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Xenoblade Chronicles Not Coming to North America

by Neal Ronaghan - June 23, 2011, 10:56 am EDT
Total comments: 75 Source: http://www.nolife-tv.com/

Nintendo of Europe wanted to show it at E3, but Nintendo of America didn't want to show products they won't sell.

Europe will be getting a special Classic Controller alongside the release of Xenoblade Chronicles, and North America will likely not get the game at all, according to Mathieu Minel, marketing manager of Nintendo France, who appeared on Nolife, a French television station for "geeks, nerds, and otakus."

He told the station that Nintendo of Europe wanted to show Xenoblade Chronicles at E3 2011, but Nintendo of America wouldn't let them because they didn't want to show products they aren't planning to sell.

If you take that comment at face value, that means the Nintendo of America is not planning to bring Xenoblade Chronicles to North America. It's not a full death knell for Xenoblade Chronicles in the region, but it's certainly not looking good.

Talkback

Ian SaneJune 23, 2011

If NOA was going to release it, they would have shown it at E3.  That is damn obvious.

broodwarsJune 23, 2011

And with that, Nintendo of America has officially endorsed piracy.  Considering they have literally nothing releasing on Wii outside of Skyward Sword I would even consider buying in the coming year, it seems idiotic to not fill in some software gaps with a game that's already being translated into English by NoE.

CericJune 23, 2011

And the Sibling Rivalry continues between NoA and NoE.  Can we know agree that NoA is the biggest Idiots of the three main Nintendo branches this gen?

broodwarsJune 23, 2011

Quote from: Ceric

And the Sibling Rivalry continues between NoA and NoE.  Can we know agree that NoA is the biggest Idiots of the three main Nintendo branches this gen?

Yeah, it's not even close now.  Europe may take ages to release certain games, but at least they get them.

BlackNMild2k1June 23, 2011

So how do I install the homebrew channel again?

CericJune 23, 2011

Quote from: broodwars

Quote from: Ceric

And the Sibling Rivalry continues between NoA and NoE.  Can we know agree that NoA is the biggest Idiots of the three main Nintendo branches this gen?

Yeah, it's not even close now.  Europe may take ages to release certain games, but at least they get them.

Not to mention their compulsive need to play who has the sillier name.

NeoStar9XJune 23, 2011

Quote from: broodwars

And with that, Nintendo of America has officially endorsed piracy.  Considering they have literally nothing releasing on Wii outside of Skyward Sword I would even consider buying in the coming year, it seems idiotic to not fill in some software gaps with a game that's already being translated into English by NoE.

This is a key thing I think. I had planned on modding my Wii and importing the game from GAME in the UK but now I'm wondering why I should even bother importing it. Clearly Nintendo doesn't care if they get my money (granted indirectly since it's really going to the store first) since I'm in America when it comes to this game. Why should I care in return? Legality aside this is an real question that is going through my mind. It looks like the last Wii game I'm buying at the moment is Skyward Sword. Nothing else now interest me. I don't care about Wii Play Motion or a Kirby game that looks like New Super Mario Bros. Wii reskinned. Nothing else is left.

NoE is already doing the work. Why this isn't being released makes no damn sense at all. NoA is just a massive waste of space.

AdrockJune 23, 2011

You're all overreacting. *reads headline again* Wait, what?! *punches someone*

MannyponJune 23, 2011

Wouldn't the dolphin emulator run this when its released?  I'm thinking of just ordering it from europe when its released and then seeing how good it runs on the emu.  If it works, it'll be in hd as a bonus lol.

King of TwitchJune 23, 2011

Between the 3DS and the Wii we're getting the full N64 experience here.

KDR_11kJune 23, 2011

Quote from: broodwars

Europe may take ages to release certain games, but at least they get them.

Lolno.

MiyamotoJune 23, 2011

Nice to hear someone at Nintendo speaking frank and honestly for once.

EnnerJune 23, 2011

Sad news.
Why is a video game company not giving me video games to buy? Actually, I can figure out the answer to that. Still, this is a real bummer.

UltimatePartyBearJune 23, 2011

Is Tingle in the game or something?  'Cause I don't see any reason for this.

Chocobo_RiderJune 23, 2011

"It's not a full death knell for Xenoblade Chronicles in the region, but it's certainly not looking good."

Title: "Xenoblade Chronicles Not Coming to North America"


.... just sayin'.

KisakiProjectJune 23, 2011

Calling for Reggie's resignation.  NOW!...importing from Europe.  Homebrew or dolphin.  They are publisher Itadaki street?  And not this.  Somebody should get fired.

Kytim89June 23, 2011

This is a bad sign for Last Story and Pandora's Tower as well. What Nintendo fans need to do is petition NOA to get this game over to America. We vote with our money when it comes to Nintendo products, so everyone should start raising hell with them and they might be motivated too release the game here in America.

UltimatePartyBearJune 23, 2011

What's really frustrating about this is that Nintendo just said they wanted to try to get core gamers back with the Wii U, and here NoA is willfully ignoring an opportunity to release a game core gamers might like.  Probably three opportunities, like Kytim89 said.

Is NoA too busy giving their critics ammunition to give us games?  I don't guess I'll give up all hope unless NoA confirms the story, but I doubt they'll actually do anything more than quietly hope everyone forgets about it.

