Sunsoft buys all IPs to telenet properties

http://gonintendo.com/viewstory.php?id=107353

This of course includes the Valis series.

What!?

Ok, is this supposed to be good news or bad news?

I mean, the bad side is: they may try to use the copy-right bullshit to ruin fan projects, and they also may produce more hentai junk.... hope not

The good side: hope they remake the series in 2D, or 3D, RPG, or new Valis 5, without major-changing to the plot

but I don't feel happy, I just wish my expectations are wrong

Valis X please! J/K

Edit : From PR

Quote :

Initial plans are to quickly begin publication of the original software releases on Virtual Console systems available on the Wii and other platforms. Then new development of key titles in the library will be initiated, targeting the best and most-wanted to be remade for current consoles and services. Given that many of the Telenet series had only one of the installments released in the US, some of these Virtual Console and remade releases will be seen for the first time in Western markets.

Well guys, this could be the break Valis has been waiting for. Here's hopin!

Quote :

I mean, the bad side is: they may try to use the copy-right bullshit to ruin fan projects,

In my opinion they will, generally speaking companies that own the IP will kill anything they see as direct competition. I would expect cease and desist orders if you create anything falling into that line.

Quote :

they also may produce more hentai junk.... hope not

I doubt very much they'd do something like that, I can't really think of anything sunsoft ever did along those lines. On the other hand the only good game they ever made I care about is Blaster Master, then a bunch of terrible clones of that game XD

From the context they are planning to release dlc versions of the original games and remakes. Currently however they cannot put Valis PCE or Valis 4 on VC because they are both to big. Nintendo might change the guildlines however like Microsoft did for SOTN.

I would love to see xbox live versions of these games however, I think they would be considered to niche for microsoft's tastes sadly ;/

[quote="Fou-Lu"]

Quote :

I would love to see xbox live versions of these games however, I think they would be considered to niche for microsoft's tastes sadly ;/

Niche? As opposed to what? They have games where women are practically nude, fantasy and modern. Or is that not what you meant? Personally I don't see anything wrong with it, they have Sonic 2 there, why not Valis? And they have Castlevania Symphony of the Night also, so I don't really see any problem with it.

Well, they only means Virtual Console, anyway, if they put me a "cease and desist", I always have a "Plan B"

Plan B?

Shadow Blade wrote:

Well, they only means Virtual Console, anyway, if they put me a "cease and desist", I always have a "Plan B"

It seems the PR is using "Virtual Console" as a catch-all phrase for Wii VC, XBLA and PSN

Hmmm, interesting.

You know...I don't know what to make of this yet, honestly. I have this sad feeling that all that'll be put on the VC (and its 'friends') is the SNES/SF version of Valis 4 and that'll be all we hear of the buyout in Valis terms.

(yeah, I'm still lurking around)

Quote :

Niche? As opposed to what? They have games where women are practically nude, fantasy and modern. Or is that not what you meant? Personally I don't see anything wrong with it, they have Sonic 2 there, why not Valis? And they have Castlevania Symphony of the Night also, so I don't really see any problem with it.

The Valis series is Niche notable by the size of it's popularity as opposed to say ooooh Final Fantasy or something. Microsoft might not be willing to allow the games because there simply isn't that much demand for them.

SOTN is hardly niche.

Your forgetting the different between indie and commercial games I imagine. If this was an indie game there would be no problem. In that section there you see all sorts of similar games, but name me one not widely popular title up on Xbox live arcade? They don't even have SOR3 up and it's been on wii forever. I think they tend to be more choosey given the difference in lineups between live and vc. Which is really very frustrating since i have alot more space for games like this on xbox 360 then the wii.

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You know...I don't know what to make of this yet, honestly. I have this sad feeling that all that'll be put on the VC (and its 'friends') is the SNES/SF version of Valis 4 and that'll be all we hear of the buyout in Valis terms.

(yeah, I'm still lurking around)

They've said specifically they plan to remake several titles and hint at releasing the entire lineup on VC.

I think I see what you mean. Xbox live is more choosy, while Wii tends to go for almost everything.

