In the middle of a busy day at EAG, Commander Nippon and I ran into something we haven’t seen since we were in Japan: a card terminal game, very common in Japan but almost non-existent in the west. Games like Yu-Gi-Oh!, Idolmaster, Love Plus and Dragon Ball Z have all had arcade games based around their collectible cards, but none of those saw a western release. Needless to say we were quite surprised to see the machine; not only that, but it appeared to be in mid-translation from Japanese to English. Luckily for us, Lauren Harrison from Namco Bandai was on the scene to give us more information about the game.
What was the inspiration
to bring this game from Japan to the UK?
Namco Japan saw a
market where they could push a card game within the arcade industry and they
decided to take it. With all of the different games and the way they're being
played, it’s been a very good way of expanding and showing the industry in a
bigger market. We see Animal Kaiser
as a contemporary take on gaming which also introduces the idea of trading card
arcade games to the UK market, hopefully paving the way for other card-based
arcade games to be released here. Another major aspect is the re-usability of
machines. The machine tends to have a 5-year upgrade life cycle, so it can
shift from region to region once the machine is upgraded to the next version,
allowing it to enter new markets.
How easy is it to
localise this game?
It’s actually quite
difficult; system-wise there is a lot to translate from Japanese to English, so
it can be a bit daunting. Then there are decisions to be made about what should
stay in Japanese, and what should change to English while still keeping the
authentic Japanese feel of the game.
What’s the pull of
this game?
Running tournaments
is something that keeps players around and playing our game. We also like to
keep in touch with the community and really get their opinion on how things should
run. By keeping an eye on the community, we can change the game and cater
events to them.
Tournaments are a
major aspect of the community; we hold them often and have major incentives to
continue to play, collect and trade. We
have things like rare cards and prizes to keep people coming, and run other
competitions like artwork design contests where the winning entry gets made
into a rare card. It shows off the uniqueness of the community in each place
where the game is released.
How about adults
getting involved?
Adults get involved
in their spare time, and we also have staff at various places where the game is
available playing tournaments amongst themselves. At the end of the day,
Tournament Organisers can restrict age at their own discretion, so it’s totally
up to them what age bracket they want; the game is flexible in that sense.
The original idea
probably stems from how Japanese people are able to play with each other
regardless of age, hence why you see adults playing all sorts of trading card
games over there.
Another interesting
note - the game has been an amazing hit in Hawaii, how awesome is that!
Any future goals
for this game?
Well, we hope this
catches on and is able to become mass-marketable. The card trading and
collecting will give it lasting appeal and should work well in the UK. We are
always looking at other ways of bringing in audiences, with possible minor
phone integration, but nothing is ever set in stone; we are always bouncing
ideas around between us.
When was this game
first released in the west?
September 2012.
Who developed the
game?
Sakairi Toshimitsu.
Miss Harrison was very exciting to speak to with a lot of
enthusiasm for her project and for ensuring its successful release in the UK.
Really that’s the sort of attitude game developers and publishers should have
when bringing a game over, especially such a Japan-centric game which needs a
lot of dedication to make it work in a different market. I was super pleased to
be able talk to her and find out so much about the game. I hope it won't be the
last we hear of this game or others like it. Watch this space for my first
impressions of playing Animal Kaiser.
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