Raiden IV [JP Xbox 360]

[Ast-Kot]

My friends bought it with a special dvd at Mikado's Game center, maybe a super play dvd..I'm not in Japan now..someone know something about it

[CHR_AeON]

My friends bought it with a special dvd at Mikado's Game center, maybe a super play dvd..I'm not in Japan now..someone know something about it

It's called "Raiden IV Secret File DVD" and contains PDF files with ship specifications, enemy data, concept art & strategies for the game. 

[adverse]

Nice Superplay vids on the Raiden IV blog.  Don't understand anything about this game, but for those playing:

http://raiden4.air-nifty.com/blog/2008/10/sak1-ec36.html

[EOJ]

According to the latest numbers, Raiden IV has sold 4881 copies to date, most of those at release. It sold 326 copies last week.

[EOJ]

There will be a patch (or "update") released some day in the future to fix bugs and "usability":

http://raiden.mossjp.co.jp/raiden4/x360/support_1.htm

No release date is available yet, but they'll post it on the RIV blog when they know. Probably 4-6 months from now.
Same story as RFA. Can't these scrub micro-developers get the ports right before they release them? I guess not.

[adverse]

So EOJ, what was your verdict on this game?  Saw it marked down for 4000 yen the other day, but the gameplay just looks sooo boring.

[EOJ]

I sold it to a friend. It's OK I guess, but not my style. Looks rather doujin-esque, and there's a weird effect where the bullets sort of follow the screen
when you move to the sides (hard to explain, but you'll notice it when you play it). I don't see the point in spending precious gaming time playing it when I could play a good CAVE shooter instead.

[SuperPang]

So I picked this up used out of curiosity and no sven, we're not imagining things, its not as pretty as the arcade version. Its a bit dull looking with slightly less impressive detail and smoke effects. You'd think they'd be able to port Type X perfectly by now. Still, seems to play perfectly and its nicely presented, I'm being overly anal really.

[EOJ]

A bug-fixing patch will be downloadable tomorrow:

http://raiden.mossjp.co.jp/raiden4/x360/support_tud_1.htm

[adverse]

A bug-fixing patch will be downloadable tomorrow:

http://raiden.mossjp.co.jp/raiden4/x360/support_tud_1.htm

Nice, they finally fixed the problem with the last achievement! 

[NR777]

Apparently this is coming to the US in August.  I'll buy it, but only because I'm starved for shmups on my NTSC-U console and I can't really afford to import anything right now.  Considering the fact that Deathsmiles outsold this by miles, why doesn't Cave bring their games to the US?

[EOJ]

Considering the fact that Deathsmiles outsold this by miles, why doesn't Cave bring their games to the US?

They have very high licensing fees, and the theme (loli goth girls) wouldn't go over well with US audiences. You'd have to sell the game for full price ($60), and no US publisher is going to take that chance on a shmup. The last time that happened it was a total failure (i.e. Senko no Ronde/Wartech US version - started at $60 retail, and was soon discounted to $10 as no one was buying it).

We were supposed to get DDPDOJBLEX in the USA, apparently, but after the legal problems that occurred with that port, it's clear you'll never see that game outside of Japan.

[NR777]

They have very high licensing fees, and the theme (loli goth girls) wouldn't go over well with US audiences. You'd have to sell the game for full price ($60), and no US publisher is going to take that chance on a shmup. The last time that happened it was a total failure (i.e. Senko no Ronde/Wartech US version - started at $60 retail, and was soon discounted to $10 as no one was buying it).

We were supposed to get DDPDOJBLEX in the USA, apparently, but after the legal problems that occurred with that port, it's clear you'll never see that game outside of Japan.

That's a shame.  I understand that everyone has to make money, and that gothloli may be a little off-putting to a US audience, but I could see DS potentially doing quite well.  At the every least, I'd like to be able to play these at the arcade.  Unfortunately, the only real arcade I know of in NYC is Chinatown Fair and they are all about fighting games, not shmups.  They only have Gigawing ( which I almot 1cc'd there ) and Raiden Fighters.

I've been following the DDPDOJBLEX fiasco.  What a colossal fuckup.

[HVL]

That's a shame.  I understand that everyone has to make money, and that gothloli may be a little off-putting to a US audience, but I could see DS potentially doing quite well.

The risks are massive; localizing shooters isn't exactly the easiest way to get cash. Yes, DS sold well in Japan but Japan is where the fanbase is and the games get coverage in arcades. Bringing DS here is like developing a game in secret and suddenly placing it to the shelves and hoping somebody buys it.

The US version of IV will be likely region locked like RFA. Great shit, people in Europe get fucked once again.

[NR777]

The risks are massive; localizing shooters isn't exactly the easiest way to get cash. Yes, DS sold well in Japan but Japan is where the fanbase is and the games get coverage in arcades. Bringing DS here is like developing a game in secret and suddenly placing it to the shelves and hoping somebody buys it.

The US version of IV will be likely region locked like RFA. Great shit, people in Europe get fucked once again.

RFA really was great value for the money.  $20 for three decent games.  I suppose my biggest problem is with the practice of region locking content.  I really don't understand what the purpose is.  Why intentionally limit potential sales? 

[HVL]

I suppose my biggest problem is with the practice of region locking content.  I really don't understand what the purpose is.  Why intentionally limit potential sales? 

There are many reasons for it, but from a developer's viewpoint it's likely the licensing contracts. In short, selling the rights for big money > gaining a few coins from importers by making it region free.

I'd probably buy both IV and RFA if they were region free. I can't justify buying the NTSC-J versions for $75 each no matter how much I think about it.

[NR777]

There are many reasons for it, but from a developer's viewpoint it's likely the licensing contracts. In short, selling the rights for big money > gaining a few coins from importers by making it region free.

...But if no publisher in their right mind is going to take the risk to license the product, how does this actually benefit the developer?  Nobody buying in = no money.  Not saying you're wrong, it just doesn't make much sense to me.

I'd probably buy both IV and RFA if they were region free. I can't justify buying the NTSC-J versions for $75 each no matter how much I think about it.

I wouldn't be able to justify it, either. 

[NR777]

UFO just announced two limited edition packages for the stateside release for this game that include a soundtrack disc ( amusingly called "ultimate of Raiden" ) and a digital artbook complete with strategies, respectively. It's rare to see that kind of fan service with a US shmup release.  An encouraging sign.

[charlienash87]

about as rare as it is surprising

[NR777]

Just picked up the LE with the soundtrack disc, and I like it despite what I feel is a complete lack of a scoring system.  Raiden IV seems designed purely for survival with some tedious boss-milking thrown in for good measure.  Some of the bullet patterns are very Psikyo-like...

[charlienash87]

There may be former Psikyo staff involved in this game, but who knows? That would take a decent amount of research time to figure out