Kytim89June 23, 2011

What we need to do is start buying used copies of Nintendo's games. This way they will learn that if their fan base is not pleased with their business policies then they will have to change. Like I said, we vote with our money and we have a right to good games released in other regions. It s situations like this that make me pissed to be a Nintendo fan. They know that dry spell has hit the Wii and are stupid for not releasing this game in the states. Shame on you Nintendo. Shame indeed.

BlackNMild2k1June 23, 2011

You should start an online petition.

CericJune 23, 2011

Quote from: BlackNMild2k1

You should start an online petition.

Wait... Isn't that the Forum?
I'll bet their is one already started somewhere.

Edit:
Found this story with a quick search for Last Story

Found this one for Xenoblade

Found this one for Pandora's Tower

BlackNMild2k1June 23, 2011

I was joking. Online petitions don't work since no one pays attention to them.

CericJune 23, 2011

Quote from: BlackNMild2k1

I was joking. Online petitions don't work since no one pays attention to them.

*Shrug* and if this whole Forum and Lurkers started buying games used only or Pirating them would that really make a difference?

We are only ~9,800 members optimistically.

Mop it upJune 23, 2011

How is this not confirmation that the game isn't coming to North America? Sure, it wasn't a public statement, but the game is no longer on the NA release list and was not shown at E3. What more do you need to hear?

BlackNMild2k1June 23, 2011

optimistically that 9,800 forumers/lurkers also forum/lurk on other forums too, so I'm sure that practice could spread quickly. But nowhere near enough to really effect Nintendo's bottom line.

Most people wouldn't be able to keep it up anyway (buying used) as lots of us will want those club points and some of us like being the only owner as we collect/back catalog.

Once you start pirating though.... that sounds like entering the darkness to never be heard from again.
It's a line you cross and once you're on the other side, you aren't likely to come back. But that's also not a topic I want to get into either.

Quote from: Mop

How is this not confirmation that the game isn't coming to North America? Sure, it wasn't a public statement, but the game is no longer on the NA release list and was not shown at E3. What more do you need to hear?

that it's not coming to N.A.

Ian SaneJune 23, 2011

Quote:

What Nintendo fans need to do is petition NOA to get this game over to America. We vote with our money when it comes to Nintendo products, so everyone should start raising hell with them and they might be motivated too release the game here in America.


What are we going to do?  Boycott Skyward Sword?  Because it ain't like there is anything else on the Wii to "vote with our wallet" for.

NOA wants the big hits.  They're looking at the guy who buys Wii Fit and Mario Kart and only the BIG first party titles.  That's the guy who will buy Zelda and will make it a hit and the big hit is all they want.  Xenoblade is a niche title.  NOA doesn't give two fucks about niche titles.  So they piss off a few geeks.  Doesn't matter because the Wii is all about big mainstream hits and Xenoblade's target market already left the Wii long ago.

Yes, this is not good PR but neither is leaving the Wii to rot in its last year with jack shit being released.  Neither is having virtually no third party support or having long droughts in the release schedule which were common occurances throughout the Wii's life.  The Wii didn't make Nintendo rich from OUR money.  It made it's money from people who buy one game a year.  The people who pay attention to videogame news and know that NOA has games with English translations that they're refusing to release aren't Nintendo customers anymore.  They bought a PS3 or Xbox 360 and gave up on the Wii being their main system.  They'll buy Zelda, so that's all NOA is going to bother giving them.  The core gamer who only owns a Wii has become rare.

The Wii's whole business model involved offering a subpar product to people who didn't know better.  You know better so NOA doesn't care about you.

I hope this doesn't also come true with Pandora's Tower. That game looks really interesting to me, and as it seems to take a lot from the Zelda series, I cannot see why Nintendo wouldn't want to release it in the states, where the Zelda series sell fairly well. Unless they are afraid it will give Skyward competition.

NeoStar9XJune 23, 2011

Quote from: UltimatePartyBear

What's really frustrating about this is that Nintendo just said they wanted to try to get core gamers back with the Wii U, and here NoA is willfully ignoring an opportunity to release a game core gamers might like.  Probably three opportunities, like Kytim89 said.

Is NoA too busy giving their critics ammunition to give us games?  I don't guess I'll give up all hope unless NoA confirms the story, but I doubt they'll actually do anything more than quietly hope everyone forgets about it.

This whole situation is part of why I don't believe anything coming from Nintendo regarding the Wii U. Why my excitement since the announcement is completely gone and why I currently have no desire to pick it up. They aren't changing now and there is no reason at all to believe they'll change in the future based on these actions. Why refuse to support one of their biggest markets with a IP that has done well in the past makes no sense. Especially since NoE has done the bulk of the work already. The only thing I can do is act with my wallet.

Which puts me in a tough spot. I like what they are doing hand held wise. I can only guess my course of action is to ignore them (if things don't change) in the console market while treating their hand held market with a different outlook. At least until they start screwing up there. Skyward Sword is the last game it seems and I might have to bow out after that. NoA is a huge problem.

Quote from: BlackNMild2k1

So how do I install the homebrew channel again?

Your SD card is ready.

