Author Topic: Report: Nintendo of America Passing On Devil's Third  (Read 7432 times)

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Offline Shaymin

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Report: Nintendo of America Passing On Devil's Third
« on: July 10, 2015, 12:34:00 AM »

Quality concerns appear to have sunk Valhalla's Wii U shooter in North America for now. UPDATED JULY 10

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/40713/report-nintendo-of-america-passing-on-devils-third

If Devil's Third is to release in North America, it will not be published by Nintendo of America.

According to a video recently posted by Unseen64 (embedded below), NOA is passing on the game due to severe concerns about the game's quality. One anonymous European previewer claimed the game "looks like a game from two generations ago", while another was quoted as saying the game's aiming system is broken, and has extremely poor production values.

The game is not officially cancelled in North America, but its release is in limbo while Valhalla seeks a new publisher. Given the nature of Nintendo's concerns, whatever publisher might pick the game up is taking a big risk. There is no word about whether Valhalla may self-publish the game on the eShop, as statements from Valhalla studio head Tomonobu Itagaki have stated that he will release the game in North America no matter what.

UPDATE July 10: A report from Siliconera confirms the game has been dropped by NoA, but will release thanks to a publisher "Siliconera readers are quite familiar with".

UPDATE 12:25pm EDT July 10: A line further up the Siliconera story seems to confirm the identity of the mystery publisher: "this won’t be the last story about Tomonobu Itagaki’s game in North America" (emphasis added).

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Offline Enner

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Re: Report: Nintendo of America Passing On Devil's Third
« Reply #1 on: July 09, 2015, 05:51:26 PM »
Sad state of affairs on many levels.


Hopefully it will at least get an NA eShop release so people can determine the game's worth for themselves.

Offline Triforce Hermit

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Re: Report: Nintendo of America Passing On Devil's Third
« Reply #2 on: July 09, 2015, 06:11:55 PM »
Somehow, that doesn't surprise me and I frankly don't blame NoA if that is the case.
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Offline Bman87301

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Re: Report: Nintendo of America Passing On Devil's Third
« Reply #3 on: July 09, 2015, 06:18:56 PM »
I predicted from the very start NOA would hand this off to a third-party publisher based solely on the fact that it had "Devil" in the title. That being said, the "severe concerns about the game's quality" is clearly just an excuse.

Offline broodwars

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Re: Report: Nintendo of America Passing On Devil's Third
« Reply #4 on: July 09, 2015, 06:22:52 PM »
*shrugs* Eh. The game looked like ****, anyway. I'm more annoyed that Nintendo spent money saving that game that could have been spent on an actually worthwhile 3rd party developer.
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Offline DanteZX

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Re: Report: Nintendo of America Passing On Devil's Third
« Reply #5 on: July 09, 2015, 07:14:46 PM »
I'm glad Nintendo got rid of it. Ever since it was first shown off for the WiiU, I could tell then that it was a turd, and the only difference between then and now is that this turd is starting to reek in the hot sun. It looks bad, plays bad, and should be canned.

Offline broodwars

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Re: Report: Nintendo of America Passing On Devil's Third
« Reply #6 on: July 09, 2015, 07:45:52 PM »
Incidentally, I also dislike the comparison to Disaster: Day of Crisis. Even for a Wii launch game, Disaster was a rough-looking game, but I've beaten it and it's not a bad game at all. There's a very solid, if exceptionally goofy, game in there and Nintendo certainly released far worse Wii titles in NA. Devil's 3rd just looks bad, and the Wii U's install base is just not big enough or interested enough in 3rd party games for that game to find an audience..
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Offline Ian Sane

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Re: Report: Nintendo of America Passing On Devil's Third
« Reply #7 on: July 09, 2015, 07:46:07 PM »
"looks like a game from two generations ago" - so a Wii game?  *swish*

Due to the lack of Wii U titles in the pipeline this game better REALLY suck for NOA to not feel it was worth publishing.  Beggars can't be choosers and the Wii U doesn't have the luxury of rejecting titles.  Quality control is a totally valid reason to not publish a game but they better not be being picky.  They shouldn't be rejecting a game that's okayish, it better be outright ****.

I can't say I completely trust the word of the guys who felt that fuckin' XENOBLADE needed to be co-published by Gamestop to get released during a time when the Wii had pretty much nothing coming out for it.

Offline Adrock

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Re: Report: Nintendo of America Passing On Devil's Third
« Reply #8 on: July 09, 2015, 07:50:12 PM »
I can't say I completely trust the word of the guys who felt that fuckin' XENOBLADE needed to be co-published by Gamestop to get released during a time when the Wii had pretty much nothing coming out for it.
Different circumstances. Nintendo of America didn't trust Xenoblade Chronicles to sell based on niche status, not because it thought the game was ass.

