How do you deal with a title whose appeal draws so heavily on its presentation? Obviously you have to make sure you put a lot of effort into your localization.
Soga:This applies to all the titles we published in the past but especially for Fragile Dreams—we really wanted to nail the presentation to stay true to the original. For this our localization team played the game multiple times as well as went through all the text making sure they knew the game inside and out before starting any translations. In Fragile Dreams there are a lot of side stories (or memories) that help fill in the gaps of what's not told in the main story. We wanted to make sure every small detail was treated right to experience the whole gameplay that the development team intended for.

That's really good to hear. I think you guys do good work; I trust it's in good hands.

How is the localization process coming? When do you think we can expect to play the game?
Soga:Thanks to an extensive initial preparation process, the localization is going smoothly. We're scheduled to release the title in the first quarter of 2010.


Are you looking at offering any bonuses for preorders? How well do you expect this game to do?
Soga:We're still in discussions with the dev team on if and what we may be able to offer as a pre-order bonus. We'll be sure to let you know as soon as something is decided. And impossible to know how well a game may do, but of course we're hopeful that this title will do well since it is such a unique emotional and beautiful experience.

Do you think you will be considering more unique titles like this in the future?
Soga:Fragile Dreams is indeed a unique title but certainly not out of the ordinary for XSEED Games. We're always looking for interesting titles to bring over to the US market.

For example, we released KORG DS-10 Synthesizer last year and just announced KORG DS-10 PLUS for DS and DSi, which isn't a game but rather professional-grade music-creation software. Our list of unique titles that offer something different from the norm goes on and on—Retro Game Challenge for DS sent players back to the '80s to play old school fictional games to return to the present era, Half-Minute Hero for the PSP was a bold new concept of having the player save the world in 30 seconds, JU-ON: The Grudge for Wii which we billed as a "Haunted House Simulator" because it focused on accessibility and quick scares above any deep story and gameplay elements, etc. We will always try to publish titles that we feel are unique or has some kind of competitive edge against what's already on the market.


Is there anything else you'd like to say?
Soga:Our team is working hard on the localization of Fragile Dreams as we speak. The game will touch players emotionally and leave a lasting impression, so we can't wait for everyone to play it.

Thank you for your time, and best of luck with Fragile Dreams and all your endeavors.
Soga:Thank you for this opportunity. Always a pleasure talking with you guys.

As noted, Fragile Dreams doesn't yet have a specific release date, but should be out sometime in Q1 2010. I'm really looking forward to checking this one out. Maybe I'll be in that mood again come release time.