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

[NWR_insanolord]

Yeah, even if they were steering clear of Zelda there would be no harm in letting us know it was coming. Like I said, I still don't think it's going to happen, but that explanation makes at least some sense.

[Kytim89]

If Last Story and Pandora's Tower are released outside of the first quarter of 2012 in Europe then I could see Xenoblade being released in north America in the span of januaray to march of 2012 and then Last Story and Pandora's Tower could be released side by side in both regions. This is very doubtful, but let's wait and see if Nintendo of America reveals a shedule for next year in the next few weeks.

[NWR_insanolord]

This is very doubtful

[Kytim89]

This is very doubtful

Axe that from the record.

[nickmitch]

The problem with Zelda over shadowing Xenoblade is the fact that the game was getting free press. It was all over the (gaming) news. All they had to do was say "Yes, it's coming," and it would've sold to its whole audience.

[NWR_insanolord]

But if people only wanted to buy one, it would be Zelda for nearly everyone. Putting two games out around the same time, especially when there are at least minor similarities between them, will cannibalize sales, and like I said, that's not going to hurt Zelda, but might really hurt Xenoblade.

[nickmitch]

Xenoblade probably wasn't gonna sell gangbusters anyway. In a time where the Wii was getting virtually nothing, I think most core gamers wouldn't mind dropping an extra $50 (especially around the holidays, if getting as a gift) to make up for the time lost. I know not everyone suffers from Lindeman Syndrome, but I think most of us have bought two (or more) games saying, "I'll play this one right away and start on the other as soon as I finish."

[NWR_insanolord]

It matters, though, when the game is in the territory of "might be profitable, might not." It would definitely sell better if released significantly before or after the one huge game everyone cares about. They're not going to release it in NA, but, if they were going to, it certainly wouldn't be happening now.

[ejamer]

If there was any plan to release Xenoblade, or any of the other Operation Rainfall games, then simply saying "it's coming" and giving a date would be enough to keep people interested. That hasn't happened, and most gamers who were interested in supporting Operation Rainfall either no longer care or have jumped through the hoops necessary to import.


Nintendo of America knows that there isn't a huge market for core gaming on Wii - especially not after leaving that audience out to dry for almost a full year without any meaningful releases. They care less about building or maintaining a core-gaming fanbase than earning profit, and the potential profits from Operation Rainfall games aren't enough to sway their decision.


No matter how much a few of us hope and dream, seeing these games released in North America probably isn't going to happen. Let the idle speculation come to a rest until there is any evidence to suggest otherwise.

[Kytim89]

Here is a list of Wii games in my collection and once you see them, tell me why I want Pandora's Tower, Last Story and Xenoblade:
 
Red Steel 2
Epic Mickey
Monster Hunter Tri
Muramasa: The Demon Blade
Super Mario Galaxy 2
New Super Mario Brothers Wii
Metroid: Other M (I actually enjoyed this one)
Tatasunoko vs. Capcom
No More Heroes
No More Heroes 2
Dead Soace Extraction
The House of the Dead: Overkill
Super Smash Brothers Brawl
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Punch-out!
Wii Sports
Wii Sports Resort
Madworld
Wii Play

[Kytim89]

Here is an article where Reggie admits that Nintendo will still support the Wii even after the Wii U launches:
 
 http://wii.ign.com/articles/121/1212893p1.html
 
Anyone say PS2 situation?
 
Here is a quote from the article from Reggie:
 
"There certainly will be more games launched for the Wii. And what I can say is that we believe there are still millions more systems to be sold. And I can say that the Wii will coexist side by side beside the Wii U for some period of time."
 
Could this be an admission that Operation Rainfall will become a success in 2012? Only time will tell if this is simply hot air from Reggie or the acknowledgment that Nintendo's fans matter.
 
Here is a quote from the response portion the article:
 
"They're holding back the Operation Rainfall games until after winter - Skyward Sword will boost install base, and then these games are going to be that "continued support" for maximum profit... kind of predictable."

[nickmitch]

I'm sure "for some period of time" means "until we sellout of the hardware."

And Skyward Sword isn't gonna boost the install base. I imagine literally everyone who's getting the game already has a Wii. Some might be replacing theirs, but I don't really count them.

[Chozo Ghost]

I don't believe anything Reggie says anymore. There was a video on youtube someone linked to on here before where he was doing an interview and he was asked if there would be games coming to the Wii before Zelda and he said "absolutely"  and of course that didn't happen... unless he was referring to some two bit shovelware no one cares about or noticed. So I think anything he says should be taken with a grain of salt.

But let's also remember the Gamecube seen some game releases even in 2007. I think Madden '08 and Ratatouille were the last GC games, and these came out in 2007 which was sometime after the Wii launched. But does that mean the GC "coexisted" with the Wii? If you interpret it very liberally then I suppose yes you could say that, but Nintendo themselves didn't support the GC with anything in 2007 so aside from a small handful of 3rd party games it was completely dead. And I'm sure that's how it will be with the Wii also. There will probably be a trickle of casual shovelware for the Wii in 2012 and maybe even 2013, but will there be any more high profile Nintendo games? Unless those Operation Rainfall games make it over here, my guess would be no.

I'm sure "for some period of time" means "until we sellout of the hardware."

