If they don't do it on Kickstarter it'll probably be on GREENFUNDING like the other VOICEROID crowdfunders.
Voiceroid English is under development
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As much as I'd like it to be true I think they'll be majorly relying on Zunko's Japanese fans to fund it. Does she even have that many fans overseas in the first place? I think I know more people that like Itako or Kiritan even.
Looking back, here are what the goals were for each Voiceroid crowdfunding campaign:
Seika: ¥2,000,000 (~$18k USD)
Kiritan: ¥4,500,000 (~$41k USD)
Itako: ¥4,500,000
Tsuina-chan: ¥4,800,000 (~$44k USD)
(Can't find Zunko's, the only link I found led to a defunct site orz)
Those were all the goals, but they all ended up blowing way past them with how many people contributed. But... Voiceroid fans are super passionate about Voiceroid, so it's to be expected.
With Zunko Eng, I imagine the goal will be similar to that of Tsuina-chan's, if not more. Zunda Horizon's English campaign managed to reach its goal, but just barely, and that goal was only $10k. I know there are people interested in Zunko's English Voiceroid and want to contribute to the campaign that probably weren't all too interested in Zunda Horizon, but $35kish more...? Japanese Voiceroid fans will probably help out, though even though it's Voiceroid, I'm not sure how many of them will be willing to contribute to a product they mostly won't use. (Though I'm sure a lot of people would be interested in it just to hear English pronunciations of things... unsure how accented Zunko English will be, but it's cool nonetheless. There are people who buy Voiceroids just to have them read novels out loud to them, anyway.)
I think she'll be a success as usual; there hasn't been a single campaign Zunko's done that hasn't succeeded, but I can see it being a much slower process than the others that hit their goals within the first few days. I'll definitely be contributing to this, at any rate; while we do have official confirmation that there will be more English Voiceroids regardless (as mentioned in the AHS livestream that confirmed Zunko English in the first place), it'd be really cool to see Zunko succeed here. With Zunko seemingly wanting to focus more on English-language things, this is a really big first step.
Seika: ¥2,000,000 (~$18k USD)
Kiritan: ¥4,500,000 (~$41k USD)
Itako: ¥4,500,000
Tsuina-chan: ¥4,800,000 (~$44k USD)
(Can't find Zunko's, the only link I found led to a defunct site orz)
Those were all the goals, but they all ended up blowing way past them with how many people contributed. But... Voiceroid fans are super passionate about Voiceroid, so it's to be expected.
With Zunko Eng, I imagine the goal will be similar to that of Tsuina-chan's, if not more. Zunda Horizon's English campaign managed to reach its goal, but just barely, and that goal was only $10k. I know there are people interested in Zunko's English Voiceroid and want to contribute to the campaign that probably weren't all too interested in Zunda Horizon, but $35kish more...? Japanese Voiceroid fans will probably help out, though even though it's Voiceroid, I'm not sure how many of them will be willing to contribute to a product they mostly won't use. (Though I'm sure a lot of people would be interested in it just to hear English pronunciations of things... unsure how accented Zunko English will be, but it's cool nonetheless. There are people who buy Voiceroids just to have them read novels out loud to them, anyway.)
I think she'll be a success as usual; there hasn't been a single campaign Zunko's done that hasn't succeeded, but I can see it being a much slower process than the others that hit their goals within the first few days. I'll definitely be contributing to this, at any rate; while we do have official confirmation that there will be more English Voiceroids regardless (as mentioned in the AHS livestream that confirmed Zunko English in the first place), it'd be really cool to see Zunko succeed here. With Zunko seemingly wanting to focus more on English-language things, this is a really big first step.
If there's a tier that lets you preorder the VOICEROID I think I'll consider backing too. I really want her to succeed, even if it's mostly so we have a chance of getting an English Yukari VOICEROID.
I honestly knew absolutely nothing about VOICEROID prior to joining VVN other than "they exist", so the western fandom for them is definitely niche, even by vocal synth standards. But like Rylitah said, Zunko is deeply loved, so I'm optimistic this will get funded! I'll certainly be contributing if I can, at least a little bit.
Honestly, I hope Zunko has natural-sounding English that could be used for YouTube videos. Not something like Crypton's accented vocals.
Another thing, I haven't read Zunko's terms in a long time, but she actually has where, for example, if you make a doujin and want to sell it, you have to buy a pack of stickers to pay Zunko's keepers. The stickers go on each comic in order for you to sell it, but they have an expiration date. I can't remember what the rules are for you to use her vocals for songs and stuff. What if her rules are cruddy and it seems worthless to want to buy her English vocal? (I really don't wanna have to drag my rump over to her page and investigate myself if I don't have to, so I'm checking beforehand if anyone else remembers.)
Another thing, I haven't read Zunko's terms in a long time, but she actually has where, for example, if you make a doujin and want to sell it, you have to buy a pack of stickers to pay Zunko's keepers. The stickers go on each comic in order for you to sell it, but they have an expiration date. I can't remember what the rules are for you to use her vocals for songs and stuff. What if her rules are cruddy and it seems worthless to want to buy her English vocal? (I really don't wanna have to drag my rump over to her page and investigate myself if I don't have to, so I'm checking beforehand if anyone else remembers.)
Reminder:
Looks like part of the plan has already been implemented:
This company, Genius Bishoujo, creates phone games that end up being translated into multiple languages (English, German, French, Italian).
This is the link to the app. Looks like it's not finished yet based on the reviews, but I think it's only for iPhone? (Not that I want to play a dating sim where only 1 of the options is legal... orz)
Looks like it won't be too long before the crowdfunding for the English Voiceroid starts, huh?
