http://novelnews.net/2010/03/03/intervi … ranslator/
this explains the translation process and talks about a few new titles
I’d say I’m very intrigued at this part of the interview:
crosses fingers for Cyc
Yea… I know that means I’d have betrayed Jast… but it’s Cyc gods damn it. My loyalty is to whomever gets me the best twincest! 
harukoi otome looks nice as well
i saw the ova version and would like to know the other stories
OMG, KEY!?
Kanon and CLANNAD, amirite?
I highly doubt any game that had already been fantranslated would be profitable for Mangagamer. So many people already played these games (just look at vndb) and this market is not that big.
It’s a matter of marketing. I think with a clever advertisement campaign, they can reach a wider audience (beyond those who are familiar with fan translations) with all-ages versions of Kanon, AIR, CLANNAD, etc. However, I’m not going to keep my hopes up.
There aren’t any translations yet for AIR, Tomoyo After, or either version of Little Busters.
Theres also the upcoming Little Busters side story Kud Wafter and Rewrite.
In addition, the translation of CLANNAD is almost unusably bad and the Kanon translation needs some of the routes totally retranslated (most of the pre-branch stuff is alright though). Only ONE and MOON. have decent translations (and MangaGamer could have gotten them anyway since BaseSon owns both properties)
Actually, they said they would need to get permission from Key as well for ONE.
Really? They were able to rerelease ONE in both voiced and Vista editions, but hmm, I suppose you could be right.
They made this recent blog post here:
http://mangagamer.wordpress.com/2010/03 … omment-636
They’re really asking us what we want, so I say let’s tell 'em.
I think it’s very unofficial and without any real connection to those companies, though. They even listed Nitro+. And I doubt Minori would offer their games for filthy gaijin…
Is that legally binding, or would it just be a matter of courtesy (and thus a potential annoyance if they aren’t close to Key)? I know that within the Japanese game industry, developers tend to get pissed when former or current employers use their work without asking (and some will indeed refuse a request even if they’re asked). However, there’s no legal obligation for the companies to abide by those wishes.
When the guy who did the Project Majestic Mix CDs was starting up his project, it took him months before he could even get anyone at Square to acknowledge he wasn’t some schmuck sending random emails, he had a proposal they were (as I understand it) legally bound to accept (because of a compulsory license to cover a song).
They told him before they could do anything, he needed to talk to Uematsu. When he finally got in touch with Uematsu, Uematsu said that he didn’t own any of the music, that he didn’t have any right to control any of it, and that he needed to talk to Square. Only after this formality had happened, would Square proceed with the deal. Even though under US law, they have to give you permission, and you have to pay them.
There’s what the law actually says, and then there’s what tradition and culture expects.
CPM (shortly before they went under) had a similar problem. They licensed some yaoi manga, then the Japanese owner of the IP got sold. The new older said, “Hey, you have to re-negotiate the contract with us”. CPM said “screw you, the wording in the contract and Japanese law says no, we don’t.” The Japanese company actually issued press releases in English, to the English anime press, denouncing CPM as being “pirates” and asking people not to buy the books.
It’s like this: You can’t play the game only looking at your current contract. Business relationships with your partner companies are far more important than any one deal. If a Japanese-media licensing firm (books, manga, anime, whatever) pisses off the license holders, then at the expiration of the current contracts, they may find themselves unable to get new contracts. Then you go broke.
I wonder what happened between Kodansha and TokyoPop, for example. Dark Horse kept their licenses, even though Kodansha is going to enter the market directly. Tokyopop? Their contract expired, and all their properties reverted. Obviously, for some reason, Dark Horse and Kodansha’s relationship is more solid than Tokyopop’s.
i am guessing manga gamer might release the mai hime game
how good is the mai hime vn game
EGS median of 80, mean of 78 from 63 scores. In other words, probably pretty damn good (although it’s difficult to tell just from this whether it’s good if you aren’t familiar with Mai-HiME or just a game for fans)
Mai-Hime was a special project, based on an old Novel, With VN, Anime and Manga.
Since the Anime and Manga are totally different, Story Wise, i assume that’s the VN story is too.