Since there are quite a few fan translation projects going on, wouldn’t it be fairly easy for Peach Princess to purchase the script from the translation group, error check with a translator, and then release it here? Of course, they’d still have to go through getting the rights from the Japanese companies, but it seems like it would simplify the process a little (and possibly save some money).
What are the chances of something like this happening?
Close to, if not even below zero!
After all, “getting the rights…” is still the main problem.
Also, games made by just using fan-translations wouldn’t sell too well because a fan-translation doesn’t removes mosaics from the CGs - nor wouldn’t it usually adjust the user-interface to the target-language.
Personally, I find strange that no one even considered (to my knowledge, at least) a fan translation of complete and free products like Shimaima and Block Crush, but, hey, you can ask here for more informations.
Selling fan translation it seem like a good idea but there will be a lot of problems.
Since it’ll depends on fans, they’ll work at their own pace, usally taking years to complete. A lot of projects have be stalled or dropped due to lack of interest.
Let’s say in theory, it does happen, does someone like PP acquire the gaming rights first, then have the game fan translated or will they attempt to acquire the rights after a fan translated patch has been released? (The first will take years, the later seem impossible at the moment)
Offen when you involve money these free works, thing can turn out pretty ulgy and hurt both side.
The best way to get these games out faster is a boast in sales. Which will increase further investment in the industry.
Let’s also assume they get the rights to the game.
Well, even if they purchase the script, they still have to go through it to make sure it meets legal requirements and doesn’t have knowledge that is to much related to narrow audiance, unless they want to make footnotes. Often since fan translations are more literal translations than commerical they may have to change various aspects to comply.
Thus it’s generally cheaper to find some college student who is willing to do the initial translation and subsequent editors than to pay for a finished, or near-finished product.
I think that fantranslations will be hard to market, beause if it is fantranslated anybody can apply the patch on a pirated version of a japanese game. I wonder if the japanese parent company would license a fantranslation to PP because perhaps they regard fantranslations as piracy.
I was assuming that PP has a translator on staff, and acquiring said fan translation would reduce the time the commercial release would take. Yeah, the mosaics would still have to be removed, etc. but for a game like Kanon (which supposedly has volumes of text), I would think having a pre-translated script would make acquiring it actually realistic.
But I could be mistaken. 
Well, they still have to go through with their own editors, if for nothing else, making sure the text is understandable to a large enough audiance (fan translations are generally for a more narrow audiance with more Japanese knowledge than the average player) and make sure no scenes would be too contriversial and they’d have to edit them sigh.
Oh and of course, correct any gramatical errors that may have slipped by, which there are always a few, even in finished products.
[ 08-21-2006, 09:25 AM: Message edited by: Jinnai ]
So I guess this raises the question of how the games get translated, and ultimately boils down to a cost analysis.
Why are fan translations more for a narrow audience? Are we talking things like puns and the name game (forgot what it was called)?
And then the “controversial” scenes… If it’s not illegal, what’s the problem? Is editing H-games a regular occurance?
That, plus in somecases more obscure referances that would fly over the face of most non-Japanese, or those familiar with their culture.