And Skyward Sword isn't gonna boost the install base. I imagine literally everyone who's getting the game already has a Wii. Some might be replacing theirs, but I don't really count them.

There is no longer really any point to increasing the install base of the Wii. Such a thing would only matter to bolster the sales of future games, but if no such games are ever coming then what would be gained if Skyward Sword increased the install base?

That said, it probably will increase the install base, because there are a lot of Zelda fans out there who would buy a Wii just for this game and this game alone, but aside from that and Twilight Princess they might not care about anything else the Wii has to offer them.

At this point the only nice thing about increasing the install base of the Wii is for egotistical reasons and giving Nintendo and Nintendo fanboys something to brag about now and in the future. That's really all it accomplishes. if no more games are coming, then its not going to do anything to improve software sales. So Nintendo won't really profit much from it, but they can brag about it though.

[Ymeegod]

Doubt it, most zelda fans already own the consoles.  In the NA market, the WII hit an 45+ million userbase and there's not much more it will expand due to new hardware or the fact many are being handed down to the next generation. 

The excitement of the WII just isn't there like in years past.

 

[BlackNMild2k1]

They can also increase those evergreen sales #'s.

Those titles are waaaaaaaaaaaaay beyond pure profit, and they have quite a few of them to entice the really late comers that might just be jumping on board because there was a Zelda fan in the house.

[Kytim89]

They can also increase those evergreen sales #'s.

Those titles are waaaaaaaaaaaaay beyond pure profit, and they have quite a few of them to entice the really late comers that might just be jumping on board because there was a Zelda fan in the house.

All Nintendo of America would have to do is press the British versions of these games onto an American disc and then spend a tiny bit of cash on marketing the Wii prints out another wad of cash for them before moving onto the Wii U.

[nickmitch]

"[W]ad of cash" is certainly over stating it. I think it costs more to put out a game, even with minimal localization, than most people realize.

Also, the only way ANYone is buying a Wii just for Zelda had to first decide that playing Twilight Princess on Wii wasn't worth it because they already had a Gamecube AND (and this is a strong and) literally did not care for anything else the Wii had to offer. That means no NMH/2, SMG/2, DKCR, Kirby's Epic Yarn, S&P2, SSBB, Kirby's Return to Dreamland, Mario Kart, NSMBWii, Disney Epic Mickey, Tales of Symphonia 2, Metroid Prime Trilogy, Wii Ware, Virtual Console, et-fucking-cetera. AND also they wouldn't just wait until the Wii U came out so they could just play it on that.

It's kind of a stretch, is what I'm saying.

[ejamer]

Wii install base will continue to grow, but will probably increase more once the console hits the $100 mark than when Skyward Sword is released. People who are only buying now are likely budget-conscious casual gamers who aren't keen on paying $50+ per game.


BNM had a great point about evergreen titles being the reason why Nintendo cares about the install base growing.

[Kytim89]

Could the robust sales of Nintendo's software and hardware this holiday season lead to Operation Rainfalll being a success in 2012?
 
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gamehunters/post/2011/11/nintendo-sees-skyward-sales-on-black-friday-/1
 
Here is a quote from the article from Reggie:
 
"For us, it really was driven by unique and powerful software and what gives us confidence is that we still have more software to launch in the balance of this holiday period."
 
 

 
Meanwhile, the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, released for the Nintendo Wii on Sunday, Nov. 20, has sold 535,000 copies since its U.S. launch, making it the fastest-selling Zelda game ever, he says.
These strong new releases also drove sales of Nintendo 3DS and Wii systems, Fils-Aime says. Last week's 3DS sales tripled (by 325%) compared with sales the week of Nov. 6, the week before Super Mario 3D Land made its debut; the week of its debut, sales rose 49% from the previous week.

With all of this money being made, the loses that Nintendo posted a few months ago will be lessened. However, the question I have to ask is whether this will tip their and encourage them release Xenoblade, Last Story and Pandora' Tower in north America? On one hand it might make them rsik adverse, but if they did it right then even more money would fall into their hands up until the release of their new home console.

[noname2200]

To answer your question, probably not. But I'm not personally too fussed with the Wii, since it proved easy (and highly beneficial) to softmod.

[Mop it up]

Stranger things have happened. If Nintendo's financial outlook starts looking better soon, they may at least release XenoBlade since it appears to have sold better than expected in Europe.

[Kytim89]

Stranger things have happened. If Nintendo's financial outlook starts looking better soon, they may at least release XenoBlade since it appears to have sold better than expected in Europe.

If Last Story and Pandora's Tower sell well then we might get those as well.
 
This could have been Nintendo's plan all along. Let Zelda, Mario and strong hardware sales help recover some of their loses and then release these games in north America the following year.

[Chozo Ghost]

I would really like to know what Reggie's plans for NOA are in the next 6 months. What is going on inside his head?

[Kytim89]

I would really like to know what Reggie's plans for NOA are in the next 6 months. What is going on inside his head?

He should be releasing a list of games for Q1 of 2012 soon. Hopefully Xenoblade will be on that list.

[Chozo Ghost]

I recall he said he was going to take a wait and see approach for how well these games do in Europe. Have these games sold well in Europe? If they have then he is out of excuses. If they have not, then maybe he was right all along.