It is with great regret that we have decided to announce that, although last-minute adjustments to the development and production schedule with all parties involved have been taking place until very recently, it has been confirmed as of last week that one of the main rewards for this project, the Playstation VITA version of the game (both physical and digital), will not be able to meet the deadline for its production. As such, we will be either cancelling and refunding, or exchanging the VITA version of the game to the PC one for all eligible backers and pre-order store purchasers.
We deeply apologize to our supporters who have been looking forward to playing the game despite the repeated delays.
Please note that we will not be accepting cancellations for the PC game version at this point, as we believe that it will be successfully released and delivered.
■ Details about the cancellation of the VITA version
We believe that we should be as open as possible about the circumstances that led to the cancellation of the development of the VITA game version, and as such we will share with our backers the circumstances that led up to this point.
From the beginning, the VITA development schedule suffered the effects of the delays from the development of the PC game version, but here we will focus on the developments in the last year and a half after the change of the publisher.
In the July 2019 update, we announced that our publisher agreement with Limited Run Games (LRG) had been dissolved and that we would be working from that moment on with the Hong Kong-based publisher Eastasiasoft Limited (EAS). The reason for this change was to avoid the issue of the VITA manufacturing ending in North America within that same year. The project team knew that by changing the publisher to a different region, the manufacturing deadline would also change, so we outsourced the pre-production and game development of the VITA version to a certain development company that has a license to develop VITA games, and rearranged the schedule in order to meet the deadline.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic and the changes it brought to workplaces all over the world affected that schedule, the completed master data of the game was scheduled to be delivered by October 2020 at the latest.
However, at the last minute, that date was changed and the game was not delivered to us in October due to circumstances with the development company, and the project team was not able to confirm the actual product until November. Even more problematic than that was the fact that the game was confirmed to have many bugs, including fatal flaws, at that stage, and additional development time was inevitable.
However, even at this stage and during all this time, we had repeatedly asked the development company for a clear deadline for the mastering of the VITA version in order to manufacture the cartridges by the end of the year. We set a manufacturing schedule for production through discussions with Eastasiasoft, shared this information with the development company, and the development company responded that they expected to meet this deadline.
Until the very last moment, the project team still believed that the game production was going to finish and enter the manufacturing stage, but in the end the multiple issues that kept appearing during development and the additional time required to fix every one of them resulted in the developer not being able to meet the deadline discussed with EAS. We are currently in negotiations about the liability issues derived from the failure of the development contractor to meet the delivery date.
Even after last year's delivery date had passed, throughout the month of January the project team had been studying and searching for alternative methods through various channels, including EAS, but in February it became clear that we would have to abandon the production of the VITA version, and this is why we are making this announcement.
One thing we would like to make clear is that the schedule and development estimates that we have reported in updates and comments until now were never false: they were always based on the information that was shared with us in our meetings with the development company that we outsourced the project to. We believed that we would be able to deliver the VITA game version to everyone until the very end.
As you can see, the direct cause of the cancellation of the development of the VITA game version was the overdue delivery date of the development contractor, but the final responsibility for the situation, including the management of the contractor, lies with the project team, or to be more precise, Frontwing, who is the main organizer of the project and in charge of the development management.
We would like to make clear that AKABEi SOFT2, Eastasiasoft Limited, Limited Run Games, and Tokyo Otaku Mode Inc., which have been mentioned before as project members, have no role or responsibility in the delay or cancellation of the game, including the VITA version. Please refrain from contacting these companies individually with any complaints or inquiries.
Please refer to our update from last November for more details on the responsibilities and roles of the different companies involved in this project:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects.../posts/2984518
■ Refund Policy for VITA Users
Depending on the platform you used for supporting or purchasing Sharin no Kuni, we will take the following actions.
A. Those who backed the game on Kickstarter and pledged for rewards including the VITA game version
If you are a Kickstarter backer, you will receive a survey email and given three options to choose from.
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1. Replacement of the VITA version of the game with the PC version
By choosing this option, we will replace the VITA version of the game in your pledge with the PC version. We will replace the digital version, physical normal version, and physical deluxe version with the corresponding PC game version.
As an apology and a small gesture of gratitude, we will also ship a free Re:Sharin no Kuni Original Classic Acrylic Stand to backers who choose this option.
2. Only the amount equivalent to the VITA game version will be cancelled and refunded (for supporters of [$50 Digital Boom] tier and higher)
By selecting this option, backers of reward tiers that include merchandise other than the VITA version of the game, specifically those who backed tiers starting from [$50 Digital Boom] and above, will only be refunded the amount equivalent to the VITA game version ($30 for the digital version, $40 for the standard version, and $54 for the deluxe version), and the remaining merchandise and other rewards will be shipped to them as scheduled.
3. Cancellation and refund of the entire reward, including the VITA game version
The entire reward itself will be cancelled and fully refunded.
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For those who choose a full or partial refund of the VITA game, refunds will be issued within 30 days of receipt of the survey.
B. For those who purchased the VITA game version at the Pre-Order Store (Add-on)
If you fall in this category, you will automatically receive a refund for the purchase price of the VITA game version you chose via Backerkit between February 16 and February 28.
There is no need for you to take any special action, but we would appreciate it if you could log in to Backerkit and make sure that the credit card or Paypal account you used at the time of purchase is still active and valid.
* Goods purchased in addition to the VITA game version on the pre-order store are not eligible for a refund.
For those who fall under both A and B, we will provide separate information and responses.
■ Survey and Refund Schedule for VITA Game Version Users
February 15th (JST):
Within 48 hours of sending this update today, we will be sending out individual emails to supporters who fall under A, B, or both of the above categories.
If you have not received your email by February 18, please contact us using the form below.
『Re:Sharin no Kuni Project』 Contact Form for VITA Backers
February 28th (JST):
We will complete the refund process for those who purchased the VITA version of the game individually from the B. Pre-Order Store (Add-on). However, if the PayPal account or credit card used to purchase the game on BackerKit is invalid and we are unable to complete the refund, we will respond to you individually regardless of the above deadline.
March 15th (JST):
This is the deadline for replying to the survey we sent out to A. those who backed the game on Kickstarter and pledged for rewards including the VITA game version. If you are eligible for the survey, please respond as soon as possible.
Important Notice
Refunds will be processed to the credit card used when backing the project on Kickstarter or to the PayPal account or credit card used to purchase the game on BackerKit.
If your credit card has expired or your PayPal account has been disabled, we may not be able to complete the refund process, so please double check the status of your payment method before submitting your refund request.
■ Shipping schedule for the PC version of the game
Unlike the VITA version, which had to be outsourced to a different company due to licensing issues, the PC version of the game is being developed directly by Frontwing, the company responsible for managing the development of the game as a whole.
Therefore, as mentioned above, we are on track to release the game.
As for the schedule for this version, the distribution of the digital version and the shipping of the physical version has been delayed by about a month from what we expected when we made the announcement last November, but we are currently expecting it to be in April 2021.
Originally Posted by xelement5x
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