{"id":8183,"date":"2022-01-05T18:46:32","date_gmt":"2022-01-05T09:46:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=8183"},"modified":"2022-01-05T18:46:33","modified_gmt":"2022-01-05T09:46:33","slug":"20220105-8183","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/20220105-8183\/","title":{"rendered":"Japanese developer abandons a successfully crowdfunded shmup project, supposedly due to lack of payment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Written by. Ryuki Ishii based on the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/articles\/newsjp\/20220105-187851\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">original Japanese article<\/a>&nbsp;(original article&#8217;s publication date: 2022-01-05 14:01 JST)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Hidekuni Sasaki, the representative director at a Japanese game studio called Pixel, has announced they are leaving the production of <em>Steam Pilots<\/em>, a successfully crowdfunded shooting game project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It looks like there\u2019s an ongoing payment issue between Pixel and other project founders, as Sasaki states that they haven\u2019t been paid a cent in two years since they joined the project. Sasaki was responsible for the project\u2019s direction, game design, programming, artwork, character designs, pixel art, illustrations, animations, sound effects, UI design, logo design, trailers, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"ja\" dir=\"ltr\">\u3010\u91cd\u5927\u306a\u304a\u3057\u3089\u305b\u3011<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/%E3%82%B9%E3%83%81%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A0%E3%83%91%E3%82%A4%E3%83%AD%E3%83%83%E3%83%84?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#\u30b9\u30c1\u30fc\u30e0\u30d1\u30a4\u30ed\u30c3\u30c4<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/%E3%82%B9%E3%83%81%E3%83%91%E3%83%AD?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#\u30b9\u30c1\u30d1\u30ed<\/a><br><br>2\u56de\u306e\u30af\u30e9\u30a6\u30c9\u30d5\u30a1\u30f3\u30c7\u30a3\u30f3\u30b0\u30671,000\u4e07\u5186\u4ee5\u4e0a\u96c6\u3081\u306a\u304c\u3089\u3001\u5f0a\u793e\u306b\u306f1\u5186\u306e\u652f\u6255\u3044\u3082\u3042\u308a\u307e\u305b\u3093\u3002<br>\u5c0f\u3055\u306a\u4f1a\u793e\u306b\u3068\u3063\u3066\u4eca\u4f5c\u306e\u5185\u5bb9\u306e\u30b3\u30b9\u30c8\u8ca0\u62c5\u306f\u6b7b\u6d3b\u554f\u984c\u3067\u3059\u3002<br>\u305d\u308c\u3067\u3082\u9650\u754c\u307e\u3067\u958b\u767a\u3092\u7d9a\u3051\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3002<br>\u82e6\u3057\u30442\u5e74\u9593\u3067\u3057\u305f\u3002<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/JBqLsFVgsO\">https:\/\/t.co\/JBqLsFVgsO<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/7j6UfrstYy\">pic.twitter.com\/7j6UfrstYy<\/a><\/p>&mdash; PiXEL(\u30d4\u30af\u30bb\u30eb)\u516c\u5f0f (@pixel_japan) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/pixel_japan\/status\/1478369068273266688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 4, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Steam Pilots<\/em> is a steampunk-themed vertical scrolling shoot \u2018em up game project founded by ex-Konami composer Motoaki Furukawa and his manager Tenki Amemiya. Shuzilow.HA, known for their work on the <em>TwinBee<\/em> series, is on board as the character designer, and voice actor Mariko Kouda is involved in the project as the vocalist for the theme song. The project managed to gather over 10 million yen (approx. $86,000) from backers through multiple crowdfunding campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/b20N0yIxSaY\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Furukawa initially promised backers that the game would launch by September of 2020, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.makuake.com\/project\/msart_games\/communication\/detail\/502116\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">failed to meet the deadline<\/a> due to COVID-19 complications. The project underwent multiple delays since then. The latest development status was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.makuake.com\/project\/steam_pilots\/communication\/detail\/817628\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a> in September of 2021 when Furukawa commented that the team is working on the game\u2019s music and programming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hidekuni Sasaki founded Pixel in 2016 and is currently based in Sendai, Japan. In 2021, the company released a side-scrolling shooter called <em>Horgihugh with Friends<\/em> for the Nintendo Switch and plan to release multiple titles in 2022 as well, including <em>Wing of the Asteria<\/em>, which is also a side-scrolling shooting game.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1368\" height=\"770\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1368px) 100vw, 1368px\" src=\"http:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/20210105-187856-002.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8188\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/20210105-187856-002.jpg 1368w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/20210105-187856-002-600x338.jpg 600w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/20210105-187856-002-380x214.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/20210105-187856-002-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/20210105-187856-002-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/20210105-187856-002-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/20210105-187856-002-696x392.jpg 696w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/20210105-187856-002-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/20210105-187856-002-746x420.jpg 746w\" \/><figcaption><em>Horgihugh with Friends<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><br>As mentioned above, Sasaki explains that they haven\u2019t received any payment at this point and decided to step away from the project. Despite their best efforts, they found it difficult to continue development, partially due to complications with Pixel\u2019s other projects and the company\u2019s financial status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It wasn\u2019t clear whether the payment issue arose from the crowdfunding platform or from Sasaki\u2019s client, Furukawa, so we reached out to both parties for comment. Sasaki stated that they are currently in the process of discussing the matter through their lawyer and cannot disclose further information. They do plan to make an announcement in the future when the timing is right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A representative from the crowdfunding website Makauke stated that remittance from Makauke to the <em>Steam Pilots<\/em> project had been completed. We have not heard back from Furukawa as of publication time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While Sasaki makes it sound like Furukawa breached their contract, the contractual details between Sasaki and Furukawa are unknown, so it\u2019s not clear whether the payments were supposed to be made at the production stage or upon completion of the game. We\u2019ll update this article once we hear from Furukawa\u2019s side.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1130\" height=\"640\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1130px) 100vw, 1130px\" src=\"http:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/20220105-187851-002.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8190\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/20220105-187851-002.jpg 1130w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/20220105-187851-002-600x340.jpg 600w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/20220105-187851-002-380x215.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/20220105-187851-002-768x435.jpg 768w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/20220105-187851-002-150x85.jpg 150w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/20220105-187851-002-300x170.jpg 300w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/20220105-187851-002-696x394.jpg 696w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/20220105-187851-002-1068x605.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/20220105-187851-002-742x420.jpg 742w\" \/><figcaption><em>Steam Pilots<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><br>With Sasaki and Pixel\u2019s departure, it\u2019s uncertain whether the development of <em>Steam Pilots<\/em> will continue or not. However, there\u2019s a <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/amenokoutei\/status\/1478540735461097477\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report<\/a> from a user on Twitter mentioning that Furukawa has posted a closed comment to his backers explaining that he has to hire a new programmer to program the game from scratch. At the very least, Sasaki\u2019s departure will have a measurable impact on the project\u2019s future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Steam Pilots\u2019 crowdfunding campaign pages can be found below (Both campaigns have ended):<br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.makuake.com\/project\/msart_games\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.makuake.com\/project\/msart_games\/<br><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.makuake.com\/project\/steam_pilots\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.makuake.com\/project\/steam_pilots\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Japanese developer abandons a successfully crowdfunded shmup project, supposedly due to lack of payment. The contractual details between related parties are unknown.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":8189,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-8183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Japanese developer abandons a successfully crowdfunded shmup project, supposedly due to lack of payment - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Japanese developer abandons a successfully crowdfunded shmup project, supposedly due to lack of payment. 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