Last Month, Train2Game News brought you the news of the Suikoden Revival Movement. This is a collection of fans trying to bring the Suikoden series back. Founding member Chris Holmes talks about the campaign.
“The Suikoden Revival Movement started last year when myself, Ryan and Matze (other founding members) decided it was time to go more global. We all met on the Suikosource.com forums, which is one of the last great bastions of Suikoden fandom.
“However, all this campaigning started back in 2010 on Suikosource with myself and Ryan trying to convince the other members of our plans. (We) had some good conversations with Konami but, eventualy, it became clear that we could not go any higher up their chain of command.
“Attempting this as a single person became increasingly difficult. So, with the help of Matze, we decided to solidify our plans as the Suikoden Revival Movement and attempt to reach Konami en masse with much larger numbers. Thus, the SRM was born in 2012.”
This sort of movement can be slow and painstaking, especially when up against a company as big as Konami. This hasn’t stopped Chris from seeing some success however ”Back in 2011, we were offered an official Konami Facebook Fan Page by Konami US,” Holmes said. “We have tried to chase this up numerous times, however, but it always leads to dead ends. We continue to pursue this. Besides Konami US giving the thumbs up of recognition to our campaigning numerous times on Facebook, we have not had too much official recognition since the SRM was born last year.
“Konami UK, however, are currently looking into why Suikoden II has not yet been released on the PSN. Konami EU have also responded pleasingly to the rather large package we sent of all the fan work from SUIKODEN DAY 2012.”
Holmes explained that he personally contacts members of Konami globally on a weekly basis via LinkedIn. Holmes is keen to get his voice heard and has bent the ears of quality assurance testers, executives and everyone else in between; anyone who’ll listen. “As a group, the SRM did have weekly (and then monthly) campaigns. This entailed gathering our thousands of members and asking them to plea with Konami (regarding specific goals) via Facebook, Twitter, E-mail and letter.
“Since we have had responses from Konami US and EU, these group campaigns have been put on hold for the moment. But rest assured, we have many plans for future campaigns! We are currently thinking up strategies to move the group campaigning towards Konami Japan, which is probably the most important thing we can do. This is our next big move.”
Holmes spoke of the desire of the fan base – one which now has garnered nearly 11,000 Facebook followers – and whether or not there was enough support to satisfy the effort of campaigning. “I spent over a year analysing the situation and the fan base of Suikoden in the West. Was there enough support? Are the numbers still there? Is the passion still there? Eventually, I decided, yes. And since the SRM’s inception, its just went from strength to strength. Its been great to see it all come together.”
Although still a long way from their goal, Holmes is determined to continue the good fight. ”It is still early days and there is much to do. We need as much support as we can get. If you can, then please spread the word to your friends, family and fellow Suikoden fans! Even if you don’t have time for campaigning, a simple click of the ‘like’ button will do!”
Last Month, Train2Game News brought you the news of the Suikoden Revival Movement. This is a collection of fans trying to bring the Suikoden series back. Founding member Chris Holmes talks about the campaign.
“The Suikoden Revival Movement started last year when myself, Ryan and Matze (other founding members) decided it was time to go more global. We all met on the Suikosource.com forums, which is one of the last great bastions of Suikoden fandom.
“However, all this campaigning started back in 2010 on Suikosource with myself and Ryan trying to convince the other members of our plans. (We) had some good conversations with Konami but, eventualy, it became clear that we could not go any higher up their chain of command.
“Attempting this as a single person became increasingly difficult. So, with the help of Matze, we decided to solidify our plans as the Suikoden Revival Movement and attempt to reach Konami en masse with much larger numbers. Thus, the SRM was born in 2012.”
This sort of movement can be slow and painstaking, especially when up against a company as big as Konami. This hasn’t stopped Chris from seeing some success however ”Back in 2011, we were offered an official Konami Facebook Fan Page by Konami US,” Holmes said. “We have tried to chase this up numerous times, however, but it always leads to dead ends. We continue to pursue this. Besides Konami US giving the thumbs up of recognition to our campaigning numerous times on Facebook, we have not had too much official recognition since the SRM was born last year.
“Konami UK, however, are currently looking into why Suikoden II has not yet been released on the PSN. Konami EU have also responded pleasingly to the rather large package we sent of all the fan work from SUIKODEN DAY 2012.”
Holmes explained that he personally contacts members of Konami globally on a weekly basis via LinkedIn. Holmes is keen to get his voice heard and has bent the ears of quality assurance testers, executives and everyone else in between; anyone who’ll listen. “As a group, the SRM did have weekly (and then monthly) campaigns. This entailed gathering our thousands of members and asking them to plea with Konami (regarding specific goals) via Facebook, Twitter, E-mail and letter.
“Since we have had responses from Konami US and EU, these group campaigns have been put on hold for the moment. But rest assured, we have many plans for future campaigns! We are currently thinking up strategies to move the group campaigning towards Konami Japan, which is probably the most important thing we can do. This is our next big move.”
Holmes spoke of the desire of the fan base – one which now has garnered nearly 11,000 Facebook followers – and whether or not there was enough support to satisfy the effort of campaigning. “I spent over a year analysing the situation and the fan base of Suikoden in the West. Was there enough support? Are the numbers still there? Is the passion still there? Eventually, I decided, yes. And since the SRM’s inception, its just went from strength to strength. Its been great to see it all come together.”
Although still a long way from their goal, Holmes is determined to continue the good fight. ”It is still early days and there is much to do. We need as much support as we can get. If you can, then please spread the word to your friends, family and fellow Suikoden fans! Even if you don’t have time for campaigning, a simple click of the ‘like’ button will do!”
The Train2Game Blog 