Q&A with eastasiasoft’s Joshua Michael French

Founded in 2007, eastasiasoft is a Hong Kong based publisher and distributor that caters to niche interests. While many of the big publishers offer low-risk titles at premium prices, eastasiasoft has offering some compelling counterprogramming. We recently spoke with Project Lead Joshua Michael French about everything from censorship, product affordability, and the process of scouting out new talent. Unlike some company representatives, French was exceedingly candid, providing insight into this unique company.

On censorship

Tech-Gaming: In 2020, Waifu Uncovered did the once unthinkable and showed female nipples in a Nintendo Switch game. Later, Otoko Cross would break another barrier by exhibiting male nudity. Now, this was at a time when publishers like Sony and Valve were growing progressively prudent. How did you go about accomplishing this?

Joshua Michael French: Our output as a publisher is pretty high, especially for a company our size, so we’ve become intimately familiar with content review processes. We also push a bit harder in some areas than other publishers will dare to try, so we gain a clearer understanding of where limits exist and what they entail. If you don’t have publishers testing those boundaries, even cautiously, then no one will ever be totally clear on where the lines are drawn. For instance, Nintendo has mostly avoided censoring third-party publishers since GameCube, but so few examples existed on Nintendo platforms where these limits were put to the test, most gamers and even developers were under the impression that mature content wasn’t welcome. It wasn’t until Nintendo started promoting games like Senran Kagura Reflexions that people started rethinking it. Maybe more was possible on these platforms than we’d realized for generations. Our team just decided to explore it more than most.

T-G: As a consumer, it’s always disheartening when publishers have these ambiguous rules about depictions of nudity or even revealing clothing. Can you talk about some of the difficulties navigating these?

JMF: Well, it’s pretty cut and dry when it comes to types of nudity. You either show topless nudity with nipples or you don’t. You either show full frontal nudity or you don’t. You either have sex scenes or you don’t. Where it gets muddy and unpredictable is the subjective interpretation of visual styles. Some of the biggest controversies in recent years have stemmed from whether anime characters look too young or not, even if the game’s disclaimers, story text, or dialogue indicate that they’re over 18. If a content review team decides that a sexualized character looks too young, you could be in for an uphill battle. I think that’s why many publishers won’t even dare to go through this. If you develop a game and put a bunch of time and money into it, only to later have it rejected on some or all platforms, then it hurts financially and creatively.

T-G: Are publishers growing more or less strict with their content standards?

JMF: For the reasons I’ve described, I think many publishers are growing more cautious, especially big publishers with larger budgets invested in their games. They obviously don’t want to jeopardize their projects by pushing too far, and if they preview content that ultimately has to be changed on one or more platforms, then consumers will call them out for censorship. Some of these cases are unfair reactions to creative decisions while others are totally valid, but either way, the publisher wants to avoid public backlash, so they play it safe.

T-G: Have you ever had to tell a developer to dial things back?

JMF: Not really, no. We seek out projects that we think will work with our content strategy. We know going in what content needs to be adjusted per platform or release region, and we can typically do it ourselves or with minimal involvement by the developer. That said, we do everything we can to keep from cutting or altering content, and there have been many times that we’ve added new mature content rather than trimming back what’s already there. Certainly, there are some cases where a PC version of a game is straight-up pornographic, and it just won’t work as-is on consoles, and we’ll have to make adjustments much the same as Japanese publishers have done for decades with adult PC visual novels getting toned-down “all ages” versions on console, but we try to retain as much mature content as possible.

On affordability

T-G: Much of the industry doggedly adheres to big games with $60 or $70 prices. Eastasiasoft seems to counter-program, offering games like Otoko Cross: Pretty Boys Breakup! for six or seven dollars. Even some of the more ambitious titles, such as Sword and Fairy: Together Forever are competitively priced at forty dollars. What was the motivation behind this strategy?

JMF: It’s important to know your market and maintain some self-awareness. We aren’t a major publisher. We have to stay competitive. There’s also the fact that we publish a wide variety of games, from small indies from solo devs up to bigger partner studios from Asia. It’s critical to keep projects’ size and investments in perspective so pricing matches the amount of content each game offers, balanced so that games can sell quickly at attractive prices while still turning a profit. We believe this is the best way to survive in a market saturated by companies that are better known and often price their games more aggressively.

T-G: Can you tell us if it’s paying off?

JMF: We still have to deal with challenging fluctuations in the market like every publisher, but overall, I think we have a sound strategy that lets us roll with the punches.

T-G: Is your publishing strategy based more on data or a more organic method?

JMF:  It’s largely data-driven. We watch sales reports carefully and make adjustments where we can. We also make mistakes in judgment sometimes, but even then, our educated guesses are backed by numbers and past experience. That said, we are passionate about the games we publish and will occasionally pursue a passion project even if we aren’t totally sure if it makes financial sense. We generally try to avoid big risks, but it wouldn’t be much fun if we never took a chance.

On Indies

T-G: Eastasiasoft has a steady release schedule of reasonably priced games, publishing about a game a month over the last few years. How difficult is it to maintain this pace?

JMF: It can be tough since we’re still a relatively small team. But we all work together well and have processes fairly organized. Some games come to us nearly complete and won’t require as much time to prepare for release, while others require a lot of time and attention from multiple team members, especially when it comes to porting and QA testing. You just have to be good at multitasking and juggling several projects of varying sizes at the same time.

T-G: How do you go about scouting for a new developer?

JMF: We keep our eyes on social media, new and upcoming Steam releases, developer Discords and other channels, plus we often receive suggestions from our existing partners and online community members. There are many factors to consider for each project, of course. What engine is used for development? Is there objectionable content and if so, can we make it work on target platforms? Does the game match our brand identity? As long as it all makes sense, we’re happy to consider new development partners and projects.

On Shifting to Different Publishers

T-G: Mugen Souls and Mugen Souls Z were originally published by NIS America. Recently, the two titles were released on Switch. How did Eastasiasoft secure publishing rights?

JMF: We have a good relationship with the Japanese publisher, and as with any partner, if the conditions on their side allow for it, we can pursue some interesting projects together. Every situation like this is unique, and it’s not always up to us.

T-G: When you can publish ports like these, how is the localization handled? Do you typically use the previous English script or create a new one?

JMF: Again, every situation is unique. Sometimes the previous English localization is available for licensing, sometimes it might require a total do-over or sometimes the licensing is what keeps us from being able to pursue a project in the first place. We would generally have more freedom to take on a project where no previous English localization exists, but of course, that doesn’t necessarily make it easier. Localization is hard work, especially for lengthy RPGs, but we rise to the challenge because otherwise western audiences may never have a way to experience these games.

Tech-Gaming would like to thank Joshua Michael French for his time and candidness.