Tales of Xillia Coming to PS3, NAMCO BANDAI Answers Your Questions

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Tales of Xillia Coming to PS3, NAMCO BANDAI Answers Your Questions

Earlier this month, NAMCO BANDAI announced (via Twitter, no less), that they’d follow Tales of Graces f’s North American release with a Western version of Tales of Xillia.

Tales of Xillia

This PS3-exclusive RPG is a celebration of sorts for the Tales series of RPGs, which had been around for 15 years at the time of the game’s release in Japan. But rather than just rehash classic elements, the Tales team took some chances, crafting a new battle system and a more grown-up visual style. The result, according to Famitsu, is the best Tales game yet.

Last week, I had a chance to pose some questions (including some of your Twitter queries) to Tales series producer Hideo Baba. Here are his answers:

Jeff Rubenstein, PlayStation Blog: Tales of Graces f came to PS3, but Vesperia didn’t hit PS3 in North America. Now Tales of Xillia has been announced for North America. How do you determine which titles in the series get a an English-language conversion?

Hideo Baba, NAMCO BANDAI Studios Inc.: Given the current resources assigned to the Tales of series team, I am always trying to find ways to assign staff members to work on a Western localized title as well as a new game for Japan when possible. However, the team’s main objective is to create new titles for Japan first, and unfortunately staff resources are not always available. Moving forward, I would really like to assemble teams to release as many of the main Tales of games overseas as possible.

Tales of XilliaTales of Xillia

PSB: Tales of Graces f’s battle system was well loved. Talk about Tales of Xillia’s Double Raid Linear Motion Battle System. How does it compare? What is new?

HB: Our fans, as well as ourselves, are always searching for the next evolution in the unique real-time Tales of battle system. With Tales of Graces f we were able to design and adjust that battle system into something that was acclaimed by both gamers and the press alike. However we were not completely satisfied and felt that it could be taken a bit further. With that challenge in front of us we created the Double Raid Linear Motion Battle System for Tales of Xillia. There are two big new features with DR-LMBS. The first one allows players to link two characters’ artes, which utilizes the game’s setting of two leading characters; Jude and Milla. The second is the Linked Artes system, which is a cinematic attack performed by two characters in a flashy combo. In addition to the fast paced and exhilarating battles many fans loved in Tales of Graces f, players will now be able to enjoy real-time action battles with two united characters.

PSB: At the beginning you’ll choose between two characters. How does the game change depending on if you go with Milla or Jude?

HB: Depending on which character the player chooses at the beginning of the game they will experience various story sequences play out from the point of view of either of our main characters; Jude or Milla. The main, overall storyline does not change between either Jude or Milla, but to experience the full story players will have to play the game as both characters.

Tales of Xillia

PSB: Xillia is the best rated Tales of series ever in Japan; it received a 39/40 in Famitsu. What improvements have been made from Tales of Graces f that you think merited such critical acclaim?

HB: I believe the game was acclaimed because of its maturity as the 15th anniversary title in Japan. As I previously mentioned, we are always challenging ourselves to evolve the series and to develop each title that will surpass fan expectations from the last title. I think that these gameplay evolutions from game to game over the course of the past 15 years have helped the series earn its critical acclaim.

PSB: Artistically, Tales of Xillia is very different than the last few Tales games, featuring more “mature” character models. What audience is the story geared toward? Tales of Graces f felt aimed at a pretty young crowd.

HB: The main audience in Japan remains continues to be the core Tales of series fans. However, we know we need to acquire new fans while also keeping returning fans of the series invested in our new titles. The new character design is a big change for the series, and helps us attract new players without sacrificing the devoted Tales of fans. I think you may recognize Milla as a mature character in terms of her portrayal in the game. Our intentions with Milla, for example, is to create a woman with strong convictions that female players can aspire to be like when they grow up. Of course she is also portrayed to be adored by young men like Jude.

Tales of XilliaTales of Xillia

PSB: What was it like developing Tales of Xilia exclusively for PS3? Was it easier focusing on one platform?

