Possibility of a Xenosaga HD Collection?

[Wolf Kanno]

So Tekken's producer Katsuhiro Harada recently tweeted (http://www.siliconera.com/2014/09/11/xenosaga-hd-collection-might-possible-needs-tens-thousands-fans/) to the Xenosaga community about how some people at Bandai-Namco would love to give the old Xenosaga franchise an HD treatment but said that it would require more than a few passionate fans but really a very strong interest with "tens of thousands of fans" to be willing to pick it up.

Though the likliehood of this happening might be slim, it is interesting to see a company actually state some interest in less vague terms than usual. So who would love to see an HD treatment for PS2 cult hit Xenosaga?

[Scotty_ffgamer]

It is one of my favorite series, so I would definitely buy it. I play the first game something like every other year so it would be good to not have to hook up the old ps2 again.

[Shauna]

Again, it would be great to see this in EU. We got Ep II and that's it. Whoo the whole saga!

[Spuuky]

I'd buy it. I've played the series three times, and I adore it, but it could use some touch-ups.

[Bolivar]

This would be the optimal entry point for me to check out this series, so sure.

[NeoCracker]

I JUST came here to make this thread dammit!

Here's the tweet in question.
https://twitter.com/Harada_TEKKEN/status/510056523549003776

Now message dammit! I need this in my life!

[Vyk]

I'd probably pick it up. This series is on a list I have with my girlfriend, about all the games she regrets having to give up / sell because she was young and broke and needed new games, or her parents lost them between moving, or being evil and throwing them out and stuff. Also includes most of the Tales games, Dynasty Warriors, Suikoden V, and Shadow Hearts

She was super happy to find out I had the first game, but unfortunately it didn't have enough pizazz to keep my interest in buying a sequel, especially an inferior sequel that I heard everyone hated. And I didn't want to skip a game in a series to get to the superior third installment, so I just skipped the rest entirely. I'd probably feel obligated to get this if it happens. I'm curious to see what happens later in the series

[Forsaken Lover]

First day purchase if it happens.

[Lone Wolf Leonhart]

I would absolutely buy this. Pre-order even.


Measures such as kickstarters are as of last resort, and at any rate we will not have a chance of winning as it stands now. It will not gather people by crowdfunding without creating some kind of big movement to support it.

This would be funded on a kickstarter like wildfire. Special items for people who donate to higher tiers? I would be all in.

[Mirage]

Lots of deluded fans in the comment section of that article at least :p
Personally, I only played xs1 and I hated it. Maybe the second and third games are all right though. I would probably buy a hd trilogy when the price dropped low enough.

[edczxcvbnm]

I already own all 3 games and would only pick this up if

1) The graphics also did some lip syncing for the English voices
2) Japanese Audio option
3) They redid episode 2 because that whole game was shit. I wouldn't care if they lazily just slapped episode 1/3 graphics, battle system, music onto it because it would still be a billion times better.

[Forsaken Lover]

I'd rather they just de-censored Episode 3 so a few cutscenes had all their appropriate emotional weight. Editing out the blood was a dumb move.

[Spuuky]

I'd rather they just de-censored Episode 3 so a few cutscenes had all their appropriate emotional weight. Editing out the blood was a dumb move.Extremely dumb, this would be one of the absolutely mandatory changes.

[Vyk]

Wasn't there a rapey hand-in-chest scene in the first game that got censored as well? I don't know the specifics, as I'm not sure I actually got to that point in the game. But I remember it being a controversy in the first game

[NeoCracker]

...The English version definitely had the rapey hand in chest scene. :p

What got censored in Episode one was... a Bizarre censorship choice taht I hope they leave in.

Original Version: Albedo uses a knife to cut off his own head.

Censored Version: Albedo uses his bare hands to rip off his own head.

[Forsaken Lover]

There was no hand in chest in our version. Rather he put his hand close to MOMO's head and and a weird light thing started to glow around his hand and her head. That was how he probed her mind. It makes enough senses and never seemed out of place.

In the original though, he just outright sticks his hand in her lower body, starts rummaging around her insides, and goes "ohhhh,, AHHHHH" while she's squirming around in pain and terror.

Also he breaks a little girl's arm in the original version. Oddly you can still hear the snap in our version but you don't see the actual arm-breaking.

[NeoCracker]

Huh, for some reason I remember the hand going inside her. Perhaps I'm just visualizing a youtube clip when I think about it. :p

[Lone Wolf Leonhart]

Original Version: Albedo uses a knife to cut off his own head.

Censored Version: Albedo uses his bare hands to rip off his own head.

Can't forget a scene like that. Nothing like a guy who rips his head off and then have it laugh at you from the ground.

[Wolf Kanno]

Apparently there is a fan petition (https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/Katsuhiro_Harada_DirectorProducer_at_Bandai_Namco_Remaster_the_Xenosaga_Trilogy_for_Global_Release/) to make this happen but it's still a long way from reaching the required goal (http://www.siliconera.com/2014/10/20/petition-xenosaga-hd-collection-long-long-way-goal/).

[Forsaken Lover]

Well that's depressing...

[theundeadhero]

I just started replaying episode 1 this past weekend! I remembered that it had a pretty amazing story and the music was well done, but I had forgotten that the voice actors did a decent job for the time, even if the lips don't sync with the sound. HD versions would be cool.

