP game? How many of them actually own a PSP unit to play the games in the first place? Remember, this isn't a DS title, so the actual numbers of potential customers are a lot lower.

Bad economy, barely enough interests in the premium edition, etc is going to make NIS America management take a good hard look before taking any action that would lose money for them. Unless the players here promise to not flinch and pay $10 more for a UMD only game to alleviate the risks, I doubt that decision would be reached so easily. Remember, their motivation is to be able to be profitable and not just "stay afloat" in this business.

[Lord Gorchnik]

Remember, their motivation is to be able to be profitable and not just "stay afloat" in this business.

Good post. I just wanted to reply/add-on to this line. After doing this kind of work for 30 years and seeing the rise and fall of many companies during various economic trials and crisis; allow me to just say this:

Companies (while always looking to aim for profit) should never feel ashamed to be happy to just reach the break-even point. Naturally, the only way to grow is to increase your bottom line. However, (getting back to your statement) right now during the WORST economic period we have had next to the mid 80's and the Great Depression, companies really need to focus less on "growing" and worry more about "making ends meet without further sacrifice."

Naturally only time will tell us the outcome, but I am sure many of you are smart enough to come up with some "reasonable" ones based off of the current trends, niches, and consumer-habits in the industry.