HB: As I’ve mentioned before, the main market for the Tales of series is Japan, and the console highest in demand is the PlayStation 3. We’ll pursue the possibility of releasing titles on various hardware systems as the market changes, but for now we’ll develop the titles on PlayStation 3 to reach the most Japanese players as possible.

PSB: Tales of Xillia came out in Japan last year, but won’t drop in the West until next year. With this extra time, will the team provide any additions to the international version?

HB: I understand this concern well, but we consider the Japanese version of the game as a finished product and hope overseas fans can enjoy the game as it is. The same can be said for all the DLC content as well. There is no big change between the original Japanese version and the international version because we want to provide the same gameplay experience as much as possible between all regions.

Comments are closed.

124 Comments

5 Author Replies

  • @DignifiedTuna on July 20th, 2012 at 1:26 pm said:

    “The only reason you people think the Japanese dubs are so superior is because you can’t understand them”

    A) It is not a dub when its the original voice-track.
    B) The original voice track is always superior to a dub. You don’t watch a french film in english for a reason.
    C) Don’t assume people do not understand Japanese, that is very arrogant and narrow-minded of you.

  • Jeff can you ask if they are going to bring the vita Tales game(Tales of Innocence R) to North America anytime? A good vita rpg like that is highly desired.

  • So…

    Vesperia for NA?

    Does Namco realize that if you release more games to the rest of the world the main market for the Tales of game would be A LOT bigger then Japan?

    Finally, dual languages? ….better be a yes.

  • This game looks pretty good. I may actually buy this as my first tales game. I really didn’t like the look or the style of the last game. It seemed so “cross edge” like which was crap low budget game.

    This game actually looks like it has older characters in it like JRPGS of the ps1 had. The Milla character actually looks really attractive for a anime character, probably because she dosn’t look like she is 12 like almost all “RECENT” Japanese jrpgs seem to have. That to me is very refreshing. Back in my late teens / Early twenties, the PS1 was out wtth great jrpgs that had mature characters. Final fantasy of course, Suikoden (want a new one!), legend of dragoon, legend of legia, grandia, lunar, vagrant story, the list goes on and on. None of them had googly eyed pre-pubescent characters, so I am glad Xilla is bucking that trend. It saddened me when this gen came out and this “MOE” trend in japan hit.

  • PS1 and PS2 had the greatest jrpgs and in my opinion were one of the driving forces behind PlayStation’s Success with the core market. Sony, at the start of this gen mis-read the core thinking they wanted a fps machine… to compete with that other crappy machine. And some good fps exclusives came out but doing so destroyed the genre that PlayStation fans loved so much. JRPGS were the greatest thing back in the day and Sony always had one or two to start the systems with. This gen they really didn’t come to PS3 until mid gen and that really hurt. Sure the psp had them in spades (and I was glad for that), but they really weren’t on console unless “MOE” style…which I avoid like the plague. Namco / Sony– you really need to bring more JRPGS over to us!

  • As far as Japanese vo track is concerned… I am glad it’s in English. I couldn’t stand playing Yakuza 3 in Japanese, I like to understand what I am hearing and trying to read with all the “Hai” after every line in the background was annoying. Frankly i really don’t see the appeal, and there can’t be that many North American’s who learned Japanese to play games. That really seems ridiculous and would be waste of dev assets. Instead of doing that, they should focus on getting better English speaking voice actors and maybe you people clamoring for JP voice wouldn’t do so as much.

    I have a few questions regarding this Tales of Xillia game.

    1. Is it open world like or is linear or menu based like disgaea?

    2. Is there deep leveling mechanics?

    3. Can you use different weapons on different characters or are you stuck with the same weapon / armor?

    4. How are the stories on these games? Are they campy or Serious, save the world stories? I would rather the later like in PS1 jrpgs.

    Anyway my intrest is piqued and would love to learn more about this game! Thank you Namco for bringing it out here.

