Multimedia franchises are all the rage in Japan these days. The market for brands which straddle video games, toys and anime is huge, and it's little wonder that companies like Nintendo, Sega and Capcom have all tried to crack this lucrative market.
Square Enix is another veteran video game player which has spotted the potential of fusing games with other media channels, but sadly it hasn't exactly gone according to plan for the firm. Chousoku Henkei Gyrozetter was envisaged as a merchandising behemoth; it would encompass an anime series, manga publication, toy range and - naturally - a video game outing on the Nintendo 3DS. The concept was solid - it's about cars which transform into cool robots - and everything seemed to be in place for a massive cross-media success.
Unfortunately for Square Enix, the anime show was a flop and was promptly cancelled after its first season in 2013. The timing was disastrous, as the show was dropped just as the 3DS game hit the market, taking any momentum out of the release. Without a hit TV show to promote it, Chousoku Henkei Gyrozetter: Albatross no Tsubasa performed poorly at retail - despite being a pretty decent game, by all accounts.
It's still possible to find retail copies of the game in bargain bins up and down Japan, but the final nail in the coffin is now being administered by Square Enix itself - it is pulling Chousoku Henkei Gyrozetter: Albatross no Tsubasa from the Japanese 3DS eShop on March 31st. This could be for licencing reasons, or - as some have suggested - it could be Square Enix trying to erase any trace of its failed multimedia escapade. We'll leave you to decide which is more likely.
[source nintendo.co.jp, via japanese3ds.com]
Comments 22
Ouch.
Oh I may have to download this now.
All this dose is remind me of young justice, where the game came out long after the show died.
The game is good, right? I don't think they would pull it for any reasons other than licensing.
Pulling it for any other reason than licensing would be sheer idiocy. I'm hoping that it's licensing, because I would have deep concerns about the company's leadership if it were just a move to cover up bad sales. It's not their fault the anime didn't do well. If it's a good game, let it ride and promote it through other means.
Jeez, that sounds like a trainwreck having the anime cancelled on the release of the actual game. I assume this game would still be on the JP eshop, right?
Good, now start working on getting Dragon Quest VII and Final Fantasy Explorers here please.
Because transforming car-robots are such a novel concept.
They just got it backwards. Anime series like that are a dime a dozen, and if they're not based on a pre-existing property (card game, etc), they're probably not going to hook anyone. Game first, anime later.
@edcomics Similar projects did work that way, though. The best example is the .hack franchise.
The .hack story begins with .hack//SIGN anime, the prequel of the main .hack saga on Playstation 2 (which included the interquel anime .hack//LIMINALITY), then goes into a manga (.hack//Legend of the Twilight). There were also some light novel "filler" that retold the PS2 games' story from another perspective (.hack//Another Birth) and a prequel to the story itself (.hack//AI Buster).
The reason why the original .hack worked lies in having a very strong foundation story to build upon and the right fan base to plug into the experience. It's hard to replicate such experiences, as these companies are finding out, and BANDAI did later when the .hack "Conglomerate" tried to replicate the experience with G.U. (to rather mixed results overall).
@GloryQuestor Hmm, that's a good example. Another thing about .hack is that, at the time, it was something fairly new and fresh. These days we have Sword Art Online, Log Horizon and a selection of other similar stories to choose from, and only certain series become real hits. If Square had focused on creating something with a unique theme and visual style, they might have had more success, but it seems pretty obvious they were trying to replicate the success of other series aimed at kids. At first glance, it's easy to mistake this art style for any series in the same vein as Cardfight Vanguard. At least, that's how I see it. I could be wrong. I'm not saying it's bad at all, but it seems to have been a rather large miscalculation.
@Tsusasi You mean you DON'T already have deep concerns for the leadership of SE?
@SparkOfSpirit Lol… fair enough. I guess this wold just bring it up from 'What the heck are you thinking?' to 'Are you out of your freakin' gourd?!?!?!"
Square-Enix' first attempt at a media franchise?
I thought that was Full-metal Alchemist. (though I never watched the anime or played any of the games)
@KingMike FMA was written by Hiromu Arakawa. Square Enix had no involvement with the manga and anime so no. It did get a few games here and there for multiple consoles but it's not the type of series you could keep milking for games.
Looks interesting, though looks cheaper to buy the game physically anyways. (eShop price about 5100 yen)
So instead of a DS-Style remakes and GUARANTEED sales of Final Fantasy V and VI Square Enix pissed away money on this because it could of possibly been big but it flopped.
It's Squenix, what did you expect? Also, Gyrozetter was a really lame animé - not really bad by most definitions, but boring as all hell, and lazily animated at times. It had no chance against the competition. But I have no idea about the game.
Looked like Transformers X Pokemon X Xenoblade.
@Iggly It's getting pulled from the eShop at the end of the month.
@Damo Oh I see, well that sucks for anyone who wants to buy the game.
It will be a collectors item now.
Tap here to load 22 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...