Is Versus 2.0 Possible?

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Vallen
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Is Versus 2.0 Possible?

Post by Vallen »

Just a few days ago I was reminiscing about the good days of .hack in general, back when there was relevance to the franchise, when we got anime and games and even paperback media. I am not sure how other .hack fans feel, but every time I sit back and remember the past, my memories somehow transition into a disappointing phrase "and look at what became of it now.." (implying the unfortunate end that the franchise received).

Many people consider .hack//Versus to be a disappointment and let down, it being the newest and only PS3 game. I don't quite agree that it's a "bad" product, its quite well built for what it is, but its indeed not quite mirroring the greatness of its predecessors. For a low budget game that's technically an add-on to a movie, I believe Versus is remarkably well polished. By comparison to its spiritual half brother, the Naruto Storm series, I believe the combat is much more refined, balanced and deep. The game looks nice, it sounds well, and it does not require patches to fix glitches and/or bugs. Those are my 5 cents on the game, but lets move on. My verdict states that the game is very good for a 3D casual fighter aimed to please the fans.

Moving along to the topic title, is a sequel to Versus possible? Lets assume that CC2 are still determined on milking their spiky haired ninja, and they do not wish to allocate funds towards the development of the next entry in the .hack RPG series (maybe a new trilogy). However, at the same time they do not wish to put the final nail in the coffin of .hack//, in that case would another installment in this fighting series be a possibility? Well, yes and no, let me elaborate.

When thinking positively, and trying to find reasons to convince myself that wanting another versus is not completely absurd, I couldn't find any good reasons haha. My main "hope" is that CC2 will throw a bone at the .hack fanbase once every few years. They are not determined to develop a new game, however, they stated that plans for the next entry are being worked on, just in case it ever comes to fruition. But until that day, they still are kind of 'responsible' to keeping the series afloat, or so I believe. Why re-invent the wheel? Take the existing engine of Versus, throw another set of post-battle dialog and call it a 'plot', give us more characters/stages and there you have it, Versus 2.0 !! It would be a relatively cheap and simple project, yet it could keep people coming back if the online mode is good. Borrow from storm by adding a tournament mode, include maybe 25-30 characters, and call it a day.

On the other end though, the likelihood of something like this occurring is slim to none. Considering how little interest CC2 has shown towards .hack in the last 5 or so years, it's almost hard to believe that a miracle will happen that will make them return to the franchise. I could easily see the franchise die out slowly, not even an official word of forfeit, just the endless lack of news and new media until everyone forgets .hack even exists. Perhaps the iPod Guilty Dragon series will live on...but I doubt it. Finally, if I recall correctly, apparently the recent CG Movie that was also included on the hybrid disc was meant to be the 'finale' of .hack (I read it somewhere but don't quote me on that). Personally, it didn't feel like a true conclusion, and the extra episode about David also ended on a cliffhanger. So maybe we will see another movie, or even better a 13 episode series animated in a similar style to Quantum?

So there you have it, those are my thoughts on the state or .Hack and the possibility of more games or even a Versus 2.0---Comments and/or thoughts would be appreciated haha
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Re: Is Versus 2.0 Possible?

Post by Sadivinedevil »

Thanos Report definitely ended on a cliffhanger so I'm sure CC2 is thinking about continuing the series in some form past Guilty Dragon. Guilty dragon is being updated as far as I can tell and is slated to come to America and Europe at some point, I have no clue as to when.

CC2 has been focused on JoJo and Naruto Ultimate ninja storm 3 for the past couple of years. I know they possibly have a little tail bronx title in the works, I believe it is called Strelka Stories. I wouldn't put it against them to make a better .hack fighter, but I doubt Namco Bandai will greenlight it due to how poor the hybrid pack did by comparison to their other titles.
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Re: Is Versus 2.0 Possible?

Post by Vallen »

Sadivinedevil wrote: I wouldn't put it against them to make a better .hack fighter, but I doubt Namco Bandai will greenlight it due to how poor the hybrid pack did by comparison to their other titles.
Oh yeah, I completely forgot to mention this point. You're right, the sales were crappy overall for the hybrid pack, but I blame it on the movie. It wasn't that interesting and the animation style was weird imo. So I guess we should be worrying that Namco might be the barrier that prevents cc2 from developing further entries in the franchise :roll:
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Re: Is Versus 2.0 Possible?