LeontJune 23, 2011

Now, I know  I'm just gonna piss a lot of Americans, sorry for that. But I am just to happy that the game is finally coming to Europe!!! And Now I only need the Last story and my life as a Nintendo Wii gamer is at peace and I am happy.


But they did say that the reason that they don't sell so many RPG's in America is cos they dont sell as well as in Europe... I dont say it makes it ok, just saying.

Retro DeckadesJune 23, 2011

Quote from: Ian

The core gamer who only owns a Wii has become rare.

Sweet, I am a rarity.

Mop it upJune 23, 2011

Quote from: OneTwenty

Quote from: Ian

The core gamer who only owns a Wii has become rare.

Sweet, I am a rarity.

We should start a club. Who's with us?

Kytim89June 23, 2011

Quote from: OneTwenty

Quote from: Ian

The core gamer who only owns a Wii has become rare.

Sweet, I am a rarity.


Me too. I feel as though I should be put into one of those nature reserves where I can play all the harcore Wii games that I want and have everyone else pay money to watch me play games and occasionally call me over to their car where they would feed and pet me (preferably by women, of course ;) ).

Chocobo_RiderJune 23, 2011

Quote from: Mop

Quote from: OneTwenty

Quote from: Ian

The core gamer who only owns a Wii has become rare.

Sweet, I am a rarity.

We should start a club. Who's with us?

I'm in too, of course.  Been gaming since Atari and the Wii is my favorite console of all tiiiiiiiiime.  Dig it.

Kytim89June 23, 2011

Quote from: Mop

Quote from: OneTwenty

Quote from: Ian

The core gamer who only owns a Wii has become rare.

Sweet, I am a rarity.

We should start a club. Who's with us?


What would be kinda nice is we founded a Harcore Wii Gamers Club and picked a game for each week and all of did a sort of review or some kind of opionated piece about it before moving onto the next week. For example, we all play No More Heroes 2 and give our thoughts about the game.

BeautifulShyJune 24, 2011

Quote from: NinSage

Quote from: Mop

Quote from: OneTwenty

Quote from: Ian

The core gamer who only owns a Wii has become rare.

Sweet, I am a rarity.

We should start a club. Who's with us?

I'm in too, of course.  Been gaming since Atari and the Wii is my favorite console of all tiiiiiiiiime.  Dig it.

Well I of course am in.

GoldenPhoenixJune 24, 2011

It is ridiculous how Nintendo of America has been holding these games back from NA launches, heck they will be translated, so it shouldn't cost them much beyond the advertising and physical production of the games. Right now the Wii's lineup is sparse with not much variety when it comes to future games, right now we have Zelda: Skyward Swords as really the only big single player adventure on the horizon, everything else are minor platformers or party games from Nintendo. There is no excuse for Xenoblade to NOT come out here, not to mention Last Story which will likely be localized for Europe. If Nintendo wants to improve their "core" image with the Wii U, they better start with Wii. It is a crime that two wonderful games like these two won't see the light of day here because of NOA. Games like Disaster and Fatal Frame 4, I can kind of understand, but these two make no sense.

I try to understand some of Nintendo's choices they make, and do give them leeway from time to time, but in this instance people should be upset.

Killer_Man_JaroTom Malina, Associate Editor (Europe)June 24, 2011

Quote from: Maxi

Quote from: NinSage

Quote from: Mop

Quote from: OneTwenty

Quote from: Ian

The core gamer who only owns a Wii has become rare.

Sweet, I am a rarity.

We should start a club. Who's with us?

I'm in too, of course.  Been gaming since Atari and the Wii is my favorite console of all tiiiiiiiiime.  Dig it.

Well I of course am in.

Also in. Unless playing games on my PC as well counts as being multi-platform. But still secondarily to my Wii.

Anyway, tough break to all you guys (and gals) in the US who were looking forward to this game. It really makes no sense - if NoE is doing all the legwork with the localisation, the expense to NoA would be next to nothing. If they were to be realistic and print 50,000-100,000 copies, it would be a profitable venture. Well, if it makes you feel any better, I could vividly describe every single detail of the game when I get my copy, to the point where you feel like you're playing it. :)

Chocobo_RiderJune 24, 2011

Quote from: Kytim89

Quote from: Mop

Quote from: OneTwenty

Quote from: Ian

The core gamer who only owns a Wii has become rare.

Sweet, I am a rarity.

We should start a club. Who's with us?


What would be kinda nice is we founded a Harcore Wii Gamers Club and picked a game for each week and all of did a sort of review or some kind of opionated piece about it before moving onto the next week. For example, we all play No More Heroes 2 and give our thoughts about the game.

You know there is already a place where things like that happen ... hmmm I knew I had a link somewhere.  Now where did I put it?  *cough*signature*cough*

Luigi DudeJune 24, 2011

According to Neo Gaf (who sometimes do have insider info on these things) the rumor of why this game isn't coming to North America is because Sin and Punishment: Star Successor bombed.  Apparently, even though the Virtual Console release of Sin and Punishment did well in North America, NOA was never happy with the fact Iwata allowed a sequel to be made because of it.  They had no problem releasing an $11 N64 downloadable game that cost nothing, but didn't want to release a full priced sequel in America that would actually cost some money to release because they saw no market for the game.

