Rondo of Blood English Patch (PSP to TurboGrafx-CD).

[Necromancer]

There is essentially zero chance of Konami licensing legit Turbob games - they're a multi-billion dollar company (in terms of revenue), so they aren't going to waste there time chasing after few thousand dollars.

[rag-time4]

There is essentially zero chance of Konami licensing legit Turbob games - they're a multi-billion dollar company (in terms of revenue), so they aren't going to waste there time chasing after few thousand dollars.

Sure they may not want to do it at all. However, it is we who would be doing the chasing. All we need from Konami is permission in writing. As an aside, Konami swallowed up Hudson, which is also important for other projects alng the same line. In fact, Ys IV is coming down the pike next if I read the thread correctly, and I believe that was a Hudson port on teh PCE.

[TheOldMan]

Small side-trip to answer a question. Not an attempt at hijacking the thread

I always thought that CDRs had the TOC at the other end of the disc

Multi-session discs write copies of the TOC at various places on the disc. The initial TOC, however, is at the beginning (nearest the hole).

why do CDRs sometimes cause a PCE laser to get stuck on the outside?

Poor reflectivity. The laser scans for the TOC at the beginning of the disc. When it can't find it, it has to seek to the end of the disc to reset. From what I've been told, the 'end of the disc ' is recognized by a change in the laser signal in the outer tracks. (The empty ring at the edge of the CD). Old grease and other problems can cause the laser to stick there, since it is not an area normally reached by the laser. It is worse on newer, larger cds, since the edge ring is (slightly) farther out.

We now return you to the original topic.....

[rag-time4]

Small side-trip to answer a question. Not an attempt at hijacking the thread

The good thing about completely derailing a thread is that it doesnt normally result in physical injury.

[Necromancer]

Sure they may not want to do it at all. However, it is we who would be doing the chasing. All we need from Konami is permission in writing.

Nothing is ever that simple.  Their legal department would have to check over which rights they own outright (or can renew) and if they could transfer such rights for this pressing, checking how those rights apply to game code, music, the disc and case artwork, and the redubbed Deutch intro; they'd review all of the in-game script changes and the translated case/manual to ensure that they're correct and contain nothing inappropriate; they'd probably want to play test it to make sure the gameplay itself isn't somehow broken; they'd have to write a contract that protects their interests and maintains their control, and they'd provide some oversight of the production and distribution to be certain that the contract is being followed; and Lord knows what all else they'd need to do to protect their assets.  It's not like they're just going to say "Sure, we want $5000!  Just send us a check and you can do whatever you want with our game!".

[soop]

I always thought that CDRs had the TOC at the other end of the disc to pressed by some quirk of space management, but it turns out that's not the case.  However, whereas pressed discs are very precise at a molecular scale, burned discs are very erratic.  According to one expert "it's a miracle they even work".

But it does beg the question, why do CDRs sometimes cause a PCE laser to get stuck on the outside?

Anyways.  If someone does feel like pressing a bunch of these discs and can figure out costs etc, I'm interested - as I am with any professional-looking packaging, though I agree it should be pretty much the same as the Japanese version.

Im interested in having the game pressed but only if it's legal, which entails licensing the game from konami and having the approval of those who have done the work.

?  Having the game pressed isn't illegal, using the work of others to turn a profit is illegal.  Which means if I cover the cost of pressing the disc and shipping etc rather than burn my own for 50p, morally I'm fine with it.

In fact you could argue that because Konami still own the rights to Castlevania, and because they re-released it on PSP, then we're taking money away from them by downloading the original ISO.  But in honesty, the fact that we are who we are, player-collectors and fans of the original hardware, that's not true, and we're not taking money from Konami.

In fact there is some kind of law passed for old software, particularly if it's hard to obtain that means the guy selling Sapphire boots can't be touched legally, even if what he's doing is morally wrong.

All I'm doing is protectin mah laser

*edit* and OldMan, thankyou very much for answering my questions

[rag-time4]

Sure they may not want to do it at all. However, it is we who would be doing the chasing. All we need from Konami is permission in writing.

Nothing is ever that simple.  Their legal department would have to check over which rights they own outright (or can renew) and if they could transfer such rights for this pressing, checking how those rights apply to game code, music, the disc and case artwork, and the redubbed Deutch intro; they'd review all of the in-game script changes and the translated case/manual to ensure that they're correct and contain nothing inappropriate; they'd probably want to play test it to make sure the gameplay itself isn't somehow broken; they'd have to write a contract that protects their interests and maintains their control, and they'd provide some oversight of the production and distribution to be certain that the contract is being followed; and Lord knows what all else they'd need to do to protect their assets.  It's not like they're just going to say "Sure, we want $5000!  Just send us a check and you can do whatever you want with our game!".

Hmmm definitely great points. I would hope that with a niche project like this they might be somewhat more lenient. That said, the likely would want most, if not all, of the conditions in place that you mentioned, and possibly more. That said, I would love to pursue the option of legally producing these PCE translations.

[soop]

pressing a disc is no more illegal than downloading the ROM in the first place.  Even if it was selling on eBay by some douche for $5484665416, Konami probably still wouldn't care, but it would probably be illegal.  And it would piss us off.

What you're thinking is akin to drawing a picture of Batman and writing to DC for permission to photocopy it.

[rag-time4]

pressing a disc is no more illegal than downloading the ROM in the first place.  Even if it was selling on eBay by some douche for $5484665416, Konami probably still wouldn't care, but it would probably be illegal.  And it would piss us off.