Post by Bullet Biter »

This is simply my own opinion and is by no means fact, but I think right now CC2 is gauging how much interest there still is for .hack before they try to take another leap. I doubt they're willing to drop .hack since it's like their magnum opus.

And it seems like there is more positive feedback than negative, despite the low sales of Sekai no Mukou Ni + Versus.

I mean, Guilty Dragon just surpassed 1 million downloads. IMOQ + GU sold 3 million copies worldwide.
.hack//BULLET is still being published (albeit slowly) and hasn't met the same fate as ZERO yet.
CC2 has been making themselves present at events like Comiket with their .hack anthology books and gift sets.
They've been publishing books and releasing .hack merchandise at pretty high rate along with advertising and allowing Western fans to purchase them.
Just recently there was a .hack only convention/comic festival ran by some fans and a few independent artists who do work for Guilty Dragon.

So CC2 has been giving .hack a lot of love for the last couple of years, just not in game form. VERSUS was more or less a little bonus game they could tack on to the movie in order to entice more fans and squeeze out more storyline quicker. I also don't think they'd want to switch their RPG focus to fighting games, this was just a quicker cheaper way of building up the story. So a sequel to VERSUS seems unlikely, but you never know with CC2.

For now all we can do is hope that when they launch Guilty Dragon globally it does well and go from there.
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Re: Is Versus 2.0 Possible?

Post by Sadivinedevil »

To be honest I kind of doubt Namco Bandai has had much of a reason to block CC2 from making another .hack entry. CC2 on the other hand will probably be skeptical of doing a project like the hybrid pack again. The Naruto games have been very profitable and would definitely allow for some breathing room for CC2 if they wanted to make new IPs or revisit older ones. The only thing that Namco Bandai has complete control over is the localization of the games. Why pay for translation, voice acting, and advertising to other countries if the game isn't going to be profitable. This is probably the reason why we never got Link or the hybrid pack.

BTW the movie was actually rather impressive. It isn't as good as Pixar, but by comparison to Square Enix's Final Fantasy movies I would honestly put it above them technically and plot wise. It is a shame that it did poorly because it is one of the better 3D movies to come out recently. Hopefully Funimation gets the rights to it and it eventually gets localized.
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Re: Is Versus 2.0 Possible?

Post by Vallen »

Bullet Biter wrote:For now all we can do is hope that when they launch Guilty Dragon globally it does well and go from there.
Word! So when is guilty dragon releasing worldwide, or at least in NA? It will probably be the first and only game I buy for the iPhone. Also, you are saying that CC2 is observing how popular .hack is before they make their next move? Like they want to see if another trilogy would sell or if they go for a single like //Link? Hmm, thats an interesting theory. My idea was that they don't want to spent too much on .hack games so they can make a versus 2 cause its waayy cheaper, but your theory makes sense as well.
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Re: Is Versus 2.0 Possible?

Post by Sadivinedevil »

Vallen wrote:Word! So when is guilty dragon releasing worldwide, or at least in NA? It will probably be the first and only game I buy for the iPhone. Also, you are saying that CC2 is observing how popular .hack is before they make their next move? Like they want to see if another trilogy would sell or if they go for a single like //Link? Hmm, thats an interesting theory. My idea was that they don't want to spent too much on .hack games so they can make a versus 2 cause its waayy cheaper, but your theory makes sense as well.
They still haven't announce a release date but they promised they would release it in America and Europe. I prefer one game for any future installments as it is less impactful on my wallet, and seems like less of a scam, believe me the episodic setup that the series is known for wouldn't get a good rap these days if all games were full priced. Us fans would be fine with it, but others would scoff at it.
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Re: Is Versus 2.0 Possible?

Post by Vallen »

^Right, I guess 3 games at 60$ each would be pricy. I would still gladly buy them, assuming they are quality releases :mrgreen: I like the trilogy structure because its more engaging for me, it feels like over the few years of the games releasing I get emerged in the story, its a little more engaging than a single for me~

Also, here is a quick roster of characters that I thought of for the game (took for forever to figure out how to stitch those images together)

Image
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Re: Is Versus 2.0 Possible?

