Post by: WindyMan on August 26, 2003, 08:51:40 AM
En Garde: Namco Ships SOULCALIBUR II
The Year's Most Anticipated Fighting Game Now Available for All Major Platforms
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 26, 2003--Namco Ltd. announced today that its franchise title, SOULCALIBUR®II, has shipped to stores nationwide. The highly anticipated sequel to one of the most revered 3D weapons-based fighting games of all time, SOULCALIBUR®II is now available on the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, the Nintendo GameCube(TM) and the Xbox® video game system from Microsoft.
"Consumer anticipation for SOULCALIBUR®II has been monumental," said Dan DeMatteo, President and Chief Operating Officer of GameStop. "Our pre-sell programs have been strong since early on and we fully expect SOULCALIBUR®II to be one of the best-selling titles of 2003."
Featuring more than 15 characters from the original game, SOULCALIBUR®II introduces Necrid, a Todd McFarlane Productions character created exclusively for the series. Each video game system also boasts its own unique guest fighter: Nintendo's Link brings his chivalry to the Nintendo GameCube, Todd McFarlane's comic book hero Spawn brings his powers to Xbox, and Namco's own Heihachi of Tekken fame brings his melee skills to the PlayStation®2.
Exclusive to the U.S. and European versions of SOULCALIBUR®II are the playable characters Assassin, Berserker and Lizardman. Originally included as non-playable characters in the Japanese version, Assassin, Berserker and Lizardman are now playable in the following modes; VS Battle, Extra VS Battle, Team Battle, Extra Team Battle, VS Team Battle, Extra VS Team Battle, Practice and Extra Practice.
"We have finely tuned every aspect of game play to make the release of SOULCALIBUR®II an event well worth waiting for," said Jim Atkiss, Product Marketing Manager at Namco Hometek Inc. "The game has already taken top honors as `Best Fighting Game' at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, and it's poised to exceed expectations and take home even more awards by year's end."
A continuation of the popular SOULCALIBUR® series, SOULCALIBUR®II received the "Best Fighting Game" award at the 2003 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. With 10 game modes, a host of unlockable costumes and arenas, and over 200 collectible weapons and items, SOULCALIBUR®II delivers the intense fighting action that fans have come to expect of the series.
SOULCALIBUR®II is rated T for Teen and is now available in stores nationwide.
Post by: Kulock on August 26, 2003, 10:09:05 AM
Post by: Djunknown on August 26, 2003, 07:37:36 PM
As far as translation goes, I'd love it to have come out earlier in the summer. It would've been the game me and my friends would play until dawn. But now they're back in school leaving me a solo gamer but that's beside the point. They had to LOCALIZE (Tweaking the text for us Westerners) for all three versions, which means going back to the source code and replace the Hiragana (Japan's basic script) and Kanji (Pictographs, kind of like Egyptian Heirogylphics.) with good old English. Sometimes translations can't fit text boxes, odd bugs can surface,etc and its back to the proverbial drawing board.
As far as extras, what MORE do you want Namco to do? Namco could've rested on its laurels and gave us nothing special over the original. Instead, they racked their brains to improve on a flawless formula that got it right the first time.
While it did take a while to reach our shores, I know I'm getting the FULL experience, translated text and all. I'm getting my full fifty-worth while importers are getting 80-percent of what they paid (Getting a freeloader plus the price of the game.) Granted the 20 percent is not that crucially important, but its like chocolate cake vs chocolate cake with the frosting. Its that much sweeter.
Post by: Kulock on August 28, 2003, 10:00:27 AM
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Originally posted by: Djunknown
I just can't let that one go.
Sure you could've. But you said "Oh, no, a valid complaint, I must try to put it down!"
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Granted Rogue Leader got cranked out in EIGHT months (check the video documentary)
The number I had recently heard tossed around was 6 months, but I'm willing to believe you that it was indeed eight months.
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but they are the exception, not the rule. Other companies like Acclaim try an eight-month cycle and come up with less than perfect products.
