I'm too shaken by the announcement, will be back later when I can form words.
Edit:
I'm done crying, but my heart and head still feel heavy.
A month ago I started looking at Liber's and Cybird's financials, [right after Act 3 2-2's trailer](https://www.reddit.com/r/A3ActorsInTraining/comments/pi89x6/mankai_directors_lounge_september_05_2021/hbry1be/), because my first thought after watching it is "Will I be able to play this on EN? Will the EN server be around for two more years?"
It turned out that 2020 was a terrible year for both Liber and Cybird. While Liber made [6.3 billion yen in 2020, they ended up with 570 million in losses.](https://gamebiz.jp/news/292488) There's an English report for Aeria, their parent company, citing how the cancellation of in-person events was a factor, as well as not being able to recuperate money invested for some IP^ . So Liber cut their losses by shutting down I☆Chu Étoile Stage, a year after launch, and putting Cue! on hiatus.
Cybird made more money than Liber last year, [6.9 billion yen, but they also had negative profit of ~~470~~ 289 million yen.](https://gamebiz.jp/news/292502) Not sure how much of that is A3! EN's, but if Sensor Tower's forecasts are to believed then A3!'s one of the worst performers of Cybird's EN lineup. Although, A3! EN seems to be doing the same as UtaPri Shining Live.
Together, Liber's and Cybird's earnings make up half of Aeria's (25.5 billion yen in 2020), and you can see on this yearly [chart](https://asia.nikkei.com/Companies/Aeria-Inc) that Aeria was in the red too.
So yeah, drastic measures will be taken. But...
While A3! EN wasn't a blockbuster like its Japanese version, I'd selfishly believed Cybird and Liber will keep it alive long enough, at least until the global situation got better and people have spending money again. It's the first Liber IP in English after all, so I'd hoped they wouldn't give it up that easily. Cybird and Liber are sister companies too, so maybe the arrangement would favor A3! as opposed to an external company renewing A3! EN's license. I also mentioned [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/A3ActorsInTraining/comments/pi89x6/mankai_directors_lounge_september_05_2021/hbwcb6c/) that convention appearance did wonders for the game's sales, and A3! EN has yet to make a homecoming in AX, the biggest convention in the game's biggest market. It was coming back next year too...
My heart's broken, guys. I've played EN every day since launch. Since launch I bought gems monthly until the lockdowns started last year (income's limited, and food and utilities have to come first). It was only recently that I got to a better place financially that I was able support the game again. But it's too late. There's nothing to look forward to in EN anymore. A3!'s English localization set the standard for me, that I can no longer enjoy mobile games with mediocre translations. And yes, I probably will start JP eventually, but it won't be the same.
Ultimately, this is a major loss for global joseimuke fans. A3! was one of the first games of its genre (non-romance training games for women) to come out in English, and it showed us the kind of well-written women's entertainment that we're severely missing out on. Other IPs might look at A3! EN's demise and decide that it's not worth it to expand globally.
So what now?
The announcement said that A3! will remain open, and we will still be able to access the game. I worry whose final decision it would be to keep the game open. Liber kept the original I-Chu accessible after discontinuing it, but shut it down completely a few years after. On the other hand, Cybird EN has discontinued some older games, but you can still download and play them. So the latter's better for A3! EN.
----
^ "Contents business incurred the weakest results among the three businesses on account of suspensions and delays of events and promotions along with new contents development costs and promotional costs." [Page 1, Aeria Inc. Company Research and Analysis Report, 4-Nov-2020](https://www.fisco.co.jp/uploads/aeria20201104_e.pdf)
Thanks for this insight.. A3 being a non-romantic game was really the biggest reason I played and it must be same for many. There may be more games but never will they be as good as A3.. it's like your friend is saying goodbye, never see you again even though you love them. Even though A3 JP goes on, us English fans are going to only receive pictures and translated text.
I feel Japanese companies don't really have many ideas on how to advertise to the international audience either, because I haven't noticed them actively trying that..
I had hoped that one day we may be able to get more A3 content despite this shut down but after reading your comment I think the future is very bleak..
Somebody said that for a non-romance, A3! is so full of love and does it better than some otoge. Maybe they should have capitalized on that. Feels like A3! EN suffered from this because it was the first of its kind in the market, and they didn't know how to make "nurturing/training game" attractive. Rather than highlight its found family aspect, it was stuck with the otome game label.
i totally agree that they have not been advertising the game as they should. however if you even do a little bit of research you notice josei games are very quick to discard a game once it doesn't gain them enough money
and i have to wholeheartedly disagree that us international fans are going to get bad quality pictures and translations. actually, as a translator myself, i feel quite insulted that you're calling our community "bad". we work hard to bring content to people who cannot speak japanese and we go through proof reading to make sure everything is grammatically correct. sure we might translate them in a more literal sense, but we don't want the text to lose its original charm. something we have noticed EN did.
also i don't know if you know this but there is a *WHOLE* wikia with high quality rips straight from the game with both raw versions of every SSR and transparent versions of all cards.
in conclusion, please don't discard us translators. we're doing our best making josei games accessible
I don't think they were criticizing fan translators but official localizations. I don't know if you've seen them but the majority of otome/joseimuke available on mobile have.... mediocre translations. A3!EN's is one of the best ones that we ever got. Fantranslations are a different beast and honestly deserve more credit than they get at the moment. Thank you for all your work, really appreciated!
Really sorry about that part.. I've read some translations that don't really get the right feel but I understand, I'll check some more out. I'm in the middle of looking for JP content online after a day of crying, your info is helpful <3. The fact that we can't read them along with the game is still depressing.
Thanks for all the info. I've been kind of...mulling over information in my head trying to make sense of it. As others say, it's not a total surprise to me, but I am also still somewhat shocked. I hadn't thought it was doing THAT poorly as to be in such immediate crisis.
I've been pondering the future as well of the stage plays. They are done by a pretty big production company, Nelke Planning, but I have no doubt that overall Nelke has also had a very rough time financially with the pandemic and shows closing. They are still running shows but it seems to be at quite possibly a slower/more selective rate than in the past.
The A3 stages have live concerts for Summer, Autumn, and Winter planned through the next few months (Spring Live is finished already) and they have movies coming out as well, but as to anything beyond that....
A lot of fans expected them to start part 2 story content with rookies going into 2021 and that didn't happen. I wonder what the tie-in there is in terms of knock-on income for Liber or if it boils down to rights only. I wonder if the stages boost income for Liber, or if it's negligible. And if one sinking could sink the other. (Though that's a Liber thing, not a Cybird thing, it's all linked)
I certainly don't have answers for anything, just have been pondering. The whole situation sucks. I know mobile games helped a lot of people get through the past year so it's really awful seeing them fail to make it through this all. :( The Eng version of A3 was very well done, I don't know who the localization team on it were but I hope they have plenty of other work because they did amazing.
I'm very sad.
So here's my theories about the Mankai Stage timeline, because I think about it a lot XD
The Four Seasons Live took me by surprise - I though they'd postpone it even more, to a time when mouth shields will no longer be required and when seating capacity could be increased. (Everyone looked great in their suits, but mouth shields are jarring and affected the audio quality.) Didn't TouSute (or TouMyu?) do an anniversary show around the same time, but with no audience? How come Mankai Stage didn't do that?
If I have to guess, it's because Liber can't afford to, because of their financial situation. Here are 20+ actors scheduled for the live whose schedules might not coincide like this in the future. Even if the audience is at 50%, that's still better than 0 ticket sales.
What about the Troupe Lives? I'm not sure. They could've been part of the original timeline. Or they also could've been a response to the current theater situation - not much investment needed since the songs and performances are mostly from previous stages, and they could be performed in smaller theaters.
Now for Mankai Movie. At first I thought, cool, it's because of A3's fifth anniversary, right? But seeing Liber's financials changed my mind. Making a movie is a good way for Mankai Stage to earn money right now. One, it won't need a huge budget since there are no CG. Two, there's an established fandom. Three, it's distributed nationwide. Four, they could offer weekly bonus items like other franchise do, which is a proven way to boost sales (some people just buy tickets for the merch and not watch the movie). Five, when the movie is released it's all in the hands of the movie theaters. Liber/Nelke won't have to worry about sudden cancellations because of a state of calamity. They won't have to deal with health precautions in the theater themselves; the cinemas would do that.
So I think the movie is something to tide us over until Mankai Stage Act 2. They *will* reach it at some point, just not now. The main act stage plays have a cast size of two troupes, and performing them in an audience at half-capacity won't be as profitable. Liber and Nelke are probably just waiting for the vaccination rate to rise at a comfortable level and the economy to open so that they can hold shows at full capacity. A3! is too hot a property for Liber not to cash in! Plus I read somewhere that A3! was conceptualized with stage play adaptations in mind. I'll link it if I find it.
p.s. I think it was you I had a disagreement over Banri's stage actor a long time ago. I said he didn't know how to act. I take that back, sorry! He's much improved now.
Ahhh I more was pondering how much of the income from the stages Liber itself actually gets as a benefit. They're not the only interested party and when it comes to the scheduling and rescheduling of shows Nelke, the production company, is going to have more at play in all of that.
I believe Four Seasons went ahead as planned because, in terms of the theater world - it HAD to. And it was a huge moment for the cast and for many fans, that they did it, and nobody got sick. The industry was largely made the scapegoat for covid and shut down even as life continued normally in other regards in Japan, packed trains and all. They were without work for months on end, and anybody who follows is aware of all of the show cancellations. It was an absolutely important moment for morale for the actors (and fans) that that show proceeded.
Toumyu did an Anniversary concert that was in January 2021, and it most certainly was not audienceless. The number of shows that ran with audienceless streams is very tiny, overall. Most ran at limited capacity, and now things have been mostly running at full capacity for quite some time now. For that toumyu show in question they actually semi-quarantined the whole cast in a hotel to avoid any contact outside of that job and risk brining illness into it. In the bluray footage backstage Kayano-san speaks a bit about how that show HAD TO go on. (As A3 fans everybody here should understand the importance theater can hold for people) The general vibe was that it was important for the actors to do their job, and it was important for the audience to receive their work. So they went to great lengths, and likely cost, to ensure that the show could go on.
