Is this an official Sierra release?

[doomlazer]

Anyone know if this is an official release?

https://www.ebay.fr/itm/203625136856?

[Kawa]

I don't see anything about it on MobyGames. Front art and screenshots on the box seem to match the original release. I don't think could just get a CD jewel case where the grabby thing in the middle that goes through the CD's hole is completely missing, with what looks like the Soft-World logo in its place, if you weren't at least half legit.

I do know that the actual game likely isn't in Japanese at all.

As far as I'm concerned, the jury's out.

[doomlazer]

We know PQ2 was released in Japan, but where there any other Japanese games officially released by Sierra? Obviously, a CD release of an AGI game seams stupid.

[Kawa]

This is not a CD release though. The spindle hole grabby thing in the jewel case is missing because there's floppy disks in there.

[doomlazer]

Edit: so not real I guess

[OmerMor]

These are the Japanese SCI games that I know of:

• Castle of Dr. Brain (PC-98)
• King's Quest 5 (FM-Towns)
• King's Quest 5 (PC-98)
• Lighthouse (PC)
• Mixed-Up Mother Goose (FM-Towns)
• Phantasmagoria 2 (PC)
• Police Quest 2 (PC-98)
• Quest for Glory 1 (PC-98)
• Space Quest 4 (PC-98)

[OmerMor]

So Soft World is a distributor from Taiwan, so not Japanese but Chinese.

Here you can find pictures for many other adventure games with Chinese packages. I don't believe any of them were translated - only their package.

[doomlazer]

A Contra-style insert and the disks are labeled #2 & #3; fake, right?

Were any of the other Japanese releases modified with the animae hair? I mean, have significant changes?

[doomlazer]

Threep tells me that the only official SCI translations were German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Russian and Japanese. There were a bunch of Polish Larry releases, I believe.

[Kawa]

A Contra-style insert and the disks are labeled #2 & #3; fake, right?

You missed the third disk labelled #1 in the other pic. Also, that's Ikari Warriors, and having some advertisements for other things from the same company (Soft World, not Sierra) in the packaging is not that strange.

[doomlazer]

Unofficial though, right?

[Kawa]

Like I said, it must've been a pretty big operation to have CD jewel cases with the company logo where the spindle grabby things should go. That's a custom molding thing! They have that, what seems like a passable print quality for the inserts, custom sleeves for the floppies, and they apparently distributed Ikari Warriors among probably other games, too.

So like I concluded in my first reply, I can't tell.

[Threepwang]

The vendor offers an impressive collection of Asian games, including many Sierra games! There are some very recognizable official Japanese versions, but two other games IBM PC catch my eye: Police Quest 2 and Hoyle Classic Card Games, also with the Soft-World logo. 

Police Quest 2: The Vengeance - Taiwanais Big Jewel Box Edition IBM PC 5,25:
 https://www.ebay.fr/itm/204766916359?itmmeta=01HY5J4DZ7596GCH986965KP13&hash=item2fad0f2f07:g:hD8AAOSwAg5mLMXy

Hoyle Classic Card Games - Asian Big Box Edition PC 5,25:
 https://www.ebay.fr/itm/204259339396?itmmeta=01HY5JM0VXZ2TB96BXTFVJ70PD&hash=item2f8ece2c84:g:D2YAAOSwk4Bj~fGi

[Threepwang]

And finally:

Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon - Asian Big Jewel Box Edition PC 5,25:
https://www.ebay.fr/itm/203267844503?itmmeta=01HY5TVX5FFB0NVSC7EW59RYC0&hash=item2f53b52997:g:g1MAAOSwAbtgGtYb

Space Quest III: The Pirates Pestulon - Taiwanese Box Edition IBM PC 5,25:
https://www.ebay.fr/itm/204766912372?itmmeta=01HY5TT0VQ9MXQNTJCFB4J06NP&hash=item2fad0f1f74:g:InsAAOSwJ6hmLMQU

Quest for Glory I - Taiwanais Big Box Edition PC DOS 5,25:
https://www.ebay.fr/itm/204766916359?itmmeta=01HY5J4DZ7596GCH986965KP13&hash=item2fad0f2f07:g:hD8AAOSwAg5mLMXy

[doomlazer]

If only those weren't so expensive. It would be fun to see what's on those disks.