Basically, how better are translator groups at choosing which VN to translate?

[[Hun]Lepto]

When I scrolled through some visual novels on VNDB that didn't have a translation yet, I always thought some of them look so generic anyway that they don't even seem to have any unique factor. I know there are plenty of untranslated visual novels that are labeled as masterpieces, but are the current translator groups good at choosing what visual novels to translate in the opinion of someone who plays both japanese and english ones?

[Plk_Lesiak]

Much better, because they choose to translate nothing at all. ^^

[Zakamutt]

There are two categories:
1. random moege n4-kun translator joining a project with 4 other people without even having finished the game in Japanese and somehow the project eventually finishes with everyone firmly hating the game

these are pretty bad at picking their game

2. Chad picking what they WANT to translate

these are good at picking their game if they finish

[Mr Poltroon]

I am not sure the OP's "translator groups" is actually meant to exclude the localisation companies, if I'm reading it correctly.

At any rate, I do not know Japanese or its VNs, so I could not say if the best titles are being brought over or not, only that I like the ones that are brought over.

[Clephas]

Assuming that localization companies are excluded...

Relatively few groups bother with low-quality games (unless the translator is not involved in the selection), because it usually isn't worth the effort.  Generally speaking, translators usually select the game that is to be translated, and that usually means it is a game that the translator has played, finished, and enjoyed a great deal.

That said, every once in a while, you get a newbie translator who wants something easy, so he selects a random charage he hasn't finished (as @Zakamutt said) and ends up hating both it and himself by the end.  On the other hand, you have just as many translators who select excellent games that are too difficult for them to handle, and they end up either producing a severely sub-par translation or burn out and drop it partway through.  

Non-localization translations have become extremely rare in the last few years, primarily because the number of VNs being localized every year (that aren't nukige) has increased greatly in recent years, and many of those are 'classics' or first-rate games that people desperately wanted to play already (though there are exceptions like Wagamama High Spec).

[Gilang4321]

I think mostly "fanTL group" is choosing what they want to translate rather than by popularity.

[[Hun]Lepto]

Sorry, I fucked up my title and excluded the localization companies. Only realized later after reading the comments. I actually meant the localization companies aswell.

[Nandemonai]

Localization companies have a lot of constraints.  The business requires co-operation with the Japanese side of things.  No game can be released without the consent and involvement of the rights holders.  The Japanese IP holder can't just sign on the dotted line and take easy royalty money.  They have to do work.  Legal work, chasing down VA contract clearance.  Graphics work, uncensoring the artwork and finding original assets.  Programming work, updating the game engine to handle incompatibilities with Western OS default settings and the fact that Western languages use characters that, in Japanese, nobody ever uses so you're free to use things like apostrophes and commas as game scripting commands.

Witness Kara no Shoujo and Koihime initially releasing with no VA because they couldn't afford to pay the VA fees.  Witness a certain game I know of not ever getting an editing pass to fix issues, even though company staff privately admitted to me they wanted to - because the Japanese side didn't want to give the localizer their script compiler, and didn't want to be bothered because they'd already provided one fix and seemed to feel 'why jerk us around fixing one thing at a time'?  Witness Pulltop, releasing Princess Waltz under Jast USA (great game by the way) then deciding to start MoeNovel.  Or Jast USA getting Steins;Gate but not being the ones to release it on Steam, or anything else by them.  Navel pulled out of a partnership with MangaGamer to release Shuffle! on Steam all by themselves.

The licensors have a lot of pull, and they absolutely will use it.  And the truth is, VNs sell a truly pitiful number of copies in English.  Koihime had no VA because they didn't think the game could sell two thousand copies.  It eventually did, after close to two years.  After they decided to cheat a bit and include the size of their hard copy print run in the 2K (assuming it would eventually sell through) because they didn't want to do a hard copy release of it with no voice.  Things are somewhat better if your game can get on Steam, but after Steam opened the floodgates suddenly there's lots of games on Steam and so few nowadays get the eye-popping sales figures IMHHW or Nekopara did once upon a time.