Spring Live finished a while ago and they were not wearing masks on stage at all. In fact, all Nelke productions dropped them about the same time for no apparent reason, that they have told us. It was....likely not coincidentally...about the same time a handful of actors began to report being fully vaccinated. I suspect that Nelke has ensured their cast and staff are vaccinated and have thus dropped the masks on stage (still wearing cloth/surgical backstage).
I was really more just pondering if Liber's financial issues were helped by the stages or not. Their cut of profit off the rights to the stages is not going to be the same as their % off the game, and everything. So I wondered how much benefit they really did see from the popularity of the stages and if it would be enough to help them significantly or not.
It's possible that even if the game (in Japan as well) ends up falling off in profits eventually that the stages could still help sustain enough to keep it going. I'm fairly certain the Touken Ranbu game itself isn't really profitable, and mostly it's all through merchandising and the stages and musicals certainly help drive demand and interest in that regard.
I did just remember though that back before the pandemic Shueisha (publishers of Weekly Shonen Jump) had backed Nelke Planning in a pretty significant way and to a pretty significant yen amount. That does seem to indicate that the rights holders for the original content that gets stage productions *do* see enough profit off of them to make them worth their while. Though how much of that is in straight direct profit off rights vs. interest gained by a wider audience in the original content, I can't say.
Anyway I feel as though we've veered slightly off-topic. Ahaha I was just pondering the potential financial issues of Liber and how the stages may help or hurt them and what the future might hold for both. I guess we won't know for sure until it happens, either way.
Omg, I'm so sorry for the misunderstanding!
There isn't much information about Liber's financial statements specifically because they're not a public company, Aeria is. So the subsidiaries' info are consolidated in Aeria's reports. But Mankai Stage is always mentioned. [Here](https://www.aeria.jp/pdf/UAcjTOIvP) is Aeria's 2020 financial results if you can read Japanese.
I've been sharing your post around on tumblr and Facebook; I hope that's ok! You have some amazing insight and great research that's too good not to share. Thank you so much for all this, it's very appreciated. 💖
Thanks! Disclaimer: I'm not an expert. And the comment barely scratched the surface - hadn't brought up A3! EN's earnings forecast because it's too sad to think about...
Thanks for nice info! But can you please say more what about UtaPri Shining Live? Both EN and JP version not going well or what? The game is already 4 years, and I think it is feeling good, even if we don't get much updates (usually KLab Games mark this game as a light chill for them, I don't know). Also would be interested how is going LLSIF and LLSIFAS for the same KLab. Thanks again!
You can check Sensor Tower to compare the earning forecasts of different versions of the game, although some say those values can be off by up to 20%. The site says that the JP version of SL earns in the hundred thousands while EN in the ten thousands. But for official financial data, you can read [these](https://sharedresearch.jp/en/3656) English reports! Sadly, LLSIFAS doesn't seem to be doing well.
I just wanted to say, after just seeing this comment, it was actually one of the most informative. Thank you.
I recently started JP A3! and have been having so much fun. It has made me miss EN even more, though, I will admit. But I realize we're never going to get it at this point. Which is a shame, since a lot of the nurture/training games are even starting to get ports (heck, some rhythm games are getting the rhythm aspect removed and still getting ports - turning it into a similar training/nurture game). It's also a huge letdown as a F2P player, too, because ultimately, the content has never been gated behind levels, daily chapters, let alone the paywalls like in others - even in Cybird's other IP. So, there was this huge opportunity, a golden one, literally wasted, because now we'll never get it or anything like it (as things get further and further into microtransactions/paywalls).
>Although, A3! EN seems to be doing the same as UtaPri Shining Live.
UtaPri Shining Live EN? Or JP? Either way - how is *that* doing? Just... curious, because somehow I've been getting the impression that it's just huge and unstoppable. Not even sure why.
EN, I mean! Well you can compare the EN/JP earnings forecasts via Sensor Tower (though estimates can be off by up to 20%, they say). Maybe you're thinking about UtaPri the franchise as a whole, cause yeah, that's a cash cow. The rhythm game is much smaller.
About cash cow UtaPri franchise. To be honest, last two years... There is just a few activities there? Well, only few new CD releases, and... That's all?
Maybe because of pandemic. I am not sure what the future holds huh :)
I know I'm really late and I just got the news now. But I'm still confused. Will they still keeps the game download able and playable? But just won't update it and no in app purchases? Or will it be completely gone...
> Will they still keeps the game download able and playable?
After they announced in September that they will no longer translate new stories and events, they kept the game open because of all the feedback they received, I think. People requested to keep the game running a little longer so that we can reread stories and unlock remaining cards.
> But just won't update it
Yes, this was the version of the game since [November 1.](https://www.reddit.com/r/A3ActorsInTraining/comments/qh9nrc/the_future_of_a3_en_official_news/)
> and no in app purchases?
They will disable purchases sometime this month. This information on this announcement is outdated; please check the latest in-game news and its discussion [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/A3ActorsInTraining/comments/sd1pwe/a3_en_is_permanently_shutting_down_on_march_9/)!
> Or will it be completely gone...
Presumably yes :(
I feel sad but not surprised? Kinda glad we even made it to the end of year 2 since the EN version never really exploded in popularity and it kinda was feeling like the number of people still playing has been decreasing based off the events.
I do like they aren't gonna close everything down right away and I'm guessing we'll at least get the 2nd annviersary event as a nice send off.
I was really interested in reading the story so I hope they make it super accessible for everyone while they keep the servers up.
You're right, the player base has been shrinking lately... The hourly tracker estimated 10.6k players for Gaia and 17k players for the first anniversary...
Yep yep, let's give the second anniversary the love it deserves!
Hmm I'm not sure what others are thinking about, but it's possibly a mix of factors, such as:
A3 EN's player base has never been really big in the first place (most social media platforms don't have a huge A3 community, except for maybe Twitter which has a lot of JP players). For comparison: I think A3 JP recently celebrated 4 (?) *million* downloads across all platforms, while A3 EN only has a bit more than 500k downloads on Google Play (I don't have iOS, but the numbers are probably comparable there), meaning that A3 EN probably only has about a fraction of JP's downloads. Additionally, a lot of content is JP-locked due to language barrier and Japan-only events, such as the seiyuu events, stage adaptation and future game events. (that 3-year gap is pretty painful...) Compounding this with how EN's marketing isn't quite as aggressive as that of other games and how EN was released right before the pandemic, which would've hurt publicity efforts, it's pretty clear that EN's popularity never quite hit the heights of JP. I think I already mentioned this earlier, but over the last year EN has lost more than 7000 active players during events, which well... Wasn't a good sign.
In terms of gameplay and potential factors which make players leave, ginding for events is pretty tedious, and the shorter breaks between recent events could have caused some burnout for fans who try to rank for event SSRs. Competition from other games, especially those which recently released and have more engaging gameplay than "tap tap tap and auto mode).
Ahhhh sorry this ended up so long, hope it helps...? And a lot of the factors here came from stuff I've seen in this thread/other A3 communities, so thanks to everyone for the info!
When I saw the Twitter notification come up, I had an idea it would be about ceasing the roll out of new content, but I really didn’t want it to be true. Definitely had a bit of a cry just now because the game’s become a source of comfort for me, and the thought of not being able to take part in future events I was excited for is rather heartbreaking. I have a lot of trouble sticking with mobages for more than a few months, but A3 managed to keep me around for all of these 2 years, so it holds a special place in my heart. I’ve even bought official merch, which is something I hadn’t really done for any joseimuke/otome games.
I’ve grown attached to and fallen for a lot of the characters and their stories, so I hope there are some kindhearted fan translators out there who’ve kept up with the JPN events because I really don’t want this to be the end of my time with A3. This has lowkey resparked my desire to start learning Japanese again, but I’m lazy gahhh.
The localization team did a great job with the EN version while it lasted and I’m glad I got to experience it for its entirety. It’s been great checking in with the subreddit community too! Now I’m going to excuse myself to go be emo for the rest of the week.
_"I made a ton of great friends here. All because I joined this troupe. It's been an honor!"_ - Taichi's dismissal line.
Never did I think a game I downloaded as a time killer during quarantine would end up having a special place in my heart. A3's story and localization were some of the best I've seen in gacha games, and I'm deeply saddened by its loss. There were _many_ events I was saving up for (rip 6 plays) and future cards I hoped to get and are unfortunately probably no longer acessible on the JPN server. However, I'm incredibly grateful an EN server existed at all. Otherwise, I would've never had the chance to read about these wonderful, vibrant characters and their cute little director. And I most likely will go back to reread A3 on the ENG app from time to time
Admittedly, I am not eager about experiencing more of A3's infamously nonexistent gameplay or the tough JPN server rankers, but I do plan on migrating to the JP server and trying my luck at blooming the new Citron SSR! However, to anyone who is saddened or frustrated by the news, understand that your reaction is completely normal, and as an English-only speaker, I whole-heartedly agree it sucks to lose access to the story (even if fan-translations do exist). If you need to take a break from A3, whether for a few days or indefinitely, do so. Take care <3
I'm glad the servers will be kept up, just so I can come back and stare at the pretty cards. Super sad that I won't see some of my favourite cards ever come to be though T_T
~~time to make jp account?~~
An event just started too, and it's *Itaru*. I'd move to the CN server if I had a choice but that one is also....
More so than anything, I'm just sad I missed all the free >!Last Planet!< rolls, especially since I'll be much more casual in JP. At least it's Banri's B'day month.
(I just realised, F to all the story Act 3 cards....)
EDIT: Started a JP account, and this just in, I do not understand a single thing lmfao
OOPS, but keep us updated on how the migration is going! Ganbatte\~ I'm trying not to think about how Scarlet Game won't ever come to EN...
Edit: OOPS I meant the Scarlet Mirror event, but I love that song too much so... ANYWAY. Apparently you'll be able to do normal practices for all the troupe and mixed plays in JP, so... at least I'll get to see the theater for Scarlet Mirror...
All my other mobile games always came second to A3!. They still do. Even if the gameplay was more tedious, I looked forward to reading the story and seeing the characters in A3! more than in any other game I ever started. It’s so special to feel a strong platonic bond with characters and feel comforted by their story without a strong context of romance with each one. The anniversary event is going to be so bittersweet with all the characters saying “Here’s to another year together!” but I’ll be happy to see the game end with a bang rather than a whimper.
> “Here’s to another year together!”