If you recall, they did release Dracula X, Rondo of Blood on Wii, but only for Japanese only. But, if you download a patch, which I didn't do, for your Wii, you can download all the games, despite the Japanese only releases.

So, for Wii, we may very well see Valis releases, we may jsut have to do a little extra work for them. Or perhaps I'm all wet.

ShinGundam wrote:

Quote :

Given that many of the Telenet series had only one of the installments released in the US, some of these Virtual Console and remade releases will be seen for the first time in Western markets.

This is the really exciting part to me. Also know that they are working with Victor Ireland:

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/the-x-button/2009-12-09

Quote :

"Ireland's Gaijinworks label is now helping Sunsoft in bringing games to the Wii's Virtual Console, starting with Blaster Master this month. According to Ireland, this is the start of an ambitious project regarding Sunsoft's history, and that could mean Virtual Console releases for the underrated NES games Ufouria and Mr. Gimmick.

He is almost certainly aware of the history of Valis and the cult following it has outside of Japan.

Sweet! Someone actually knows about us! TO an extent anyway. But cool!

Mega Man model T 101 wrote:

Plan B?

You know, if Plan A fails, always exists a Plan B.

the only problem that I could see, is the engine that one is working
if the engine is licenced or pirated, you may have troubles..

as long you don't use puntual copyrighted material, like sprites, audio or something like that, I think is ok..

you can always ignore the cease and desist. but... that's a double edge weapon

pretty hard.. complex.. i think...

I see. And I'm aware that you should always try to have a plan B. I was just wondering, what the plan B was. But I guess we'll have to wait an see if the said plan will have to be set into motion.

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/26459/Sunsoft_Acquires_Complete_Telenet_Catalog_Plans_ReReleases_And_Remakes.php

This one seems to make it more clear what Sunsoft is planning to do with the IPs they acquired. The other one felt a little vague.

Mega Man model T 101 wrote:

I see. And I'm aware that you should always try to have a plan B. I was just wondering, what the plan B was. But I guess we'll have to wait an see if the said plan will have to be set into motion.

I guess the plan B is still making a fighting game. whatever the engine is at hand..

we still gonna make it. and those after the unofficial VALIS V (seems that maybe a real VALIS V from sunsoft could be a reality) I don't know...

let just wait...

I honestly think this is the big break we've all been waiting for. From what I understand from his statement, Victor Ireland DOES know about Valis, among the many other Telenet series, and will probably work to get them all re-marketed Stateside. I really hope all of these titles get remakes - I'd LOVE to play a current-gen Valis and El Viento, and maybe Earnest Evans as well if they did a complete overhaul of it (include more story, SMOOTH CONTROLS!!!, etc.). I haven't gotten to really play Cosmic Fantasy or Tenshi no Uta, but I really would like a chance to try them out if at all possible.

As for SunSoft's credibility, I really loved what they did with the Blaster Master franchise. It's a shame that the most recent one - Blasting Again - was kinda shot down (pardon the pun). I don't know how many times I've played Blaster Master through, but it's beyond that of reasonable counting limits for a gamer. Lol I also like their other games, like Journey to Silius and Fester's Quest. Platoon was okay, if even just a par game. XD

This is the best news I think any Telenet series fan could hope to hear. An honest revitalization as opposed to seeing this hentai trash every month. And while SunSoft may not be the GREATEST company in the world to do it, I think they're well-suited for the job, and this may even launch them into the status of Legendary Gaming Corporation.

For this, I'm going to celebrate by taking a day in Cloud Nine and just telling everyone about Valis and El Viento. It'll be a day of happiness and sunshine, for the best has yet to come.

EDIT: Posted a link on my Facebook. I should hopefully be getting some replies over the course of the next day or two. o3o If anyone wants my Facebook, just add "Louis Boiko" to your friends list.

It would be great to be able to play all the Valis games, and be able to get the full story on the El Viento series! And, yeah, the Earnest Evens really could use a major overhaul. It probably had a good story, but game play, indeed, BLEH!

Also Annet Futatabi could stand to be redone. Which again, probably had a great story, and the controls, were reasonably solid, it was just that the spells were a bit lacking, and the enemies, really imbalanced. Also the ending sort of left it open for a fourth title.