What you're thinking is akin to drawing a picture of Batman and writing to DC for permission to photocopy it.

I havent downloaded the ROM / ISO, nor do I plan to, but I would be willing to buy a legally pressed disc. What Im thinking of is more along the lines of translating the Batman comic book into Japanese and legally printing and selling it in Japan.

[Necromancer]

... Konami probably still wouldn't care, but it would probably be illegal.

I agree they wouldn't care, but it's most definitely illegal.

[soop]

Actually I just spent the last 15 minutes looking it up, and owning the ROM would actually be illegal too.  I thought they'd changed the law with regard to archiving etc.. but I don't think anything about this game applies given;

The hardware needed to play it is readily available
Konami still exist
And are still making Castlevania Titles
And re-released the PSP version of this game.

So TBH, the only way to be within the letter of the law would be to own the original.  Morally however, I think the game is expensive enough to justify "unobtainable" status from my point of view, so even though I do plan on getting it one day, even if I didn't I'd still feel justified for not paying £50+ for it.

[Burnt Lasagna]

Nothing is ever that simple.  Their legal department would have to check over which rights they own outright (or can renew) and if they could transfer such rights for this pressing, checking how those rights apply to game code, music, the disc and case artwork, and the redubbed Deutch intro; they'd review all of the in-game script changes and the translated case/manual to ensure that they're correct and contain nothing inappropriate; they'd probably want to play test it to make sure the gameplay itself isn't somehow broken; they'd have to write a contract that protects their interests and maintains their control, and they'd provide some oversight of the production and distribution to be certain that the contract is being followed; and Lord knows what all else they'd need to do to protect their assets.  It's not like they're just going to say "Sure, we want $5000!  Just send us a check and you can do whatever you want with our game!".

Exactly my point!
However even that is sugar coating it. Konami wouldn't even look at it for two seconds, because it would just make their company look bad. 
Imagine Konami selling the rights to one of their most popular franchises to a small group of disjointed fans. The very fact that where not a legit and respectable company is enough of a reason for Konami to reject us. 
AKA It it will never happen.

[rag-time4]

Nothing is ever that simple.  Their legal department would have to check over which rights they own outright (or can renew) and if they could transfer such rights for this pressing, checking how those rights apply to game code, music, the disc and case artwork, and the redubbed Deutch intro; they'd review all of the in-game script changes and the translated case/manual to ensure that they're correct and contain nothing inappropriate; they'd probably want to play test it to make sure the gameplay itself isn't somehow broken; they'd have to write a contract that protects their interests and maintains their control, and they'd provide some oversight of the production and distribution to be certain that the contract is being followed; and Lord knows what all else they'd need to do to protect their assets.  It's not like they're just going to say "Sure, we want $5000!  Just send us a check and you can do whatever you want with our game!".

Exactly my point!
However even that is sugar coating it. Konami wouldn't even look at it for two seconds, because it would just make their company look bad. 
Imagine Konami selling the rights to one of their most popular franchises to a small group of disjointed fans. The very fact that where not a company is enough of a reason for Konami to reject us. 
AKA It it will never happen.

I would love to see us form up some type of licensing / publishing company for just this reason... Us being anyone interested. I would love if we could legally produce these games and get them out there. I've seen various other ideas that people have had as well, like Nando mentioning plushies and Windy's bomberman ornaments. I cant help but think of how awesome it would be to make and sell some of these things in a legal, high quality manner. There's a dedicated retro market out there...

Also, we wouldnt need rights to the entire franchise, only the particular games that are being worked on. And we may be able to license the rights rather than buy them outright.

[Black Tiger]

I would love to see us form up some type of licensing / publishing company for just this reason... Us being anyone interested. I would love if we could legally produce these games and get them out there. I've seen various other ideas that people have had as well, like Nando mentioning plushies and Windy's bomberman ornaments. I cant help but think of how awesome it would be to make and sell some of these things in a legal, high quality manner. There's a dedicated retro market out there...

Also, we wouldnt need rights to the entire franchise, only the particular games that are being worked on. And we may be able to license the rights rather than buy them outright.

It would be cool to do for some sort of PCE game. But it'll never happen with Dracula X, or likely anything by Hudson since Konami now owns it all. You'd have to forget your preference for authentic looking stuff as well, as any professionally released game wouldn't be allowed to use any official logos either. If Hudson in whatever form it exists was allowed to license software to a small group of fans, we'd still have to pay for any of those logos if we we'd be lucky enough to have the option.

I imagine that if we're lucky, it would only cost us with lawyers and business licensing, etc, as little as tens of thousands of dollars. But even if it could be that cheap, I doubt you could convince enough people to pitch in that kind of money for the novelty of a factory pressed disc of something that anyone can put together a nice looking facsimile of for pennies. It's not like we're talking about new original games, a translated copy of an existing PCE game is very nice sitting in the Japanese case, with an English manual tucked inside.

[spenoza]

Yeah, see, the thing about copyright is that profit plays only a marginal role. Copyright protects the right to control copying, whether profit is involved or not. Fair Use is the only circumstance in which unauthorized copying is OK, and even fair use is fuzzy, utilizing a four factor test that must be decided upon by a judge or jury. I dare say you probably need to make sure you can make an argument for at least 3 of the 4 factors in order to successfully claim fair use. Just claiming "Education!" or "Non-commercial!" simply isn't enough.