Valve Want ALL the Japanese Games on Steam

Speaking with Siliconera, Marvelous AQL producer Esteban Jose Salazar, whose company handles the Western publication of titles such as Half-Minute Hero, explained how the game found its way to Steam:

As I understand it, Valve got in touch with us! They’re keen on giving their users great options on their service and they contacted several Japanese publishers. […] Valve has made it so easy for us to bring the game to Steam with their constant support and amazing publishing tools. Running development of a game in two languages (English and Japanese) can cause major headaches, but Valve was always prompt and professional in helping us out.

The latest iteration of Half-Minute Hero, fully titled Half-Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax Ultimate Boy, is scheduled to arrive on Steam's shores on September 27th, as Gameranx have previously reported. Salazar is confident that the Steam platform will give the game a needed shot in the arm after performing poorly on PSP and XBLA.

[Steam] gives us instant visibility without having to worry about an ad campaign and shelf space. In addition, we can be flexible on the price. While we might have to charge more for a disc-based version, with digital distribution we can offer the game at a price that users consider fair.

Via Siliconera.