7 ms·

Visual novel youtube uploads are definitely a thing. All of Umineko is available as just an auto-playthrough for those that want that. It's hard to argue it's n

by rtpg 3y ago

Visual novel youtube uploads are definitely a thing. All of Umineko is available as just an auto-playthrough for those that want that. It's hard to argue it's not just outright piracy, even if you're not shipping around the bytes. Would be nice to just get the videos pulled instead of outright arresting people. Maybe someone is wanting to make a point.

jalk 3y ago
Was thinking the same, but wonder if an arrest in Japan is somehow different to an arrest in US for instance, and hence not quite as excessive as it immediately sounds.
- tedunangst 3y ago
  Criminal copyright infringement is new to Japan. https://www.inverse.com/input/culture/report-japan-criminalizes-piracy-other-copyright-infringement/amp https://www.inverse.com/input/culture/report-japan-criminali...
  - ClumsyPilot 3y ago
    Criminaloty of copyright is a tragic mistake a4ound the worls- it should be handled like patents -the accusor should file charges in civil court and demand compensation The way things are, my tax dollars are being used to protect profits of companies that often themselves pay no tax.
- ehnto 3y ago
  Japan has a nearly 99% conviction rate, which tells you a lot about their justice process. It is not good to be arrested in Japan, even when you are innocent. You can be held for long periods without trial as well, essentially serving time with no certainty that you were actually in the wrong.
  - coobird 3y ago
    This. Also doesn't help that many ordinary Japanese think that getting arrested basically equals they're guilty. So much for due process. That said, the 99% conviction rate is a bit misleading in that the prosecution rate is pretty low (as low as 10%?). Seems as the prosecutors are picking and choosing slam dunk cases than sending cases through the courts to avoid not guilty verdicts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_justice_system_of_Japan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_justice_system_of_Jap...
  - astrange 3y ago
    > Japan has a nearly 99% conviction rate, which tells you a lot about their justice process. That's about the same as US federal prosecutors, but it mainly means they don't even bother prosecuting unless they think it's a sure thing.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
gubneor 3y ago
Pretty much any game you can think of has a full playthrough on YouTube. I am not fully informed on this topic, but from a distance, this seems like a poor decision by the Japanese government. Why go after YouTubers when there is rampant piracy of all things anime? Easy targets?
- the_af 3y ago
  I agree this is a poor decision, and it's draconian, and I'm against it. That said, a visual novel has little to no gameplay. "Watching it" is all there is to it (minor minigames may be present in some games in this genre, but barely and often not at all). So streaming a full video of its gameplay is as close as it gets to giving the game for free. This is almost like streaming a full episode of an animé to which you don't have the rights. Again, I don't agree with arresting anyone for this, just providing context.
  - mock-possum 3y ago
    Watching the video is entirely different than playing the game, in my own experience as a gamer. If you’re not in control then you’re not playing. It’s not the same thing. Watching someone else play is always different from playing for yourself.
    - boomboomsubban 3y ago
      Not really true with a visual novel, where the only difference between two people playing is how quickly they read the text on screen.
      - wahahah 3y ago
        There are choices which set flags, decide character routes, and determine a multitude of endings. Typically a full playthrough will try to get all endings, but won't get all of the subchoices that just affect flavour. https://vndb.org/v11/lengthvotes https://vndb.org/v11/lengthvotes
    - 3y ago
sieongioetnio 3y ago
For reasons I do not understand, I find actually playing a visual novel more immersive than just seeing video of one. Visual novels may seem like a passive experience, but the tiny bit of interaction (literally just pressing a button to continue dialogue) makes a huge difference to me. So yes, it's piracy, but it also isn't a perfect reproduction. One might think that the fact that choices are flattened into a purely linear story would ruin the experience, but most choices are so vestigial that removing them is an improvement in my book.
- justinclift 3y ago
  Interesting. Have you tried the Steins;Gate one? I liked the first anime series, but (for me) the visual novel was incredibly tedious and boring. Did a refund of it on Steam about after 10-15 mins (from rough memory). Theres no way I'd be able to put up with it for the whole duration.
  - jquery 3y ago
    The Steinsgate VN starts off very slow and stays very slow for quite some time. I also found it tedious. Fortunately there are hundreds (thousands) of other VNs to choose from.
    - justinclift 3y ago
      Thanks, I think after seeing that one I've been turned off the whole genre. Maybe I'll get around to trying one of the others you mentioned in a different comment. :)
      - sieongioetnio 3y ago
        It's unfortunate that VNs are both a medium and a genre. For reasons I don't quite understand, I adore the medium. Yet there are genre conventions that I dislike and that new readers generally can't tolerate.
        3y ago
Xelbair 3y ago
well umineko is a bit of special case, as ryukishi07 was genuinely happy that people fan translated his games to English, credited TL team in the VN itself - by creating an organization with the same name as theirs - and sent them a letter in recognition of their efforts, and he didn't care about piracy aspect at all.