Offline Soren

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Re: Report: Nintendo of America Passing On Devil's Third
« Reply #9 on: July 09, 2015, 08:11:25 PM »
I mentioned this on another thread but I'll say it again, Nintendo is not in a position to turn down games, specially when NCL and NoE have no problem putting the game out with their name on it. There is no quality argument, specially when you're actively working on releasing games (Fatal Frame 5, SMTxFE) that would have never seen the light of day in this continent had NoA been working with a slightly healthier console. They're equally niche as Devil's Third with the exception that "they might be ok", which is dubious since no one outside of the Treehouse has played them yet (in NA).


If reviews peg this as a mediocre offering instead of the outright garbage people are predicting, then NoA will have once again insulted the hardcore fanbase that so desperately eludes them.
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Offline Shaymin

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Re: Report: Nintendo of America Passing On Devil's Third
« Reply #10 on: July 09, 2015, 08:15:52 PM »
Both NoE and NCL are treating this game as a contractual obligation at this point, though.

NCL: Game is Amazon exclusive (when the hell does ANYTHING get a retail exclusive in Japan) for physical copies.
NoE: Only localizing the game into English instead of all the European languages.
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Offline NeoStar9X

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Re: Report: Nintendo of America Passing On Devil's Third
« Reply #11 on: July 09, 2015, 08:23:42 PM »
If the quality of the game is the issue then why wasn't it an issue last year. It's not like this suddenly was found out. Did they not know what they were spending their money on before it was shown at E3 last year? Did they not look at what was being done before agreeing to put their name on it? Is Nintendo as a whole that incompetent these days!?


If the game is bad then it's bad. If it is as bad as reported then I wouldn't have bought it. We'll know for sure when reviewers start reporting their impressions soon if the July 15 date is true.  I wanted to at least have the option to decide for myself because I DO NOT trust Nintendo of America's judgement on what should and should not be released. I do not trust Nintendo of America's judgement on what appeals to people when it comes to games that aren't normally from Nintendo. They are the ones that refused to release Xenoblade, The Last Story, and Pandora's Tower. They are the ones that decided there wasn't a market and their releases proved t them wrong.

Offline NeoStar9X

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Re: Report: Nintendo of America Passing On Devil's Third
« Reply #12 on: July 09, 2015, 08:24:56 PM »
Both NoE and NCL are treating this game as a contractual obligation at this point, though.

NCL: Game is Amazon exclusive (when the hell does ANYTHING get a retail exclusive in Japan) for physical copies.
NoE: Only localizing the game into English instead of all the European languages.


That does speak volumes. It still goes back to why they even agreed in the first place.

Offline Oedo

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Re: Report: Nintendo of America Passing On Devil's Third
« Reply #13 on: July 09, 2015, 08:58:04 PM »
Better to (at least implicitly) admit that it was a failure than to have a terrible game on your resume. Why they'd put resources behind this specifically in the first place is questionable, but I think the decision not to publish what you feel like is a legitimately bad game seems pretty cut and dry. There's something to be said for letting people decide what's bad and what isn't, but if I were them I wouldn't want to publish a game that I feel like is most likely **** with the outside of chance of being mediocre either.

Offline ejamer

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Re: Report: Nintendo of America Passing On Devil's Third
« Reply #14 on: July 09, 2015, 09:22:17 PM »
Arguing that "they shouldn't release a bad game" or "better off not releasing anything" are foolish.
Nintendo releases bad games sometimes. It happens. And given the sad state of Wii U any game is better than nothing.


I understand not being keen on taking the risk, but even then they should still release the already finished game via eShop instead of just abandoning it.  But at this point maybe it's my fault because I should know better, right?
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Offline Soren

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Re: Report: Nintendo of America Passing On Devil's Third
« Reply #15 on: July 09, 2015, 09:32:54 PM »
I wanted to at least have the option to decide for myself because I DO NOT trust Nintendo of America's judgement on what should and should not be released. I do not trust Nintendo of America's judgement on what appeals to people when it comes to games that aren't normally from Nintendo.


Bingo. NoA has a history of terrible judgement when it comes to niche games. Good or bad, their track record has been deplorable, and the mere fact that they're giving up on yet another niche game without bothering at least a token release like NCL and NoE speaks volumes.
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Offline Adrock

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Re: Report: Nintendo of America Passing On Devil's Third
« Reply #16 on: July 09, 2015, 09:44:59 PM »
If the quality of the game is the issue then why wasn't it an issue last year.
You expect a lack of polish when showing an unfinished game. Over a year later and it still lacks polish? That's disconcerting.
Arguing that "they shouldn't release a bad game" or "better off not releasing anything" are foolish.
Nintendo releases bad games sometimes. It happens. And given the sad state of Wii U any game is better than nothing.
Companies release bad games all the time. That doesn't mean that they should. Saying "it happens" is defeatist. Nope, strive to be better.

