Topic: Hoping For Rain: Is Operation Rainfall a Failure or is There Still Hope?

[Mop it up]

I already figured that GameStop had some hand in XenoBlade, because otherwise I don't know why Nintendo would make it exclusive to that retailer. Have they ever done something like this before?

[broodwars]

Well, one thing's for sure: when Xenoblade flops for Gamestop, they certainly aren't going to pay Nintendo to bring The Last Story over.  If that rumor is true, it looks like I'll be importing The Last Story as well.

[TJ Spyke]

Have they ever done something like this before?

Do you mean Nintendo having a game exclusive to one retailer? Chibi-Robo: Park Patrol for DS was exclusive to Walmart.

[Kytim89]

I would bet that Gamestop is not just going to offer the game by itself. I look for them to market the **** out of this game by offering t-shirts, hats, posters and a bundle with the classic controller.

[broodwars]

I would bet that Gamestop is not just going to offer the game by itself. I look for them to market the **** out of this game by offering t-shirts, hats, posters and a bundle with the classic controller.

And you, sir, are insane if you think there's a chance in hell of any of that happening.  It's a niche release on the Wii, two great tastes that have not gone great together with retail sales in NA.  I doubt there will even be a pre-order bonus, considering Gamestop probably expects that first run to be the only run.  It's a shame because I do want the game to do well, but if it does it'll be on the game's own merits because neither Nintendo nor Gamestop want to put any more money into this than is absolutely necessary.

[bustin98]

Pre-orders on Nintendo's site begin Dec 19.

http://store.nintendo.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Xenoblade?storeId=10001

[Kytim89]

I would bet that Gamestop is not just going to offer the game by itself. I look for them to market the **** out of this game by offering t-shirts, hats, posters and a bundle with the classic controller.

And you, sir, are insane if you think there's a chance in hell of any of that happening.  It's a niche release on the Wii, two great tastes that have not gone great together with retail sales in NA.  I doubt there will even be a pre-order bonus, considering Gamestop probably expects that first run to be the only run.  It's a shame because I do want the game to do well, but if it does it'll be on the game's own merits because neither Nintendo nor Gamestop want to put any more money into this than is absolutely necessary.

What do you think the chances of Operation Rainfall titles being those hard to find and very expensive games to get in the future?

[broodwars]

What do you think the chances of Operation Rainfall titles being those hard to find and very expensive games to get in the future?

I think the NA version of Xenoblade will be very hard to find 6 months after the game releases.  Up until that point, though, I think you'll find it marked down to $40 or less because very few people bought it.  But once the copies are bought, you just won't find them at retail.  It's hard to say if they would be expensive to acquire after that point on the internet, though.  The PAL version doesn't seem to be very limited, and it's not hard to mod your Wii to play it.

[Chozo Ghost]

Everyone should preorder not just one copy, but two copies. Preorder one from Gamestop and the other directly from Nintendo. This will boost sales and help get the game to where we want it to be.

[nickmitch]

Technically it wouldn't boost sales unless you pre-ordered in full.  Pre-orders =/= sales.

What do you think the chances of Operation Rainfall titles being those hard to find and very expensive games to get in the future?

I think the NA version of Xenoblade will be very hard to find 6 months after the game releases.  Up until that point, though, I think you'll find it marked down to $40 or less because very few people bought it.  But once the copies are bought, you just won't find them at retail.  It's hard to say if they would be expensive to acquire after that point on the internet, though.  The PAL version doesn't seem to be very limited, and it's not hard to mod your Wii to play it.

I don't think it'll be heavily marked down since GameStop is the only brick and mortar retailer that's gonna carry it. The supply will still be very limited, but I think the game will probably sell out completely of the stock Nintendo wanted to print within 6 months. Nintendo is gonna use preorders to project sales, but they're gonna do it VERY conservatively.

[ejamer]

Everyone should preorder not just one copy, but two copies. Preorder one from Gamestop and the other directly from Nintendo. This will boost sales and help get the game to where we want it to be.

Or not.


NoA only looks at the bottom line and will consider this game a failure unless it sells (despite releasing it a year late, in a limited run, with limited publicity, and after months of repeated denials caused many interested gamers to import). But you know what? Doubling the sales isn't going to be enough to make Xenoblade look like a success anyway. NoA only counts in the millions, and unless Xenoblade sells to that standard then it's a niche release that they don't want to be involved with.


