PS2 Ask Bandai Namco for Dot Hack IMOQ Remake

[Demon_Skeith]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1679853342392975361

A quartet of RPGs originally released on the PS2 (subtitled Infection, Mutation, Outbreak, and Quarantine) that served as an entry in the long-running .hack series. Playing as Kite, players were swept into a web of intrigue as they delved into the supernatural comings and goings of The World, a fictional MMORPG. While the latter .hack//GU trilogy went on to overshadow the IMOQ, there is still a lot of fan-drive in seeing the IMOQ games ported to any of the modern consoles—moreso since the .hack//GU games have been ported and given HD remasters.

Upon being asked by NoisyPixel, vice-president Miyazaki stated that whether or not the IMOQ games get ported is outside of Cyber Connect 2's hands—Bandai Namco owns the IP, so fans would have to direct their wishes at them, which Miyazaki supports, even! The vice president said, "We urge the readers to fire away all the requests to them so that we can get the green light from them to work on those titles." Fans have taken his words to heart, using the Twitter hashtag "#dothack" to tweet about their affection for .hack and to voice their wishes that the IMOQ games get ported. Best of all, there's official support—Cyber Connect 2's official localizer, Till Stiehl, has replied and retweeted many of these tagged posts. He's also called fans to throw in their support, emphasizing that even being a studio, Cyber Connect 2 is "just one voice," and Bandai Namco is far more receptive to a greater crowd of voices.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1679939584258617344

 

[Grungie]

Nice, then I can add it to my collection with the originals:

Spoiler

I know fans of these want a more conventient way to play them, but Quarantine was elusive for quite awhile, especially after covid where the price jumped to over $300.

 

[Demon_Skeith]

Nice, then I can add it to my collection with the originals:

Spoiler

I know fans of these want a more conventient way to play them, but Quarantine was elusive for quite awhile, especially after covid where the price jumped to over $300.

Ahh, but do you have the guidebooks as well?

I still remember bouncing off the walls for the release of outbreak and quarantine, good times. Despite being a rabid fan, and the story/music still holds up to this day, they would need to overhaul the rest of the game mechanics greatly for it to be worthwhile.

 

[Grungie]

Ahh, but do you have the guidebooks as well?

I still remember bouncing off the walls for the release of outbreak and quarantine, good times. Despite being a rabid fan, and the story/music still holds up to this day, they would need to overhaul the rest of the game mechanics greatly for it to be worthwhile.

For me, the camera control and item management need an overhaul. The battle system is a love it or hate it thing.

 

[Demon_Skeith]

For me, the camera control and item management need an overhaul. The battle system is a love it or hate it thing.

And are you love it or hate it for the battle system?

 

[Grungie]

And are you love it or hate it for the battle system?

I’m kind of meh on it. In the beginning when you don’t have many skills and you’re by yourself, it’s boring as hell, but once you get a party and learn more skills it becomes fun.

I think overhauling a battle system in a JRPG is a bit much, since imo it ruins the identity of a game. I don’t mind QOL remakes, but a full on overhaul makes it feel like a different game.

 

[Demon_Skeith]

I’m kind of meh on it. In the beginning when you don’t have many skills and you’re by yourself, it’s boring as hell, but once you get a party and learn more skills it becomes fun.

I think overhauling a battle system in a JRPG is a bit much, since imo it ruins the identity of a game. I don’t mind QOL remakes, but a full on overhaul makes it feel like a different game.

I agree with all that, but I just don't see the game being able to stand up to modern standards with its stiff gameplay.

 

[Grungie]

I agree with all that, but I just don't see the game being able to stand up to modern standards with its stiff gameplay.

Let’s be honest, Dot Hack isn’t really that recognizable of an IP anymore, so the only people buying it are fans of the originals.

 

[Demon_Skeith]

Let’s be honest, Dot Hack isn’t really that recognizable of an IP anymore, so the only people buying it are fans of the originals.

They can change that if they bring a fun battle system into it.

