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Hi everyone, since it was requested we want to give you a short overview what we are up to and some thoughts we have about the next half year.

Will there be a similar project like sakura dungeon in the next time?


The answer is currently no. Sakura Dungeon was an incredible amount of work, thougth we really wanted to pull it off somehow. Everyone is a bit exhausted and we decided to make a few "normal" visual novels which dont push us beyond our limits every day.



That said, we still have a lot of exciting visual novels coming in the next time.



1. Sakura Shrine Girls. Its completed and we are currently preparing for steam greenlight.



2. Sakura Space. I dont want to give away too many details, but this one is pretty close to being completed and we are looking forward to share more details with you in the near future.



3. Another Sakura game with a SciFi setting. We will release a few more artworks for this one, thought I feel its still too early to give out too much information.


Since our writer is already super busy, we decided to hire a professional japanese writer for this project and translate it from japanese to english. Yup we go through that much work to develier more nice visual novels and keep quality high. It was nessecary since we couldnt find a responsible writer who was up to the quality standarts we are looking for.



4. Sakura Adventure. We made a lot of art for this one already. Sadly we have not really decided where it is going. We consider adding gameplay, but are not sure how much it would increase the workload. Also it is not decided if a japanese writer or our own writer will help us to finish the story. Its still being discussed what could be the best for Sakura Adventure.




So a few of you might be very disappointed to not find Sakura Fantasy 2 on this list.


Please let me say a few things about it. Sakura Fantasy was probably the visual novel we put most effort into and spend the longest time making  if we look at visual novels without gameplay. Personally I thought it was a great story and did enjoy making it a lot. But the sad fact is this: It didnt sell.


Its well known that only a small part of the audience who did buy chapter 1 will also buy chapter 2, so the income we could make from chapter 2 would probably be even less.



If we have free time and enough spare money at some point to be able to effort to make a not well selling game, then Sakura Fantasy 2 could be considered, however in a competitive market, especially one like steam, making a sequel to something that was not financially successfull is super risky. We love making visual novels and like to stay in business so please understand that it currently might be not a wise decision to continue sakura fantasy.




That said, if you have questions regarding our other projects, please go ahead and ask what you like to know !


We will try to answer it as good as we can.

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Comments

Anonymous

Cool, thanks for the update. Excited to see your new projects and how working with a professional writer turns out!

Anonymous

This is a great update. Looking forward to see the new games.

Anonymous

If you guys do decide to go with one with gameplay later on down the road, might I suggest a puzzle based game.

Anonymous

Thanks for the update! Given what you've said earlier about Fantasy 2 I'm not surprised this is the case. As much as I would like to see more from that world and a conclusion to the story, as it was really interesting and a fun read, I understand the financial problems. Adventure is further out than I thought! I guess I assumed since you guys were showing a bunch of artwork that you had more going for it. Hopefully it turns out to be something fun, as I would hate all that art to go to waste. Looking forward to both Shrine Girls and Space though. Glad to hear that there's more coming down the pipe soon from you guys. I actually haven't made it very far into Dungeon yet myself, since I just haven't made the time to really delve into a longer dungeon-crawler, but I definitely appreciate all the effort you guys put into it. I definitely see the desire to return to more straightforward visual/kinetic novels, since I think we were hearing about Dungeon for at least a year on here. That's a lot of hours! That said, I really like the usual stuff you guys put out. I enjoy that they play out kinda like short stories, have some fun characters and situations, and of course the cute and sexy stuff is always a bonus. I wouldn't personally be bummed if you guys decided to not put more gameplay elements in your works, if it meant we got more fun stories like Spirit, Angels, Fantasy, Swim Club, and Santa, to name my favorites. Also the girls in the picture are super cute. :D

Anonymous

That is incredibly disappointing to hear that Sakura Fantasy may never get a part 2 considering it had such a HUGE cliffhanger. I'm not knowledgeable on what sells, but I kinda want to suggest you guys look more into the Animations from those Test images awhile back for Sakura Dungeon. Maybe if you put those in Sakura Fantasy 2?

Anonymous

If you really feel that making Sakura Fantasy 2 is just too big of a risk to take, try putting it up on something like Kickstarter or Indiegogo. You have very little to lose (apart from the fees if successful) from trying.

wingedcloud

We noticed that only 10~15% of the people who did get Sakura Dungeon could actually finish it, yet almost everyone enjoyed it. We are currently trying to see if we can add "mini gameplay" elements to future smaller visual novels. That could add some additional fun without making the game as long as Sakura Dungeon was

wingedcloud

To be honest, we also didnt expect it to sell like this. But in the end the customers have the last word on what sells and what doesnt. Personally I dont feel it lacks quality in any aspect so I m not sure if adding more "quality" with animations would be a solution since it also increases the price / time needed

icedkocha

Sad to hear about Sakura Fantasy 2. Hope there will be some way to make it work. Also could you tell us what genre future games will be? When you revealed Shrine Girls you wrote it was a story about two girls. Is it going to be yuri ? BxG? Do you plan on ever making any more otome games in the future (there was Pyrite Heart and then The Guardian's Spell got canceled)

Lord Treant

I am also disappointed about not having Sakura Fantasy 2. Considering I've been giving $25 a month since August (might of been September) 2015... Either way that's almost a year. I would focus on a Sakura Fantasy 2, look at the steam forums, people want it. Most say its one of your best visual novels, myself included. It was also the reason I started following you as a developer. If that isn't reason enough to at least give back to the people who want it, I don't know what is. Your patron following should also be proof, we stand behind you on a monthly basis. Do a poll and at least release it for those who have been loyal even through the hard times and maybe introduce others to your work in the process.

