Mangagamer partners with Alicesoft to prevent the Rance series from being released in English

[sanahtlig]

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This year's Anime Expo is over, and the news is in: Mangagamer has partnered with Alicesoft, bringing an end to a Golden Age of Alicesoft translations that included Daibanchou! Big Bang Age, Toushin Toushi I and II, Rance 01-04, Kichikuou Rance, Sengoku Rance, as well as several lesser known titles.

 

To stake their territory, Mangagamer has announced Beat Blades Haruka, a relatively unknown nukige with gameplay elements. The story centers on a delinquent ninja who grants superpowers to female heroines with the power of his dick. Players will need all the milky liquid they can muster to face down the Evil Organization which terrorizes the city, culminating in Power Rangers-like confrontations with each Monster of the Week. The gameplay itself utilizes a complex stat-based system with the success of actions determined by random dice rolls, making the system difficult to get into yet easy to master. Upon victory nothing particularly interesting happens, while defeat is rewarded with gratuitous and highly varied rape scenes, which are the game's main selling point.

Read more: Mangagamer partners with Alicesoft to prevent the Rance series from being released in English

[Decay]

I think I may have found an error in your article. You spelled AliveZ as "AliveX"

 

Otherwise seems legit. 

[XReaper]

appreciate your article, especially the last part was well done

[Clephas]

AliveZ starts out seeming like it might possibly be good, but it is incredibly boring.  I love action/chuuni, but I don't think I could have gotten anymore nineties-style cliche than that...

[Clephas]

Addition to my above comments: AliveZ's characters and events are copy-pastes from certain eighties and nineties fantasy anime that had similar themes and settings (poorly established).  I fell asleep playing that one so many times... I hate pure good/pure evil stories...

[wyldstrykr]

just a stupid question:

what will they gain in postponing rance game? (i dont like rance because he is a rapist!!!)

 

thanks and sorry for my english

[sanahtlig]

I imagine like all professional-minded businesses, Mangagamer did it for the lulz.  Lulz tend not to translate across cultural boundaries, so Alicesoft may have other intentions.

[sanahtlig]

I was forced to add a disclaimer at the end of the article because people were worried that readers wouldn't realize the article was satire.

[SilverLi]

So much 

in all those quotes.

[firecat]

i think its something like this:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmYjWDq-faA

[Suzu Fanatic]

Bear with me while I play devils' advocate - and simply ask this: How many people do you suppose would have (or already) actually legitimately purchased said Rance games, pre/post release of Fan TL patchs? I'm sure there are some, but I suspect  a even larger portion find "alternate methods".

 

It's easy to feel wronged or like something has been taken away from us, when a TL is stalled/stopped due to official interference (like the brief Majikoi scare, where I myself was irritated about Jast and if it was gonna muck up the patch release). But honestly, I question if the sense of entitlement is justified? I mean, for those that actually bought legit copies - "that" I can understand - but those are the only people that really have a right to feel cheated. *gets off his high-horse, before he breaks his neck from hypocrisy* :3

 

(note this line of thought is merely looking at the box from the outside, not necessarily a personal opinion, be gentle with me )

 

Now, having posed that angle of debate, I will express that I personally find it inexcusable for even a business - be that SP, MG, or Jast to freeze Fan TL projects, as if they infringe on copyright. At worst, it's competing - but that's it - it's not piracy, under the (very) generous assumption the people using the patch have legally obtained copies of the games. Nor is it some open-source textfile that just anyone can read - a user typically NEEDS the game for a TL to work, so the scanlation/subbing/Youtube uploads line of thought is invalid.

 

Unless there's some shaky legal ground that says "only X - which has received express permission from Dev. Z, can translate game Y", I can't see what provides the legal authority to C&D a translation. For example - if I wanted to TL something for my own private use, no one - not a dev or anyone else - can tell me not to. Because I (hopefully) paid for it fair and square and own all rights to it, including what I do with it.

 

Now, take that a step further, say I know some people that purchased copies of the games for themselves - maybe they just like collect stuff they'll never be able to read, who knows? And I decide "hey these guys might like to do more then stare at moonrunes and look at hscenes", I'll let them have this patch I made, so they too can understand "GWAHAHAHA" and other such thought provoking lines."

 

As I'm about to hand over the patch - company X walks up to me "nope, we are going to have to ask you to stop that right there, only we are allowed to provide a translation...at a fee, of course. *insert evil grin here*. Me: "But they already paid?" Them: "They paid for the Japanese version, they did not pay for the English version, which is under our juristiction, now." *insert evil laughter*.

 

Wow...this post went all random on me near the end.. well, enjoy! or not!

[Decay]

There is in fact some shaky legal ground which give companies authority to issue C&Ds for translation patches. Some lawyers argue that translations are derivative works protected under copyright law. 

[Suzu Fanatic]

Ah, I was never really sure on that. I can see why I guess. But feels like a pretty murky area though.

[sýnolo]

You had me fooled for a moment, excellent work.