Basically, NCL had to end up forcing NOA to release the Sin and Punishment sequel in America because NCL really thought the game would do well.  But since the game ended up bombing, Reggie is basically doing an "I told you so" to Iwata right now to weasel his way out of releasing Xenoblade in America by telling him that he was right about Sin and Punishment having no market here and that Xenoblade also has no market.

So basically Reggie is a total asshole that's angry Iwata forced him to release a game he didn't want to release and is now making himself feel better by blocking Xenoblade.  I happen to believe this rumor because it's the only thing that actually explains why NCL would allow a game this expensive to be made and then allow an expensive English localization only to then not release it in their largest market.  This would also explain why Xenoblade was still listed on NOA's release list as Monando even just a few months ago and only disapeared shortly after NOE announced a release.  The game was probably being localized with both America and Europe in mind when NCL approved it, but NOA found a way to finally weasel their way out of it just a few months ago.

Of course if the game manages to do well in Europe, then there might be some hope for America.  Since the American and Europian markets are very similar for successful Nintendo games, and the only thing that's keeping it from coming to America is Reggie saying there's no appeal in the West, if the game does well in Europe, that would destroy Reggie's only argument.  If Iwata see good sales in Europe, he's going to call up Reggie and tell him that if this game is doing well in Europe, then there's no excuse why it can't do well in America and then he'll force Reggie and NOA to release it like he had to force them to release Sin and Punishment: Star Successor.

So yeah, NOE better put a lot of effort into marketing this game so it's a big hit in Europe, because right now that's the only thing will give North America any hope of a release.

leahsdadJune 24, 2011

Quote:

There is no excuse for Xenoblade to NOT come out here, not to mention Last Story which will likely be localized for Europe. If Nintendo wants to improve their "core" image with the Wii U, they better start with Wii. It is a crime that two wonderful games like these two won't see the light of day here because of NOA

Okay, now don't get me wrong.  I LOVE jrpgs.  LOVE them.

But, I can think of a few good reasons why NOA would not release Xenoblade, and why NOE is kinda being foolish.  Jrpgs on consoles, and especially on the Wii, without exception, pretty much bomb.  Since the big craze around FF7 and FF8, sales have been dropping.  I haven't found exact figures for FF13, but I've read about less than 6 million?  Hell, that's less than what DKC Returns sold, and it was probably a whole lot cheaper to make that than FF13. 

And if you look at JRPG's on the Wii so far, like Arc Rise Fantasia, that bombed hugely (though it sucked, let's admit). 

And here's a larger issue:  are people who play JRPG's "core gamers?"  In my mind, 15 year old kids yelling homophobic slurs on Xbox Live aren't going to look at a JRPG and say "Wow, cool, my main character is a guy who's skinny like a girl, no facial hair, and long spikey hair like a Dragon Ball Z reject.  Awesome!"  Those kids are not going to be picking up a JRPG, I think.  And is Nintendo going after those snot nosed brats with the Wii U?  I think so.  Did you see the Ghost Recon online demo?

And was I the only one who thought all the Xeno games were kinda crappy, not just the ones subtitled in German, but also the original PS1 done in that weird isometric-ey fake 3d with 2d sprites?


leahsdadJune 24, 2011

Quote:

Basically, NCL had to end up forcing NOA to release the Sin and Punishment sequel in America because NCL really thought the game would do well.

Okay, if true, I can't believe Iwata thought Sin and Pun 2 would sell well in America (and for argument's sake, let's just say that sells well means 1-2 million sold during the product's lifetime).  That game is brilliant, a great value at $40 when I bought it (thought it probably costs less now), it is Treasure at its best. 

But it is so hard, and so obtuse, expecting a game like that to sell well is like expecting the West Wing to attract more viewers that American Idol, or like expecting the Decembrists to sell more records than Katy Perry.

Luigi DudeJune 24, 2011

Quote from: leahsdad

Quote:

Basically, NCL had to end up forcing NOA to release the Sin and Punishment sequel in America because NCL really thought the game would do well.

Okay, if true, I can't believe Iwata thought Sin and Pun 2 would sell well in America (and for argument's sake, let's just say that sells well means 1-2 million sold during the product's lifetime).  That game is brilliant, a great value at $40 when I bought it (thought it probably costs less now), it is Treasure at its best. 

Well on the Virtual Console, the N64 Sin and Punishment sold somewhere over 100k.  Iwata probably thought that most of the people who bought the N64 game on the Virtual Console would buy the full price retail sequel.  And since it's a retail game, even more people would buy it this time as well since everyone would have access to it.  My guess is Iwata probably expected the game to get a few hundred thousand copies from the West and probably didn't quite understand that the type of game it was, combined with who it appeals to is why the Virtual Console release did so well, but a full $50 retail release wouldn't do to hot.

Of course that still doesn't excuse NOA for not releasing an RPG like Xenoblade, because a game in a completely different genre didn't do well.  Plus the thing is, Dragon Quest IV and V on the DS when SquareEnix published them did terrible, with both selling below 50K.  But last year, when NOA published Dragon Quest IX and actually gave it a huge marketing campaign, it managed to sell several hundred thousand copies and was considered a success in North America which is why NOA is now responsible for publishing all Dragon Quest related titles over here.

