Operation Bluebird- Zero Escape 3 Resurrection Project

[Funyarinpa]

***NOTE: I AM NOT INVOLVED IN THIS PROJECT IN ANY FASHION***(I am ashamed to admit, I cannot even BUY the first game!)

 

Recently(in February), Zero Escape's last game was revealed to not have been greenlit by its publisher, which is dreadful given that 

Virtue's Last Reward ends in a cliffhanger- WE NEED TO SEE THAT MARS MISSION TEST SITE!

.

 

Of course, as with nearly any loyal fan community, Operation Bluebird arose as a group of people that DO want to see the series come to a conclusion. Photos shared, cosplays made, posts written seems to have had some effect- "some matters are under construction" for the third game now. However, there is no definite response from the publisher(it is supported by the writer though).

 

It's a Facebook page and it also has a Twitter.

 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/operationbluebirdze3

 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SaveZeroEscape

 

Please support this, every bit of support helps!

 

(I hope it is okay that I put the links here- contact me if there is a problem and I'll remove them.)

 

 

[Nosebleed]

I was really sad when I heard this.

Though I think the problem was probably related to money.

 

I really hope to see it through.

[InvertMouse]

I was unaware of this! That makes me really sad. Been really looking forward to news on the third game (TOT)!

[Albedo]

I thought 999 and VLR did well enough, at least in the West, to have a sequel. Do you have a link to a newspost where they explain why they didn't greenlight a sequel?

[InvertMouse]

I was digging around and this is what I came across:

 

www.gametrailers.com/news-post/69620/the-sequel-to-999-virtues-last-reward-is-facing-funding-issues

[Albedo]

I was digging around and this is what I came across:

 

www.gametrailers.com/news-post/69620/the-sequel-to-999-virtues-last-reward-is-facing-funding-issues

 

Thanks for the link. It really sucks, and it seems Uchikoshi's not that confident in doing his own kickstarter. Lots of VNs have been funded that way, but it'd be dicey if he asks for over 100k (which I think he would)

[InvertMouse]

There have been a few VN kickstarters that have asked for way more than what's really needed, and they got funded anyway. I'm no AAA company but I have made enough games to have an understanding of how much projects actually cost. The last VN game probably would justifiably require a lot of money. With all their media connections, they'll get funded quite easily, I would think.

[Albedo]

Dunno, having a big name is no guarantee that you'll get a lot of money. Yasumi Matsuno (FFT, Vagrant Story, Tactics Ogre) barely got what he needed (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/482445197/unsung-story-tale-of-the-guardians?ref=live) and his games are a lot less niche than visual novels.

[Nosebleed]

Dunno, having a big name is no guarantee that you'll get a lot of money. Yasumi Matsuno (FFT, Vagrant Story, Tactics Ogre) barely got what he needed (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/482445197/unsung-story-tale-of-the-guardians?ref=live) and his games are a lot less niche than visual novels.

Unknown brands can make it big on kickstarter

Just look at the Ouya kickstarter.

You'd think no one would invest on a new console considering there are already big names out there like Sony and Microsoft and suddenly over 8 million dollars worth of donations.

 

100,000 doesn't sound unreasonable considering it's a popular title, at least I think it is. I can't imagine other way around to get funds.

Unless some company invests on the game which would probably mean buying the game's license which can mean bad bad things for fans.

Shovelware titles would come out of such a deal most likely.

Crowd funding would be their best bet in my opinion.

[InvertMouse]

Yeah let's see how this plays out. All I know is I want a third game XD.

 

For Kickstarter, I'm sure the campaigns alone will get some views, but no doubt getting media articles will provide a boost. If you email journalists and say I'm the guy who made XXX or I worked in XXX company, that'd be an advantage. Or maybe you just happen to know people, etc. There are a lot of factors that play into whether the campaign works out. Having pretty pictures will also help because pretty pictures mean it must be a good game .

[shcboomer]

Hopefully there is some support for this. Sad to hear that it hasn't worked out so far.

[Soradragoon]

I need this game

Would be a shame that the series end up this way. We can not allow it xD (as if we could really do something).

They have my support, i don't give up without a fight, even if it's meaningless

[InvertMouse]

I wonder if the games performed below expectations in Japan, in the West, or both? It felt like the game did well over here, but it probably stayed as a cult favorite instead of mainstream .

[Funyarinpa]

I wonder if the games performed below expectations in Japan, in the West, or both? It felt like the game did well over here, but it probably stayed as a cult favorite instead of mainstream .

 

Well, in the West they are probably the most popular visual novel(or maybe just "text heavy"?) games after Phoenix Wright and The Walking Dead(which is mostly regarded as an adventure game) while it succumbs to Danganronpa in Japan, where it is very popular as far as I know(which we could read in English legally only after the Vita remake)... The Japanese sales of the game are below expectations (or maybe just Virtue's Last Reward, 999 was a surprise hit) so the publisher is reluctant to greenlight Zero Escape 3, I guess in the corporate world no one cares about our broken hearts. The main developer (Uchikoshi something) is hesitating to rely on crowdfunding or to ditch Japan. As for myself, I just do not want another Half-Life or System Shock case. I just want a quality conclusion to my favorite game series prefereably in this generation.

[DimDito]

I love that it says "in a halt" and not "completely scrapped".