428: Shibuya Scramble is an excellent visual novel. It’s live-action, which already lends a rather uncommon flair to it; and while such an approach can sometimes result in disaster (think back to all the live-action “cutscenes” in early 1990s PC games), the writers did a phenomenal job imbuing 428 with real heart and exciting moments. It’s kind of cheesy, but in the best possible way.
When a crowdfunding campaign was announced for a spiritual successor called Shibuya Scramble Stories, a very specific corner of the internet quickly took notice. 428: Shibuya Scramble producer Jiro Ishii is at the helm as Shibuya Scramble Stories’ director, and that undoubtedly assisted in the campaign’s ability to blow past its funding target in just an hour. It’s gone on to do quite well—$340,000 USD might not sound like a ton, but context is key; games tend to cost less to make in Japan, and this was always a relatively modest proposal besides.
But Wait, Where’s The Money?
So, where exactly is this cash? Ishii and his peers have, to date, acquired only around half of it. What’s the deal? Ubgoe, the crowdfunding platform, is perpetuating a claim that Ishii’s lawyer finds increasingly dubious: that much of Shibuya Scramble Stories’ crowdsourced funding was wired to the wrong location, and the alleged recipient has not sent it back. Uh. Yeah.
Per Automaton (and thank you for covering this story from its inception, Automaton!), Ishii is now taking legal action against Ubgoe, which dished out less than half the 55 million yen raised by the campaign, then paid off a pittance further in the seven months and counting since things came to a close. The mishap has led to one especially striking quote:
“I suppose I was acting under the assumption that people are inherently good.” -Jiro Ishii on Ubgoe failing to send the full funding for Shibuya Scramble Stories
What’s more, Ubgoe has a policy that campaigners are required to fulfill every condition even if they’ve not received the funds that they themselves have raised. In other words, Ubgoe’s own apparent failings here be damned; Ishii’s team has a binding agreement despite the issue. Thankfully, that team maintains that they can still deliver the new game with or without the rest of the sum. But it’s still a terrible predicament.
You can check out an “emergency interview” with Jiro Ishii by famed Japanese media publication Denfaminicogamer here for more on the creator’s thoughts. Fans have largely been supportive, and I sure as heck hope Ubgoe manages to do the right thing here one way or another.
Final Fantasy 14 Expands Gift-Sharing To Include Mounts, Minions, And More
Players can now send their friends plenty more via FF14’s cash shop.