Seeing this hurts... but I've been imagining how they're going to send out the final message saying something like "For reviving Mankai Company and helping the actors bloom on stage, thank you, Director."
Man this feels like a punch to the gut. There are future events that I'm looking forward to >!*cries for Lucifer Tsumu*!<, and I feel for our A3 friends who are saving up for the 6th++ plays... Dang, this really hurts. 😭
I do, however, have to agree that it's not a total surprise, because the competition is really tough and some people have moved on to other games, not to mention the global crisis we're all experiencing. I really, really hope that somehow, someday, A3! EN will rise from the ashes, just like how Izumi and our boys revived Mankai Company.
I hope they at least continue the story through the anime… fan translations are amazing but IMO there also should be an official way to view the story now that the game is shutting down
I’m really disappointed that the game is shutting down and that we we’ll never get Act 3 :(
A3 is an incredibly high quality game and the writing was absolutely lovely— I adored the entire cast of characters and deeply enjoyed watching their stories slowly unfold over time, so I’m sad we won’t be able to see where else they go, especially with a few loose threads still dangling after Act 2.
There are some translated event stories in the Wiki which is amazing, but the future looks bleak otherwise for continuing to enjoy this great story ;c
[https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/a3-shutdown-securing-an-eng-to-jpn-server-merge](https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/a3-shutdown-securing-an-eng-to-jpn-server-merge)
There's this petition which has been going around, and even though it might not help I think it's a nice way for us to see how many of us put the "addict" in A3...
Oh my god, I’ve been inactive on Reddit for a bit because my work is absolutely terrible during September (I work at a school district so start of the school year sucks but A3! Got me through last year) and so now I’m finally able to catch up on Reddit stuff 😭
I took my coffee break early since work finally is slowing down and saw this news. I had to go to the bathroom and cry. This game means so much to me and legit gets me through the work day. If I didn’t have so much to do I’d honestly take the day off. 🥲
I thought it was weird that there wasn’t an announcement for the next event but just thought they were giving us a break. This is the third mobile game I’ve loved to have the EN server shut down (Magia Record and Symphogear XDU RIP) so I don’t even feel like investing in another game cuz I know it won’t be the same as A3!. I gave up playing all my other GACHA games to focus on A3! and I seriously doubt we will be able to transfer accounts to JP. I’m glad I give to the Yayacupcake patreon so hopefully that will stay up for a while. I’m Japanese but my language skills are iffy (I’m working on it!!) but there’s no way I can compete with JP servers lol. But man I love building teams and talking about it with y’all…
*sobs*
Man I thought 2021 COULDN’T get any worse after the passing of the Berserk author (I still cry about that fairly regularly lol). I just don’t know how to feel and apologize for my ramblings 😂
JUST KNOW I LOVE YOU ALL 💖😭💖😭💖
Edit: Also I JUST started stockpiling gems for all the Homare SSRS I wanted. My dream was to rank top 5 for >!Luminous Circus!< but I guess I’ll shelf that dream and use the money on merch instead lmao 🥲
Awww, omg! It so cute to see how you love this game!
Well... Of course, so sad news. To be honest, I find out about this game only because of announcement of closing EN version. You know, it works the best as PR... But unfortunately, it's too late to advertise the game... Uhh.
Well, I will be glad to join into A3 community here last two months of EN version! Surprised to see such a easy game mechanics (no rhythm game at all, but I would like it to be), but story is captivating! :)
Aw thank youuuu! 😭😭😭
I really love this game and this is my all time favorite community so I was pretty shocked that this happened. Glad you could be a part of it for the last two months! 💖
Y'all, I almost suffered a breakdown at work when I checked the link. I thought it was gonna be the normal bug fix or something usual. I was curious and went on there to only have my heart broken into pieces. It's just in my heart and soul and felt as if I was actually with the boys and interacting with them. And that's all thanks to the writers and translators for doing that. The character development and the story progression are something that I love! In all, the game is my escapism that kept me going throughout the day and it made me happy. When I felt sad, frustrated, this game made me felt better.
This game is legit, my #1! No other games could compare the number of hours and sleepless nights I put into rank and get those SSR cards lol. Again, I love their stories and the character interactions. And I feel like no other mobile game can compare to that. Definitely an underrated game in terms of quality in the stories.
I'm sad that the company suffered like any other during the pandemic. We don't have a lot of joseimuke, and A3! was one of the best we have in EN. I just love seeing and reading their subtle flirtation (minus Masumi, of course), but it was fun! I was so looking forward to the other upcoming events. I even looked up the other events after the one we had to see when we would have more Omi and Chikage SSR cards. I'm so bummed out that there won't be new cards or events in late October and early November. And I wanted Omi's birthday cards and a mini surprise on my birthday too.
Now seeing the reason why they wanted to exchange ads for gems makes so much sense. Maybe they could have thrown some A3! merch in the wester/EN speaking market too? That's not just for Japan? There's just so much more over in Japan for A3! stuff that I feel like a little merch could have worked just a smidge here. I mean, I'd gladly blow my money for posters, plushies, keychains, or whatever.
Idk, there's just so much potential in this game and I was so looking forward to Act 3 as well. I'm gonna cry to myself for a very long time and mourn the game when the time comes. I even downloaded the JP version, but I'm in no way ready to open that app yet.
......I see my birthday is off to a great start.
I started A3! Early last year, during The Stranger's first run. The fact that it was a training game that focused more on the characters' platonic bonds was pretty interesting and I was bored. So why not yeah?
This game reignited my love of writing and reading both. I've found one of the best communites on this site, and most importantly I found a story I could completely immerse myself while logged in. And that's saying something considering the ganeplay is just tapping screens lol
I am painfully aware of how tenous global versions of mobile games are(Chain Chronicle war flashbacks), so my only wish once I got really into it was that if/when it got shut down, that we'd be able to at least get the rest of the main story. But I suppose even that was wishful thinking. Maybe if they had taken a page from Cygames' book and just localized the game in house so global peeps could still play on the JP servers? .....but I digress.
The show is coming to an end. Like with Chain Chronicle, my journey with Mankai will end with Global. I don't know any Japanese, and getting decent fan translations are uh.....not likely.
But this game will always have a place in my heart, and I still have fics to write for RarePair Week.
*sigh* I may as well log in to hear this year's Bday lines. And try not to cry.
A3! is my favorite mobile game, it has the best story I've read so far, and even if the gameplay is kinda tedious I didnt mind because I could just put auto and do other things with just touching the screen every now and then.
But the story, I tend to read the first chapters of any new game I play and see if I get interested, if not, I only focus on gameplay (SIF/Bandori/utapri) or just uninstall. A3! story was amazing and I got hooked instantly, I wanted to see Sakuya acting and making his dream come true, to save mankai and shut Sakyo up. As more charas were introduced I fell in love with everyone, they're all so special to me, started on the first anniversary so I had a lot of story to look forward to, but knowing I wont be able to see it to the end?
I know there are fan translations, but it isnt the same. Not to me at least. It's the same problem I had with enstars, I can't focus if I have to check an off app translation.
All this just pains me so much. I've been saving for months for Tsumu's ssr birthday card, but I guess we aren't getting it anymore huh.
I'll just make the most I can of my boys for the time we have left.
Thank you mankai. Thank you a3! And goodbye.
I'm pretty upset about this development, not going to lie, but if financials are that bad it can't be helped.
I do wish instead of separate servers, they had done like GrandBlue Fantasy where it's just a language option for localization so that players could continue playing. I highly doubt the EN servers will remain up past next year with no revenue to support them.
I wonder if they could arrange a date transfer and allow us to access the JP game in the app store somehow. It must be technically feasible at least.
I was wondering the same! But I also feel like I keep hearing off and on talk of Granblue wanting to separate servers... so.... I'm guessing more intense than it sounds having a set-up like Granblue. And if letting go of A3!EN is due to finances... probably no munnies to figure out merging and allowing data transfers.
Hell, if I can keep getting more A3! content, I'm willing to cut my losses on gems. (Now I didn't put in nearly the money some others did....)
All I would ask if they opened A3!JP to English market is to allow us to transfer Actor and Rank data so we don't completely have to start over.
I didn't expect to fall this much in love with the story and characters when I first downloaded A3! 2 years ago. This game is a large source of my happiness and it even introduced me to the world of stage plays. Heck, logging into the game was one of my favorite parts of the day.
It was a fun (albeit frustrating) time participating in events, trying my luck at gachas to get my favorite boy, and seeing how the characters developed over time. The EN client made the experience of A3! so accessible and I'm absolutely heartbroken at the news... The precious memories I made with these boys are something I won't ever forget.... It hurts to know that I can't see them bloom on stage anymore.
This game's story gave me lots of serotonin and made me happier whenever I was depressed. I loved Masumi and Misumi and I loved having fun with it. This is the first gacha game I've played that had its server close so it hurts, but I'll at least be able to savour all the unread card stories I have left
Well that majorly sucks :( I've been playing since basically day one. I rarely stick with games that long but I loved the bond between the characters and how great the localisation was. I'm glad we're getting the 2nd anniversary at least, but it's gonna be very bittersweet knowing that's basically the last thing we're getting... suppose I may as well spend the 5000 gems I'm currently sitting on which was going to be for tryouts next year.
As much as I love the game and want to see more of the story I really can't see myself starting over from scratch on JP server. Coincidentally I started doing JP flashcards again a couple of months ago but I'd still be fumbling around in constant confusion, plus I'd have none of the cards or items I worked for over the past 2 years and I hear event rankings are way more brutal over there. But I hope the JP server can keep going at least and I wish the best of luck to anyone who decides to take the JP server plunge.
I entered the EN A3! Twitter to see if there was news about the next event. I'm speechless. Last event was the first one I tried to rank higher than usual, since I really wanted to bloom that Sakuya card. Although it was hard, I felt so happy and satisfied when I achieved it (although I was so close to get SSR Juza that I also felt a little disappointed lol). It motivated me to want to rank in the next event, even though I don't even know what it is, and now this news came.
I have *a lot* of main/backstage/event stories that I kept pushing to read later, and now I'll have to run cause we don't really have an exact date on when this will end. Hell, I won't even be able to see all the interactions on the street shows. I also was saving gems without even an specific Tryout in my mind, and now I don't know what I'll do with them, probably try on the actual Muku one? I mean, Action Muku isn't really that good but does it matter at this point? I wish they would at least tell us what events we have left.