And a game isn't finished if it's trash. Go back and fix it, don't come back until you do. I'm tired of companies thinking this nonsense is okay. It's weird to me that people here want a subpar game to be published just so there's something on store shelves. How many of you are planning on buying this? I mean, I don't think we should wholeheartedly trust the word of the people who Unseen64 spoke to, but if they're all saying the same thing, that should at least raise an eyebrow.

I don't think the game should be published anywhere in this state. Don't insult your customers by releasing a game you don't believe in. Delay it, off of Wii U if need be. "A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is bad forever."

Offline Evan_B

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Re: Report: Nintendo of America Passing On Devil's Third
« Reply #17 on: July 09, 2015, 10:10:59 PM »
Yeah, this aggravates me on so many levels, especially since I was actually interested in this game because I'm not at shooter guy but I do love online modes.

Obviously NCL doesn't have much faith in violent shooters- I mean, the whole point of Splatoon was to market to an audience that never really got into shooters in a big way. Likewise, at least NoE is releasing this game in some form. If NoA thinks they don't need to pad out the Wii U's release schedule, they're fucking stupid, pardon my French. I would rather have a game of questionable quality that I enjoy rather than a gaping hole in the release schedule. Plus, it's exactly the kind of game Nintendo needs for their catalogue.

Of course, the reviews aren't out yet, and it's up in the air if it is REALLY bad, but I'm a bit surprised to see all these people ragging on it. Apparently Nintendo did some close work with Valhalla on it, so I can't imagine quality concerns snuck up on them...
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Offline Oedo

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Re: Report: Nintendo of America Passing On Devil's Third
« Reply #18 on: July 09, 2015, 10:17:15 PM »
And given the sad state of Wii U any game is better than nothing.



I don't think a "we got one game this Summer from Nintendo and it was friggin' awful" narrative is an upgrade over "we got no games from Nintendo this summer." I don't think a possibly okay game is going to materially change anyone's view on the Wii U or its library either. I just don't see who benefits from the release of this game. It's going to sell like crap because they've literally put zero marketing power behind it (which is 100% the right call if they think it's crap) and even if it ends up being okay, I doubt very many people are going to thank for them giving them a middling experience when they could have been playing something that was actually good. Putting out games just for the sake of putting out games in general is some pretty dangerous territory.

Offline Mythtendo

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Re: Report: Nintendo of America Passing On Devil's Third
« Reply #19 on: July 09, 2015, 10:34:38 PM »
They are the ones that refused to release Xenoblade, The Last Story, and Pandora's Tower. They are the ones that decided there wasn't a market and their releases proved t them wrong.


As it's already been stated, totatlly different situation. They initially passed on those games because they were RPGs released late in the Wii's lifespan, they were understandably concerned about the sales potential of them. And Last Story and Pandora's Tower got decent sales, but not great. With Devil's Third, they are not rejecting it because they think it wouldn't sell well; they are rejecting it because they think the game is utter crap.

Offline Ninferno

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Re: Report: Nintendo of America Passing On Devil's Third
« Reply #20 on: July 09, 2015, 10:37:22 PM »
Then why not just have a Eshop only release? It mitigates the much-feared "publishing risk", has low visibility hence avoids damages to the precious NoA image, and nonetheless provides a way for people who want it to get it. Problem solved. To be honest, I don't really care about this game (I'm sad the one who brought us the two great modern Ninja Gaiden games seems to have failed this time though); I just don't see Nintendo has anything to lose to give it a digital only release.

Offline Shaymin

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Re: Report: Nintendo of America Passing On Devil's Third
« Reply #21 on: July 09, 2015, 11:10:07 PM »
If they're going to do an eShop only release, Nintendo doesn't have to do anything but provide the storefront. And that's probably what's going to happen, by way of Valhalla publishing it themselves.

I mean, we've had some real kusoge flow through the Wii U eShop, except this one they might have the testicular fortitude to charge $60 for.
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Offline ShyGuy

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Re: Report: Nintendo of America Passing On Devil's Third
« Reply #22 on: July 09, 2015, 11:24:31 PM »
If this title gets Disastereds, I am mad.

Offline ThePerm

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Re: Report: Nintendo of America Passing On Devil's Third
« Reply #23 on: July 09, 2015, 11:27:13 PM »
I hope NX will be nice enough not to have region locking. Why? I'll take a German version of a game. They advertised the crap out of this on the Nintendo Shop, they should take those down if this is the case.
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Offline stevey

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Re: Report: Nintendo of America Passing On Devil's Third
« Reply #24 on: July 10, 2015, 01:07:32 AM »
Weird but there was an odd undercurrent between Itagaki and the other westerners back in E3 2014 where they kept trying to distance and separate themselves from the game and Itagaki kept trying to involve them so it's not completely unexpected. Maybe Itagaki expected to get much more help than he received in the end leading to it being incomplete...

Either way I don't care about graphics, they should fix the aiming/gameplay and release it.
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