Post by (Phantom) Thief »

I think that it is possible for CC2 to create another .hack//fighting game but not a Versus 2.0. Versus The World was a beta game for the CC Corporation. And By 2030 the series is running with Armed Conflict, so unless the CC2 makes something for the story before then, making a Versus 2.0 seems like a lost opportunity. However Guilty Dragon just made plans for the Korean Version of the app. And unless CC2 is planning to finish the series though the Android and iPhone, i think there is a bit more hope remaining in the background. Although the series is in its 3rd season and finale. CC2 has stated before that if Namco Bandai continues to request games for the series they will continue with the storyline. Until then we're just waiting to see what happens with the mama conflict. Also alhough I'm not a fan from the switch away from the RPG sides of the series. 2128 anyone!? >.<
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Re: Is Versus 2.0 Possible?

Post by Vallen »

(Phantom) Thief wrote:However Guilty Dragon just made plans for the Korean Version of the app. And unless CC2 is planning to finish the series though the Android and iPhone, i think there is a bit more hope remaining in the background. Although the series is in its 3rd season and finale. CC2 has stated before that if Namco Bandai continues to request games for the series they will continue with the storyline. Until then we're just waiting to see what happens with the mama conflict.
And thats the question, do they wanna finish the series on iPhone? I would say no. I think CC2 is just wasting time with these mobile games and small projects like versus before finishing the series with a proper game (similar to IMOQ and GU). If they need more time, they can maybe keep updating Guilty Dragon and create a Versus 2, but I don't think they'll end the franchise on such a low note. And to be honest, I would rather them put out a proper .hack game for PS3/PS4 (even if its not a trilogy) and end it off with a bang. Have a new cast like in the transition to GU, but maybe old players can be using new characters, and create an ending that puts of a close on the mama incident/AIDA incident and .hack in general, and a good way to do that is by shutting down 'The World' for good while exposing cc corp for their crimes. I rather see the series end than surviving off of these little crappy games if you know what I mean :/
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Re: Is Versus 2.0 Possible?

Post by Kuukai »

Bullet Biter wrote:This is simply my own opinion and is by no means fact, but I think right now CC2 is gauging how much interest there still is for .hack before they try to take another leap.
That's exactly what they've said, it's confirmed that they're waiting on publisher go-head. They have an idea for what the next story would be, following characters from Versus and the Movie (which I also think was awesome as a standalone 3d movie), but it's certainly not paid for or signed off on yet, and whether or not they can sell it to publishers depends on the popularity and success of Guilty Dragon. Namco Bandai is fairly controlling of the process - that's part of the reason .hack is .hack in the first place and not a more generic fantasy game. If they want to play it safe by releasing Ultimate Ninja 33, then that might happen instead. They have throttled back overall on RPGs.

But if two words describe the final season of .hack it's "slow" and "secretive" so if another installment does come, it could be pretty much at any time and in any form. It might be a book 5 years from now. It doesn't seem likely they'll make another Versus, though. It wouldn't be that popular as a standalone game, there's no story justification for it, so unless some sort of watered-down social fighting games become the next big thing on smartphones I don't think it's likely.

If they release one game or three it will probably cost about the same, if Asura's Wrath is any indication a single disc doesn't restrain the price.
Vallen wrote:Have a new cast like in the transition to GU, but maybe old players can be using new characters, and create an ending that puts of a close on the mama incident/AIDA incident and .hack in general, and a good way to do that is by shutting down 'The World' for good while exposing cc corp for their crimes.
That's probably not going to happen if Guilty Dragon is canon.
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Re: Is Versus 2.0 Possible?

Post by Sadivinedevil »

I wouldn't put it against CC2 to make another versus title or a better version of it as they are knee deep into fighters right now. I also don't think it needs to be canon since a good portion of the series is built around non canon alternate universes.

If there is another .hack game series I would like to pay for it like I payed for Asura's Wrath and its DLC. Give me half the series and I'll be fine paying and extra $10 to $15 for the other half instead of paying $60 for each game in a trilogy. Since I got into Steam I just can't buy into the model that .hack has used in the past anymore.