This shows that if NOA really wanted to, they could make something like Xenoblade a success.  Especially since the game already plays more like a Western RPG then a traditional JRPG anyway which would make advertising Xenoblade much easier then advertising Dragon Quest was.

GoldenPhoenixJune 24, 2011

Quote from: leahsdad

Quote:

There is no excuse for Xenoblade to NOT come out here, not to mention Last Story which will likely be localized for Europe. If Nintendo wants to improve their "core" image with the Wii U, they better start with Wii. It is a crime that two wonderful games like these two won't see the light of day here because of NOA

Okay, now don't get me wrong.  I LOVE jrpgs.  LOVE them.

But, I can think of a few good reasons why NOA would not release Xenoblade, and why NOE is kinda being foolish.  Jrpgs on consoles, and especially on the Wii, without exception, pretty much bomb.  Since the big craze around FF7 and FF8, sales have been dropping.  I haven't found exact figures for FF13, but I've read about less than 6 million?  Hell, that's less than what DKC Returns sold, and it was probably a whole lot cheaper to make that than FF13. 

And if you look at JRPG's on the Wii so far, like Arc Rise Fantasia, that bombed hugely (though it sucked, let's admit). 

And here's a larger issue:  are people who play JRPG's "core gamers?"  In my mind, 15 year old kids yelling homophobic slurs on Xbox Live aren't going to look at a JRPG and say "Wow, cool, my main character is a guy who's skinny like a girl, no facial hair, and long spikey hair like a Dragon Ball Z reject.  Awesome!"  Those kids are not going to be picking up a JRPG, I think.  And is Nintendo going after those snot nosed brats with the Wii U?  I think so.  Did you see the Ghost Recon online demo?

And was I the only one who thought all the Xeno games were kinda crappy, not just the ones subtitled in German, but also the original PS1 done in that weird isometric-ey fake 3d with 2d sprites?

The thing is that most of the heavy lifting will be done, the biggest expenditure, localization, will be finished for them. Not to mention JRPG's on Wii haven't gotten much of a chance, if they did they were under the radar games of questionable quality. It seems ridiculous to not at least try to make Xeno a success, or even The Last Story, neither of which were (more then likely) low budget games. Neither game would have to sell that many copies to make make back the distribution and marketing costs if the localizations are done for them. Sin & Punishment is not a good measuring stick, it was an on rails shooter and likely had the stigma, deserve or not, of not being worth full retail price. Nintendo needs to take more risks and expand their market, even if the risk is minimal. It isn't like people are asking them to localize Captain Rainbow (though I would personally be excited if they did), we are asking them to release games where most of the heavy lifting is done that appear to be quality titles.

BlackNMild2k1June 24, 2011

If Nintendo has no plans on releasing it this year on Wii, then I wish they would just spend the next 12 months updating it to an HD game and release it on WiiU instead.

That goes for Xenoblade, The Last Story & Pandora's Tower.
Start the next system off with some new franchises and a big RPG push.

EDIT:
http://www.livewii.fr/news/158610-%5BE3_11%5D_Mathieu_Minel_parle_de_Xenoblade_et_The_Last_Story
Nintendo of France:
-Xenoblade hits Europe in Sept.
-There is hope for The Last Story & Pandora's Tower


Q: So is the Last Story coming out?

A: We're in the US, so we can't speak about The Last Story... We hope it'll be released. We are only allowed to say "hope"... Hope is promising... just like with Pandora's Tower", he said with an enormous smile.

SundoulosJune 24, 2011

I have a hard time buying that NeoGaf rumor. 

Quote from: Luigi

Quote from: leahsdad

Quote:

Basically, NCL had to end up forcing NOA to release the Sin and Punishment sequel in America because NCL really thought the game would do well.

Okay, if true, I can't believe Iwata thought Sin and Pun 2 would sell well in America (and for argument's sake, let's just say that sells well means 1-2 million sold during the product's lifetime).  That game is brilliant, a great value at $40 when I bought it (thought it probably costs less now), it is Treasure at its best. 

Well on the Virtual Console, the N64 Sin and Punishment sold somewhere over 100k.  Iwata probably thought that most of the people who bought the N64 game on the Virtual Console would buy the full price retail sequel.  And since it's a retail game, even more people would buy it this time as well since everyone would have access to it.  My guess is Iwata probably expected the game to get a few hundred thousand copies from the West and probably didn't quite understand that the type of game it was, combined with who it appeals to is why the Virtual Console release did so well, but a full $50 retail release wouldn't do to hot.

Of course that still doesn't excuse NOA for not releasing an RPG like Xenoblade, because a game in a completely different genre didn't do well.  Plus the thing is, Dragon Quest IV and V on the DS when SquareEnix published them did terrible, with both selling below 50K.  But last year, when NOA published Dragon Quest IX and actually gave it a huge marketing campaign, it managed to sell several hundred thousand copies and was considered a success in North America which is why NOA is now responsible for publishing all Dragon Quest related titles over here.