But, I don't think the fighting beat em up, did the third title proper justice. It probably would have been better if it played like El Viento. And if there is any good game to base the control scheme after, for Earnest Evans, I think basing it off of Indiana Jones' Greatest Adventures for snes would be a solid control scheme, level design, and perhaps enemy setup to make a remake of Earnest Evans good.

The Valis series, doesn't really need much to be fixed, just a little tweaking here and there, and we'll have a great Valis series, and a translated one at that! So, I'm looking forward to the possible releases!

oh god.. I've just have a little nightmare..

a remake of EL VIENTO could end like that crappy russian game full of fan service: X BLADES... oh god.. please no...

the future of telenet IP can be good or bad..

that's why I'm a bit (much!) scared about what can become of this..

I don't really believe this can end well.. sorry for the bad thinking
my guts are tingling (disgusting maybe )

oh well.. still thinking and thinking...

I prefer not to think negatively, but that's just me. But still, that isn't to say we shouldn't let our hopes get too high, but not entirely give up hope either.

So, I'm at the middle ground so to speak, maybe a little more towards hope.

Things can't possibly go worse than how Telenet had been managing things...

...I hope

ssfsx17 wrote:

Things can't possibly go worse than how Telenet had been managing things...

...I hope

Since SunSoft's looking to get American eyes on them, they're DEFINITELY not going to produce the X-Rated trash we've seen before. And I doubt Victor Ireland would let that happen to any Telenet IP.

My worries are that, coming into a more advanced 3D console war, that they won't be able to deliver what they need to in order to stay competitive. However, if they're working on bringing back not just their own classics, but Working Designs AND Telenet's, then I get the feeling that SS may just get a strong cult following and may even be able to make the leap to mainstream that they didn't in the early 90s.

While having a merely optimistic stance is nice and cautious, I do point to the fact that this company is trying to re-introduce itself into the US gaming market after a decade of soloing Japan. It's going to try its darndest to make sure things are executed well, so I have high hopes that if nothing else, things will go smoothly, if not as well as we hope and expect.

Though I dare say - the thought of seeing Valis commercials on US TV station G4 would alone give me reason to talk to my mom about getting cable again. Lol

EDIT: Take a look at this quote from Vic Ireland on the SunSoft boards:

vireland wrote:

There are some IP in the deal that are shared with other publishers, so the rights to those would have to be worked out, but this deal easily DOUBLES the available IP for VC-type release and also current console remakes. It's a big deal, especially since it means great series like Valis can get a second wind.

I smell Victor-y! =D

HeromanX wrote:

EDIT: Take a look at this quote from Vic Ireland on the SunSoft boards:

vireland wrote:

There are some IP in the deal that are shared with other publishers, so the rights to those would have to be worked out, but this deal easily DOUBLES the available IP for VC-type release and also current console remakes. It's a big deal, especially since it means great series like Valis can get a second wind.

I smell Victor-y! =D

Heh heh...me too!

Considering that Mr. Ireland was the President of Working Designs, which did pretty good localizations of games (including Telenet's "Cosmic Fantasy 2"), I'm sure the Telenet licenses are in pretty good hands. I'd certainly like to download the Genesis Valis 1, and if they offer any of the Turbo Grafix CD games, possibly Cosmic Fantasy 2 and Valis 2 (even though I have the game CDs still...sadly, I don't have my Turbo Grafix and the CD add-on anymore). I'd also like to see games that haven't been translated or imported like Angel Song or Psycho Dream.

You know, one idea came to mind, they may do a "Valis Rebirth" which would totally rock! They did it with Castlevania Adventure for Gameboy, and I gotta say, it looks awesome! And it looks like it plays pretty solid, and goes back to the old game roots! I think "Rebirth" may very well be a good road to go down for revival of old series.

Sunsoft...the only thing I remeber from them was waku waku 7...but anyway its still a good news, I guess they will be releasing Telenet games on virtual console for wii soon? If that's the case then that will probably be my first time to get VC games for my Wii~

I'm abit lost, what's Virtual Console for Wii? (how ignorant of me )