  • — one last thing. Why did the namco guy talk about bringing tales to other platforms when Jeff asked him about PS3 exclusivity. He seemed like he was disappointed it was on ps3 and not on a different platform.. and was kind of rude about it. When did Japanese devs like namco , capcom and square stop loving sony platforms? they seemed to be big supporters in the Ps1-2 gens but seem to favor other companies now. Are they given truck loads of cash or something. (don’t even get me started on the no Vita Monster Hunter fiasco!! Sony really needs to be doing something about that – pronto!)

  • Any plans to localize the Xillia model PS3?

    http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2011/05/tales530.jpg

    Come on, that thing’s beautiful.

  • @57
    I think the reason why Japanese developers are releasing games on multiple platforms is their desire to reach out to as many (non-CoD) gamers as possible. For instance, in Japan, that other system is practically nonexistant, so naturally, they’d want to produce games for PS3. However, here in the US, that other system is far more popular (not saying PlayStation isn’t!), so it would make sense to try to develop for that platform as well.

    Make sense?

    Oh, and Sony….You know what Crapcom loves (to steal from us), so give them lots of it, on account that they make Monster Hunter Vita!! (Even if it’s Japan only)

  • @51, everything you said so far is pathetic.
    1. Dubs are just as good as the original most the time, matter a fact, I have read up plenty of times that most anime is criticised for VO by the jap community. The thing is that A, you can’t say the VO are done bad if you can’t understand, and B, people hear the jap voices first, because it releases like that first, and get use to it. I actually tested the theory my self and it was proven true and this was tested and people who hate dubs usually. Also for a FACT Fairy Tail’s FUNimation dumb is better then the original and so is BLEACH, so stop the non sense.
    2. If someone spoke Jap, and hated dubs, why in the world would they be hear, they’d have imported it already, debit cards are visa these days there is no excuse, also, just cause you were saying such non sense, you ment to say the person is ignorant not arrogant because that would not make any sense.
    3. I’ve watched alot of anime dubbed and not once said this is horrible, Tales series ALWAYS had bad vo in both languages but it’s the game I want, so bad mouth somewhere else

  • Are they considering making or porting a Tales game for the Vita?? I know there’s one for the 3DS. It would be nice to see more JRPGs for the system. I’m starting to feel I wasted my money on purchasing the Vita.

  • Hopefully they will leave the opening theme song alone this time, we all know BoA sings in various languages giving Tales of Graces f the option of having an English version, but Ayumi Hamasaki doesn’t sing in English for any of her songs. I really appreciate the original Japanese version for the Tales of Xilla opening theme and really wish that it stays the same (having both Milla & Jude openings please).

    On another side note it would be nice to add in an option to switch between Japanese / English voices (like Disgaea), I was a little bothered by some of the voice acting in the English version of Tales of Graces f, but it was still a great game.

    Last but not least thank you for bringing Xilla over to the US! I really love playing the Tales series and find it to be a more interesting story with each game. I’m able to understand most of the Japanese voices used in the game, but have problems reading the Kanji so its always nice to have a US release to translate most of the words.

  • love the tales of games i hope the stay with sony tales of xillia 2013 can’t get here fast enough dayy zero purchase XD

  • @60
    Though Japan only, they already did – Tales of Innocence R.

  • highoffcoffee496

    a tales game was released on the vita in japan…any chance it would come here too?! the vita does need more games after all :|

  • + RidleysBox on July 20th, 2012 at 2:56 pm said:
    “A) It is not a dub when its the original voice-track.”

    That’s some impressive nitpicking there.

    “B) The original voice track is always superior to a dub. You don’t watch a french film in english for a reason.”

    Implying that a dub is worse than the original in every single type of media certainly isn’t helping your argument.

  • “C) Don’t assume people do not understand Japanese, that is very arrogant and narrow-minded of you.”

    I’m just going to go ahead and ask this and get it out of the way; do YOU understand the language? I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt that you actually do, and aren’t just claiming knowledge of it from anime and Korean MMOs where loli characters stand around doing the Waifu Shuffle all day.