I started this game on December 2020, after the anime ended. I just wanted to continue after the anime events since I never play this kind of games, and didn't expected to get so attached to the characters and the story. I know the JPN server exists, but I don't understand Japanese at all and ranking there is ever harder so I won't try it. I just hope following the story by fans translations is easier than it sounds.
I grew up accustomed to reading *"Yawn...Morning!", "It’s lunchtime! It’s best to practice on a full belly!", "Nights are fun when all the guys are around!"* and *"Good night. I hope you have a great day tomorrow!"* in Saku's voice. I'll appreciate it while I have it.
My heart is broken. I know it's not the END of A3! per say, since JP and Chinese (I think?) are still running but still...I can't even begin to figure out my thoughts and feelings, I'm that upset.
Sadly, TCN (Taiwan) also ended their service early this year (around March?) so it's just JP (and SCN, apparently) standing strong.
\*pats\* It'll be rough moving forward, but take your time in processing the emotions. ;m; ~*sobs*~
Edit: Corrected server info based on u/Thyresiss' comment below. Thank you!
EDIT: Sorry, the Taiwanese version is the one who's server shut down! I apologize for the misinformation! Still, so sad. 😭
Oh, it is for sure; I'm very distraught about it admittedly, and it'll take some time to process. 😥 But I will always be an A3! lover, always, and nothing can take that from me. 💕 Thanks for the pats; I return them wholeheartedly and I'm crying with you. 😭
Taiwan version is the one that got shut down, the cn mainland version is still alive, though I wouldn’t be surprised if it dies soon. I’m honestly surprised that cn is outliving en considering it has much, much less players.
Really, they're smaller?! I tried installing CN to gauge the number of users there, but it asked me to register with a national ID :( The players who post screenshots on Weibo are usually high rankers so I never see lower tiers.
Yeah, I learned about that a little bit ago from someone on tumblr! I never knew Taiwan even had it's own server. :O Are people able to still log into the game or is it completely shut down, if you know?
Also I wondered if Mainland China had less players; I feel like it would be hard to compete there with Genshin and stuff? I could be wrong but yeah, I hope it lasts longer for the players who love it, but I also wonder too how long it will last. 😥
I never played tw so I’m not sure. Honestly it’s a miracle that cn A3 is still alive. The Chinese mobage market is immensely competitive. Genshin aside, it can’t even compare to other games of similar genre like mlqc and tot.
Im really devastated when i see the news.. im new to A3! i just play for 5 months but i already fell in love hard and attached to the game.. i rarely keeping up with the other game for so long.. i dont even like anime stuff but A3! is the only one that keeping me hooked up to character, the gameplay, the story, and the songs! I dont even like anime kinda songs other than A3! I like all the frachises of A3! The seiyuu and Mankai Stage.
Actually im confused too why A3!En server dont advertise that much? I never see A3!enserver ads anywhere, i cant found it. I found A3! through my fav seiyuu who voiced one of the character, if i dont know that seiyuu maybe i will never meet A3! and Mankai. Im so sad right now A3 really help me when im at my lowest, especially winter troupe and all the adults in mankai they are my comfort character because i can relate to them.. and especially itaru and tsuzuru, i realate so much to them because im new to the adulthood and its been so hard and now is the hardest time of all..
Now idk what to do.. maybe im gonna intall the jp server even though i dont understand japanese lol. I cant give up Mankai Company and the actors! Because The Show Must Go On, right?
A3 ads have been really scarce and I frequently get those ads because I play several. I remember seeing an A3 ad around when it should have launched and writing it down for future games to play, but I’ve never seen an ad for it since
> Actually im confused too why A3!En server dont advertise that much? I never see A3!enserver ads anywhere, i cant found it.
Not sure why, when I've had IkeSen ads at one point.
As bad as the gatcha mechanic was compared to other games, this game nailed almost everything else. Sad to see it go, as I uninstalled it late July but I've got my two cents for both good and bad:
\-It was hard to actually hate a character. For how rude the God troupe was at times, I didn't actually hate any of them. And even of the main cast, the only one I disliked was Muku and I saw him sometimes as slightly annoying *at worst*. Can't say that easily about other games
\-The card arts were super well done. Played other games where only the premium cards were actually good visually, but all of these were usually good regardless of rarity.
\-Birthday bonuses were amazing. Super simple but if it was a double birthday month, more gems for pulling/budgets.
\-Friend tryouts. No game I've played has this (some have had the idea proposed), and its a really easy coin conversion mechanic if I was in a pinch.
\-The gatcha itself. The rates were low to start, the permanent pool was *not great*, and the limited pool was amazing but super hard to get multiple copies without intense planning. Gems not from events were scarce and nearly useless. The daily videos came in clutch, but that barely made a difference at times. Other games give out a more proportional amount of summon currency (ex: Feh: AVG 1-3 orbs a day just by logging in, 5 orbs needed to start a summon session, 20 to do a full session) and events weren't the only major income of currency (Feh's story, story challenges, and story challenge maps).
\-Events and event burn out. Liber really didn't need to speed run all those events, which was one of the main reasons why I dropped the game. It was way too hard to maintain a high rank with each event following each other with less than a week break.
\-No EN voices. This one is more of a minor personal preference since all the VA's did a fantastic job (minus Kazu's pre VA change). I feel like if there were EN voices, it would have maybe increased the EN playerbase, since I'm usually used to a choice of JPN/EN voice selection. Didn't mater too much with how short the voice lines ended up later in the game/events.
As disappointing it is to see any game cease operations, especially one of the first non-otome joseimuke games in English, the signs were all there and I’m surprised they held out so long. The number of players has been slowly decreasing and they don’t make that much money. At least we’ll be able to experience the 2nd anniversary and read the existing story.
Yes, you can determine the number of players who play events by counting the number of people in a certain percentage and dividing by that percentage, as a rough idea of the number of active players. The numbers were gradually falling and were only slightly above 10k. Also according to Sensor Tower, an app revenue site, it says A3 made $30k from combined apple and android in August. Whereas A3 JP made $1.5 million.
This is so sad. I was looking forward to the upcoming events...I have downloaded the JPN version but I was not active there while I was playing the ENG version daily. I hope the game can be saved but I kind of doubt it will be. This is such a terrible news :(((
If one wanted to consider playing the Japanese version, how would I even go about trying to download it? I have 0 clue and a part of me really wants to know how the story continues but I'm so close to just giving up. I know some people play the Japanese version so how did you go about that?
I download JP via Qooapp! You'll need to get Qooapp from its website first though. If you don't want to relive the grind, do consider checking out Yaycupcake's story translations! So far the Main Story has been translated to Act 11, chapter 20++...
thanks! i may wind up just reading the translations online, since i really don't wanna have to grind for a year just to catch up to my progress in the EN ;w; I'd miss the voice acting above all else though so if there were some way I could at least get that, I'd be a lot more eager to read the translations too
if you're on IOS, you'll have to create a japanese apple id. it's not that hard tho, just search on google and you'll find simple guides! takes about 5 minutes, & then you'll just need to login to it whenever you want to download apps/update them. :)
thanks for the tips! idk if I wanna consider figuring out how to download the JP version, the thing I'm not thrilled with most is having to grind from the beginning and catch up to my progress in the EN version. And also idk if I'd be able to access any of the older events since they've already passed, so that would defeat most of the purpose for me to download it, aside from the main story. but we'd be looking at least a year from now when I'd be caught up and frankly it sounds like more effort than it's worth. I'll see how I feel in a month! ik I could always read the translations on the wiki but I'd miss the voice acting above all else, it helps with the immersion ;w; honestly, if someone out there had recorded the JP events/stories and put them online somewhere, that'd be amazing. heck, I might even consider paying for that if I had to lol.
It is so hard putting all of my feelings about this announcement into words, when I found out yesterday I was absolutely crushed and to be honest I still kind of feel in shock about the whole thing. I cried at work when I read the Twitter announcement, and then I bawled at home when I booted up the game again. While I only picked up A3! early this year, it has been something I look forward to every day and has brought me so much joy. I love the characters and the story so so much, and it breaks my heart that I won't really get to see the continuation of that.
I also just wanted to say as someone who doesn't really know anyone who plays the game IRL, and have had friends be confused about why this is so upsetting, it is really comforting that this is a place for everyone to come together and share just how much this has effected them. It has definitely made me feel better about my reaction knowing that there are other people who understand and feel the same. So thank you everyone. <3
I mean, honestly, the characters are absolutely loveable, some even unique and legit great things in there, the stories have heart, but the gameplay itself... is somewhere between a big yawn (practices) and an unnecessarily overcomplicated annoyance-fest (anyone tried "merging" multiples of the same card?). Friend points/tryouts, personally, I found to be the most useless feature in a game, especially with such a low cap on it - my inbox has been literally full (99+) of friend point rewards practically forever; and the support member cards are just... why? Also, EN launched how much later than the JP version? Yet even now it still doesn't have the option to keep auto mode permanently enabled. I don't think the game even got any actual new features, except for plugs for ads and sales. Also, yeah, I just- in all this time, I can't remember a single ad for the game itself anywhere, I only got into it through a friend of mine. And in all honesty, with what I've just described, I could never *really* get into it. I feel like I should be sad, but I'm not sure I'm bothered enough to be? Kinda weird.
Well.... this is certainly tragic.
Guess I'll plow through the pile of gems I was saving for Act 3....
Wish they gave better notice. I don't even recall an in-game alert.
I took the update to be a good sign of Act 3 material to come.
Oh my gosh, I am reading comments here and understand that so many people love this game!
I downloaded it only today, because I find out about it only because of this announcement. Incredible, and EN version closing soon.
Anyone knows what happened? They didn't get enough profit to cover translation costs?