Buy the game. Enjoy the game. Don't make the mistake of thinking that a double-dip here will say anything to NoA.




That said, it's still worth thinking about your preorder. Some people are talking about ordering from Nintendo directly because they don't like some of the business policies at GameStop, but if (and that's a big IF) the rumor mentioned earlier about GameStop pushing for the Xenoblade release has any truth then preordering from GameStop is a better idea if you want your dollars to count towards bringing over The Last Story or Pandora's Tower.

[Mop it up]

I'm ordering from Nintendo because I'm pretty sure that it's going to be tax-free since they don't have physical stores in my state, and I don't like buying new games from GameStop for the risk of getting an opened copy.

[TJ Spyke]

I'm ordering from Nintendo because I'm pretty sure that it's going to be tax-free since they don't have physical stores in my state, and I don't like buying new games from GameStop for the risk of getting an opened copy.

That doesn't happen unless you see them give you an opened copy, and usually they only do that if it's the last copy.

[nickmitch]

Everyone should preorder not just one copy, but two copies. Preorder one from Gamestop and the other directly from Nintendo. This will boost sales and help get the game to where we want it to be.

Or not.


NoA only looks at the bottom line and will consider this game a failure unless it sells (despite releasing it a year late, in a limited run, with limited publicity, and after months of repeated denials caused many interested gamers to import). But you know what? Doubling the sales isn't going to be enough to make Xenoblade look like a success anyway. NoA only counts in the millions, and unless Xenoblade sells to that standard then it's a niche release that they don't want to be involved with.


Buy the game. Enjoy the game. Don't make the mistake of thinking that a double-dip here will say anything to NoA.

NOA knows that Xenoblade isn't going to be a million seller. A limited release to one retailer simply hedges their risk. The game can still be a success without bringing in millions in revenue, which very few games do anyway. The bar for success with Xenoblade is gonna be lower than say that of Zelda.

[Kytim89]

Here is the box art for the north American version of Xenoblade:
 

 

[broodwars]

Here is the box art for the north American version of Xenoblade:

Wow, there it is, indeed.   

[Kytim89]

Here is the box art for the north American version of Xenoblade:

Wow, there it is, indeed.   

http://wii.ign.com/articles/121/1214670p1.html
 
Technical difficulties on my end helped to faulter on that one. Sorry.

[broodwars]

Here is the box art for the north American version of Xenoblade:

Wow, there it is, indeed.   

http://wii.ign.com/articles/121/1214670p1.html
 

Wow, Nintendo really went all-out on that cover, considering it's the exact same as the PAL version.  It's not my favorite piece of Xenoblade artwork, but it's decent enough.

[Mop it up]

Actually, the word "Chronicles" is a lot smaller on the NA box, for whatever reason. Other than that, it looks the same.

[Kytim89]

I am curious to see what Pandora's Tower box art looks like outside Japan.

[broodwars]

Actually, the word "Chronicles" is a lot smaller on the NA box, for whatever reason. Other than that, it looks the same.

*looks at his PAL copy's cover.*

Huh.  Yeah, you're right.  On the PAL version, the word "Chronicles" uses the same font, size, and color as the word "Xenoblade" and is actually merged a bit with the word.  There's also a thin line between the two words in the NoA version.  It's odd that NoA wouldn't just replicate the NoE cover when they're using the same artwork.  I wonder if NoE wouldn't give them the font. Either that, or someone at NoA just doesn't care.

[Kytim89]

Why is Gamestop the only retailer offering this game and why are they involved?

[Shaymin]

"Do you like this hat? It's made of MONEY!"

(later)

"Want to stay for dinner? I believe we're having MONEY!"

[TJ Spyke]

Why is Gamestop the only retailer offering this game and why are they involved?

Multiple threads say that the rumor is that GameStop approached Nintendo about localizing it and even offered to pay for some of the costs.

[Kytim89]

But why would Gamestop give a **** about a niche Wii game? I wonder if Gamestop will goad Nintendo into releasing Last Story and Pandora's Tower?