This shows that if NOA really wanted to, they could make something like Xenoblade a success.  Especially since the game already plays more like a Western RPG then a traditional JRPG anyway which would make advertising Xenoblade much easier then advertising Dragon Quest was.

NOA threw their weight behind Monster Hunter Tri, and while it wasn't a runaway hit, it was considered to be successful here.  You don't get much more JRPG than Monster Hunter.

I don't get this decision by NOA at all, either, though I have a hard time believing that Neo Gaf rumor.  That sort of decision-making doesn't make for good business at all.  If it were true, I don't think Reggie would be in his position for very long.  I think it's more likely that the timing and shift of NoA's focus is completely on the Wii U and 3DS.  Maybe if Xenoblade and/or the Last Story had come out a year or two earlier, we'd be getting it. 

Even if JRPGs have lost their luster during this gen, there's good reason to believe that there would be some support for two RPGs that have high production value and are console exclusive.  I just don't get it, really. 

I have to admit that this has really turned me off on Nintendo; I've owned/bought every console and most of the handhelds  since the days of the NES.  Based on what I've seen so far, I don't plan on getting a Wii U anytime soon; this turn of events only does more to amplify that feeling.  I do feel like Nintendo has abandoned me a bit as a Wii owner.

CericJune 24, 2011

What is the Neogaf Rumor?

NeoStar9XJune 24, 2011

Quote from: Ceric

What is the Neogaf Rumor?

That Xenoblade isn't coming over due to how Sin and Punishment 2 did sales wise. That doesn't make any sense though the games are two completely genres. There is no telling how an RPG would do on the Wii since there hasn't been many. Just one traditional one, Arc Rise Fantasia, which got no push and some were turned off due to how horrible the voice acting was. So bad that even the developers had no choice but to give the option to turn them off. There has not been a solidly backed offering on the system.

For what it was I thought Sin and Punishment 2 did decently in the end. It was never going to be a huge success. That style of game almost never is. NoA has part of the blame though due to how they advertised it and where they advertised it. Midnight ads are about the same as showing no ads. I still hold to this and that is all Nintendo has done for games not aimed at casuals. As if core gamers don't watch TV during normal hours.

I said before and I'll say it again. I have no desire to pick up the Wii U at launch if this is how Nintendo of America is going to act. It's them we'll have to deal with and right now they are stuck on stupid.

Nick DiMolaNick DiMola, Staff AlumnusJune 24, 2011

From conversations I've had with various people in the industry, localization is cheap. Since most games these days are made so that text can be easily translated, or translated in tandem with the development of the game, its cost is practically figured into the development costs of the game. With that in mind, to what detriment is it for Nintendo to just localize everything they already pay to develop?

It really makes no sense at all to me. At this point, I want to say of all of the companies out there, Nintendo has the most disparity in offerings across regions. That's absolutely insane. They are the biggest company in the industry, they have the most money, and can easily acquire resources as needed. Arguably, they have the most loyal fan base as well, but that's more speculation than hard fact. Assuming that, you'd think that there's at least some guaranteed sales for some of these games in all regions regardless of what they are.

I understand that even with more resources, at some point the company will be stretched too thin to necessarily handle everything, but right now Nintendo of America has (seemingly) nothing going on. There's no excuse, or even a reasonable explanation, why this, The Last Story, Pandora's Tower, and others aren't on their way to America. Given the thin Wii line up, we should see NoA reaching into the backlog and bringing over anything possible to keep the Wii train going. We've probably got a year to Wii U at this point, and that's way too long to only have a few token games released.

Chocobo_RiderJune 24, 2011

@ leahsdad

I think your assessment is very smart.  Keep being smart.

Side note: I did enjoy the PS1 Xenogears.  It's definitely weird and a bit clunky but it was a great game (to me).

@ EVERYONE

Why is no one up in arms about Rodea: The Sky Soldier!?! I want that game in English way more than the JRPGs! ^_^


CericJune 24, 2011

Quote from: NinSage

@ leahsdad
I think your assessment is very smart.  Keep being smart.
Side note: I did enjoy the PS1 Xenogears.  It's definitely weird and a bit clunky but it was a great game (to me).
@ EVERYONE
Why is no one up in arms about Rodea: The Sky Soldier!?! I want that game in English way more than the JRPGs! ^_^

Honestly because I didn't know the game Existed.  Did you start a thread about it?  I'm interested only because it reminds me of the Sonic Storybook games and .Hack//Sign .  Though whats with the jerky launching in the trailer?

Ian SaneJune 24, 2011

Quote:

According to Neo Gaf (who sometimes do have insider info on these things) the rumor of why this game isn't coming to North America is because Sin and Punishment: Star Successor bombed.  Apparently, even though the Virtual Console release of Sin and Punishment did well in North America, NOA was never happy with the fact Iwata allowed a sequel to be made because of it.  They had no problem releasing an $11 N64 downloadable game that cost nothing, but didn't want to release a full priced sequel in America that would actually cost some money to release because they saw no market for the game.


Well that does fit my theory that with NOA it's huge megahit or nothing.  Sin & Punishment 2 was doomed because prior to its release Nintendo had done a thorough job of scaring away its target audience.  They've scared away the Xenoblade audience as well so I don't think it would be a hit here.  The reason to release it is entirely to not shit in the face of loyal Nintendo fans who have put up with the Wii's bullshit all these years and deserve to have SOMETHING released between now and Zelda.

millerballJune 24, 2011

There's no excuse to pass on this game. Even if it fails at retail, they can have it up for sale on a virtual console 20 years from now.