Looks like part of the plan has already been implemented:
This company, Genius Bishoujo, creates phone games that end up being translated into multiple languages (English, German, French, Italian).
This is the link to the app. Looks like it's not finished yet based on the reviews, but I think it's only for iPhone? (Not that I want to play a dating sim where only 1 of the options is legal... orz)
Looks like it won't be too long before the crowdfunding for the English Voiceroid starts, huh?
every day zunko's twitter curses me with something new
This... is not what I expected that visual novel to be, but okay I guess. In hindsight, I don't even know why I'm surprised. At any rate, now that this is (mostly?) out of the way, I do hope we get to see the crowdfunding campaign soon... it was obvious it'd be this year, though I didn't expect it to be this early, especially with Yuzuru right around the corner. I'm hoping it'll be after he releases at the very earliest, especially since Yuzuru surprisingly has the attention of a lot of Western fans -- many of whom I've seen are interested in buying him, even. I hope if she does start really soon that it doesn't cut into either of their sales/campaign orz
This... is not what I expected that visual novel to be, but okay I guess. In hindsight, I don't even know why I'm surprised. At any rate, now that this is (mostly?) out of the way, I do hope we get to see the crowdfunding campaign soon... it was obvious it'd be this year, though I didn't expect it to be this early, especially with Yuzuru right around the corner. I'm hoping it'll be after he releases at the very earliest, especially since Yuzuru surprisingly has the attention of a lot of Western fans -- many of whom I've seen are interested in buying him, even. I hope if she does start really soon that it doesn't cut into either of their sales/campaign orz
I don't know if this game will be any different, but the Genius Studio is known for hiding choices behind a paywall... For example for other games like this one, a lot of reviews mention a good story but that for good choices you have to pay with "diamonds". I assume that's something you pay for with real money. I don't understand why would they go with this studio unless they thought it would expand the English audience more, but I don't think it will exactly expand it much... I honestly think it would be better if they made a visual novel just showing a casual life of Zunko and her sisters, and put it on steam. People would have to pay for it but at least it would be a complete game and not have choices hidden behind a paywall. 
I guess one good thing of this new game is that Kiritan probably isn't an romantic interest. She's not showed in screenshots or even in description in the same way Zunko and Itako are.
But on a more positive note, at least the crowdfunding will start soon. Western fandom getting interested in Yuzuru, to the point of wanting to even buy him, is a good sign and I hope Zunko's crowdfunding will be met with the same attention.
I guess one good thing of this new game is that Kiritan probably isn't an romantic interest. She's not showed in screenshots or even in description in the same way Zunko and Itako are.But on a more positive note, at least the crowdfunding will start soon. Western fandom getting interested in Yuzuru, to the point of wanting to even buy him, is a good sign and I hope Zunko's crowdfunding will be met with the same attention.
Most of these games have the following mechanic: You have a limited amount of in-game currency when you start, you can fill it up by either 1) paying for more currency with real money, or 2) waiting for it to recharge for free (a lot of people are impatient and just buy the in-game currency). I assume this game works like that as well?
I hope you're right about Kiritan not being a romantic option. But the weird thing is, their other games have the exact same type of preview images where it says "Kiss her / Tease her" and "She's the one! / Hesitate".
One of the reviews said the story was good, but animation was bad.
I hope you're right about Kiritan not being a romantic option. But the weird thing is, their other games have the exact same type of preview images where it says "Kiss her / Tease her" and "She's the one! / Hesitate".
One of the reviews said the story was good, but animation was bad.
Re: Zunko getting English Voiceroid, I wonder if they'd be willing to post a sample of Zunko's voice actress speaking English, to assure potential backers that she's understandable and worth backing. Based off Yuzuru's price I assume an English Voiceroid would be close to $200 or so? Since it's a more phonetically-complex language to begin with. So I could see some people being wary to back it without some idea of how she'll sound.
I'm hoping that once the crowdfunding is here they will use Zunko's English Voiceroid for it. Just Zunko explaining what is the crowdfunding about and to hear how clear she sounds. But hearing the voice actress would be a good idea as well since then we'd know if the VA is a native speaker or not. Might be interesting if they first show how the voice actress sounds and then show Zunko's Voiceroid, like a comparison between the two, or vice versa.
Who knows, maybe they would hire someone else to voice Zunko (like what happened with Tianyi's Japanese Vocaloid).
Personally, if I am going to spend over $100 on a Voiceroid, I would like it to be understandable to people unfamiliar with a Japanese accent so I could use it for YouTube videos. ^^; (Don't get me wrong, I really like Japanese accented English, it's just that if this is the first English voice bank with zero competition...)
Personally, if I am going to spend over $100 on a Voiceroid, I would like it to be understandable to people unfamiliar with a Japanese accent so I could use it for YouTube videos. ^^; (Don't get me wrong, I really like Japanese accented English, it's just that if this is the first English voice bank with zero competition...)
None of the previous Voiceroid crowdfunding campaigns have ever had an example to show off the product -- development doesn't even begin until after the project is funded. So I don't believe we'll get to hear Zunko English at all until/unless she gets funded, though showing her VP speaking English would be a good idea (though I'm still not completely expecting it orz).
Crud, sounds like we could have had the English crowdfunding if the virus situation wasn't a thing.
Also, sounds like she's getting a voice actress who can speak English instead of her current one.
Also, sounds like she's getting a voice actress who can speak English instead of her current one.
Makes sense that she'd have a separate VA for English. While she's not wholly AH-Soft owned, they're probably managing her development and they've said before if they were to make English voices for their characters they'd use an English-speaking VA. Looking forward to her crowdfunder!