Topic: 'No Plans' to Release Xenoblade, Last Story, Pandora's Tower in North America

[NWR_Neal]

I don't know what more Nintendo fans could've done. This tells me that Nintendo of America could care less what the fans are clamoring for. Like it's been suggested above, NoA should at least release a limited edition of Xenoblades since Europe already localized it. Does Nintendo really care about its hardcore audience? I think people should definitely buy as much Nintendo merchandise used for a while...

Nintendo's "hardcore" audience didn't buy Sin & Punishment 2, Excitebots, Metroid: Other M, etc.

I was half-kidding with the "if you didn't buy Excitebots, you're part of the problem." That's honestly why we're not seeing those games here: Poor sales for previous "similar" games.

[MegaByte]

Too bad those games are nothing like these games.

[broodwars]

I don't know what more Nintendo fans could've done. This tells me that Nintendo of America could care less what the fans are clamoring for. Like it's been suggested above, NoA should at least release a limited edition of Xenoblades since Europe already localized it. Does Nintendo really care about its hardcore audience? I think people should definitely buy as much Nintendo merchandise used for a while...

Nintendo's "hardcore" audience didn't buy Sin & Punishment 2, Excitebots, Metroid: Other M, etc.

Sin & Punishment is a niche franchise within a genre even more niche than the JRPG (bullet hell side-scrolling shooters.  Seriously, this franchise is so niche it's a popular genre on the Xbox 360 in Japan!); no one knew Excitebots even existed until just before it came out; and Metroid Other M is an extremely troubled (but still decent) game.  And Nintendo of America never did figure out how to market to people beyond the casual Wii Fit audience. 

Like MegaByte said, these games are in an entirely different league than these Japanese Role-Playing Games.  One's a game that Nintendo was foolish to commission in the first place (though I appreciated it); another Nintendo was foolish not to do any PR or marketing on; and the last is a AAA Nintendo 1st party franchise title that Nintendo was foolish to put in the hands of a man who didn't care that he was killing his own fanbase.  Other M is probably the closest to these games in terms of production values, and it didn't fail because there wasn't a market for it, but because it just wasn't that good of a game (especially when it comes to the writing).

[Luigi Dude]

Nintendo's "hardcore" audience didn't buy Sin & Punishment 2, Excitebots, Metroid: Other M, etc.

The NPD had Metroid: Other M over 300,000 copies by the end of November 2010 in North America, and could easily be at 400k or even 500k in America by now.  The Japanese version of Xenoblade only sold around 150,000 copies.  Metroid: Other M is one of the reason Xenoblade should be released in America because it showed that North America is still Nintendo's largest market when it comes to traditional core games and could be the most successful territory for Xenoblade because of it.

Hell, Other M did much worse in Europe and yet NOE has no problem still releasing Xenoblade.  It all comes back to NOA being asshats who don't want to release anything that won't be a big hit unless they're forced by NCL to do so.

[ShyGuy]

How many PS3 games has Sony published then refused to release in North America?

[broodwars]

How many PS3 games has Sony published then refused to release in North America?

I can only think of one off the top of my head (there's surely more, just one notable one I can think of) in Demons Souls, a game they allowed Atlus to bring to North America instead.  It should be noted that Atlus turned the game into a big hit over here in NA, so much so that there's a spiritual sequel also on its way to North America this year.

I think a better question to ask, though, is "how many PS3 games has Sony published in Japan then refused to release in North America while there was a substantial software drought on the console?"  The easy answer to that one is "zero", an answer Nintendo can't give right now.  Even on the GameCube, Nintendo brought over Baten Kaitos Origins as a swan song for the platform, despite every shred of data showing that the game would not sell well (and indeed it didn't, unfortunately).

[Luigi Dude]

Even on the GameCube, Nintendo brought over Baten Kaitos Origins as a swan song for the platform, despite every shred of data showing that the game would not sell well (and indeed it didn't, unfortunately).

That's because during the Gamecube era, Tatsumi Kimishima was the president of NOA.  Baten Kaitos Origins being localized was one of the last decisions he made before Reggie became president.  So even though Reggie was the president of NOA when the game was released, the decision to bring the game over was Kimishima.

Basically a lot of the problems with NOA's terrible localization can be blamed on Reggie being a terrible president.  The previous presidents of NOA, Arakawa and Kimishima would actually push hard to try and get certain series in America.  Arakawa in particular sense he is the reason we got Pokemon over here since NCL originally thought the series wouldn't do well in America but Arakawa fought hard to convince NCL it could be a success in America as well.