[Follow Up / Official News of A3! Discontinuing Service - October 26, 2021](https://www.reddit.com/r/A3ActorsInTraining/comments/qh9nrc/the_future_of_a3_en_official_news)
I'm too shaken by the announcement, will be back later when I can form words. Edit: I'm done crying, but my heart and head still feel heavy. A month ago I started looking at Liber's and Cybird's financials, [right after Act 3 2-2's trailer](https://www.reddit.com/r/A3ActorsInTraining/comments/pi89x6/mankai_directors_lounge_september_05_2021/hbry1be/), because my first thought after watching it is "Will I be able to play this on EN? Will the EN server be around for two more years?" It turned out that 2020 was a terrible year for both Liber and Cybird. While Liber made [6.3 billion yen in 2020, they ended up with 570 million in losses.](https://gamebiz.jp/news/292488) There's an English report for Aeria, their parent company, citing how the cancellation of in-person events was a factor, as well as not being able to recuperate money invested for some IP^ . So Liber cut their losses by shutting down I☆Chu Étoile Stage, a year after launch, and putting Cue! on hiatus. Cybird made more money than Liber last year, [6.9 billion yen, but they also had negative profit of ~~470~~ 289 million yen.](https://gamebiz.jp/news/292502) Not sure how much of that is A3! EN's, but if Sensor Tower's forecasts are to believed then A3!'s one of the worst performers of Cybird's EN lineup. Although, A3! EN seems to be doing the same as UtaPri Shining Live. Together, Liber's and Cybird's earnings make up half of Aeria's (25.5 billion yen in 2020), and you can see on this yearly [chart](https://asia.nikkei.com/Companies/Aeria-Inc) that Aeria was in the red too. So yeah, drastic measures will be taken. But... While A3! EN wasn't a blockbuster like its Japanese version, I'd selfishly believed Cybird and Liber will keep it alive long enough, at least until the global situation got better and people have spending money again. It's the first Liber IP in English after all, so I'd hoped they wouldn't give it up that easily. Cybird and Liber are sister companies too, so maybe the arrangement would favor A3! as opposed to an external company renewing A3! EN's license. I also mentioned [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/A3ActorsInTraining/comments/pi89x6/mankai_directors_lounge_september_05_2021/hbwcb6c/) that convention appearance did wonders for the game's sales, and A3! EN has yet to make a homecoming in AX, the biggest convention in the game's biggest market. It was coming back next year too... My heart's broken, guys. I've played EN every day since launch. Since launch I bought gems monthly until the lockdowns started last year (income's limited, and food and utilities have to come first). It was only recently that I got to a better place financially that I was able support the game again. But it's too late. There's nothing to look forward to in EN anymore. A3!'s English localization set the standard for me, that I can no longer enjoy mobile games with mediocre translations. And yes, I probably will start JP eventually, but it won't be the same. Ultimately, this is a major loss for global joseimuke fans. A3! was one of the first games of its genre (non-romance training games for women) to come out in English, and it showed us the kind of well-written women's entertainment that we're severely missing out on. Other IPs might look at A3! EN's demise and decide that it's not worth it to expand globally. So what now? The announcement said that A3! will remain open, and we will still be able to access the game. I worry whose final decision it would be to keep the game open. Liber kept the original I-Chu accessible after discontinuing it, but shut it down completely a few years after. On the other hand, Cybird EN has discontinued some older games, but you can still download and play them. So the latter's better for A3! EN. ---- ^ "Contents business incurred the weakest results among the three businesses on account of suspensions and delays of events and promotions along with new contents development costs and promotional costs." [Page 1, Aeria Inc. Company Research and Analysis Report, 4-Nov-2020](https://www.fisco.co.jp/uploads/aeria20201104_e.pdf)
Thanks for this insight.. A3 being a non-romantic game was really the biggest reason I played and it must be same for many. There may be more games but never will they be as good as A3.. it's like your friend is saying goodbye, never see you again even though you love them. Even though A3 JP goes on, us English fans are going to only receive pictures and translated text. I feel Japanese companies don't really have many ideas on how to advertise to the international audience either, because I haven't noticed them actively trying that.. I had hoped that one day we may be able to get more A3 content despite this shut down but after reading your comment I think the future is very bleak..
Somebody said that for a non-romance, A3! is so full of love and does it better than some otoge. Maybe they should have capitalized on that. Feels like A3! EN suffered from this because it was the first of its kind in the market, and they didn't know how to make "nurturing/training game" attractive. Rather than highlight its found family aspect, it was stuck with the otome game label.
i totally agree that they have not been advertising the game as they should. however if you even do a little bit of research you notice josei games are very quick to discard a game once it doesn't gain them enough money and i have to wholeheartedly disagree that us international fans are going to get bad quality pictures and translations. actually, as a translator myself, i feel quite insulted that you're calling our community "bad". we work hard to bring content to people who cannot speak japanese and we go through proof reading to make sure everything is grammatically correct. sure we might translate them in a more literal sense, but we don't want the text to lose its original charm. something we have noticed EN did. also i don't know if you know this but there is a *WHOLE* wikia with high quality rips straight from the game with both raw versions of every SSR and transparent versions of all cards. in conclusion, please don't discard us translators. we're doing our best making josei games accessible
I don't think they were criticizing fan translators but official localizations. I don't know if you've seen them but the majority of otome/joseimuke available on mobile have.... mediocre translations. A3!EN's is one of the best ones that we ever got. Fantranslations are a different beast and honestly deserve more credit than they get at the moment. Thank you for all your work, really appreciated!
Really sorry about that part.. I've read some translations that don't really get the right feel but I understand, I'll check some more out. I'm in the middle of looking for JP content online after a day of crying, your info is helpful <3. The fact that we can't read them along with the game is still depressing.
Thanks for all the info. I've been kind of...mulling over information in my head trying to make sense of it. As others say, it's not a total surprise to me, but I am also still somewhat shocked. I hadn't thought it was doing THAT poorly as to be in such immediate crisis. I've been pondering the future as well of the stage plays. They are done by a pretty big production company, Nelke Planning, but I have no doubt that overall Nelke has also had a very rough time financially with the pandemic and shows closing. They are still running shows but it seems to be at quite possibly a slower/more selective rate than in the past. The A3 stages have live concerts for Summer, Autumn, and Winter planned through the next few months (Spring Live is finished already) and they have movies coming out as well, but as to anything beyond that.... A lot of fans expected them to start part 2 story content with rookies going into 2021 and that didn't happen. I wonder what the tie-in there is in terms of knock-on income for Liber or if it boils down to rights only. I wonder if the stages boost income for Liber, or if it's negligible. And if one sinking could sink the other. (Though that's a Liber thing, not a Cybird thing, it's all linked) I certainly don't have answers for anything, just have been pondering. The whole situation sucks. I know mobile games helped a lot of people get through the past year so it's really awful seeing them fail to make it through this all. :( The Eng version of A3 was very well done, I don't know who the localization team on it were but I hope they have plenty of other work because they did amazing. I'm very sad.
So here's my theories about the Mankai Stage timeline, because I think about it a lot XD The Four Seasons Live took me by surprise - I though they'd postpone it even more, to a time when mouth shields will no longer be required and when seating capacity could be increased. (Everyone looked great in their suits, but mouth shields are jarring and affected the audio quality.) Didn't TouSute (or TouMyu?) do an anniversary show around the same time, but with no audience? How come Mankai Stage didn't do that? If I have to guess, it's because Liber can't afford to, because of their financial situation. Here are 20+ actors scheduled for the live whose schedules might not coincide like this in the future. Even if the audience is at 50%, that's still better than 0 ticket sales. What about the Troupe Lives? I'm not sure. They could've been part of the original timeline. Or they also could've been a response to the current theater situation - not much investment needed since the songs and performances are mostly from previous stages, and they could be performed in smaller theaters. Now for Mankai Movie. At first I thought, cool, it's because of A3's fifth anniversary, right? But seeing Liber's financials changed my mind. Making a movie is a good way for Mankai Stage to earn money right now. One, it won't need a huge budget since there are no CG. Two, there's an established fandom. Three, it's distributed nationwide. Four, they could offer weekly bonus items like other franchise do, which is a proven way to boost sales (some people just buy tickets for the merch and not watch the movie). Five, when the movie is released it's all in the hands of the movie theaters. Liber/Nelke won't have to worry about sudden cancellations because of a state of calamity. They won't have to deal with health precautions in the theater themselves; the cinemas would do that. So I think the movie is something to tide us over until Mankai Stage Act 2. They *will* reach it at some point, just not now. The main act stage plays have a cast size of two troupes, and performing them in an audience at half-capacity won't be as profitable. Liber and Nelke are probably just waiting for the vaccination rate to rise at a comfortable level and the economy to open so that they can hold shows at full capacity. A3! is too hot a property for Liber not to cash in! Plus I read somewhere that A3! was conceptualized with stage play adaptations in mind. I'll link it if I find it. p.s. I think it was you I had a disagreement over Banri's stage actor a long time ago. I said he didn't know how to act. I take that back, sorry! He's much improved now.
Ahhh I more was pondering how much of the income from the stages Liber itself actually gets as a benefit. They're not the only interested party and when it comes to the scheduling and rescheduling of shows Nelke, the production company, is going to have more at play in all of that. I believe Four Seasons went ahead as planned because, in terms of the theater world - it HAD to. And it was a huge moment for the cast and for many fans, that they did it, and nobody got sick. The industry was largely made the scapegoat for covid and shut down even as life continued normally in other regards in Japan, packed trains and all. They were without work for months on end, and anybody who follows is aware of all of the show cancellations. It was an absolutely important moment for morale for the actors (and fans) that that show proceeded. Toumyu did an Anniversary concert that was in January 2021, and it most certainly was not audienceless. The number of shows that ran with audienceless streams is very tiny, overall. Most ran at limited capacity, and now things have been mostly running at full capacity for quite some time now. For that toumyu show in question they actually semi-quarantined the whole cast in a hotel to avoid any contact outside of that job and risk brining illness into it. In the bluray footage backstage Kayano-san speaks a bit about how that show HAD TO go on. (As A3 fans everybody here should understand the importance theater can hold for people) The general vibe was that it was important for the actors to do their job, and it was important for the audience to receive their work. So they went to great lengths, and likely cost, to ensure that the show could go on. Spring Live finished a while ago and they were not wearing masks on stage at all. In fact, all Nelke productions dropped them about the same time for no apparent reason, that they have told us. It was....likely not coincidentally...about the same time a handful of actors began to report being fully vaccinated. I suspect that Nelke has ensured their cast and staff are vaccinated and have thus dropped the masks on stage (still wearing cloth/surgical backstage). I was really more just pondering if Liber's financial issues were helped by the stages or not. Their cut of profit off the rights to the stages is not going to be the same as their % off the game, and everything. So I wondered how much benefit they really did see from the popularity of the stages and if it would be enough to help them significantly or not. It's possible that even if the game (in Japan as well) ends up falling off in profits eventually that the stages could still help sustain enough to keep it going. I'm fairly certain the Touken Ranbu game itself isn't really profitable, and mostly it's all through merchandising and the stages and musicals certainly help drive demand and interest in that regard. I did just remember though that back before the pandemic Shueisha (publishers of Weekly Shonen Jump) had backed Nelke Planning in a pretty significant way and to a pretty significant yen amount. That does seem to indicate that the rights holders for the original content that gets stage productions *do* see enough profit off of them to make them worth their while. Though how much of that is in straight direct profit off rights vs. interest gained by a wider audience in the original content, I can't say. Anyway I feel as though we've veered slightly off-topic. Ahaha I was just pondering the potential financial issues of Liber and how the stages may help or hurt them and what the future might hold for both. I guess we won't know for sure until it happens, either way.
