Make some downloadable side stories

[KFCrispy]

Konami seems to release a lot of random stuff for Suikoden as do many companies for their games (particularly in Japan). A lot of it doesn't require much work (soundtrack collection set, posters) while we have also seen mangas and radio shows. I think we'd really appreciate some "gaiden" side-stories using the existing game engines. This is the concept that most amateur RPG creators have-- make a few "episodes" that tell a short story instead of developing a full 60+ hour game. The Suikoverse is ripe for these things, since there are so many characters and ideas to work with. Konami can make all kinds of stories recycling a lot of content from a game (Square did that right?), or create a series of episodes that will be used for the upcoming game so that they can see how the fans are reacting to their development.

[Antimatzist]

Good idea, I'd support that.

[Darkbeat]

Yeah, a very good idea. Cheaper to produce and could be considered an investment if it helps increase interest from gamers without any history in the series.

Episodic Content on PSN/XBLA or maybe some plot-related DLC visual novels (ala Mass Effect: Genesis) would be fairly cost effective forms of advertisement, if nothing else. Something the Suikoden series has always desperately needed.

[Nikisaur]

Yeah, while some may see downloadable content as a way for them to squeeze more money out of us, if it's good, decent stuff then I'd be interested in that.

[JiggleBiscuits]

NO.

RPGs should *never* have DLC.

It's like ripping pages out of a book and selling them back to you separately.

Terrible idea.

[DoReMi_Vampire]

I take the suggestion was to make full downloadable stories, just shorter. That doesn't necessarily mean they'll just become small fragments of a story.
Personally I'd support this.

[Vextor]

The same idea existed in some fairly old games (for the PC, naturally), where new episodes were periodically released for the same game engine. It'd be nice if Suikoden 2's game engine can be made freeware so fans can do whatever they wish to it.

[DoReMi_Vampire]

That would literally allow the fans to create huge amounts of silly fan-fics and serious stories alike.
A fan-made Infinity if you'd like. Drumroll*

[LanceHeart]

I'm not sold on this idea. Why? Because many the last ventures Konami, Capcom, Square Enix, and many other third party Japanese developers/publishers have gone through on digital platforms weren't that great. That was caused by many factors, but the main ones remain the (intangible) disdain those publishers seem to have for digital platforms and their tendency to outsource digital titles.

Since the original Suikoden timeline requires heavy oversight to get the story details right, I don't see outsourcing being an option that would yield proper results. We'd basically end up with another Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment. That would mean Konami would have to develop it themselves, which seems to be in jeopardy since Suikoden is literally the only series they still make that requires a dedicated RPG dev team.

[dragonmasterx]

In the occasional rare case, the fans do a better job than the pros.

Chrono Trigger: Crimson Echoes did it so well that Squenix sent them a C&D(separate from the 3d one which also got a C&D). The one that was already widely leaked on the net before Squenix sent the C&D is like 98% complete. (Yet, This is probably just one successful hack out of who knows how many half-***** attempts there were out there to make a CT fan game).

Streets of Rage Remake got a C&D for being a million times better than Sega can put out using the SoR Engine. It would've been nice if Sega just contracted them while it was still in beta and then have it ported to PSN, XBOX Live, and Steam, but that's just wishful thinking on my part.

But in those cases, romhackers were needed. If you have the support of the developers to help you hack and make new content, like in Half-Life and Warcraft 3...

-Counterstrike is originally a Half-Life mod.
-Defense of the Ancients, a Warcraft 3 mod, goes on to spawn League of Legends, Heroes of Newerth, Defense of the Ancients 2.
---
Who knows, maybe there's an award winning author-to-be among the fanbase who is also super knowledgeable about Suikoden!

[patapi]

I remember there were some side stories released for mobile phones to accompany Tierkreis' release? But that seems to have gotten nowhere. Even the comic adaptations for Suikoden, Suikoden II and Suikoden V have been left incomplete?

[Feldoon]

In the occasional rare case, the fans do a better job than the pros.

I believe the Sonic CD rerelease is also using an engine developed by the fanbase.

Then again, I'm currently trying to teach myself 3D animation and I keep getting tempted with setting myself the goal of recreating a Suiko II scene in Unity.

[KFCrispy]

how was the criticism for the recent Final Fantasy episodes? that was a series of DLC right? or... was it just 1 DLC - Final Fantasy IV: The After Years ?

[dragonmasterx]

Too expensive, $37 for the whole package on the Wii... And then the original game + all the After Years chapters get released a single game for the PSP. Some people called it ******** fan-fiction, others thought it was decent.

[KC_MCDOHL]

Yeah, totaly. If its good content I'd be right into to it. I'm surprised Konami haven't went more down this avenue already.