BTW thanks for agreeing that the movie was good.
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Re: Is Versus 2.0 Possible?

Post by Kuukai »

Yeah, I don't think the canon argument holds that much weight, although it's always applied to the games since they're the "core" material. But I do think it would be much harder to sell than immensely popular fighting manga like Naruto and Jojo.

I worry what .hack would look like in a DLC model because Asura's Wrath is shorter than Infection, even with the DLC. When they let themselves be restrained by traditional models, sure it can get annoying, but from time to time they release things like the movie blu-ray and .hack//Link which are relatively good values in terms of content.

Like the opening animation to .hackLink, I think the art style of the movie is severely misunderstood. When you see it in 3D it all makes sense.
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Re: Is Versus 2.0 Possible?

Post by Sadivinedevil »

Yeah I'm also amazed Namco Bandai is still releasing DBZ games, but apparently they still sell.

I'd be concerned about DLC as well. Asura's Wrath may be short but I honestly think it was worth all the money I put into it. It is a different experience though, and if it was as long as a whole .hack series of games it would have gotten old quick.

I enjoyed .hack//Link's opening animation and the game to some extent, it got old really fast when most of the missions played out exactly the same unfortunately but overall I found Link enjoyable.

Dalian Betop, known for their virtual aquariums and many other virtual installations in China, helped CC2 create the movie and I honestly would love to see the two companies get back together to make another movie in the future, regardless of whether it is .hack related or not.

I still need to see the movie in 3D, I've unfortunately only seen a fansubed version online. The World Edition is still a bit out of my budget range at the moment, I think it comes with a frame by frame deconstruction of the movie please correct me as this is the main reason I want The World Edition, I'm an animator and this stuff is awesome to me.
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Re: Is Versus 2.0 Possible?

Post by Vallen »

Sadivinedevil wrote:Yeah I'm also amazed Namco Bandai is still releasing DBZ games, but apparently they still sell.
Yup, if they sell they'll keep making them. I know .hack sells too, the remnants of its fanbase (aka us) are like wild hungry dogs, we'll take anything they'll throw at us, but I guess the sales figures do not stack up to dbz.
I'd be concerned about DLC as well. Asura's Wrath may be short but I honestly think it was worth all the money I put into it


Now you guys are tempting me to try out AW
I enjoyed .hack//Link's opening animation
The animation is beautiful, I just dont dig the faces lol. I think it would have been better if the characters were without faces at all, haha but thats just my wild imagination
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Re: Is Versus 2.0 Possible?

Post by Sadivinedevil »

Vallen wrote:Now you guys are tempting me to try out AW
You should get it it's worth every penny, even the DLC is. I'd also recommend Solatorobo if you have a DS or 3DS.
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Re: Is Versus 2.0 Possible?

Post by Vallen »

I might check it out, its like $20 at this point right. But if we're on the topic of cc2 games, I would love for an HD collection of UN 1-3 (I feel those are the best naruto fighters built to date, yeah storms fighting mechanics suck imo) and GU vol.1-3 (cause imagine dem cutscenes in HD)
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Re: Is Versus 2.0 Possible?

Post by (Phantom) Thief »

Vallen wrote:
(Phantom) Thief wrote:However Guilty Dragon just made plans for the Korean Version of the app. And unless CC2 is planning to finish the series though the Android and iPhone, i think there is a bit more hope remaining in the background. Although the series is in its 3rd season and finale. CC2 has stated before that if Namco Bandai continues to request games for the series they will continue with the storyline. Until then we're just waiting to see what happens with the mama conflict.
And thats the question, do they wanna finish the series on iPhone? I would say no. I think CC2 is just wasting time with these mobile games and small projects like versus before finishing the series with a proper game (similar to IMOQ and GU). If they need more time, they can maybe keep updating Guilty Dragon and create a Versus 2, but I don't think they'll end the franchise on such a low note. And to be honest, I would rather them put out a proper .hack game for PS3/PS4 (even if its not a trilogy) and end it off with a bang. Have a new cast like in the transition to GU, but maybe old players can be using new characters, and create an ending that puts of a close on the mama incident/AIDA incident and .hack in general, and a good way to do that is by shutting down 'The World' for good while exposing cc corp for their crimes. I rather see the series end than surviving off of these little crappy games if you know what I mean :/
The king of scapegoats, caught hahaha.