KisakiProjectJune 24, 2011

My letter to NOA



I am contacting you today because I have been a fan of Nintendo systems and games for nearly 2 decades.  Like 100,000s of other people I camped out over night to pick up a Wii day one back in 2006.  I was excited not only for the new way to play but for the dearth of quality games I knew would come to my brand new Wii system.  I have been a fan of Nintendo for a very long time and purchased all of their systems and have bought $1000s worth or software and accessories over the years.  Like many avid gamers I buy all the system but Nintendo has always been number one to me.

I know the Wii has alienated many hardcore gamers.  I was excited when I heard Nintendo's executives address this.  I was excited because I believed Nintendo would finally address some of the concerns die hard fans had with system's lack of games.

To my dismay its come to my attention Nintendo of America will not release Xenoblade in the United States.  Even though it has already been localized by the European branch of your company and is being released in Europe.  This is frustrating to me as a consumer.  I know how much it costs to translate games from Japanese to English.  Sometimes its not worth the investment.  I understand that.  But what is the point of not releasing it if its already been translated into English by the Nintendo of Europe.  As someone who has had, admittedly limited, work in the music business I know pressing discs and shipping them is a cost.  But its far form the most substantial. I imagine its the same with video games. As businessman I don't see how this product being release will loose money for your business.  But maybe there is something I don't know.

This isn't the first time Nintendo of America has not release a product that has been released in Europe in English.  As a Wii owner it has been frustrating to have so many games be passed by for US release over the years.  Many I would have purchased.  This is the first time its happened when it has genuinely frustrated me. Xenoblade was a title I was greatly looking forward too. In addition I know Nintendo of Europe has planned to release The Last Story.  Another JRPG Nintendo of America is unlikely to publish here in the USA.  This too is frustrating to me.  Especially since that particular title is made by Hironobu Sakaguchi the creator of Final fantasy.  It could not have a higher pedigree.

As a Wii owner there have been fewer games over the years that appeal to hardcore gamer.  I don't understand why games that are readily translated to English are not being released.  This experience has made me reconsider purchasing a Wii U.  Especially if Nintendo of America's track record has been to ignore its hardcore fanbase.  In addition I am a recent 3DS owner.  Now I'm wondering if that was a wise financial purchase.  I would be greatly disappointed if games were left in Europe for that system.  I hope that won't be the case.

I know you are just a customer service representative.  You are problem thinking to yourself "why I am I getting all these emails about Xenoblade."  I have had the most pleasant experiences when I have called your customer service before.  You guys fixed my DSI in record time.  I know Nintendo hires people that genuinely care.  I doubt my letter or anyone else can change the decisions that have been made at your company.  But it we be kind of you to pass this message along to your managers.  I hope Nintendo takes this fan out pouring seriously.  Thank you for your time.  Have a wonderful day.

King of TwitchJune 24, 2011

You missed a few apostrophes and probably meant probably instead of problem.

CericJune 24, 2011

Not a bad letter.

UltimatePartyBearJune 24, 2011

Quote from: Zap

You missed a few apostrophes and probably meant probably instead of problem.

There were more probablys than that, but I'm not about to go all English teacher on it.  I just wanted to point out that misusing "dearth" in this context struck me as sadly hilarious.

NeoStar9XJune 24, 2011

Check out Nintendo's Facebook post about Sonic's Anniversary.

http://www.facebook.com/Nintendo/posts/162340667167231

It's turned into a massive post about them bringing Xenoblade, The Last Story, over to North America. Posted earlier in the day myself.

Destrouctoid also picked up on the letter writing campaign those at the IGN forums have started. Plan on sending in one myself when the time comes. Sent a few email letters this morning as well... On vacation so I had some time today.
http://www.destructoid.com/letter-writing-campaign-for-last-story-pandora-s-tower-204505.phtml#comment

This might all be a waste of time in the end. It does make me feel a bit better though.

SarailJune 24, 2011

I'm just glad to see everyone uniting for a cause -- to bring these three games to the devoid Wii release schedule. We deserve these games after all of the crap we've dealt with on this console.

BlackNMild2k1June 24, 2011

Quote from: NeoStar9X

Check out Nintendo's Facebook post about Sonic's Anniversary.

http://www.facebook.com/Nintendo/posts/162340667167231

It's turned into a massive post about them bringing Xenoblade, The Last Story, over to North America. Posted earlier in the day myself.

Destrouctoid also picked up on the letter writing campaign those at the IGN forums have started. Plan on sending in one myself when the time comes. Sent a few email letters this morning as well... On vacation so I had some time today.
http://www.destructoid.com/letter-writing-campaign-for-last-story-pandora-s-tower-204505.phtml#comment

This might all be a waste of time in the end. It does make me feel a bit better though.

Well the story is that is that NoA didn't let NoE show Xenoblade @ E3 because "they didn't want to show a game that they weren't gonna sell" right.
So if they don't plan on selling it... and they haven't announced this years Club Nintendo Elite Award... naw... I'm just playin. that would be a Megaton announcement though. Too crazy to actually happen. No way Nintendo would just give it away to ClubN Elite members, right?