To be honest, Acclaim can hardly ever develop a proper game in ANY amount of time. I would never put them at the same level as Namco. I have much more respect for the latter.
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I'm pretty sure the fellows at Factor 5 had to live without sleep when making Rogue Leader.
Right, and they were developing a game from scratch for all-new hardware. SCII uses middleware to simplify the development process across all three platforms.
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As far as translation goes, I'd love it to have come out earlier in the summer. It would've been the game me and my friends would play until dawn. But now they're back in school leaving me a solo gamer but that's beside the point. They had to LOCALIZE (Tweaking the text for us Westerners) for all three versions, which means going back to the source code and replace the Hiragana (Japan's basic script) and Kanji (Pictographs, kind of like Egyptian Heirogylphics.) with good old English. Sometimes translations can't fit text boxes, odd bugs can surface,etc and its back to the proverbial drawing board.
Thank you, I have been in gaming long enough to know the process of text translation, especially back with the much MORE limiting standards for 16-bit and 8-bit consoles. Five months I could understand for translation for an RPG, but SCII, while it does have Weapons Master Mode, is by no means anywhere near even the simplest RPGs. Mario Sunshine had more Japanese text. And main menu options and many other text notices are already in proper English, further simplifying the translation process.
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As far as extras, what MORE do you want Namco to do?
Wow, now that's a can of worms. The simple answer was "something more with the free time they had." Mario 64 had several months between the Japanese and US release. What did they do? Lots of little things. Many of the polished touches you're used to in the American version of SM64 were not present or not as refined in the Japanese version. They couldn't add in Luigi for play, that would've been far over their heads and the game wasn't designed for another character like that, they couldn't add a new level because that would've been too much for the time they had, but they did SOMETHING with their time.
SCII is set up much more modularly; thus it's easier to add new characters and stages. Not a walk in the park, but certainly not a monumental effort.
What bugs me the most is that Berserker, Assassin, and Lizardman were all added... except into the modes that would require effort. No Weapons Master, no Single Player... they didn't even go for a full effort on these three, and these three were already playable to a certain extent in the original. They were not as refined as in the US release I'm assuming (I HOPE Namco expanded their move arsenal in the US release, anyway). It just seems like a lot of time when they could've been doing ANYTHING to the game was wasted. Heck, if another new character is too much, how about a few new stages? Or just some new costumes for the characters? Some characters REALLY got shortchanged on costumes. Link does have his Four Swords color tunics, but no "alternate look" like Spawn and Heihachi get... many suggested a costume that just looks like Oni Link (not as powerful, but just looks), wouldn't that have been an interesting addition? It just feels like the wait was for almost nothing.
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Namco could've rested on its laurels and gave us nothing special over the original.
And sales and reviews wouldn't have been as good.
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Instead, they racked their brains to improve on a flawless formula that got it right the first time.
They... didn't exactly do a ton of "improving on the formula". There's some balancing, but the game plays heavily like Soul Calibur 1. Anyway, I'm speaking less about the formula, and more about, "What the heck were they doing for five months between the Japanese and US release?"
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While it did take a while to reach our shores, I know I'm getting the FULL experience, translated text and all. I'm getting my full fifty-worth while importers are getting 80-percent of what they paid (Getting a freeloader plus the price of the game.) Granted the 20 percent is not that crucially important, but its like chocolate cake vs chocolate cake with the frosting. Its that much sweeter.
Actually, my console was modded already for two earlier games, so that wasn't part of the cost for me. And it's more like an extra 8%, like someone took your chocolate frosted cake, took a knife, and shaved a small layer of the frosting off. It'd be nice to know the Weapon Master and Single Player endings, but when I hear a fanfare, and a box with Japanese text and a picture of a new level pops up, I think I can figure out things just fine.
Also, cake tends to get a little stale after five months.
(Alright, I'm not implying the game is dated now just because it's a few months older, but I couldn't resist the analogy.)
