During a press conference at Sakura-Con in Seattle this weekend, Aniplex dropped a bomb. The company revealed lots of information about the upcoming Fate/Grand Order smartphone game. The game is set to release in the United States and Canada this summer. It will have a simultaneous release in both the U.S. and Canada, with both iOS and Android versions.
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Although it is good news that the game will be made for North American fans, there is some bad news for those already playing. Creative director of Fate/Grand Order confirmedthat players that are already playing the Japanese version of the game will not be able to transfer data over to the North American version. Therefore, if fans want to play the North American version, they will need to start from the beginning. Shiokawa commented on the situation at the panel, “We understand that many people are already playing the Japanese version, however one part of the idea when we do localization of this game is to give the overseas fanbase the exact same experience as when this game was first launched in Japan.” The game will launch in North America with content up through chapter 2. The North American version will be the most up to date software, and therefore will include various quality fixes in the app has released in Japan so far.
Aniplex plans to run events and campaigns according to each specific region. For example, the game might have a an event for American holidays, or run a campaign for the anniversary of the launch. Shiokawa also stated that the North American version will run on the same payment model as the Japanese version, however the pricing will be different.
When it comes to the American version, fans are always scared of censorship. Shiokawa talked about that issue, and said that there the team plans to make no changes between the North American version and the Japanese version. He then added, “However, when it comes to game ratings, the U.S. has different game rating style and rules that we have to follow compared to Japan. If anything comes up that we have to change based on that rating, that’s possible, but we don’t want to change anything.”
The original game was released in Japan in summer 2015, and since then has been downloaded more than 8 million times. Aniplex has released all seven chapters of part one, and the first chapter of part 1.5. Aniplex has already announced that it is trying to release part two this year.
The game inspired the 74-minute Fate/Grand Order: First Order OVA that was aired in Japan on December 31. It was simulcast by Aniplex, Crunchyroll, and Daisuki the same day.