AdrockJune 24, 2011

It's sad that this has come down to petitions, letters and Facebook grousing to try to convince Nintendo of America to not abandon an entire platform and release games that should have been brought over months ago without question which include the spiritual successors of one of the most popular RPGs of the last decade and one of the most popular RPG franchises of all time. If they were worried about sales, a limited run or selling the game directly through their website could have greatly lessened any risk. The important thing is that they release those games at all.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorJune 25, 2011

While I can't say I'd get very involved (sorry guys, not my cups of tea... besides, where was all of your support when I wanted Another Code R to get released here?), perhaps NWR should do an article supporting IGN's campaign... give it some more exposure...

leahsdadJune 25, 2011

Quote:

While I can't say I'd get very involved (sorry guys, not my cups of tea... besides, where was all of your support when I wanted Another Code R to get released here?

I'll get involved.  I think this is awesome, even if it doesn't work.  I know I wrote on this thread yesterday something like "it's not good business for NOA to release Xeno or Last Story" but I also wrote "I love JRPG's" and I am thrilled to play Last Story.  My favorite FF's, far and away, are the early and middle ones, from 2 to X, pretty much in that order.  Since Last Story is being helmed by that dude, I am stoked. 

And while we're bringing up JRPG's of yesteryear, I want to see a Grandia 4.  2 and 3 were awesome, and no game has used that battle system since.

KDR_11kJune 25, 2011

Funny, when America doesn't get a game there's a massive uproar. I guess we Europeans are already used to getting half the games the US sees.

SixthAngelJune 25, 2011

Sucks but I'll be getting the Euro versions so it doesn't effect me in the slightest.

NoA localization has been horrible for the Wii.  I get the feeling there is some kind of power struggle between the different branches.  Releasing these games should have been about just keeping momentum sometimes even if the sales weren't awesome.

BlackNMild2k1June 25, 2011

Quote from: KDR_11k

Funny, when America doesn't get a game there's a massive uproar. I guess we Europeans are already used to getting half the games the US sees.

Not this gen. Europe is getting almost twice as much as the U.S.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=34919.msg683255#msg683255

Didn't Iwata say in a financial report that the North American/European release schedule would be padded with previously import-only titles? Sometime in the last year, no less?

NeoStar9XJune 25, 2011

This seems to have causes Xenoblade/Monado: Beginning of the World to shoot up the charts on Amazon.com.

http://www.amazon.com/Monado-Beginning-World-Nintendo-Wii/dp/B002IM1MYG/ref=pd_ts_zgc_vg_14219011_5?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&pf_rd_p=1279980182&pf_rd_s=right-6&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=14218901&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=08FP0Z5M2Y4GVRM9QSQ4

Currently listed the following.

#33 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
#1 in Video Games > Wii > Action
#5 in Video Games > Wii > All Games

Pre-ordered the game myself. I believe it was listed as #1200 out of all games before this started.

The Sonic post at their Facebook account is now past 1300 post and all of them save a 100 I think or maybe even less are Xenoblade, etc related.

BlackNMild2k1June 25, 2011

NWR really should hop on this bandwagon
http://www.destructoid.com/letter-writing-campaign-for-last-story-pandora-s-tower-204505.phtml

http://kotaku.com/5815447/how-badly-do-you-want-the-last-story-pandoras-tower-and-xenoblade-for-wii

http://boards.ign.com/nintendo_wii_lobby/b8270/203345328/p1

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorJune 25, 2011

Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #9 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

    #1 in Video Games > Wii > Action
    #1 in Video Games > Wii > All Games

Mop it upJune 25, 2011

Quote from: Shaymin

Didn't Iwata say in a financial report that the North American/European release schedule would be padded with previously import-only titles? Sometime in the last year, no less?

He said that about the DS, not the Wii.

BlackNMild2k1June 25, 2011

Quote from: Mop

Quote from: Shaymin

Didn't Iwata say in a financial report that the North American/European release schedule would be padded with previously import-only titles? Sometime in the last year, no less?

He said that about the DS, not the Wii.

Nintendo to localize Japan only games....

CericJune 25, 2011

Ironically once you sell a system what is the difference between selling one other game to a more casual audience than selling 2 Niche games to a Niche player?

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorJune 25, 2011

Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

    #1 in Video Games > Wii > All Games
    #1 in Video Games > Wii > Action

sweetfeatheryJune 25, 2011

I doubt at this point of the Wiis life cycle that we can expect to see Nintendo release these titles stateside. Before I left GameStop, I talked to our Nintendo rep over how there were still core titles that were not being released in America. The response he gave me was exactly what Ian Sane had posted earlier, about how Nintendo is only concerned with the group of people who buy that one game a year (Mario Kart and/or Wii Fit) and that titles like Last Story would most not make it state side.
Now if we are to believe that Nintendo is going to try to gain back the hardcore market with the Wii U, then I don't see why we couldn't expect these titles to be released stateside in HD and with new features. I'd imagine it would be easy for the developers, and would quickly add some core titles to the Wii U's library.

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