The global release of Yoko Taro and Nexon’s SINoAlice has been delayed to accommodate the optimization of the game’s localization for mobile devices in the West. What does this mean exactly? The developers didn’t say, and kept it quite vague whenever someone asked.
NoisyPixel picked up the news from the Facebook page for the mobile game, where the community manager announced…
“First and foremost, we would like to express our sincerest apologies to inform everyone who has been waiting a long time for the World Wide Launch, that the service schedule has been delayed.
“SINoALICE is a work in progress that began last year, during which we aimed to open its services on July 18th, 2019.
“As the opening date draws nearer, we have been running our final maintenances and check-ups for the global service. However, we have come to the conclusion that the localization quality of SINoALICE is nowhere near perfect at this stage of development.
“In this regard, we have made many discussions with the Japanese developers, and at the cost of rescheduling the World Wide Launch, we have decided to optimize the localization of the game to provide the highest level of satisfaction for all users.
”As the service schedule has been delayed, we are fully aware that many of you are disappointed and once again, we take this opportunity to apologize for our shortcomings.
“As much hype there was built up for the global service of SINoALICE, our priority is to provide you with an experience that exceeds your expectations. We hope you understand that we have made a very difficult decision in delaying our global services.
“The future World Wide Launch schedule is currently being negotiated.
“As much as you are curious about the exact date of release, we will try our best to bring you the fully localized version of SINoALICE as soon as possible.
“Furthermore, compensatory rewards for the service delay are currently being discussed internally. We will notify you about the new World Wide Launch date and compensations through detailed announcements in the future.
“Once again, we would like to express our sincerest apologies to everyone who has shown so much love and interest in SINoALICE”
The game was originally announced last year, as part of a collaboration with Nexon and Yoko Taro of NieR fame.
A lot of Western mobile gamers were looking forward to the release, but now that it’s been delayed speculation has run rampant as to what part of the localization required “optimization”.
Some gamers have speculated that the delay may include censoring the artwork and outfits for the Western version of SINoAlice, which has become common practice in recent times whenever a game from Japan gets delayed for release in the West.
Let me translate this from a Publisher language in customer language
“Yoko Taro’s SINoAlice delayed in the west because of changing artwork, costumes and more”
I mean its NEXON and its a “Delay” and the argument “improve localization”
We all know what that means… pic.twitter.com/fGsLKrGGKz— Hiecchi Animagic (@Hi3cchi) July 19, 2019
Of course, the developers nor Nexon have said exactly what sort of “optimizations” they need to make for the localization, only that it wasn’t up to par.
Whenever someone on the Facebook page asked, the community manager left it vague at “optimizing the game”, stating in one comment…
“[…] We’re still on the process of optimizing the game. We can only ask for your kind understanding and patience regarding this matter.”
This could mean anything from getting proper translations in place, to UX improvements, to UI compatibility. “Optimization” could mean a lot of things, especially in regard to localization… including censorship.
YouTuber Scion Storm also covered the issues and how it may impact gamers when the game finally does release for a global audience.
We’ll have to wait for more information from Nexon and Pokelabo regarding SINoAlice’s global release.
But what do you expect the localization issue is? Logistics related? Translation related? Or censorship? Leave a comment below.
(Thanks for the news tip Animatic)