Image

Painful isn't it. :( I was thinking about it today... I'm not sure what would happen to CC Corp. But by Online Jack though Salvador mentions that The World was found responsible for causing players to fall into a coma, CC Corp seems to be running pretty free especially when they continually use the old deus ex hacker did it. Not to mention that 4/6 times their somewhat right O.o !? As for ending on with Guilty Dragon, I don't believe they would, however CC2 large has a thing about attempting other media so one can never really guess where they will target next.
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Re: Is Versus 2.0 Possible?

Post by Kuukai »

Sadivinedevil wrote:Yeah I'm also amazed Namco Bandai is still releasing DBZ games, but apparently they still sell.
The popularity of DBZ and .hack aren't even comparable. It's like comparing .hack to Madden, or alcohol. It's just on a different level.
Sadivinedevil wrote:I enjoyed .hack//Link's opening animation and the game to some extent, it got old really fast when most of the missions played out exactly the same unfortunately but overall I found Link enjoyable.
That's the problem with it. It's an amazing audionovel and an okay 20-hour RPG but an absolutely terrible and brain-melting 60-hour RPG.
Sadivinedevil wrote:I still need to see the movie in 3D, I've unfortunately only seen a fansubed version online. The World Edition is still a bit out of my budget range at the moment, I think it comes with a frame by frame deconstruction of the movie please correct me as this is the main reason I want The World Edition, I'm an animator and this stuff is awesome to me.
It comes with the storyboard book, is that what you mean? There are some behind-the-scenes of the animation process on their blog:

http://www.cc2.co.jp/hack_movie/

They had some interesting ones for .hack//Quantum too.

What did Dalian Betop do for the movie?
Vallen wrote:The animation is beautiful, I just dont dig the faces lol. I think it would have been better if the characters were without faces at all, haha but thats just my wild imagination
The faces are awesome and organic. It annoys me how a lot of people confuse it with being cheap, similar to some comments about the movie. The movie's actually stereoscopic 3D, it's better than Thor.
(Phantom) Thief wrote:The king of scapegoats, caught hahaha.

Image

Painful isn't it. :( I was thinking about it today... I'm not sure what would happen to CC Corp. But by Online Jack though Salvador mentions that The World was found responsible for causing players to fall into a coma, CC Corp seems to be running pretty free especially when they continually use the old deus ex hacker did it. Not to mention that 4/6 times their somewhat right O.o !? As for ending on with Guilty Dragon, I don't believe they would, however CC2 large has a thing about attempting other media so one can never really guess where they will target next.
I think .hack likely ends with Guilty Dragon chronologically, or it's only a demi-canonical epilogue, since as recently as the movie the timeline was only planned to go to 2025/2026. If another installment comes I think it will take place before Guilty Dragon, since there's really nothing to Guilty Dragon's story. It probably won't take place after. And so if Guilty Dragon is supposed to be canon that probably means that The World lives on. But they can easily resolve it without shutting down The World. In fact, The World isn't the sole source of weird happenings anymore, AIDA emerged outside of The World and infected other technology and games. There's an entire faction of Mama  dedicated to not using Aura to digitalize humanity. And when you really think about it they're a cult from the 80's.

If Guilty Dragon is only demi-canonical they could always explore an ending where  Twilight actually succeeds, but really all they need to do is mop up the various actors in a sufficiently epic manner, expose the thing to the world for the first real time, and they have a decent ending.
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Re: Is Versus 2.0 Possible?

Post by Vallen »

Kuukai wrote:
Vallen wrote:The animation is beautiful, I just dont dig the faces lol. I think it would have been better if the characters were without faces at all, haha but thats just my wild imagination
The faces are awesome and organic. It annoys me how a lot of people confuse it with being cheap, similar to some comments about the movie
Dunno how organic they are, its still creepy lol. As for the movie, Im sure ppl know its high quality, its maybe the plot that is weaker. Also, THOR sucks!! :lol:
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