Reggie on the other hand doesn't give a damn about what could be a success and instead only wants to release what he knows will be a success.  He's the perfect example of a no risk businessman who always goes the safest way to maximize profits.  The only time Reggie takes a risk is when Iwata orders him to, and sadly Xenoblade isn't one of those times.

(Unless it does well enough in Europe) 

[famicomplicated]

What annoys me is that even if they do release both The Last Story and Xenoblade, who is going to buy 2 epics RPG's one after the other?
Xenoblade should have been released months ago and The Last Story should have been an October release (before Skyward Sword).

Instead North America might get one of them up to a year after their initial release, and the other forever lost to the ether. (and modders/importers)

I'd almost prefer not to have known these games ever existed, just accepting that Nintendo have abandoned the Wii and have no games in pipeline and get on with counting down the days to Wii U. Instead US Wii owners are feeling rejected and pissed off.

If I was still living in the UK and as bitter I was during the SNES/N64 days, I might be saying things like "SUCK ON THEM APPLES AMERICA, NOW YOU KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE! THIS IS FOR MARIO RPG AND CHRONO TRIGGER - BWA HA HA HAAAAA"

But I'm not, so I won't. :

[Chocobo_Rider]

broodwars on S+P2: Agreed.
Luigi Dude on Other M: Strongly Agreed.
ShyGuy on Sony: Thank you.
famicomplicated on life: Strongly Disagreed.

[NWR_Neal]

Metroid: Other M did not meet their sales expectations, regardless of what data you throw out. There is a legitimate interview with Reggie (I believe Kotaku in December 2010) where he says that Other M underwhelmed them saleswise. Also, do you really think Xenoblade/The Last Story would outsell, or even come close to, a franchise game?

I brought up the other niche games because, the way I see it, that's the way NoA sees it. Those games are similar in the fact they're niche and aimed towards the "hardcore" market. S&P2 might be super niche, but that doesn't make these three RPGs any less niche.

[MegaByte]

Indeed, if NOA really sees the market as two simple groups, casual and hardcore, then they've got serious problems. Heck, Miyamoto even said that they were looking at Sin & Punishment 2 sales to see about a new Star Fox, and despite certain similarities, I don't even think that was wise. And just as bad, if they're making all decisions based on potential individual sales, that's also very short-sighted.

[broodwars]

Indeed, if NOA really sees the market as two simple groups, casual and hardcore, then they've got serious problems. Heck, Miyamoto even said that they were looking at Sin & Punishment 2 sales to see about a new Star Fox, and despite certain similarities, I don't even think that was wise. And just as bad, if they're making all decisions based on potential individual sales, that's also very short-sighted.

Not to mention, if they don't want to bring these games over because they're "hardcore" and Nintendo's done a poor job of marketing core games this generation, what makes them think the Wii U will be any different?  Why even bother trying to market it to the core when you've already decided that core games won't sell anymore?  It's not like the core audience is going to forget how crappy the core gamer experience was on the Wii in NA, especially when the new console keeps the "Wii" branding.

Like you said, if Nintendo only looks at this as a binary situation instead of a case-by-case basis, they are both short-sighted and foolish, and they deserve to fail hard next generation with the Wii U.

[Enner]

...
I brought up the other niche games because, the way I see it, that's the way NoA sees it. Those games are similar in the fact they're niche and aimed towards the "hardcore" market. S&P2 might be super niche, but that doesn't make these three RPGs any less niche.

From what I hear, it's two RPGs and an action/beat'em up game. Also, even the two RPGs seem to have a lot of action mechanics as well as strategy ones.

Also, I contest that racing games (like Excitebots), action games (like Metroid: Other M), and RPGs are not as popular to the point of being a niche market. On other systems (home and portable), games in such genres can sell some 100ks of units. Looking around some charts, it seems like a mistake that Excitebots was never released in Europe because that is where it would have its best chance at selling.

Argh, that is a frustrating assumed view for NoA to have. Sin & Punishment: Star Successor is certainly a niche genre as a shoot'em up. But the other games were either thrown out to die (Excitebots) or were unattractively weird to the point of instilling caution (Metroid: Other M). If selling less than 400k in any given territory qualifies as being a niche game/genre, then I can't argue that Xenoblade and etc. won't find  themselves there. It's just that... maybe if... ugh, I don't know what to think anymore.

[Kytim89]

Nintendo of America should be courteous enough to get Skyward Sword released here six months earlier since the Europeans are getting these game and not us.

[Adrock]

Skyward Sword isn't even out in Japan because they're still "fine tuning" the game. Nintendo of America couldn't release it early if they wanted to.