    I think it’s a pretty safe assumption that, yes, most people who argue for Japanese VO in an English game are in fact weeaboos. If they really wanted the Japanese voice acting so badly they could just import the game, but I’m willing to bet that they’re holding out for the English release and asking for it there because, as I said before, they really don’t understand what they’re saying and need the text because of that. Goes back to my point of “it’s not better, you just can’t tell how bad it is”. They just have some kind of misconception to it being Japanese makes it inherently higher quality for some silly reason.

  • I can’t see any real valid excuse to argue for something like this unless it’s a game that actually takes place in a Japanese setting as part of the plot, and it’s a stylistic choice. For a fantasy RPG like Tales, you can’t really go that route. So I don’t really see how I’m being arrogant or narrow-minded. It’s basic logic. Nice try, though.

    (aaaand that’s the last of it. Gotta love the character limit.)

  • @DignifiedTuna Your viewpoint is ignorant to a couple of facts.

    1 – Unless someone is deaf, they can hear emotional inflection regardless of whether they can understand a language or not. I don’t understand Japanese but I do understand the difference between a line being read powerfully or apathetically.

    2 – To sync the words spoken to the lip movements, many times the spoken and written translations can vary wildly. I would prefer accuracy of story over redubbed lines.

  • I just want to give everyone at NAMCO BANDAI a big hug.

  • Woohoo now Playstation community is getting livelier than ever hahaha Thanks NB and off to the topic, can u make some updates to naruto ultimate ninja storm 3 thanks

  • @DignifiedTuna

    You are so ignorant. Do you actually believe that people think the Japanese dubs are so superior is because they can’t understand them? Some voice actors in Japan are celebrities there. Some people just prefer original dub. When I watch Chinese movies, I watch it in the original dub and not dubbed with some guy speaking English in Chinese accent with non-sync lips. You don’t even know what “weeaboo” means. You keep saying that word like they are horrible people. What’s wrong with dual audio? It doesn’t hurt anybody as a bonus feature. JRPG’s are niche market, so why not include dual audio to appeal to more people who prefer it. I wish I acted like I’m superior and smart like you because ignorance is bliss.

  • Pls bring the PS3 version of Vesperia to the states…. how can u bring vesperia to crappy 360 which its main base of gamers are fragheads who only play COD and Halo and totally missed the ps3 audience who are more loyal to the JRPG genre…?

    Bring it and i will buy the 3 tales games at once!!!

  • @DignifiedTuna

    it’s clear your a one very ignorant and narrow minded person

    i think SweatyPixel explained it best.

    and yeah do you even know what Weaboo is?? lol i bet your one of those nerds who only uses it because that’s the only thing they can do.

    it’s clueless people like you that makes me sick.

    stay ignorant as hell though.

  • @midnightshade

    i guess it’s also annoying how in every american media there’s always a curse word in every sentence when they can’t express themselves?? oh oh im just gonna curse it out since i can’t really put it to words and people would understand that better.

    and what do you mean waste of assets?? it’s actually the other way around that they have to hire new voices actors instead of just localizing it and leave the JPN voices(since it’s already done)

    tbh i don’t care either way, but adding JPN voices would sweeten the deal and it’s much easier than hiring and recording some new voices(takes too much time and money)

    also i don’t hate dubs, i just prefer watching a medium in it’s original language. chinese movies, korean drama, japanaese live actions etc..

    i do agree there are some good dubs(like Full Metal Panic, Gundam Seed, GTO, Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex) but that doesn’t mean it’s better or vice versa.

    heck i even like some JPN dubs like Deus Ex HR, Shadows of the Damned, and even Uncharted series(yes there is a dub)

    that doesn’t mean it’s better, i just prefer it, it’s what you call TASTE. though most of the time i always prefer the original voices.