So even though sales are declining slowly but steadily in Japan, as mobile inexorably cannibalizes everything else people used to spend money on, they're still - even far removed from what they used to be at the peak, like they are nowadays - still far higher than they are in English.  This makes it a tough sell for most companies.

[[Hun]Lepto]

21 hours ago, Nandemonai said:

Localization companies have a lot of constraints.  The business requires co-operation with the Japanese side of things.  No game can be released without the consent and involvement of the rights holders.  The Japanese IP holder can't just sign on the dotted line and take easy royalty money.  They have to do work.  Legal work, chasing down VA contract clearance.  Graphics work, uncensoring the artwork and finding original assets.  Programming work, updating the game engine to handle incompatibilities with Western OS default settings and the fact that Western languages use characters that, in Japanese, nobody ever uses so you're free to use things like apostrophes and commas as game scripting commands.

Witness Kara no Shoujo and Koihime initially releasing with no VA because they couldn't afford to pay the VA fees.  Witness a certain game I know of not ever getting an editing pass to fix issues, even though company staff privately admitted to me they wanted to - because the Japanese side didn't want to give the localizer their script compiler, and didn't want to be bothered because they'd already provided one fix and seemed to feel 'why jerk us around fixing one thing at a time'?  Witness Pulltop, releasing Princess Waltz under Jast USA (great game by the way) then deciding to start MoeNovel.  Or Jast USA getting Steins;Gate but not being the ones to release it on Steam, or anything else by them.  Navel pulled out of a partnership with MangaGamer to release Shuffle! on Steam all by themselves.

The licensors have a lot of pull, and they absolutely will use it.  And the truth is, VNs sell a truly pitiful number of copies in English.  Koihime had no VA because they didn't think the game could sell two thousand copies.  It eventually did, after close to two years.  After they decided to cheat a bit and include the size of their hard copy print run in the 2K (assuming it would eventually sell through) because they didn't want to do a hard copy release of it with no voice.  Things are somewhat better if your game can get on Steam, but after Steam opened the floodgates suddenly there's lots of games on Steam and so few nowadays get the eye-popping sales figures IMHHW or Nekopara did once upon a time.

So even though sales are declining slowly but steadily in Japan, as mobile inexorably cannibalizes everything else people used to spend money on, they're still - even far removed from what they used to be at the peak, like they are nowadays - still far higher than they are in English.  This makes it a tough sell for most companies.

Thanks for the detailed explanation.

[ciel_yuri]

Well, as far as fan translations go, it can be disappointing when something you think "should be" translated is getting passed up by what you feel is lesser titles. But, I'm just really thankful that people have enough passion and dedication to fan translate the games they love in general. It really is amazing how many fan translated works we have all together. I could probably get by just fine even if mangagamer, jast, etc. never released another game. Not that I'd ever want that to happen, but it just speaks to the sheer quantity and how much awesome work unpaid fans do on their own.
(I was just thinking the other day that it's strange that no one has tackled To Heart yet. It was such an influential and beloved game that it just seems like it would've happened years ago.)

[adamstan]

11 hours ago, ciel_yuri said:

(I was just thinking the other day that it's strange that no one has tackled To Heart yet. It was such an influential and beloved game that it just seems like it would've happened years ago.)

But we got To Heart 2 translated. I think that interest for translation of the first game might be hurt by three factors:

• It's really old
• The best version is all-ages, so eroge fans might be not interested in working on it
• To Heart 2 is better

Also, there were some voice-only parts (the "Heart to Heart" radio program that you can listen to on evenings), so I guess providing subtitles for those would mean serious engine rework, or be outright impossible.
(Not to mention, they'd have to be transcribed and translated by ear)

Edited September 23, 2020 by adamstan