Official Post about Shiny Days

JAST Games Game Discussions
#81

I’ve been a JAST customer for a few years now, but I will reluctantly be passing on this as well. I cannot support censorship as blatant as this, no matter the reason. Especially not after this company championed their “100% uncensored” bullet point for SO LONG, only to end up censoring two very big titles so close to one another. You guys even stopped chasing Starry Sky because you wanted fans to have the full game. In fact, here’s the exact quote.

  • "We could of course release the games without voice, but that would defeat their commercial value since fans would not be cool with a move like this."

So, why give western fans the inferior version of Starless and Shiny Days? You seem to have expected a fan reaction like this. If you knew this was going to be an issue, you should not have pursued this title or Starless. Either way, fan translations will pick up the slack and if that means the industry in the west will regress, so be it. We survived with fan translations in the past and still do today. Truth be told, I would not mind you guys pursuing less games if this is the treatment they’re going to get for “the good of the genre”.

But my biggest issue here is with saying it’s all to “avoid problems for VNs as a whole”. Doe that eman we can expect more titles to get this treatment if anyone complains? Now I’m just waiting to hear that Mira is getting cut from Sumaga. When you frame it in such a way, it feels like you’re caving under pressure from potential negative press (especially after I saw Peter go defend Romanesque really hard at Kotaku). Sure, the unofficially official patch helps a bit, but at that point I just have to ask why it was removed to begin with. If this gets totally revised, I will reconsider. Hell, I’ll purchase TWO copies of the LE. But until then, this and all future JAST titles are going on my pass list.

#82

@Totoro, be sure and read all my responses before making judgements. We have censored almost no games ever, and have taken more risk for fans publishing the titles we've done than any company, I would say. Saya no Uta or Littlewitch Romanesque got zero censorship. This one instance is a little too much for us to leave the content in the shipping version, especially with special issues involving our staff. There will be a restoration patch through the magic of the Internet.

#83

@Peter_Payne im still confuse why do you say shipping version >? is the digital one untouched ?
also you say There will be a restoration patch through the magic of the Internet. do you know something we dont im here in the fence thinking to buy or not i need to be sure somehow i will get the game the way it was meant to be play

#84

@Kilburn R, if you read through my responses (hard as this thread is very long), you'll see I said I believe we will never censor any future title. If we must "never pursue a title" that calls for censorship, in the future I guess that means we'll decline all such titles, even if it's something fans would dearly love to play. I'm not sure that this is serving fandom in the end, however.

#85

@Carlos, it was meant to be played in Japan with mosaic censorship, which we're removing ^_^ Our published version cannot have those few scenes in it, so we're removing them in our version. The Internet has a way of fixing such things, however, so don't worry.

#86

"If we must "never pursue a title" that calls for censorship, in the future I guess that means we'll decline all such titles, even if it's something fans would dearly love to play. I'm not sure that this is serving fandom in the end, however."


It's not, and please don't do that. In the world of anime licensing, if one company backs off from a license, another company will step in. We're nowhere near that point with visual novels, so if JAST USA backs off from a title, more than likely it'll never get licensed at all. That doesn't do anyone any good. I'm quite happy with unofficial solutions to appease fans (as long as they actually happen), and other fans should be also.

#87

I dont like how Shiny days is being censored but i will give it a chance but if it dosent get a patch that is to my liking then i will never buy a title that has been censored patches be damned. also those of us in this thread have starless to see how that turns out before we jump ship and condemn this release and any chance of cross days (that will likely get the same treatment due to themes). either way i will likely get 2 copy 1 pre-order from j-list and 1 on sale from rightstuf if they stock it. on the note of the possible reprint if it came bundled with strip battle days i feel it could still hold some value even if some time passes and might even sell well enough to warrant said reprint, or even if you guys had to release a trilogy bundle with school, shiny, and cross days uncut. and damn would i buy a trilogy bundle in a heartbeat if it was uncut

#88

Man this is so problematic i dont want to support content removing

i was really looking forward for this game i think il wait a while and see what happens if somehow i find that someone will add the missing material il will buy this game in a heartbeat


dont get me wrong i know why you did it but to not even give people the option to digitally to re-add the content later via patch like some other devs have done is very troublesome


also to advertise the game as uncensored is also very sneaky a better way would have been partially uncensored.



#89

@Dark_Shiki, true, but eroge are not anime, and there are only three companies doing anything in the space. There's a bit of a rush to "cash in" on VNs and Steam, but this is all about all-ages stuff, and I believe we're in a "Steam VN bubble" that will burst soon, and companies will be back to wondering how to stay in business in a world where Japanese fans won't pay $88 for boxed games anymore. So please keep supporting the companies that are working hard for you (MG, Sekai Project, us).

#90

@Carlos Hernandez


The game is going to get some kind of restoration patch. He has to be cagey about it probably for legal reasons, especially since the opening post has the phrase "there will not be any kind of official patch to fix these scenes by us."

Peter's original post confirming it appears to be memory holed, but you can see the important line quoted in Dark_Shiki's 2nd to last post on page 4.
#91

A restoration patch won't change the fact that you're censoring this is at all.

There's no way people can believe you won't censor future titles especially if your staff's feeling are a deciding factor.

You've definitely lost consumer trust with this one.

#92

I’m willing to see how this supposed patch goes before I rage too much. If this patch does get released in a timely manner and works well and all that, I’ll buy the game. If not, I’ll be passing. I have no interest in a censored product.

I am curious how Mangagamer is apparently able to release games without cut content even for physical editions though. If Jast picked up Imouto Paradise for example, I bet the entire Hiyori route would be gone.

I thought Jast was becoming more lenient after releasing Little Witch Romanesque. After this and Starless, I’m sad to see that I was wrong.

#93

@Slumwithme Well the Limited edition does look really tempting i guess il trust that some anon unofficially will somehow re add the lost content

#94

If you get a Day 1 content update patch. Would it even bother those that are buying digital?

#95

I recently bought an air cleaner for my house. It's quite large and loud, and eats a lot of electricity. I was thinking about how there are definitely trade-offs for companies making air cleaners, including size, filter design, filter replicability, electricity consumed, noise, and cost.


Life is really like an air cleaner sometimes: some trade-offs occasionally have to be made. In the case of this game, it has to exist in an official form to get it uncensored (mosaic free). In order to exist, fans need to buy the game, since 0verflow must be paid, translators must be paid, and everyone involved with the project needs to be on board. I'd love to get an air filter that was tiny, silent, used no electricity and cost only $1, but clearly I had to decide what trade offs can be made to get the air filter in the first place.


Life is like an air cleaner sometimes.

#96

I feel like I'm missing something here.


What exactly is being removed?

#97

@Morgan
a few specific scenes with Kokoro and her classmate

#98

@Slumwithme Screenshot of Peter’s post.

#99

" I'd love to get an air filter that was tiny, silent, used no electricity and cost only $1, but clearly I had to decide what trade offs can be made to get the air filter in the first place. "


Why not get a plant? plantairpurifier

#100

@ Peter Payne: If you're saying that censorship is a necessary trade off, then that's one that I'm not willing to make. I'd rather you focus on products that don't have to be censored as you said earlier than have a cut product. Obviously, this is dependent on whether or not a patch mysteriously surfaces as I said earlier.

I honestly feel bad about you having to put up with all of this. I understand your position for the most part, but I just can't get over my hatred of cut content especially when there's games like Romanesque, Euphoria, Imouto Paradise, Saya no Uta, etc. which all have controversial content and made it over, or are making it over, uncut. I'm sure you have your reasons and have a lot to worry about regarding this kind of stuff, but I don't really understand that aspect.