 

[Grungie]

They can change that if they bring a fun battle system into it.

A game based off of an anime that isn’t talked about very often, and dead for almost 20 years isn’t going to draw a large audience regardless of how fancy the battle system is. Games based on pre-existing IP’s are going to be primarily bought by fans of the IP, regardless of whether you need to know the show or not. That’s why these and the Dot Hack GU trilogy didn’t sell that well.

 

[Demon_Skeith]

A game based off of an anime that isn’t talked about very often, and dead for almost 20 years isn’t going to draw a large audience regardless of how fancy the battle system is. Games based on pre-existing IP’s are going to be primarily bought by fans of the IP, regardless of whether you need to know the show or not. That’s why these and the Dot Hack GU trilogy didn’t sell that well.

Sold well enough to keep going.

Just remastering the original 4 won't cut it, I think the series needs a reboot at this point.

 

[Grungie]

Sold well enough to keep going.

Honestly, not really. If you look at the sales figures, only Infection sold decently enough at 500K copies, but the other 3 had drastic dips in sales to where Quarantine only sold 90K. You can definitely see the effects of this on the second hand market where the prices increase on each entry, to where Quarantine is worth hundreds.

Also the “they kept making them, so they obviously sold well enough” doesn’t hold up well in a lot of arguments. Especially a company like Bandai, where they were just shat out tie in games for their existing multi-media IP’s for decades for a quick buck. When their main income isn’t from video games, they can shit out ongoing sequels that relatively nobody buys.

 

[Demon_Skeith]

they can shit out ongoing sequels that relatively nobody buys.

What?

I stand by what I said, no company keeps making games/anime on something that isn't making them good enough sales.

 

[Grungie]

What?

I stand by what I said, no company keeps making games/anime on something that isn't making them good enough sales.

They don’t immediately drop it, especially if they’re a large enough company. Not every company pulls a Google.

This is also before they merged with Namco…

Something to consider is this tetralogy was literally just a single 60 hour game spread across 4 discs, and they all released within a few months of each other over the course of a year. So they more than likely made all 4 at once, and then spread it across 4 discs to sell each at full price. That’s not long enough to predict if a game sold enough to make a sequel if they were made before the first game even came out.

Those weren’t different games released over the entire console’s lifespan. This is like comparing a single season of a show to a multi-movie franchise. “They made more than one episode, someone watched it”.

 

[Demon_Skeith]

They don’t immediately drop it, especially if they’re a large enough company. Not every company pulls a Google.

This is also before they merged with Namco…

Something to consider is this tetralogy was literally just a single 60 hour game spread across 4 discs, and they all released within a few months of each other over the course of a year. So they more than likely made all 4 at once, and then spread it across 4 discs to sell each at full price. That’s not long enough to predict if a game sold enough to make a sequel if they were made before the first game even came out.

Those weren’t different games released over the entire console’s lifespan. This is like comparing a single season of a show to a multi-movie franchise. “They made more than one episode, someone watched it”.

The fact they still kept going with GU, Link and a few animes and movies busts your theory though.

 

[Grungie]

The fact they still kept going with GU, Link and a few animes and movies busts your theory though.

We’re talking about the games the entire time, not the entire franchise. So no “theory busting” like you’re claiming, especially when we’re talking about probable facts like sales figures, and the fact the tetralogy was released over a single year.

They also treated GU like the first four games: split the game across 3 discs and release them a few months apart from each other. Those also didn’t sell well, and Link didn’t even leave Japan.

Great success amirite?

 

[Demon_Skeith]

We’re talking about the games the entire time, not the entire franchise. So no “theory busting” like you’re claiming, especially when we’re talking about probable facts like sales figures, and the fact the tetralogy was released over a single year.

They also treated GU like the first four games: split the game across 3 discs and release them a few months apart from each other. Those also didn’t sell well, and Link didn’t even leave Japan.

Great success amirite?

They still spent more money to make more, meaning they saw some success.