Reality is a Harsh Mistress #3 “An Open Letter to Konami”
An Open Letter to Konami Corporation
Mr. Kagemasa Kozuki and Konami Corporation,
This letter is a plea to localize the newest Suikoden game, Genso Suikoden Tsumugareshi Hyakunen no Toki, and bring it to America so that U.S. RPG fans can enjoy it as well. United States has had a dearth of JRPGs, with a few notable exceptions like the Final Fantasy series, but I believe there is an audience for your product here. Games like Persona 3 and 4 have done well in America, and there is a following for the Suikoden series on fan sites like Suikosource. This fact, along with how well it has sold in Japan despite a next generation handheld being released (see an article on this here), shows that the core gameplay elements of the Suikoden series still resonate with RPG audiences. Character recruitment, large army battles and one of the most interesting game worlds ever created are all compelling reasons to play the Suikoden series, and some of these components have even been co-opted by other popular games. Mass Effect 3, for example, features an extensive character recruitment and resource gathering component to the game, while at the same time the characters are fighting a losing battle against superior forces. These aspects of this extremely popular game sound very similar to core gameplay elements of all of the Suikoden series games, albeit without a strategist character.
I understand that the PSP is a platform that is on its way out, especially in America, but I am not asking for a full blown product release. Digital downloading via the PSN is sufficient to bring this game to a U.S. audience, and it doesn’t require printing UMDs or shipping them to America. Or, along the lines of Atlus’ Persona 4: The Golden, you could release it for the Vita with a few extra pieces of content and a relatively minor graphics upgrade. American Suikoden fans will literally take whatever you are willing to give us to get our hands on another Suikoden game. Please listen to the pleas of American JRPG enthusiasts and bring the Suikoden series back to the United States.
Thank you very much for your time and consideration,
Aaron Schalk
