Contact Kazunori & PD Directly - Old School Style

[VBR]

Anyone remember back in the olden days, when the world was in black & white, & it was all fields as far as the eye could see? If you do, you probably remember those ancient archaic papery things that people used to send one another (took days or weeks to arrive), I think they used to call them...err...letters!

How's about this for an idea; we contact Kazunori San & PD directly, by writing them letters. Wanna tell them how awesome GT6 is? Write them a letter. Wanna tell them how you think the game could be improved? Write them a letter. You get the idea.

Their addresses are posted up on the www.polyphony.co.jp/english website, & I have copied them out below. So, let's go old school & snail mail Kazunori with our feedback! Perhaps they will pay more attention to a well thought out & written letter (see here), & I'm sure at least some of their 110 employees can read other languages as well as Japanese.



Address 1: (no longer in use?)

Yamatane Fukagawa Building No.1 2F
1-1-1 Echujima, Koto-ku
Tokyo
135-0044


Address 2:

Fukuoka SRP Center Building 5F
2-1-22 Momochihama, Sawara-ku
Fukuoka City
814-0001


Address:

Ueno TG Building 8F
6-16-22 Ueno, Taito-ku
Tokyo
110-0005


👍

 

[Ameer67]

Did you write anything to them so far?

 

[Brend]

97% of this sub-forum aren't able to provide 'a well thought out & written letter' as most resort to needless and thoughtless insults/criticism.

 

[starknight97]

97% of this sub-forum aren't able to provide 'a well thought out & written letter' as most resort to needless and thoughtless insults/criticism.

Even the ones that could or one ones that are bothered to read a guide on how to will be ignored because 1. PD probably have already got the message on X feature is crap please improve it.
2. I seen on another thread where one of us e-mailed them and the reply was 'were not accepting any suggestions' so it will be a waste of time and money to mail them because the reply will be the same or it will be just chucked in whatever the Japanese translation of a 'rubbish bin' is.

 

[86Debris86]

I only hope people send just letters!

It's been a little extreme at times on some of these forums.

 

[GattigerPlay]

97% of this sub-forum aren't able to provide 'a well thought out & written letter' as most resort to needless and thoughtless insults/criticism.

Let's take the 3% left and let's demand to them the "well thought out & written letter" by taking all the posts that were quoted and voted by the max number of people.. good things and bad things.. then, we should all write to them the same letter

 

[shepzki]

No doubt they will just iron off the stamps and re-use them.

 

[86Debris86]

No doubt they will just iron off the stamps and re-use them.

 

[starknight97]

No doubt they will just iron off the stamps and re-use them.

 

[Ameer67]

Here's the GT Community's checklist:

- Post Complaints on GTP ✔
- Threaten to not buy GT7 ✔
- Start one week boycott ✔
- Attempt to send letters
- Start rioting outside PD offices with guns
- Hold Kaz hostage (really desperate level)

 

[nascarfan1400]

Here's the GT Community's checklist:

- Post Complaints on GTP ✔
- Threaten to not buy GT7 ✔
- Start one week boycott ✔
- Attempt to send letters
- Start rioting outside PD offices with guns
- Hold Kaz hostage (really desperate level)

Quit posting this everywhere!

 

[starknight97]

There might be someone who will send a letter who is from GTP so I think you can tick that off.

 

[nascarfan1400]

*cocks rifle

There might be someone who will send a letter who is from GTP so I think you can tick that off. Now who is gonna participate in the protest? I won't because I can't speak Japanese.

* Nihoaw, 🤬!

 

[Squanto]

Here's the GT Community's checklist:

- Post Complaints on GTP ✔
- Threaten to not buy GT7 ✔
- Start one week boycott ✔
- Attempt to send letters
- Start rioting outside PD offices with guns
- Hold Kaz hostage (really desperate level)

Only six levels to prestige?

 

[VBR]

Did you write anything to them so far?

Not yet, I just came up with the idea.

97% of this sub-forum aren't able to provide 'a well thought out & written letter' as most resort to needless and thoughtless insults/criticism.

And they're exactly the kind of people who shouldn't be sending letters anyway, so it's all good.

 

[ildd]

I'll type one up next weekend. But before I do, how much does it cost to mail? Surely I can't just put a couple "Forever" stamps on the envelope, can I?

 

[jimipitbull]

I'm going to send Kaz pictures of forza liveries, and explain why I think it's a bad feature to add.

 

[GBO Possum]

I'll type one up next weekend. But before I do, how much does it cost to mail? Surely I can't just put a couple "Forever" stamps on the envelope, can I?

If you are mailing just one or two sheets, it'll probably be covered by a Global Forever stamp. To be safe, you will want to take it to the Post Office where they'll weigh it and tell you the cost. A buck or two should cover it. Printing double sided reduces the weight.

Services such as requiring tracking or a signature will add to the cost, but will also emphasize to the recipient that you regard delivery as important.

EDIT:- if I get time today, I'll provide some suggestions on how to increase the chances that your submissions will successfully navigate through to the target people in PD who may be able to authorize action upon your submissions. I have been a Product Manager and I have had business dealings with Japanese companies.

 

[Th3Juggernaut]

I'll take a stab at it

 

[VBR]

if I get time today, I'll provide some suggestions on how to increase the chances that your submissions will successfully navigate through to the target people in PD who may be able to authorize action upon your submissions.

