EdwardWongHPTIV

Well certainly a company has to make money. Not to mention paying wages and having cash flow as to avoid becoming a victim of interest rates. I wasn't faulting them for making a profit. If the market of collectors will bear it then it hardly matters. Everyone defines value differently. Personally I'd rather have functionally adequate packaging rather than how fancy it is. But as I think I alluded to before I'm not a collector so that doesn't mean much. My default thought when I see extravagant packaging is - "I paid for this thing that's just going in the trash..." But again that's different when you intend to sit it on a shelf to display. In other words I, the untargeted market in this discussion, will now shutup.

You could also call them tropes. lol. Aren't you saying the same thing I just did? Well I suppose I didn't explicitly state that otaku were ok with it but I implied it. Well time will tell how I feel about this VN.

I've sometimes wondered how easy it is to be a comedian in Japan. If slice of life Japanese fiction is any indication you could keep doing the same material... mostly. Seriously though the situational humor seems to be rehashed quite a bit. Thankfully it's not always the case. Though I admit I've been known to forgive this when I like the characters.

I suppose there's that. Hindsight being 20/20. The expectation - "Surely it's not that bad and there'll be a twist?" Though it's honestly rare for a story to catch me off guard so expecting it to is wishful thinking. Oh well, damned if you do, damned if you don't. I guess in a way I should be glad for characters I absolutely hate. At least then I have a definite reason to not stick with the route.

There's always skipping thru it suppose. I wonder why I don't do that myself? Must be a M.

But unlike pokemon sometimes the grinding is the reward itself? *drumroll*

Eh? Isn't that kinda contrary to your stance on collecting them all?? Well not that we aren't all contrary at times when it comes to tastes. Personally it sometimes just comes down to timing. Like I can't read slice of life heavy stories/games one after another. I will literally want to gouge out my eyes. Gotta mix it up.

I was joking, but I see your point. Routes not games. In that case I kinda agree with Nier insomuch that I feel disappointment if I don't enjoy the majority of the routes. Or at least don't outright dislike most of them. Personally I'm not so much about completion than seeing all the content. Which turns into a slog if I'm not enjoying it. The difference being I'll drop a game. I realize I'm not always going to like every route, but I feel like I should at least enjoy the experience as a whole.

Well, if you aren't trashing your own wallet "collecting them all" then you must be of the Team Rocket mentality.

Well, I'm not trying to trample on anyones hobby of collecting boxed games. I just can't help think that there is a slight disconnect between the perceived value and the actual one. But that's true of all things deemed collectible, right?

I wonder if the cost difference is really that much in this day and age? If it's something that can be mass produced overseas then the greatest cost is probably just designing the thing. Certainly there would be a difference but I'm thinking it's not in the 10's of dollars range? Dunno. Though the problem might ultimately be the volume. If they aren't making enough to fill a few shipping containers the cost per unit might go up significantly. Not that I know. Just my gut feeling after seeing some of the needlessly complex packaging PC parts sometimes come in. Either there really isn't much cost in such things or they're really desperate to differentiate themselves from the competition. Which seems kinda silly since most people buy parts online these days and I doubt the packaging even enters into their consideration.

I voted last time but didn't end up joining because I was being a cheapskate (was going to grab it on sale but dithered because of my back log). This time I actually have Koisuru and would be willing to grab chrono clock. Not to mention everlasting is free iirc? At any rate I'm leaning towards the former two but can't really decide. I'll think on it before I vote.

Just trying to be optimistic for a change.

Oh? That's a pretty big deal huh? Fandisk as stretch goal? Especially since it doesn't appear to have a fan translation. Somehow I feel like they won't have much difficulty hitting that goal. I mean they're already 2/3 thru the initial goal. /shrug

In the interim I've read most of Mushoku Tensei... eh.. I have mixed feelings. It highlighted one problem I have with Isekai - weak endings. Well honestly I feel that way about most fiction these days to be fair. The mysteries setup within the world building of the setting tend to end up being pretty underwelming/predictable. More specifically I felt that Mushoku Tensei jumped the shark a bit after first major arch played out. Ultimately it felt like the author didn't really know what to focus on and everything ended up feeling average at best. Tbh, I haven't the last couple volumes but I did spoil myself by skimming thru some of the ending chapters. Maybe I'll change my mind if I properly read through it but everything seemed about what I expected. Then again most serialized Japanese fiction is more about the journey rather than the endings. It's rare I'm satisfied with an ending. Here's hoping a oneshot Isekai like this game will be different.