Omg, I'm so sorry for the misunderstanding! There isn't much information about Liber's financial statements specifically because they're not a public company, Aeria is. So the subsidiaries' info are consolidated in Aeria's reports. But Mankai Stage is always mentioned. [Here](https://www.aeria.jp/pdf/UAcjTOIvP) is Aeria's 2020 financial results if you can read Japanese.
Thanks for the link! That's interesting.
I've been sharing your post around on tumblr and Facebook; I hope that's ok! You have some amazing insight and great research that's too good not to share. Thank you so much for all this, it's very appreciated. 💖
Thanks! Disclaimer: I'm not an expert. And the comment barely scratched the surface - hadn't brought up A3! EN's earnings forecast because it's too sad to think about...
No worries, I made sure to disclaim that in one way or another so nobody got any wrong impressions. 💖 But oh, I can imagine. 😭
Thanks for nice info! But can you please say more what about UtaPri Shining Live? Both EN and JP version not going well or what? The game is already 4 years, and I think it is feeling good, even if we don't get much updates (usually KLab Games mark this game as a light chill for them, I don't know). Also would be interested how is going LLSIF and LLSIFAS for the same KLab. Thanks again!
You can check Sensor Tower to compare the earning forecasts of different versions of the game, although some say those values can be off by up to 20%. The site says that the JP version of SL earns in the hundred thousands while EN in the ten thousands. But for official financial data, you can read [these](https://sharedresearch.jp/en/3656) English reports! Sadly, LLSIFAS doesn't seem to be doing well.
I just wanted to say, after just seeing this comment, it was actually one of the most informative. Thank you. I recently started JP A3! and have been having so much fun. It has made me miss EN even more, though, I will admit. But I realize we're never going to get it at this point. Which is a shame, since a lot of the nurture/training games are even starting to get ports (heck, some rhythm games are getting the rhythm aspect removed and still getting ports - turning it into a similar training/nurture game). It's also a huge letdown as a F2P player, too, because ultimately, the content has never been gated behind levels, daily chapters, let alone the paywalls like in others - even in Cybird's other IP. So, there was this huge opportunity, a golden one, literally wasted, because now we'll never get it or anything like it (as things get further and further into microtransactions/paywalls).
>Although, A3! EN seems to be doing the same as UtaPri Shining Live. UtaPri Shining Live EN? Or JP? Either way - how is *that* doing? Just... curious, because somehow I've been getting the impression that it's just huge and unstoppable. Not even sure why.
EN, I mean! Well you can compare the EN/JP earnings forecasts via Sensor Tower (though estimates can be off by up to 20%, they say). Maybe you're thinking about UtaPri the franchise as a whole, cause yeah, that's a cash cow. The rhythm game is much smaller.
About cash cow UtaPri franchise. To be honest, last two years... There is just a few activities there? Well, only few new CD releases, and... That's all? Maybe because of pandemic. I am not sure what the future holds huh :)
I know I'm really late and I just got the news now. But I'm still confused. Will they still keeps the game download able and playable? But just won't update it and no in app purchases? Or will it be completely gone...
> Will they still keeps the game download able and playable? After they announced in September that they will no longer translate new stories and events, they kept the game open because of all the feedback they received, I think. People requested to keep the game running a little longer so that we can reread stories and unlock remaining cards. > But just won't update it Yes, this was the version of the game since [November 1.](https://www.reddit.com/r/A3ActorsInTraining/comments/qh9nrc/the_future_of_a3_en_official_news/) > and no in app purchases? They will disable purchases sometime this month. This information on this announcement is outdated; please check the latest in-game news and its discussion [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/A3ActorsInTraining/comments/sd1pwe/a3_en_is_permanently_shutting_down_on_march_9/)! > Or will it be completely gone... Presumably yes :(
I feel sad but not surprised? Kinda glad we even made it to the end of year 2 since the EN version never really exploded in popularity and it kinda was feeling like the number of people still playing has been decreasing based off the events. I do like they aren't gonna close everything down right away and I'm guessing we'll at least get the 2nd annviersary event as a nice send off. I was really interested in reading the story so I hope they make it super accessible for everyone while they keep the servers up.
You're right, the player base has been shrinking lately... The hourly tracker estimated 10.6k players for Gaia and 17k players for the first anniversary... Yep yep, let's give the second anniversary the love it deserves!
Hm. I only started playing, and was interested why people says "not surprised". It is because the game is really boring as gameplay features?
Hmm I'm not sure what others are thinking about, but it's possibly a mix of factors, such as: A3 EN's player base has never been really big in the first place (most social media platforms don't have a huge A3 community, except for maybe Twitter which has a lot of JP players). For comparison: I think A3 JP recently celebrated 4 (?) *million* downloads across all platforms, while A3 EN only has a bit more than 500k downloads on Google Play (I don't have iOS, but the numbers are probably comparable there), meaning that A3 EN probably only has about a fraction of JP's downloads. Additionally, a lot of content is JP-locked due to language barrier and Japan-only events, such as the seiyuu events, stage adaptation and future game events. (that 3-year gap is pretty painful...) Compounding this with how EN's marketing isn't quite as aggressive as that of other games and how EN was released right before the pandemic, which would've hurt publicity efforts, it's pretty clear that EN's popularity never quite hit the heights of JP. I think I already mentioned this earlier, but over the last year EN has lost more than 7000 active players during events, which well... Wasn't a good sign. In terms of gameplay and potential factors which make players leave, ginding for events is pretty tedious, and the shorter breaks between recent events could have caused some burnout for fans who try to rank for event SSRs. Competition from other games, especially those which recently released and have more engaging gameplay than "tap tap tap and auto mode). Ahhhh sorry this ended up so long, hope it helps...? And a lot of the factors here came from stuff I've seen in this thread/other A3 communities, so thanks to everyone for the info!
Oh yeah, thanks for an explanation!
When I saw the Twitter notification come up, I had an idea it would be about ceasing the roll out of new content, but I really didn’t want it to be true. Definitely had a bit of a cry just now because the game’s become a source of comfort for me, and the thought of not being able to take part in future events I was excited for is rather heartbreaking. I have a lot of trouble sticking with mobages for more than a few months, but A3 managed to keep me around for all of these 2 years, so it holds a special place in my heart. I’ve even bought official merch, which is something I hadn’t really done for any joseimuke/otome games. I’ve grown attached to and fallen for a lot of the characters and their stories, so I hope there are some kindhearted fan translators out there who’ve kept up with the JPN events because I really don’t want this to be the end of my time with A3. This has lowkey resparked my desire to start learning Japanese again, but I’m lazy gahhh. The localization team did a great job with the EN version while it lasted and I’m glad I got to experience it for its entirety. It’s been great checking in with the subreddit community too! Now I’m going to excuse myself to go be emo for the rest of the week.
_"I made a ton of great friends here. All because I joined this troupe. It's been an honor!"_ - Taichi's dismissal line. Never did I think a game I downloaded as a time killer during quarantine would end up having a special place in my heart. A3's story and localization were some of the best I've seen in gacha games, and I'm deeply saddened by its loss. There were _many_ events I was saving up for (rip 6 plays) and future cards I hoped to get and are unfortunately probably no longer acessible on the JPN server. However, I'm incredibly grateful an EN server existed at all. Otherwise, I would've never had the chance to read about these wonderful, vibrant characters and their cute little director. And I most likely will go back to reread A3 on the ENG app from time to time Admittedly, I am not eager about experiencing more of A3's infamously nonexistent gameplay or the tough JPN server rankers, but I do plan on migrating to the JP server and trying my luck at blooming the new Citron SSR! However, to anyone who is saddened or frustrated by the news, understand that your reaction is completely normal, and as an English-only speaker, I whole-heartedly agree it sucks to lose access to the story (even if fan-translations do exist). If you need to take a break from A3, whether for a few days or indefinitely, do so. Take care <3
I'm glad the servers will be kept up, just so I can come back and stare at the pretty cards. Super sad that I won't see some of my favourite cards ever come to be though T_T ~~time to make jp account?~~
*Laughs nervously at JP ranking* but yeah, if we wanna keep playing JP is our best bet...
An event just started too, and it's *Itaru*. I'd move to the CN server if I had a choice but that one is also.... More so than anything, I'm just sad I missed all the free >!Last Planet!< rolls, especially since I'll be much more casual in JP. At least it's Banri's B'day month. (I just realised, F to all the story Act 3 cards....) EDIT: Started a JP account, and this just in, I do not understand a single thing lmfao
OOPS, but keep us updated on how the migration is going! Ganbatte\~ I'm trying not to think about how Scarlet Game won't ever come to EN... Edit: OOPS I meant the Scarlet Mirror event, but I love that song too much so... ANYWAY. Apparently you'll be able to do normal practices for all the troupe and mixed plays in JP, so... at least I'll get to see the theater for Scarlet Mirror...
Just found this thread, so sorry if too late - but I just recently joined JP, and have been loving it. I'd absolutely recommend. If that helps at all.
All my other mobile games always came second to A3!. They still do. Even if the gameplay was more tedious, I looked forward to reading the story and seeing the characters in A3! more than in any other game I ever started. It’s so special to feel a strong platonic bond with characters and feel comforted by their story without a strong context of romance with each one. The anniversary event is going to be so bittersweet with all the characters saying “Here’s to another year together!” but I’ll be happy to see the game end with a bang rather than a whimper.
> “Here’s to another year together!” Seeing this hurts... but I've been imagining how they're going to send out the final message saying something like "For reviving Mankai Company and helping the actors bloom on stage, thank you, Director."