It might be a good idea to get a list together of the names of people in PD who work in different departments, they can be gathered from the credits in Gran Turismo I believe. For instance, suggestions about AI could be sent to the guys responsible for AI, rather than just to PD in general.

 

[GBO Possum]

It might be a good idea to get a list together of the names of people in PD who work in different departments, they can be gathered from the credits in Gran Turismo I believe. For instance, suggestions about AI could be sent to the guys responsible for AI, rather than just to PD in general.

In my opinion, it would work better to contact their Product Management function. The technical people responsible for implementation of specific functionality typically don't have the authority for overall direction.

It is Product Management's responsibility to provide that guidance, and they'll be the ones who collect user input as part of that process.

 

[SomePlayaDude]

So.. which one should i send to?

Because i ain't writing down three letters (Copy past IDGA*bleep*), buying some envelope, driving to my local post office, buying 10 dollars worth of stamps, pay for International service (and tax), pay more for priority, pay even more to put a seal to ensure importance, pay even more for breaking the line, pay more to send to THREE addresses, pay for 2 miles worth of fuel (IMPORTANT), pay more for Pocari Sweat break.

And it goes on...

 

[Hanswurst2k]

Address 1:

Yamatane Fukagawa Building No.1 2F
1-1-1 Echujima, Koto-ku
Tokyo
135-0044

👍

Please be aware that this address isn't valid anymore. I already sent them a letter and it got back to me with a note "recipient unknown"

I did send it to the second address afterwards but so far haven't received an answer.

 

[VBR]

Just when we thought it was gonna be as simple as sending off a letter...

 

[GBO Possum]

Address 2 is more likely to be current. https://www.gtplanet.net/tag/fukuoka/

Some googling is probably required to be more certain.

Just when we thought it was gonna be as simple as sending off a letter...

Establishing the correct address is one of the last steps in the process. The actual writing part is the time-consuming step. To have a chance of success, the writing must be carefully crafted.

I can help guide you there. Meanwhile, get your notes together.

 

[VBR]

Thanks for the offer, but I'm ok with writing.

 

[GBO Possum]

These are suggestions for communicating with, or making recommendations to Polyphony Digital.

PD is a Japanese company and I have worked both outside and inside Japanese companies. They are different.

Unless your communication is very brief, the structure should consist of a cover letter followed by the actual content in one or more attachments.

PD will be unlikely to rely on having some random employee performing translations and thus interrupting their valuable work. They will have a translation department or will have an outside service do this for them. Either way, there is a cost involved. And there will be prioritization of translation tasks.

For this reason, you must briefly and clearly communicate the purpose of your communication in such a way as to ensure that it gets the priority you'd like it to have. That's one of the goals of the cover letter. Get them hooked on the idea of translating your attachments, not just the cover letter.

The next goal is to make sure that someone says, "Hey, boss, here's this package from a customer, and I think you should read it." If that doesn't happen, your effort is wasted. This process of recommendation has to happen enough so that it finds its way up the line and onto a meeting agenda. You are not there walking the halls of PD with your proposals in hand, so you must recruit someone to do this for you.

Here is how to get there.

The key rule is to make things easy for the guys at PD. Easy to translate, easy to read, easy to understand, easy to appreciate, easy to relate to, easy to push up the line, easy to communicate. Make yourself easy to like!

Since this stuff must be translated, you must keep your language simple. Use short sentences, avoiding complex constructions. Avoid colloquialisms. Avoid abbreviations. Use a spelling and grammar checker. Use punctuation and capitalization carefully.

Ensure that your tone is respectful, positive and constructive. Remember you are dealing with a different culture, where deference to seniority and authority is expected. Remember that you are asking them to do something for you. Don't assume that because Gran Turismo is sold into your culture that PD suddenly takes on the norms of your ways of communication. Be persuasive.

If you are submitting product suggestions, provide a high level view of the suggestion, explain why it's important and structure the detailed explanation carefully.

At all stages in your writing, make it easy for the reader to want to keep reading.

Offer your email address as a way to obtain an electronic version of your work and for followup. Don’t assume that if you receive no response then you are being ignored. Be patient.

Thanks for the offer, but I'm ok with writing.

Then you'll be able to ignore all of the above.

 

[Squanto]

Maybe it's helpful to know this ( http://www.paulsenglish.jp/ ) is in the same building?
They should understand proper English and can maybe confirm the address is right?

 

[Vagabond]

97% of this sub-forum aren't able to provide 'a well thought out & written letter' as most resort to needless and thoughtless insults/criticism.

I think what you mean is 97% of posts are either to complain about or to attempt to point out other people's flaws, mistakes or generally make assumptions based on the premise that they are right and everyone else is wrong. Yours fits nicely into this category and serves no purpose other than to be critical of something for the sake of it.

 

[86Debris86]

No matter how well anyone could write a letter, it's worth taking on board GBO's advice. Or indeed the advice of anyone else who's had experience with Japanese customs. As I'm sure we are all aware; Japanese culture is very different to western culture and it'd be a shame if they were accidentally offended by someone who only had the best intentions with their letter.

Edit: I mean PD obviously. Not the nation.