  • i just hope once Xillia 2 won’t take another year(im hoping at least 6 months)

    and oh i think to compensate for the waiting they should include ALL or if not a good amount of DLC on disc.

    that way at least fans earn something after waiting for some time.

    also Jeff can you ask an question about the Ni No Kuni Wizard edition.

    will it also include the exclusive special Mit from the SDCC convetion exclusive???

    http://www.tomopop.com/photo-m.phtml?photo_key=136565&post_key=26041

    since they’re doing a “Ninostarter” basically the more people order it and meet the goals, the more things they will include in the edition.

    please i already pre ordered it(and they charge as soon as it’s done) i don’t want things missing in my edition :(

  • Really looking forward to this!

  • Dahahaha come on guys lets just rejoice about this game coming to our beloved place dahaha, Well im sorry for DignifiedTuna for saying such things, lets just forgive him with a loving heart and hopefully wait until this game comes…. I prefer orginal if you asked me, cuz it gives you the uniqueness of the game still its awesome if they make a dual audio for both japanese and english and also a subtitle of course.

  • 8002A548 fix plz

  • server down plz fix :(

  • Jeff or other Mod: there are many racial slurs in comment # 59. Please remove that post & adjust your filters.

    @Teflon02, I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt & assume you’re just lazy & stupid, rather than a blatant racist. You used an ethic slur many times in your post. Please stop being a doosh-bag & find a less offensive spelling.

  • We definitely need more jrpg’s. I’m starting to go through withdraw here. There hasn’t been hardly any really good one’s this gen worth mentioning. All the good ones were on the PS2.

  • NAMCO BANDAI Answers all questions EXCEPT when EXACTLY is it coming out …. but im sure it should be out in March 2013 or May 2013 at the most :) just like Tales of Graces F

  • @79
    Racial slur? I looked back at my comment just to make sure, I’m assuming you mean Jap, instead of japanese? If so shut up and go away, I’m black and don’t care less if someone drops the N bomb, and to say that instead of black is going out of your way. It’s used NATIONALLY as just a short way to say japanese also, my computer, google, youtube etc. Never spell out the n word but it does spell that. It can’t be that bad especially if it’s not moderated.
    Now, why are people comparing chinese live action to Anime? Anime is japanese cartoons in basic comparison. Live action being dub is the worse thing ever. But Anime never had perfect lip sync so there is no real excuse. People can prefer one, but the fact is people complaint saying original is better with subs then dubs cause they change some things, well guess what? Watch some FUNimation dubbed anime, they use uncut material 95% of the time. Plus anime becomes filthy so often it might as well cut, example Sekirei, and Ikki Tousen. But this vita typing is getting annoying, going back to watch new Fairy Tail and finish season 1 of Shakugan no SHANA

  • BTW my original reasoning to shortening japanese was not to hit the 1,250 character limit i usually hit, I write to shorten as much as possible because I tend to go over the limit all the time, not laziness or stupidity. Don’t go around assuming thing things. Sony is a Japanese company that doesn’t moderate the word lol. must be a big deal. But that’s assuming that’s the word you are talking bout?

  • I’m currently playing Tales of Graces f finally, and I am absolutely loving. It feels great knowing that the RPGs I grew up playing and that I know and love are not dead yet, and there are companies that are finding unique ways to keep the genre alive and well, unlike other sellout companies (Square Enix).

    Namco with it’s robust variety of games, with franchises old and new, is quickly becoming my new favorite game company/developer.

  • Thanks a lot Jeff for covering this game, love this series and happy to see some support for it here on the blog!
    Also, big thanks to Namco Bandai for releasing this (and Graces F), now if only they would give us PS3 Tales fans Vesperia, its the only 360 game I own but I would buy it on PS3 again in a second, I understand a disc release this far out from its release probably doesnt make much sense, but why not release it on PSN atleast? Come on…please?

  • This is great news that its coming to america. Iam wondering if we are also getting the PS3 and Tales of Xillia bundle with the super sweet design on the side of the ps3?