[sanahtlig]

There is in fact some shaky legal ground which give companies authority to issue C&Ds for translation patches. Some lawyers argue that translations are derivative works protected under copyright law. 

Unauthorized derivative works can still be prosecuted.  Protected by copyright doesn't mean "protected from infringing copyright of the original work".  Perhaps you're referring to "fair-use" and the transformativeness criteria?  

 

Further reading specifically as applies specifically to translations can be found here.  There's no grey area here, at least in the US.

 

The answer is clear for distribution over the Internet:  the company has caused  an unauthorized derivative work to be created and has infringed the copyright in the original article by distributing the translation.  Posting something on the Internet is the equivalent of publishing the work.  Absent permission from the owner of the copyright in the article, posting is infringement. 

 

[Suzu Fanatic]

Hmm, but if a derivative work cannot be accessed without the original copy - wouldn't it almost fall under the lines of a "game mod" (for the sake of the fact the medium in question is technically a program)? I mean, this isn't some PDF file or any other direct document that just any John Doe can access and read, which is more in line with what your referenced article articulates.  However, If the work was distributed WITH the original program, with the intentions of enabling indiscriminate access - that is something I could see as a clear breach.

 

But, ultimately - any/all fan tls belong to the VN devs as intellectual property. Not really something that can be argued, short of a serious oversight on the part of said companies.

[Clephas]

My pragmatic thoughts.

 

In this case, it is a matter of whether the company in question wants to use the money necessary to bring charges... since it is a somewhat ambiguous point in some people's eyes, such cases have a tendency to be long and drawn out if they aren't settled out of court.  The problem is... it isn't usually worth the costs.  C&Ds don't generally cost the companies anything, but suing a fantranslator can cost a lot.  Realistically, no sane police organization in the US will bother enforcing an ambiguous statute for a foreign company (viva US isolationist sentiment?)  without active pressure from above.  If it was a US company, they would almost certainly prosecute, but foreign companies generally don't have as strong a stature in the eyes of the cops or prosecutors here. 

 

That said, giving out your real name in relation to a fantl, or using your personal email (with your personal information on the account) or other such blunders is so fundamentally moronic it almost isn't worth restating it.  While it isn't much of a risk, realistically speaking, it is still a risk, nonetheless.   Have the sense to put false information in when you create the email and other accounts  you use in relation to your translation...

 

Edit: This is pretty much just a reason why most fantls haven't actually been sued or arrested... copyright law in general is most often enforced in relation to patents and situations where someone is actually making money off of pirated materials.  However, indirect pressures such as the infamous Rapelay scandal and others like it could very well cause a crackdown on the community in general.  Be aware of the current political atmosphere, because it does matter.

[Decay]

Unauthorized derivative works can still be prosecuted.  Protected by copyright doesn't mean "protected from infringing copyright of the original work".  Perhaps you're referring to "fair-use" and the transformativeness criteria?  

 

Further reading specifically as applies specifically to translations can be found here.  There's no grey area here, at least in the US.

I guess I worded my post pretty poorly. I meant basically what you're saying. 

[sanahtlig]

Copyright law can be used to pressure 3rd parties, like site hosts.  They might not be able to touch you directly (because prosecution is annoying and costly), but they could still cause your site host to drop you for example.

[Clephas]

Yeah... you see that a lot, at least with small third party servers.  Most don't want the trouble or damage to their reputation, after all.

[sanahtlig]

You had me fooled for a moment, excellent work.

I tried to match speech patterns with the speaker.  I gave Doddler that easygoing, regretful tone of someone who is honest to a fault.  Kouryuu is matter-of-fact, down to business.  Peter Payne boasts shamelessly and uses his infamous "hentai dating sim" line.  dovac is casually abrasive in the effortless manner of a 4chan native.

[firecat]

guys the truth is that there is nothing we can do (unless you want a unoffical TL), the company feels that english community is not a good profit. i can understand why they want to stop translating it, the english community does not respect VN the same way as JP or any other countries. now this does not mean its right but they don't need their games to be criticized badly with the english community anymore, they need profits to bring it back.

[XReaper]

sarcasm is truly a scary thing...feels so real to many of us :/

[Suzu Fanatic]

I knew it was a joke post - I was just wanting to explore the subject for the sake of knowledge and amusement, but nobody wanted to play with me *sobs and hides in the corner*

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O.k.!m all better now

 

 

 

EDIT: \/ \/ \/ Well, aren't we full of ourselves? I sought a friendly discussion, and you apparently chose to behave like a snob - and employ passive-aggressive nonsense - no skin off my back at the end of the day, I have the luxury of choosing who I converse with.

[sanahtlig]

It's funny how the Internet makes you think that everyone is responding to / paying attention to you (negatively or positively), when all along their attention had been elsewhere.  Youth seem particularly susceptible to this effect.

 

It's also interesting how people interpret ambiguous cues.  It provides an insight into people's viewpoints and states of mind, but on the other hand it leads to unpredictable and undirected reactions, which is why I generally try to be as clear as possible.  However, clarity sort of ruins the point of humor and especially satire...