Anonymous

Are there any plans for further updates/fixes for Sakura Clicker?

Anonymous

Personally disappointed in no Sakura Fantasy as well. I think you should seek crowdfunding, etc. The issue may not be that people didn't want it so much as people don't know about it. One of the biggest problems I have explaining Sakura games to people is most don't even seem to realize they're not Sakura Spirit.

Anonymous

;_; I loved Sakura Fantasy, and I'm gutted to know that this is the final word on the issue. But I agree with both Lord Treant and Pual, a poll or kickstarter would be a really good way to judge whether or not you guys should go for it.

Lord Treant

Also to add to my previous post. From my perspective,. Sakura Fantasy was released as your third visual novel. Before Visual novels got as much of a following on steam as they have now. It also has more positive ratings, even recently posted positive ratings (some from a few days ago no less), plus less negatives than Sakura Beach got, yet Sakura Beach got a sequel. I don't know the sales data, but I do believe those rating numbers should count especially with all the reviews wanting chapter 2. Also with the success of dungeon, you are in the spotlight at the moment. It would be a key point in releasing a sequel... With that said you can also utilize the success of dungeon and add some paid DLC, rather than creating a Dungeon 2. Maybe more floors, a little more story and monsters. Doesn't even have to be cannon, can be side story. The engine and ground work is already there to build upon.

gcrzero

Some people don't buy episodic games until they are complete. You should make an effort to release Sakura Fantasy 2, use crowdfunding like the other comments are suggesting.

Silvador

Very, very sad to hear that Sakura Fantasy will not be continuing. Here's hoping things will permit its continuation at a later date. Also, in regards to Sakura Dungeon, I would very much love to see more done with Yomi and Ceri, or even just Yomi, perhaps during a time before the events of Dungeon? Even if it's done as just a novel and not an interactive game such as Dungeon is, I'd still love to see it.

AnimeJunkie

What I'd really like to see is a continuation of Sakura Spirit. The ending to that practically screamed this is a prologue. The story heavily teased a lot of mysteries as if they were major plot points but they were never even explored let alone answered (like a certain fox girl losing her memories) and some of the lines at the end just seemed like a roundabout way of saying To Be Continued. It was the first Sakura game I played and continues to be one of my favorites but it almost seems like I'm getting trolled here.

Jorge Ricardo Teixeira de Queiroz de Freitas

Agreed on the Kickstarter idea. I don't understand how this game didn't sell, but if they're worried about recovering their expenses with this game, then a Kickstarter project might just be what they need.

Jorge Ricardo Teixeira de Queiroz de Freitas

Another very sad fan about Sakura Fantasy not getting a sequel... I myself loved the story, and I was really looking forward to it... Other people already suggested a Kickstarter as an alternative to making money for this game, and if you think Steam sales won't pay back your investment you should consider this idea.

Blaise

Just wondering. Is there any intention to continue Sakura Fantasy?

Anonymous

I understand the work to make another Sakura Dungeon will be a lot of work but what I was saying don't go make another instead make DLC for the game add to it don't just leave it Sakura Dungeon is such a big game out there right now youtubers are showing it off people are playing it. if you just leave it you risking one of your biggest games yet and it will be hard for you to beat it.

Anonymous

Personally I would love to see a sequel to Swim Club and Angels.

Anonymous

Thank you so much for giving some insight, I really appreciate it as a patron. Speaking for myself I think a big project like sakura dungeon should not be made too often, I'd rather have one of those projects every couple of years than to see the quality of your games decrease. I'm very happy with the announcements and look forward for them ;-) As for Sakura Fantasy I'm a little disappointed yes, but I'm glad it wasn't written off and may still see the light, while a gamble if part 2 proves to be good, part 1 will sell too no? I hope Patreon can offset some of the risk, have you considered kick-starter for Sakura fantasy?

Anonymous

They did answer that, it's very risky for them to do so as the first part didn't sell, if they ever have the money, time and staff they will do it for us, who are looking for the continuation. I just hope Patreon can offset some of the risk and that we'll see it someday.

Anonymous

While I'd love to see achievements and see it become more like clicker heroes I just think their team isn't big enough for so many projects and it's too fatigued right now from their previous projects. My guess is no, but I may have misunderstood but didn't they announce that their programmers were releasing a clicker game on Steam? Maybe after that project they will return to Sakura Clicker.