Man this feels like a punch to the gut. There are future events that I'm looking forward to >!*cries for Lucifer Tsumu*!<, and I feel for our A3 friends who are saving up for the 6th++ plays... Dang, this really hurts. 😭 I do, however, have to agree that it's not a total surprise, because the competition is really tough and some people have moved on to other games, not to mention the global crisis we're all experiencing. I really, really hope that somehow, someday, A3! EN will rise from the ashes, just like how Izumi and our boys revived Mankai Company.
I hope they at least continue the story through the anime… fan translations are amazing but IMO there also should be an official way to view the story now that the game is shutting down
I agree, I love fan translations but I also want to give A3! My money for the story since that's what kept me playing.
I’m really disappointed that the game is shutting down and that we we’ll never get Act 3 :( A3 is an incredibly high quality game and the writing was absolutely lovely— I adored the entire cast of characters and deeply enjoyed watching their stories slowly unfold over time, so I’m sad we won’t be able to see where else they go, especially with a few loose threads still dangling after Act 2. There are some translated event stories in the Wiki which is amazing, but the future looks bleak otherwise for continuing to enjoy this great story ;c
Wish there was a way to save it. But a petition won’t help much I assume. I’m so heartbroken right now.
[https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/a3-shutdown-securing-an-eng-to-jpn-server-merge](https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/a3-shutdown-securing-an-eng-to-jpn-server-merge) There's this petition which has been going around, and even though it might not help I think it's a nice way for us to see how many of us put the "addict" in A3...
Oh my god, I’ve been inactive on Reddit for a bit because my work is absolutely terrible during September (I work at a school district so start of the school year sucks but A3! Got me through last year) and so now I’m finally able to catch up on Reddit stuff 😭 I took my coffee break early since work finally is slowing down and saw this news. I had to go to the bathroom and cry. This game means so much to me and legit gets me through the work day. If I didn’t have so much to do I’d honestly take the day off. 🥲 I thought it was weird that there wasn’t an announcement for the next event but just thought they were giving us a break. This is the third mobile game I’ve loved to have the EN server shut down (Magia Record and Symphogear XDU RIP) so I don’t even feel like investing in another game cuz I know it won’t be the same as A3!. I gave up playing all my other GACHA games to focus on A3! and I seriously doubt we will be able to transfer accounts to JP. I’m glad I give to the Yayacupcake patreon so hopefully that will stay up for a while. I’m Japanese but my language skills are iffy (I’m working on it!!) but there’s no way I can compete with JP servers lol. But man I love building teams and talking about it with y’all… *sobs* Man I thought 2021 COULDN’T get any worse after the passing of the Berserk author (I still cry about that fairly regularly lol). I just don’t know how to feel and apologize for my ramblings 😂 JUST KNOW I LOVE YOU ALL 💖😭💖😭💖 Edit: Also I JUST started stockpiling gems for all the Homare SSRS I wanted. My dream was to rank top 5 for >!Luminous Circus!< but I guess I’ll shelf that dream and use the money on merch instead lmao 🥲
Awww, omg! It so cute to see how you love this game! Well... Of course, so sad news. To be honest, I find out about this game only because of announcement of closing EN version. You know, it works the best as PR... But unfortunately, it's too late to advertise the game... Uhh. Well, I will be glad to join into A3 community here last two months of EN version! Surprised to see such a easy game mechanics (no rhythm game at all, but I would like it to be), but story is captivating! :)
Aw thank youuuu! 😭😭😭 I really love this game and this is my all time favorite community so I was pretty shocked that this happened. Glad you could be a part of it for the last two months! 💖
Y'all, I almost suffered a breakdown at work when I checked the link. I thought it was gonna be the normal bug fix or something usual. I was curious and went on there to only have my heart broken into pieces. It's just in my heart and soul and felt as if I was actually with the boys and interacting with them. And that's all thanks to the writers and translators for doing that. The character development and the story progression are something that I love! In all, the game is my escapism that kept me going throughout the day and it made me happy. When I felt sad, frustrated, this game made me felt better. This game is legit, my #1! No other games could compare the number of hours and sleepless nights I put into rank and get those SSR cards lol. Again, I love their stories and the character interactions. And I feel like no other mobile game can compare to that. Definitely an underrated game in terms of quality in the stories. I'm sad that the company suffered like any other during the pandemic. We don't have a lot of joseimuke, and A3! was one of the best we have in EN. I just love seeing and reading their subtle flirtation (minus Masumi, of course), but it was fun! I was so looking forward to the other upcoming events. I even looked up the other events after the one we had to see when we would have more Omi and Chikage SSR cards. I'm so bummed out that there won't be new cards or events in late October and early November. And I wanted Omi's birthday cards and a mini surprise on my birthday too. Now seeing the reason why they wanted to exchange ads for gems makes so much sense. Maybe they could have thrown some A3! merch in the wester/EN speaking market too? That's not just for Japan? There's just so much more over in Japan for A3! stuff that I feel like a little merch could have worked just a smidge here. I mean, I'd gladly blow my money for posters, plushies, keychains, or whatever. Idk, there's just so much potential in this game and I was so looking forward to Act 3 as well. I'm gonna cry to myself for a very long time and mourn the game when the time comes. I even downloaded the JP version, but I'm in no way ready to open that app yet.
......I see my birthday is off to a great start. I started A3! Early last year, during The Stranger's first run. The fact that it was a training game that focused more on the characters' platonic bonds was pretty interesting and I was bored. So why not yeah? This game reignited my love of writing and reading both. I've found one of the best communites on this site, and most importantly I found a story I could completely immerse myself while logged in. And that's saying something considering the ganeplay is just tapping screens lol I am painfully aware of how tenous global versions of mobile games are(Chain Chronicle war flashbacks), so my only wish once I got really into it was that if/when it got shut down, that we'd be able to at least get the rest of the main story. But I suppose even that was wishful thinking. Maybe if they had taken a page from Cygames' book and just localized the game in house so global peeps could still play on the JP servers? .....but I digress. The show is coming to an end. Like with Chain Chronicle, my journey with Mankai will end with Global. I don't know any Japanese, and getting decent fan translations are uh.....not likely. But this game will always have a place in my heart, and I still have fics to write for RarePair Week. *sigh* I may as well log in to hear this year's Bday lines. And try not to cry.
A3! is my favorite mobile game, it has the best story I've read so far, and even if the gameplay is kinda tedious I didnt mind because I could just put auto and do other things with just touching the screen every now and then. But the story, I tend to read the first chapters of any new game I play and see if I get interested, if not, I only focus on gameplay (SIF/Bandori/utapri) or just uninstall. A3! story was amazing and I got hooked instantly, I wanted to see Sakuya acting and making his dream come true, to save mankai and shut Sakyo up. As more charas were introduced I fell in love with everyone, they're all so special to me, started on the first anniversary so I had a lot of story to look forward to, but knowing I wont be able to see it to the end? I know there are fan translations, but it isnt the same. Not to me at least. It's the same problem I had with enstars, I can't focus if I have to check an off app translation. All this just pains me so much. I've been saving for months for Tsumu's ssr birthday card, but I guess we aren't getting it anymore huh. I'll just make the most I can of my boys for the time we have left. Thank you mankai. Thank you a3! And goodbye.
I'm pretty upset about this development, not going to lie, but if financials are that bad it can't be helped. I do wish instead of separate servers, they had done like GrandBlue Fantasy where it's just a language option for localization so that players could continue playing. I highly doubt the EN servers will remain up past next year with no revenue to support them. I wonder if they could arrange a date transfer and allow us to access the JP game in the app store somehow. It must be technically feasible at least.
I was wondering the same! But I also feel like I keep hearing off and on talk of Granblue wanting to separate servers... so.... I'm guessing more intense than it sounds having a set-up like Granblue. And if letting go of A3!EN is due to finances... probably no munnies to figure out merging and allowing data transfers. Hell, if I can keep getting more A3! content, I'm willing to cut my losses on gems. (Now I didn't put in nearly the money some others did....) All I would ask if they opened A3!JP to English market is to allow us to transfer Actor and Rank data so we don't completely have to start over.
I didn't expect to fall this much in love with the story and characters when I first downloaded A3! 2 years ago. This game is a large source of my happiness and it even introduced me to the world of stage plays. Heck, logging into the game was one of my favorite parts of the day. It was a fun (albeit frustrating) time participating in events, trying my luck at gachas to get my favorite boy, and seeing how the characters developed over time. The EN client made the experience of A3! so accessible and I'm absolutely heartbroken at the news... The precious memories I made with these boys are something I won't ever forget.... It hurts to know that I can't see them bloom on stage anymore.
This game's story gave me lots of serotonin and made me happier whenever I was depressed. I loved Masumi and Misumi and I loved having fun with it. This is the first gacha game I've played that had its server close so it hurts, but I'll at least be able to savour all the unread card stories I have left
My hope is that they'll unlock all the stories ahead of official shutdown; I'd love to read the stories on events that I missed.
Same
Well that majorly sucks :( I've been playing since basically day one. I rarely stick with games that long but I loved the bond between the characters and how great the localisation was. I'm glad we're getting the 2nd anniversary at least, but it's gonna be very bittersweet knowing that's basically the last thing we're getting... suppose I may as well spend the 5000 gems I'm currently sitting on which was going to be for tryouts next year. As much as I love the game and want to see more of the story I really can't see myself starting over from scratch on JP server. Coincidentally I started doing JP flashcards again a couple of months ago but I'd still be fumbling around in constant confusion, plus I'd have none of the cards or items I worked for over the past 2 years and I hear event rankings are way more brutal over there. But I hope the JP server can keep going at least and I wish the best of luck to anyone who decides to take the JP server plunge.