[NeoCracker]

Overall the VA's are decent, but here and there they have some straight up fantastic ones. Crispin Freeman is absolutely fantastic as both Albedo and Nigredo.

[Forsaken Lover]

It's all about Lia Sargent's Shion, Bridget Hoffman's KOS-MOS and Michael McConnohie's Margulis.

I also missed Sherry Lynn as MOMO.

chaos I can take or leave, but Dark Stephen Prince was way better than EP2 Joshua Seth. It took him a long time to become good.

[Spuuky]

Obviously, Albedo is the greatest by far. Margulis is amazing, too. When he does other games I always just wish he was Margulis.

[black orb]

So Tekken's producer Katsuhiro Harada recently tweeted (http://www.siliconera.com/2014/09/11/xenosaga-hd-collection-might-possible-needs-tens-thousands-fans/) to the Xenosaga community about how some people at Bandai-Namco would love to give the old Xenosaga franchise an HD treatment

>>> :confused::confused: Bandai-Namco still own part of the Xeno series? this means Squareenix can put their hands on Xenogears again if they wanted?
I just dont get all the legal stuff behind the Xeno series migrating from one publisher to another, if someone could explain it to me it would be great..:luca:

[Vyk]

The crappy part of the industry. When you make a game and can't distribute it, you get a publisher to distribute it. And in return, you have to give them all future rights to it as well. Then, they in effect, own it, and you don't. It sucks. But that's how the game is played I guess

SOMETIMES publishers will publish a game without the rights, and just enjoy the sales and let the developers keep their baby. But that is super duper rare :/

[Wolf Kanno]

So Tekken's producer Katsuhiro Harada recently tweeted (http://www.siliconera.com/2014/09/11/xenosaga-hd-collection-might-possible-needs-tens-thousands-fans/) to the Xenosaga community about how some people at Bandai-Namco would love to give the old Xenosaga franchise an HD treatment

>>> :confused::confused: Bandai-Namco still own part of the Xeno series? this means Squareenix can put their hands on Xenogears again if they wanted?
I just dont get all the legal stuff behind the Xeno series migrating from one publisher to another, if someone could explain it to me it would be great..:luca:

Square-Enix owns the rights Xenogears which was developed back in the days of Square. The team left and formed their own company called Monolith Soft after Square nixed the idea of making Xenogears into its own series.

Monolith Soft created Xenosaga with the help of Namco-Banda, at the time Namco. Namoc-Bandai thus owns the rights to Xenosaga. The series started off promising but executive meddling, core staff quitting/being let go and weak sales as the series contiue

Nintendo later bought Monolith Soft to become a second party developer for them, where they went on to develop Xenoblade and Xenoblade Chronicles X.

All of the Xeno games are developed by the same team that did Xenogears (though some staff members have left and new ones have joined over the years) but their games have been published and thus owned by three different companies.

[Del Murder]

Never played xenosaga so a hd collection would be great since I don't feel like dusting off the ol ps2.

[Ayen]

I don't feel very strongly about it one way or the other. I played and enjoyed the first game, but never got around to playing the other two. At some point I'd probably consider getting it just because I haven't played the last two games, but it isn't a necessity for me.

[Mirage]

So Tekken's producer Katsuhiro Harada recently tweeted (http://www.siliconera.com/2014/09/11/xenosaga-hd-collection-might-possible-needs-tens-thousands-fans/) to the Xenosaga community about how some people at Bandai-Namco would love to give the old Xenosaga franchise an HD treatment

>>> :confused::confused: Bandai-Namco still own part of the Xeno series? this means Squareenix can put their hands on Xenogears again if they wanted?
I just dont get all the legal stuff behind the Xeno series migrating from one publisher to another, if someone could explain it to me it would be great..:luca:

Officially, there is no series other than the xenosaga series. No one owns the right tp use the word "xeno" as part of a title. Squenix owns xenogears, bamco owns xenosaga, Nintendo owns xenoblade and that's all there is to it.

[Vyk]

Personally I've always found the copyrights in these situations pretty ridiculous. Developers should have some kind of joint ownership. It's a little muddled here since it started in house at Square. But it reminds me of things EA and Activision have done over the years. If a publisher isn't interested in further helping on a game they published they should lose those rights if the developer can successfully shop itaaround elsewhere. Why should the fans and creator be held back by bullheaded execs who want to sideline and sit on great ideas for no justifiable reason. And joint ownership would have been fantastic in cases like Interplay and THQ where large publishing houses died or almost died with great IPs in hand x.x I've always thought this stuff dumb. Like the radio industry owning all the hard work song artists do. Or book publishers owning all the thought and creativity an author poured into their novels. I get it if something was commissioned and expressly asked for and created. But outside of that copyright and publishing just don't mix well in my opinion

[Mirage]

Nothing is fair when one part is a huge powerhouse and the other part is a tiny developer

well, at least it wasn't back then. the climate has changed a bit since then in some segments, with crowdfunding and independent digital releases and stuff like that

[black orb]

SOMETIMES publishers will publish a game without the rights, and just enjoy the sales and let the developers keep their baby. But that is super duper rare :/
>>> I see, this answer many questions..:luca: