Peach Princess / G-Collections & Virtual Mate

Visual Novel Community Archive, 2000-2009
#1

Okay, guys, you win. By customer request, we are happy to announce that we’ll be removing the VirtualMate online registration system on the five CD-ROM based G-Collections games (and Doushin, of course), which will enable everyone to play the games without an Internet connection. We have done this after long discussions with Interlex on the capabilities of their verification system, and what improvements they can and can’t make to the system. While we had planned on greatly improving on the current system, in the end we weren’t able to make the changes we really wanted to V-Mate. Thus we’re going to stop using it on CD-ROM based games, which should make everyone here happy. We plan to make the patches available within a couple months, which will be downloadable (your V-Mate code will be required).

Let me speak a little about the Virtual Mate system itself. While we were very cautionary to G-Collections about the system they designed, the reality is that the system did work to reduce piracy and increase sales significantly. Therefore, in general, the system was good and served its purpose. We were swayed by the passionate (sometimes way too passionate) arguments here and in private, though, and decided it is best if we yank the system now, rather than wait for the one year period we were planning on.

So where do we go from here? Piracy of our games by “fans,” some of whom boast about never having bought a b-game in their lives – and by shameful people in countries that start with “I” – is rampant and is the single biggest reason why we don’t have the games we really want to be porting. When fans pirate Doom 3 they’re basically causing no measurable harm due to the size of the market for this game, but in a tiny niche market (bishoujo games) within an already shrinking market (PC games in general), well, it can easily spell death, and has, especially for a tiny company like us.

So. I sincerely thank everyone for their input and support, on both sides of “virtualmategate.” The people who beat their chests, sure that G-Collections was going to jerk you around and make your game investment unplayable, were being very silly. (Come on, guys, I’m on the job here!) The fans who defended the system as a necessary evil for the world we live in were very kind.

Incidentally, we do still plan to use Virtual Mate for future projects at this time, but it won’t be anything you need to worry about. For the record, we have many projects on the fire, which we can’t announce yet but will do so soon.

I’ll skip the “Ask not what bishoujo games can do for you, ask what you can do for bishoujo games” part of the speech, although in reality we’re really going to need the support of all fans reading this to bring you more great games to you. Thanks in advance for your future support!

Peter Payne
Peach Princess

#2

Wow, that was an unexpected message to find this morning. Personally, my only real problem with V-Mate was how you could only install each game 3 times since I don’t have the HDD space to keep more then 3 games on my system at once.

Anyway, I’d like to thank Peter Payne and the rest of Peach Princess for their devotion to us customers. No other company goes out of their way for us like they do. They’ll probly never get the mass-market attention they deserve and its a total shame. Thanks for the great work and I can’t wait to play Doushin

#3

well i guess i am safe now to speak…honestly i have been avoiding to post on the bbs recently because i know i will be the scapegoat out of this mess, just like vagabond back then

personally i wasn’t even aware that peapri planned to use vmate for doushin until the game announcement. i wasn’t convinced at all with gc’s system/policy as it currently is so we proposed to interlex about the many changes we would like to have based on customer experiences (and the changes should actually solve most concerns you people have actually like crashing patches hardware limits etc, but i wont mention them coz it’s kinda moot now) but in the end things dont really work out so…

but one more thing i would like to add to peter’s post. contrary to what some of the bbs members (as well as pirate lurkers, you know who you are) think, we DO listen to you. obviously there are reality checks we have to make, but for the most part we do listen to your voices and concerns (well at least i pass them to peter when i see it). it is (partially) what i am paid to do.

at any rate, now that the vmate saga is over, it should please everybody including those heavily fumed people like unicorn papillon and that infamous european guy who just sent us a bunch of death threat emails the other day…

and now something to say as a bbs mod…this bbs is so fucking messed up ever since vmate was planned to use on doushin, and the discussions since then is pretty much nothing but fights over vmate. while it is understandable that you guys have the very reason to fight, now that the vmate thing is over, can you guys now stop the fighting and go back to your regular friendly bbs channel?

and just some food for thought. personally i was (really) impressed that vmate did slow down piracy when it started (although it was good while it lasted)…and the increased sales…that alone says alot in terms of results and implications…anyways just something for you all to munch on

finally, just to paraphrase peter, we would like to thank everybody for their input/complains/support/opinions/experiences on vmate because without them we wouldn’t be able to get a reality check on the system and wouldn’t be able to demand changes to improve it (which didn’t work out)

but now that pretty much leaves us with games that are easily vulnerable to pirating…and like peter i will skip the “Ask not what bishoujo games can do for you, ask what you can do for bishoujo games” part of the speech as well…you know what we are trying to get at

now back to your regular programming

ADD: oh just something to add and clarify…it WASN’T the death threat mails that made us withdraw from vmate

[This message has been edited by Lamuness (edited 04-21-2005).]

#4
quote:
Originally posted by Peter Payne:
...and by shameful people in countries that start with "I"...

quote:
Originally posted by Lamuness:
...and that infamous european guy who just sent us a bunch of death threat emails the other day...

Naah, I can't believe that our beloved troll is to blame for this... C'mon, Rampager, make a laugh with me [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img].

#5

Thank you for listening and considering our concerns.

#6

Call me slow:

If i buy the G-C games from you now (i mean NOW) will i get in the future a patch so i dont need to connect to play it?
Awesome! (i can buy it now and wait for the patch, i still have to open some other games, i can wait MONTHS before playing a game that i already bought )

Well, finishing with the VM thing, let me thank you in name of all the customers who didn’t like that VM idea, it feels great to know that somebody actually listen to your complains…

#7

Cool. Guess it’s time to go throw in a preorder then.

does a happy dance

#8

Shocking.

First, I’m pleased that Peach Princess was making genuine efforts to address the concerns with V-mate before adopting it. However I’m truly amazed that PP scrapped the idea once they discovered that Interlex was unable or unwilling to modify their program as hoped. My faith in the commitment of this company to its fans is restored.

However, I wonder if Peter and Lamuness might be jumping to conclusions when they say (or even imply) that V-mate’s success was due to reduced piracy. Remember the reduction in price! As a student of science, the issue still burns within me: were increased sales mainly due to reduced piracy, or merely a result of the reduced price? Morever, was the increase in sales enough to make up the loss in reduced profit per game sold?

quote:
Originally posted by Peter Payne:
Incidentally, we do still plan to use Virtual Mate for future projects at this time, but it won’t be anything you need to worry about. For the record, we have many projects on the fire, which we can’t announce yet but will do so soon.

Heh, there’s not much else this can be about other than downloadable games. I look forward to it.

quote:
Originally posted by Lamuness:
at any rate, now that the vmate saga is over, it should please everybody including those heavily fumed people like unicorn papillon and that infamous european guy who just sent us a bunch of death threat emails the other day…

Oh my god, death threats over V-mate? You’ve got to be kidding me…

#9
quote:
Originally posted by Peter Payne:
Okay, guys, you win. By customer request, we are happy to announce that we'll be removing the VirtualMate online registration system on the five CD-ROM based G-Collections games (and Doushin, of course), which will enable everyone to play the games without an Internet connection.
...We plan to make the patches available within a couple months, which will be downloadable (your V-Mate code will be required).

While the prompt release of patches for existing V-mate games is certainly good news, the fact that PP is doing it rather than GC only confirms the rumors that G-Collections is either out of business or has moved on. It looks like hard times may be ahead for the bishoujo game translation market...

[This message has been edited by Dark_Shiki (edited 04-21-2005).]

#10

well the increased sales may be due to the reduced price; i am perfectly aware of that. but i guess my take on this increased sales thing is: price and the game content are what matters most in the eyes of the customer, not necessarily vmate (meaning the implementation of vmate is possibly not the biggest concern to them)…anyways thats what i meant with the results/implications

i too was surprised on the increased sales; i thought it would have dropped or remain steady at best

[This message has been edited by Lamuness (edited 04-21-2005).]

#11

i don’t think i should say this (sorry if i offend anybody in this post) but i really had the urge to do so…basic instinct

just another thing for those anti-vmate fans to ponder:

some of the anti-vmate fans said they will stop buying them and pirate them instead. suppose they actually did so but now that the patch will be released what will they do then?

to put it in a more realistic example, let’s say:

i am a dedicated fan who have been supportive to the bgame market and have bought every english bgame to date. i wanna play lets meow meow but i hate vmate so much that i will boycott it and pirate a cracked copy over the net instead. let’s say i did pirate it and played it already. now that a vmate-less version will be released what will you do now? will you still buy it even though you pirated it and played through it already, or choose not to buy it otherwise (ala the rationale for some pirates)?

i dont expect anybody to answer this question but something for all to think about. maybe i shouldn’t look too much into the past and look more into the future instead, and i am not pointing fingers at anybody at all but just something that went through my head today when making my earlier post

[This message has been edited by Lamuness (edited 04-21-2005).]

