ShiftyLook was a noble effort. Namco Bandai Games launched the program in late 2011, an initiative to refresh and update Namco properties with webcomics, cartoons, and more creative efforts, setting the stage for eventual video game resurrections.
They have announced their eventual shutdown, offering the final dates their content can be accessed.
- BRAVOMAN: Binja Bash!, the game available on the iOS App Store, Google Play, and Amazon, will end in-app purchases on March 16th, and will no longer be available for download after March 30th.
- Namco High, the browser-based dating sim, can be purchased until March 28th on Crunchyroll, and will be online until June 30th.
- ShiftyLook.com will no longer update after March 20th, with the forums closing the same day. The servers will shut down on September 30th.
The comics will end with the following stories.
- Bravoman #300
- Wonder Momo #200
- Katamari #150
- Galaga #100
- Valkyrie #100
- Klonoa #65
- Tower of Babel #26
- Dig Dug Vol. 2 #18
This won’t be the end of all productions stemming from ShiftyLook. The Wonder Momo video game will continue on track to be released, and the anime will remain on Crunchyroll and YouTube. UDON will continue releasing collections, and toys and apparel will stay available.
One of the major contributors, Matt Moylan, has written to Bleeding Cool with his thoughts.
“Looking at why Shiftylook failed though, there are a lot of reasons. In my opinion they spent far too much money and effort trying to SEEM successful rather than working to actually BE successful. Even though they were just starting out, they set up enormous booths at conventions with live music, arcade machines, free t-shirts etc. None of which seemed to promote what the company actually did – make webcomics. It also always felt like they were following some pre-made guide to how a company grows, constantly moving on to bigger things despite not yet really succeeding at the smaller things. I guess that is the danger of being the subsidiary of a large company like Bandai with near unlimited resources.
Besides that they didn’t seemed to have a monetization plan until very recently. They did finally come out with some minor games near the end of 2013, but I felt neither of them was very well thought out. The Bravoman mobile app to put it lightly was not very good, and add to that a freemium “pay to play” model which is never a fan-pleaser even for a good game. Their second game, Namco High, was a Japanese-style visual novel. It’s a game genre that is barely known in the west. Plus it seemed to be banking largely on Andrew Hussie’s mega-popular Homestuck characters as guest stars to bring in an audience, which kind of begs the question of why does it feature the Shiftylook characters at all? There is still the upcoming Wonder Momo game from WayForward, which actually seems like a perfect match, but too late to save the comics.”
While ShiftyLook may be wrapping up, the world is better for having a bit more Bravoman in it.
Chad Bonin
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