Anonymous

As a Patron of the 25$ tier this pleases me greatly, in contrary to popular belief, I didn't chose this tier for the boobs (lol, perhaps a little) but because I really enjoy the content you guys are producing. Now, I'm wondering would it be possible for you guys to eventually make content available for Sakura Dungeon; so far being my favorite game of the Sakura franchise, I would adore getting more content; especially since after a 100% clear it just sits in my library. Just throwing it out there, since getting a short DLC could prolong the game's life expectancy a little and would make it easier to recommend over DMC; which in turn would become more profitable... I believe. On the same subject, I do hope Adventure gets some sort of gameplay; I could see it tremendously helping out in it's sales, since most of the negative reviews for Sakura games on steam are always of the same "critique" which pretty much comes down to "Not engaging enough" and "Boobs over content". I personally appreciate the second (lol, I joke, I joke!). On this note can't wait for the next releases, and kudos to your artists, they do some incredible quality pictures.

Anonymous

Looking forwards for your new novels, i have been through them all the past 3 days none stop. The thing Bible Black suggested in regards to try and get it on kickstarter would be a great idea. Keep up the great work

Anonymous

Good updates, lots of good news in that post and a lot of your decisions make sense. As for Sakura Fantasy, it might be a good idea to look more into why it did not sell well and then figure out what to do. After all, it is rated the highest out of your VN's, so clearly there is a lot of good in there, and if it is a bust despite its quality you should figure out why so you don't make the same mistake again. I believe gcrzero has the best idea about why Fantasy's sales were low; people will wait until more chapters are out before buying chapter 1. Note that this game is CHAPTER 1 not VOLUME 1 (like some other successful VN's. Pretty obvious which one comes to mind for many), which is a pretty big difference. People typically do not like cliffhangers so some people wanting to wait for several chapters to be out or even the entire story/volume is expectable. If this is the case then it may be a good idea to make more chapters, or even just one or 2 more that THOROUGHLY (not rushed) finishes the main story. It would sell itself and probably generate sales for Chapter 1, especially if you offer a bundle with a small discount to those who get the Fantasy set with all/both chapters. Add in a kick-starter and it could be a great money maker.

Anonymous

The gameplay aspects of sakura dungeon was amazing if you release titles with gameplay like that I would love to play it, I am excited to learn wether you plan on doing it for sakura adventure, and I don't mind waiting for a title if you decide to do it with a normal workload keep up the good work guys!

Anonymous

Maybe they could add a DLC that tells the Story of Yomi when she still was Dungeon Lord or even how Ceri became a Adventurer in the first place/ some of her dungeoneering experiences from the past. She said herself she had a few Dungeon expeditions before. There is a lot they could build around, a few nice shortstorys.

Anonymous

If there's any way I can help make Fantasy 2 a reality I'd love to give you folks a hand!

redguard153 (edited)

Comment edits

2022-02-13 07:36:09 もはやくすぐられるために生まれた存在…?(˘ω˘)(混乱)
2016-07-12 03:27:59 I'm happy with whatever you put out! You guys have delivered on quality every time so far!

I'm happy with whatever you put out! You guys have delivered on quality every time so far!

Jason Isbell

I'm sad to hear that about Sakura Fantasy 2, but fully understand your reasons. The market can be and is extremely fickle sometimes, sadly.

Anonymous

I also really enjoyed Sakura Fantasy. Something else to consider with your sales data is also the length of the series. Nowhere is it stated how long the series would be or how many chapters would be there. Some people like knowing there will only be 2, 3, or some other set number of chapters before it's considered "finished". Most chapter or episode-driven VNs state how many will be in the final product, and I can see why many people would be hesitant to consider purchasing the first chapter if they were unsure of how many "chapters" would actually be present. If there were only going to be two chapters, then that would likely draw more people in since it wouldn't be expensive and would be finished relatively quickly. If there were five chapters, then many people would likely be less willing to purchase unless they saw very favorable things being said about the series, since it's likely an investment of $50 vs. $20 for two chapters.

Anonymous

Im Hopeful that sakura swim club 2 is a thing one day or sakura beach 3

Anonymous

Sorry to dig up an old post, but I'd love a Sakura Fantasy Chapter 2. I went and found this page and become a patron simply because I played Chapter 1 last night. I know it's a financial risk to release it the way you did the first time, but I'd like to say I too would support a Kickstarter. Whatever you guys decide, I'll still be a supporter.

Anonymous

Holy crap I came here to say exactly the same thing. I played all the other Sakura games (got them in a bundle) and they were just okay. But man when I played Sakura Fantasy I was actually impressed. Came here to this Patreon literally just to ask for chapter 2

Anonymous

Sad to hear this thing about Sakura Fantasy, loved the game because it had a really good story. But I can unterstand you, you must make money and if this game doesnt make enough money it´s okay for you. The only ones I can blame are the people for not buying it.

Anonymous

I agree with this totally, another important factor in its failure to produce expected sale might be market exposure at the time of release and the market itself, what kind of games are selling when you released it. I think its worth the time to investigate why it didn't sell and then reconsider based on the research you collected. Overall I think that the game has done better than you might have expected.

Anonymous

i was thinking about this too. why not do a kickstarter campaign on it and see where it goes.