Posts : 1149 Join date : 2010-05-06 Location : Citadel Station
Subject: Silent Hill HD Collection Fri Aug 19, 2011 4:33 pm
It's likely by now that if you are intereted, you have already heard about the Silent Hill HD collection. Konami is re-releasing Silent Hill 2 and 3 for 360 and PS3 up-rezed for HD television with 5.1 surround sound and the biggest change, all new voice acting.
Konami recently released a sample of the the new voice acting at Gamescom:
For thoes not in the know, here is a side-by-side comparison:
As you can see, even the guy presenting in that video knows that the new voices are iffy at best. Now, I could go on about how the change in James voice form weak and ineffectual to deep and gravely fundementally alters his character, but ultimately what that comes down to is a matter of taste that can be debated.
What I came here to do is implore anyone that was thinking about purchasing this to not support this product.
This isn't a case of nerdrage where I'm angry at Konami for changing something about a game I love, even though I still own the original. No, it's because Konami still owes Sillent Hill 2's protagonist Jame Sunderland's voice actor Guy Cihi residuals. While it is likely that Guy Cihi is in no way unique in that regard, what sets him apart is that he not only provided Jame's voice, but they also used his mocapping and likeness when designing Jame's character. Guy Cihi is James, and Konami is trying desperately to dodge paying him, and I at least cannot support that.
For more information, see this (admittedly overly dramatic) video.
SoldierG65434-2 H-H-Hacker
Posts : 1149 Join date : 2010-05-06 Location : Citadel Station
Subject: Re: Silent Hill HD Collection Fri Mar 23, 2012 4:33 pm
A quick status updated for those still considering. For Silent Hill 2 the original voices are included, along with the rerecording. However, this was only possible because Guy Chi and the rest signed over the rights to their performances and any claim to unpaid royalties. Silent Hill 3 only had rerecording.