Topic: Xenoblade Chronicles Not Coming to North America

[BlackNMild2k1]

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.

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 Sane]

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 **** 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.

[TalesOfFan]

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.

[NeoStar9X]

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.

[Shaymin]

So how do I install the homebrew channel again?

Your SD card is ready.

[Leont]

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 Deckades]

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

Sweet, I am a rarity.

[Mop it up]

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?

[Kytim89]

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_Rider]

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.

[Kytim89]

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.

[BeautifulShy]

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.

[GoldenPhoenix]

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_Jaro]

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_Rider]

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 Dude]

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.

[leahsdad]

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?

[leahsdad]

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 Dude]

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.

[GoldenPhoenix]

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.

[BlackNMild2k1]

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.

[Sundoulos]

I have a hard time buying that NeoGaf rumor. 

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.

[Ceric]

What is the Neogaf Rumor?

[NeoStar9X]

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 DiMola]

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.