  • Tales of Xilia 2–November 1, 2012
    Tales of Xilia — September 8, 2011
    Whats with the massive delay? You decided to bring the horrible port of ToGf instead of bringing a solid one?
    Tales of Graces f US sales–210K
    Tales of Graces f Japan sales–380K

    Tales of Xilia Japan sales–660K
    Obviously a better game, and would earn you more money. More sales in just Japan alone than total for ToGf.
    Just looking out for the developers. I swear foreign game publishers need to learn how to make money.

  • @DignifiedTuna

    And to all the people complaining about no JP VO, it’s not what Namco-Bandai does, they never do–outside of Soul Calibur. Namco-Bandai doesn’t care what their fans want, or realize that many people will just not buy a game because it doesn’t include the original VA’s. I speak German and Japanese fluently, and I feel that games, like Japanimation, are a form of art. Art is meant to be preserved and respected in it’s original form. You wouldn’t paint a mustache on the Mona Lisa, because that would destroy the art. By dubbing you change the original intention of the artist’s creation.

    When Japanimation first arrived in the US it was all rated X, and was subbed with nasty yellow subs. The blanket X was to help with protecting people from seeing anything that made it’s way here. For many a times my brother and I would rent a bunch of movies and some would be wholesome, and others downright raunchy–I.E. watching Demon City Shinjiku at age 7 is not recommended.

  • It is in fact the intolerance and change adverse people that are the problem. I have been reading subtitles on foreign movies for over 20 years, Through this process and college, learned 2 extra languages that I love. I have also lived in each respective country for 3 years each. Yes I am a fan of both countries and enjoy language, but you are what makes everyone hate American’s–and what makes me ashamed, at times, to admit when I am in a foreign country that I am from here.

    The point to take home is remove your head from your posterior and try to be accepting of different things.

  • @87 ArchAngelMai
    To be fair, ToGf was a port of a Wii game. If you add up the sales total for both version, it probably the same or even surpass Xillia.

    That said, I can’t wait. I would prefer the Japanese VO with english sub. Nothing wrong with give us more options. I just wish amazon would have this up for pre-order already :)

    And Thank you Namco Bandai for localizing this game and Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch.

  • I want to know how the grade system works in Tales of Xillia.

  • “Tales of Graces f’s battle system was well loved.”

    No, it wasn’t. I found it to be the second worst of the franchise after Legendia.

  • All i require is the ability to customise my button set up e.g. i prefer ‘O” to confirm and Namco can simply take my cash. Also Tales of Vesperia on PS3 would be very welcome addition to my Tales collection. Been resisting buying the xbox360 version so far.

  • I know there are a lot of Tales series available for PSP on the PS Store but I don’t see them when I look on my PS Vita which means they are not compattible with the PS Vita. Are there any plans to port Tales games from other consoles to PS Vita or at least make the PSP ones on the PS store compattible with the Vita? I’d love to see games like Tales of Symphonia, Legendia, Abyss, Vesperia, and others made available on the PS Vita but I’d settle for being able to enjoy some of the PSP ones. Tales is practically screaming to be let onto the Vita with it’s beautiful 5″ OLED screen.

  • @90 BloodyCow

    Japan sales of ToG on Wii–220K
    Total sales 810K across 2 systems, 2 countries.
    1 system, 1 country, 660K, no comparison.
    The overall sales per area tell about it’s overall quality. Metacritic of 79 as well.

    @92 AnKyloZilla

    Indeed!

    @93 Lord_Zedo

    It is technically possible since the Japanese version of ToV for PS3 launched September 17, 2009.
    Though I wouldn’t hold your breath.
    Total sales for 360 version–620K.
    Total sales for PS3 version–320K.

    Also something to consider, their are approximately 96 million Wii’s on the market, and only 65 million PS3’s.

  • HAHAHA @ Jeff thanks u asked the right questions but next time u see them REMEMBER 2 ASK IF THERE R ENGLISH VO Lol xD

  • Hideo Baba is such a sweet name.

  • Cool stuff, I know its unrelated, but is there any chance you can ask them about the chances of Digimon World: Re Digitize for the PSP coming to North America? It looks to be pretty great and the details on it alone bring back nostalgia of my days playing the PS1 original!

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