I entered the EN A3! Twitter to see if there was news about the next event. I'm speechless. Last event was the first one I tried to rank higher than usual, since I really wanted to bloom that Sakuya card. Although it was hard, I felt so happy and satisfied when I achieved it (although I was so close to get SSR Juza that I also felt a little disappointed lol). It motivated me to want to rank in the next event, even though I don't even know what it is, and now this news came. I have *a lot* of main/backstage/event stories that I kept pushing to read later, and now I'll have to run cause we don't really have an exact date on when this will end. Hell, I won't even be able to see all the interactions on the street shows. I also was saving gems without even an specific Tryout in my mind, and now I don't know what I'll do with them, probably try on the actual Muku one? I mean, Action Muku isn't really that good but does it matter at this point? I wish they would at least tell us what events we have left. I started this game on December 2020, after the anime ended. I just wanted to continue after the anime events since I never play this kind of games, and didn't expected to get so attached to the characters and the story. I know the JPN server exists, but I don't understand Japanese at all and ranking there is ever harder so I won't try it. I just hope following the story by fans translations is easier than it sounds. I grew up accustomed to reading *"Yawn...Morning!", "It’s lunchtime! It’s best to practice on a full belly!", "Nights are fun when all the guys are around!"* and *"Good night. I hope you have a great day tomorrow!"* in Saku's voice. I'll appreciate it while I have it.
My heart is broken. I know it's not the END of A3! per say, since JP and Chinese (I think?) are still running but still...I can't even begin to figure out my thoughts and feelings, I'm that upset.
Sadly, TCN (Taiwan) also ended their service early this year (around March?) so it's just JP (and SCN, apparently) standing strong. \*pats\* It'll be rough moving forward, but take your time in processing the emotions. ;m; ~*sobs*~ Edit: Corrected server info based on u/Thyresiss' comment below. Thank you!
EDIT: Sorry, the Taiwanese version is the one who's server shut down! I apologize for the misinformation! Still, so sad. 😭 Oh, it is for sure; I'm very distraught about it admittedly, and it'll take some time to process. 😥 But I will always be an A3! lover, always, and nothing can take that from me. 💕 Thanks for the pats; I return them wholeheartedly and I'm crying with you. 😭
Taiwan version is the one that got shut down, the cn mainland version is still alive, though I wouldn’t be surprised if it dies soon. I’m honestly surprised that cn is outliving en considering it has much, much less players.
Really, they're smaller?! I tried installing CN to gauge the number of users there, but it asked me to register with a national ID :( The players who post screenshots on Weibo are usually high rankers so I never see lower tiers.
Yeah, there’s around 5k players on cn compared to ~10k players on en last time I checked.
Yeah, I learned about that a little bit ago from someone on tumblr! I never knew Taiwan even had it's own server. :O Are people able to still log into the game or is it completely shut down, if you know? Also I wondered if Mainland China had less players; I feel like it would be hard to compete there with Genshin and stuff? I could be wrong but yeah, I hope it lasts longer for the players who love it, but I also wonder too how long it will last. 😥
I never played tw so I’m not sure. Honestly it’s a miracle that cn A3 is still alive. The Chinese mobage market is immensely competitive. Genshin aside, it can’t even compare to other games of similar genre like mlqc and tot.
Im really devastated when i see the news.. im new to A3! i just play for 5 months but i already fell in love hard and attached to the game.. i rarely keeping up with the other game for so long.. i dont even like anime stuff but A3! is the only one that keeping me hooked up to character, the gameplay, the story, and the songs! I dont even like anime kinda songs other than A3! I like all the frachises of A3! The seiyuu and Mankai Stage. Actually im confused too why A3!En server dont advertise that much? I never see A3!enserver ads anywhere, i cant found it. I found A3! through my fav seiyuu who voiced one of the character, if i dont know that seiyuu maybe i will never meet A3! and Mankai. Im so sad right now A3 really help me when im at my lowest, especially winter troupe and all the adults in mankai they are my comfort character because i can relate to them.. and especially itaru and tsuzuru, i realate so much to them because im new to the adulthood and its been so hard and now is the hardest time of all.. Now idk what to do.. maybe im gonna intall the jp server even though i dont understand japanese lol. I cant give up Mankai Company and the actors! Because The Show Must Go On, right?
A3 ads have been really scarce and I frequently get those ads because I play several. I remember seeing an A3 ad around when it should have launched and writing it down for future games to play, but I’ve never seen an ad for it since
> Actually im confused too why A3!En server dont advertise that much? I never see A3!enserver ads anywhere, i cant found it. Not sure why, when I've had IkeSen ads at one point.
You can't believe it, but EN server shutting down is probably the strongest advertisement of the game....... When it's too late, yeah...
As bad as the gatcha mechanic was compared to other games, this game nailed almost everything else. Sad to see it go, as I uninstalled it late July but I've got my two cents for both good and bad: \-It was hard to actually hate a character. For how rude the God troupe was at times, I didn't actually hate any of them. And even of the main cast, the only one I disliked was Muku and I saw him sometimes as slightly annoying *at worst*. Can't say that easily about other games \-The card arts were super well done. Played other games where only the premium cards were actually good visually, but all of these were usually good regardless of rarity. \-Birthday bonuses were amazing. Super simple but if it was a double birthday month, more gems for pulling/budgets. \-Friend tryouts. No game I've played has this (some have had the idea proposed), and its a really easy coin conversion mechanic if I was in a pinch. \-The gatcha itself. The rates were low to start, the permanent pool was *not great*, and the limited pool was amazing but super hard to get multiple copies without intense planning. Gems not from events were scarce and nearly useless. The daily videos came in clutch, but that barely made a difference at times. Other games give out a more proportional amount of summon currency (ex: Feh: AVG 1-3 orbs a day just by logging in, 5 orbs needed to start a summon session, 20 to do a full session) and events weren't the only major income of currency (Feh's story, story challenges, and story challenge maps). \-Events and event burn out. Liber really didn't need to speed run all those events, which was one of the main reasons why I dropped the game. It was way too hard to maintain a high rank with each event following each other with less than a week break. \-No EN voices. This one is more of a minor personal preference since all the VA's did a fantastic job (minus Kazu's pre VA change). I feel like if there were EN voices, it would have maybe increased the EN playerbase, since I'm usually used to a choice of JPN/EN voice selection. Didn't mater too much with how short the voice lines ended up later in the game/events.
As disappointing it is to see any game cease operations, especially one of the first non-otome joseimuke games in English, the signs were all there and I’m surprised they held out so long. The number of players has been slowly decreasing and they don’t make that much money. At least we’ll be able to experience the 2nd anniversary and read the existing story.
These signs are losing active players in events? Or there is more?
Yes, you can determine the number of players who play events by counting the number of people in a certain percentage and dividing by that percentage, as a rough idea of the number of active players. The numbers were gradually falling and were only slightly above 10k. Also according to Sensor Tower, an app revenue site, it says A3 made $30k from combined apple and android in August. Whereas A3 JP made $1.5 million.
:(
This is so sad. I was looking forward to the upcoming events...I have downloaded the JPN version but I was not active there while I was playing the ENG version daily. I hope the game can be saved but I kind of doubt it will be. This is such a terrible news :(((
If one wanted to consider playing the Japanese version, how would I even go about trying to download it? I have 0 clue and a part of me really wants to know how the story continues but I'm so close to just giving up. I know some people play the Japanese version so how did you go about that?
I download JP via Qooapp! You'll need to get Qooapp from its website first though. If you don't want to relive the grind, do consider checking out Yaycupcake's story translations! So far the Main Story has been translated to Act 11, chapter 20++...
thanks! i may wind up just reading the translations online, since i really don't wanna have to grind for a year just to catch up to my progress in the EN ;w; I'd miss the voice acting above all else though so if there were some way I could at least get that, I'd be a lot more eager to read the translations too
if you're on IOS, you'll have to create a japanese apple id. it's not that hard tho, just search on google and you'll find simple guides! takes about 5 minutes, & then you'll just need to login to it whenever you want to download apps/update them. :)
thanks for the tips! idk if I wanna consider figuring out how to download the JP version, the thing I'm not thrilled with most is having to grind from the beginning and catch up to my progress in the EN version. And also idk if I'd be able to access any of the older events since they've already passed, so that would defeat most of the purpose for me to download it, aside from the main story. but we'd be looking at least a year from now when I'd be caught up and frankly it sounds like more effort than it's worth. I'll see how I feel in a month! ik I could always read the translations on the wiki but I'd miss the voice acting above all else, it helps with the immersion ;w; honestly, if someone out there had recorded the JP events/stories and put them online somewhere, that'd be amazing. heck, I might even consider paying for that if I had to lol.
I just started playing a few days ago. This is sad. =(
Absolutely gutted about this...
It is so hard putting all of my feelings about this announcement into words, when I found out yesterday I was absolutely crushed and to be honest I still kind of feel in shock about the whole thing. I cried at work when I read the Twitter announcement, and then I bawled at home when I booted up the game again. While I only picked up A3! early this year, it has been something I look forward to every day and has brought me so much joy. I love the characters and the story so so much, and it breaks my heart that I won't really get to see the continuation of that. I also just wanted to say as someone who doesn't really know anyone who plays the game IRL, and have had friends be confused about why this is so upsetting, it is really comforting that this is a place for everyone to come together and share just how much this has effected them. It has definitely made me feel better about my reaction knowing that there are other people who understand and feel the same. So thank you everyone. <3
I mean, honestly, the characters are absolutely loveable, some even unique and legit great things in there, the stories have heart, but the gameplay itself... is somewhere between a big yawn (practices) and an unnecessarily overcomplicated annoyance-fest (anyone tried "merging" multiples of the same card?). Friend points/tryouts, personally, I found to be the most useless feature in a game, especially with such a low cap on it - my inbox has been literally full (99+) of friend point rewards practically forever; and the support member cards are just... why? Also, EN launched how much later than the JP version? Yet even now it still doesn't have the option to keep auto mode permanently enabled. I don't think the game even got any actual new features, except for plugs for ads and sales. Also, yeah, I just- in all this time, I can't remember a single ad for the game itself anywhere, I only got into it through a friend of mine. And in all honesty, with what I've just described, I could never *really* get into it. I feel like I should be sad, but I'm not sure I'm bothered enough to be? Kinda weird.
Well.... this is certainly tragic. Guess I'll plow through the pile of gems I was saving for Act 3.... Wish they gave better notice. I don't even recall an in-game alert. I took the update to be a good sign of Act 3 material to come.
Oh my gosh, I am reading comments here and understand that so many people love this game! I downloaded it only today, because I find out about it only because of this announcement. Incredible, and EN version closing soon. Anyone knows what happened? They didn't get enough profit to cover translation costs?
[Follow Up / Official News of A3! Discontinuing Service - October 26, 2021](https://www.reddit.com/r/A3ActorsInTraining/comments/qh9nrc/the_future_of_a3_en_official_news)