by rtpg 3y ago

jalk 3y ago

Was thinking the same, but wonder if an arrest in Japan is somehow different to an arrest in US for instance, and hence not quite as excessive as it immediately sounds.

tedunangst 3y ago
Criminal copyright infringement is new to Japan. https://www.inverse.com/input/culture/report-japan-criminalizes-piracy-other-copyright-infringement/amp https://www.inverse.com/input/culture/report-japan-criminali...
- ClumsyPilot 3y ago
  Criminaloty of copyright is a tragic mistake a4ound the worls- it should be handled like patents -the accusor should file charges in civil court and demand compensation The way things are, my tax dollars are being used to protect profits of companies that often themselves pay no tax.
ehnto 3y ago
Japan has a nearly 99% conviction rate, which tells you a lot about their justice process. It is not good to be arrested in Japan, even when you are innocent. You can be held for long periods without trial as well, essentially serving time with no certainty that you were actually in the wrong.
- coobird 3y ago
  This. Also doesn't help that many ordinary Japanese think that getting arrested basically equals they're guilty. So much for due process. That said, the 99% conviction rate is a bit misleading in that the prosecution rate is pretty low (as low as 10%?). Seems as the prosecutors are picking and choosing slam dunk cases than sending cases through the courts to avoid not guilty verdicts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_justice_system_of_Japan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_justice_system_of_Jap...
- astrange 3y ago
  > Japan has a nearly 99% conviction rate, which tells you a lot about their justice process. That's about the same as US federal prosecutors, but it mainly means they don't even bother prosecuting unless they think it's a sure thing.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]

gubneor 3y ago

Pretty much any game you can think of has a full playthrough on YouTube. I am not fully informed on this topic, but from a distance, this seems like a poor decision by the Japanese government. Why go after YouTubers when there is rampant piracy of all things anime? Easy targets?

the_af 3y ago
I agree this is a poor decision, and it's draconian, and I'm against it. That said, a visual novel has little to no gameplay. "Watching it" is all there is to it (minor minigames may be present in some games in this genre, but barely and often not at all). So streaming a full video of its gameplay is as close as it gets to giving the game for free. This is almost like streaming a full episode of an animé to which you don't have the rights. Again, I don't agree with arresting anyone for this, just providing context.
- mock-possum 3y ago
  Watching the video is entirely different than playing the game, in my own experience as a gamer. If you’re not in control then you’re not playing. It’s not the same thing. Watching someone else play is always different from playing for yourself.
  - boomboomsubban 3y ago
    Not really true with a visual novel, where the only difference between two people playing is how quickly they read the text on screen.
    - wahahah 3y ago
      There are choices which set flags, decide character routes, and determine a multitude of endings. Typically a full playthrough will try to get all endings, but won't get all of the subchoices that just affect flavour. https://vndb.org/v11/lengthvotes https://vndb.org/v11/lengthvotes
  - 3y ago

sieongioetnio 3y ago

For reasons I do not understand, I find actually playing a visual novel more immersive than just seeing video of one. Visual novels may seem like a passive experience, but the tiny bit of interaction (literally just pressing a button to continue dialogue) makes a huge difference to me. So yes, it's piracy, but it also isn't a perfect reproduction. One might think that the fact that choices are flattened into a purely linear story would ruin the experience, but most choices are so vestigial that removing them is an improvement in my book.

justinclift 3y ago
Interesting. Have you tried the Steins;Gate one? I liked the first anime series, but (for me) the visual novel was incredibly tedious and boring. Did a refund of it on Steam about after 10-15 mins (from rough memory). Theres no way I'd be able to put up with it for the whole duration.
- jquery 3y ago
  The Steinsgate VN starts off very slow and stays very slow for quite some time. I also found it tedious. Fortunately there are hundreds (thousands) of other VNs to choose from.
  - justinclift 3y ago
    Thanks, I think after seeing that one I've been turned off the whole genre. Maybe I'll get around to trying one of the others you mentioned in a different comment. :)
    - sieongioetnio 3y ago
      It's unfortunate that VNs are both a medium and a genre. For reasons I don't quite understand, I adore the medium. Yet there are genre conventions that I dislike and that new readers generally can't tolerate.
      - 3y ago

Xelbair 3y ago

well umineko is a bit of special case, as ryukishi07 was genuinely happy that people fan translated his games to English, credited TL team in the VN itself - by creating an organization with the same name as theirs - and sent them a letter in recognition of their efforts, and he didn't care about piracy aspect at all.