[Kytim89]

Skyward Sword isn't even out in Japan because they're still "fine tuning" the game. Nintendo of America couldn't release it early if they wanted to.

That was a bit of sarcasm on my part.

[Ymeegod]

It's just NoA with Reggie in charge.  I never did like that guy since he's posted a bunch on negative comments on RPG's in the past.

If you look at charts the US outsells the Japanese market in RPG's in more cases than it loses and there isn't a single case where the European market outsold the US.
During the GC era, Nintendo was commited to releasing just about everything the Japanese market had to offer like Cubivore and that damn Giant game but with the WII.

I will end up buying the WII U but like most people stated, it's not going be my primary system. 

[Kytim89]

There is still a chance that Nintendo HQ could take notice of the fans of north America wanting the games and over riding Reggie's decision. Has homebase said anything or is it up to NoA's call? Honestly, RPGs seem to do well in America, so I am assuming that Nintendo should just release the game in limited quantities in North America and if there is high demand then release more units.

[Kytim89]

There is still a chance that Nintendo HQ could take notice of the fans of north America wanting the games and over riding Reggie's decision. Has homebase said anything or is it up to NoA's call? Honestly, RPGs seem to do well in America, so I am assuming that Nintendo should just release the game in limited quantities in North America and if there is high demand then release more units.

[Adrock]

My understanding is that it's Nintendo of America's call unless Iwata tells them otherwise. They've been given a great deal of independence but they still answer to NCL.

JRPGs used to be kind of popular here back when FFVII burst onto the scene with all of its CG glory but besides Final Fantasy, popularity has died down tremendously. That's why series like Xenosaga were discontinued. There were supposed to be 3 more chapters but so much for that. Gameplay-wise, from what I've seen, The Last Story and Xenoblade seem to stray from the norm so Nintendo could take a chance. Unfortunately, they both look like straight JRPGs and would likely be lumped in with the rest and forgotten. It's a niche genre so odds are against those games being the next Mario or Zelda for Nintendo. I'd love to see Nintendo do a limited release or let another company publish the games. It's just not going to happen.

At this point, the best chance these games have is seeing a character from each game making it as part of the playable roster (not cameos) in Smash Bros 4 to give them some exposure and even that is a shot in the dark.

[leahsdad]

JRPGs used to be kind of popular here back when FFVII burst onto the scene with all of its CG glory but besides Final Fantasy, popularity has died down tremendously.

Aah, those were the days.  It was actually nice to own a PS/PS2 back then, before every game was either an FPS or an open world sandbox.  Well, except for the PS load times.  And the PS2, man, that was just a glut.  4 Xenosaga games,  2 FF's, 2 FF offshoots, Star Ocean, Grandia, 2 Kingdom Hearts games, Saga, Skies of Arcadia, and remember that stupid one with like 5 or 6 games where you were inside a computer?   I think Japan overdid it there.

[Enner]

Unless I'm mistaken, the Xenosaga series wrapped up at three when they looked at the momentum they had and realized they can't justify their seven game plan. Did they leave a story unfinished?

Oh, and the stupid one set inside a computer is .hack (Dot Hack). The game's setting is an MMORPG and the franchise has a 4 game series and a 3 game series on the PS2, a PC online game, and a PSP wrap up game.

[Adrock]

Xenosaga wrapped up the story arc of the first 3 games as planned but it did not wrap up the series. I believe KOS-MOS survived kind of and the next chapter was supposed to begin hundreds of years later. There were supposed to be 3, maybe 4 more games. Or something. It's been a while since I've read up on Xenosaga. All I know for certain was that Namco discontinued the series and we'll likely never see the rest of it.

[Luigi Dude]

Looks like Reggie showed NOE not to f*ck with him.

http://translate.google.fr/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=fr&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=fr&tl=en&u=http://www.boursier.com/actualites/news/jeux-video-un-depart-chez-nintendo-441097.html

The guy who started this whole mess, Mathieu Minel, by saying NOA didn't show Xenoblade at E3 because they had no plans to release it is now leaving the company.  He's been there for 12 years, but it just so happens over a week after he said something that caused North American Nintendo fans to riot against NOA, he end up leaving.

Not hard to see what happened here.  Reggie probably called up Iwata and told him someone who works for NOE is causing trouble for him by hurting NOA image.  Since someone like Iwata probably doesn't want internal drama like having NOA and NOE publicly fighting each other, he gets rid of the source of said trouble right away.

[TJ Spyke]

I will end up buying the WII U but like most people stated, it's not going be my primary system. 

Why not? Not only will it have the typical Nintendo games, but right now it looks like it will have third party support just as good as Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 have, so you get the best of both worlds.