#12


It probably depends a lot on the person and the game.

I know I’d still be willing to put down money for a legal version of Princess Maker. (Even SOME money for a legal version that’s still in Japanese and on floppy disks and completely unplayable! But they’re hard to find. The one that was being auctioned recently apparently turned out to be Chinese.)

#13

Yay! It’s the Great and Powerful Peter Payne-sama!

Anyway, me, personally, I was hoping for the Virtual Mate system, if only just to piss off all the anti-VM people. It never bothered me to begin with and to see people go ape-shit over something as trivial as an anti-piracy program was hilarious to me, usually. Other times it just got me all aggrivated and bothered.

Now, it makes me wonder if the price of the game is going to go back up to $49.95, which is one of the reasons I enjoyed VMate, the lower price. Unlike some people’s selfish desires for self-gratification, I understand the business world and it’s supposed “shady dealings” and realize that companies will consider implementing almost anything if it helps to boost profit and reduce shrinkage, usually the number one reason for profit loss. And that’s just how the business world works, for better or for worse. Till death does it part. Like a marriage.

------------------
精神 の 神

[This message has been edited by Seishin (edited 04-21-2005).]

#14

well i talked to peter just a few hrs ago about it, and he said he will keep the doushin price the same as posted

i cant say what will happen for future titles, it may go back up to the regular 50 bucks…but enjoy the 40 buck doushin while it lasts

#15
quote:
Originally posted by Lamuness:
i don't think i should say this (sorry if i offend anybody in this post) but i really had the urge to do so...basic instinct

just another thing for those anti-vmate fans to ponder:

some of the anti-vmate fans said they will stop buying them and pirate them instead. suppose they actually did so but now that the patch will be released what will they do then?

Not my case though, i wasn't going to buy them until you weren't giving signals of a "crack" or "patch"...
The thing with the already cracked games (you know which) is that i dont really fell completely clean when playing something and then using a crack not legal, even when its not on a pirate copy that i use it.
(i'm weird, aint i [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/tongue.gif[/img] [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/tongue.gif[/img])

#16


quote:

Unlike some people’s selfish desires for self-gratification

Well, yeah, wanting to be able to buy and play a bishoujo game IS a selfish desire for self-gratification, but I think we’re ALL guilty of that one.

#17
quote:
Originally posted by Lamuness:
some of the anti-vmate fans said they will stop buying them and pirate them instead. suppose they actually did so but now that the patch will be released what will they do then?

While I personally never said that, I fully intended to buy the game, but only when a patch/crack (official or otherwise) was available. I actually never got around to buying any of the VM titles, but now with Peter committing to a definite timeframe to make official patches available, I'll probably pick up all 5 of the games.

I have more comments that I'll make in a separate post.

#18

While I won’t shed any crocodile tears over the demise of VM, I have a few things I’d like to say.

1. My objection to VM was not that it was an anti-piracy thing. I agree that piracy is hurting the market and that PP/GC have the right to take steps to combat it. But I felt that VM was the wrong solution. A scaled-back VM might have been the right thing, i.e. one-time activation etc.

2. GC’s non-handling of the controversy just made things worse IMO. We all had legitimate questions that were not being answered and GC basically blew us all off. Therein lies the key difference between GC and PP.

3. I always said that if/when VM was gone, I would start buying games again. I fully intend to do so once Peter gives more details about the official patches release.

4. Hats off to Peter, Lamuness, and everyone at PP who listened to us, had the balls to talk to us about it, and addressed our concerns. Cheers! This Bud’s for you.

I have newfound respect for PP as a company and Peter & Lamuness as individuals.

I understand this decision has ramifications, in that PP is now counting on customer support more than ever. Well, I’ll do my part!

#19

Actually, I forgot to ask: can anyone at PP comment on the rumors surrounding GC? Are they still in business?

A damn shame if not. I truly hope that their mistakes of the past (crappy VM rollout, etc.) don’t force them to close up shop. But since they haven’t updated their web site in about a month, I begin to worry…

#20
quote:
Originally posted by Nameless Mofo:
Actually, I forgot to ask: can anyone at PP comment on the rumors surrounding GC? Are they still in business?

well u read the post peter made on the other thread, didn't u?

- all the gc games will still be playable
- gc will continue