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

[Kytim89]

Even with the massive campaign to convince Nintendo of America to release Xenoblade, Last Story and Pandora's Tower in the US, it appears as though all of the trouble to do so has been in vain. It seems that NoA is willing to let these game avoid Nintendo's biggest market, but is there still hope, however? Supposedly the Wii U will not launch until perhaps the fall of next year and that leaves the Wii with less than a year's worth of time to release new titles. So, could it be that NoA might release these titles through 2010 and finish it off with the release of Dragon Quest X?

[broodwars]

I think it was a success in how it deservedly put the spotlight on Nintendo of America's epic failure as a company to supply its customers with software to purchase (when it has some readily available).  For that matter, it put the spotlight on Nintendo of Japan for allowing NoA to become this way.  Sure, it was something we all knew, but Operation Rainfall gave that a message a much wider broadcast that reached even Japan (where it actually matters).

In the end, that's all that could reasonably be expected of a fan operation like Rainfall.  It's unreasonable to call them a failure because they couldn't convince a massive corporation to fulfill its duty as a software publisher and platform holder.

And no, I don't think we'll get any of the Operation Rainfall games on the Wii in NA.  NoA's given up on the platform, so the best non-importers can hope for is a weak Wii U launch lineup leading to NoA putting the games on the Wii U.

[Luigi Dude]

Operation Rainfall was NEVER going to make a difference.  A few thousand fans on the internet was never going to really convince a multi-billion dollar company like Nintendo to change it's mind.  What can and has a good chance of changing their minds is the European sales of Xenoblade, which according the PAL charts have been good so far and completely outsold NOE's first shipment, which is why the game has recently dropped off the sales charts now making NOE scrambling to get a second shipment out that they say will hit later in the fall.

Plus if Xenoblade does get announced for a North American release date, NOA won't announce it until at least November since that's when they normally announce their Q1 lineup.  Last year, NOA announced they were releasing Dragon Quest 6 around that time for a Q1 2011 release, which was out of the blue for everyone.  Meaning there's still a decent chance they could suddenly announced a Q1 2012 release for Xenoblade sometime this November.

And no, I don't think we'll get any of the Operation Rainfall games on the Wii in NA.  NoA's given up on the platform, so the best non-importers can hope for is a weak Wii U launch lineup leading to NoA putting the games on the Wii U.

Rhythm Heaven and Mario Party 9 which are both coming out in 2012 say otherwise.

[broodwars]

And no, I don't think we'll get any of the Operation Rainfall games on the Wii in NA.  NoA's given up on the platform, so the best non-importers can hope for is a weak Wii U launch lineup leading to NoA putting the games on the Wii U.

Rhythm Heaven and Mario Party 9 which are both coming out in 2012 say otherwise.

Yeah, two C-list titles, both of which probably won't sell well, are releasing next year.  C'mon, we both know that's a pathetic amount of NoA support for the Wii in its last year.

[Adrock]

Seriously. That's like subbing in the bench warmers at the end of the game when the outcome of the game is already decided.

[Kytim89]

My advice to people who want these games in America is to not give up. Nintendo is a very bipolar corporation, so if Operation Rainfall were to up the ante through this time and next fall then we could get some where. What gets me is that all of the Wii's games released inside north America have sold better than ones released outside America. One would figure that there is very little risk in releasing just three games when they very well could sell beyong the one-hundred thousand mark. It makes no sense for them not to do this.

[Luigi Dude]

Yeah, two C-list titles, both of which probably won't sell well, are releasing next year.  C'mon, we both know that's a pathetic amount of NoA support for the Wii in its last year.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=18481.7425

North American million sellers

Mario Party 8 - 3.47

Mario Party is one of Nintendo's best selling series and it's getting a new game released in 2012, showing they have no problem still releasing Wii games.

Like I've said before, NOA only brings games over that they know will sell good or forced by NCL to do.  Mario Party's a hugely successful series and the DS Rhythm Heaven sold decent, which is why the newest games for each one are coming out.  Xenoblade has actually been selling well in Europe, and since the North American and European markets are very similar, it show NOA that Xenoblade could do similar.

Seriously, whats so hard for some of you to understand?  If NOA feels that Xenoblade will sell in North America, they'll release it.  Unlike Disaster and Another Code which bombed in Europe, Xenoblade is selling.  Nintendo games 95% of the time have similar success in North America and Europe.  Yes there's no guarantee, but to act like there's no chance because other Europe only games didn't is very foolish since all the other Europe only games bombed in Europe which showed NOA they would bomb in America as well.  Xenoblade is performing different which means the result this time can also be different as well.

[nickmitch]

NOA could still say that NA gamers who really wanted it already imported and use that as further excuse. And honestly, not bringing over the paltry amount of games that they are bringing would be down right insulting and alienate fans. Obscure RPGs? Yeah, some people would get upset. Kirby and Mario Party? That's cause for rioting. That's me giving up on NOA all together and buying a European Wii U and importing for the entirety of the next generation.

[Kytim89]

If I were in NoA's position I would feel embarrassed that my customers had to turn to another continent just to play three games that I could easily give them with just the simple swipe of a pen. Also, here is a nice video review of an import copy of Last Story, so I hope you enjoy.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OFCpharn-w
 
The people of Europe should get in on the Operation Rainfall and send emial and letters to NoA just to get a point across.

[Shorty McNostril]

It's not going to make any difference man. They won't listen. We will have to see if tower and last story end up in Europe and Australia.

I don't know if its just me being paranoid, but I'm detecting the arrogance we saw from Nintendo in the SNES days. Will the humble themselves while they still have a chance.

[Mop it up]

I'm still hoping for a 2012 release of XenoBlade, I think it has the best chance of making it over since it was originally planned for release here. It wouldn't be the first time that Nintendo released a game in North America years after its Japanese release, especially when the region could use some software.

Also, Mario Party 9 would be my most anticipated game for 2011 if it were being released this year.

That is all.

[Kytim89]

If these games were to be released in north America, this is how I see it happening:
 
Xenoblade: Spring of 2012
Last Story: Summer of 2012
Pandora's Tower: Fall of 2012
 
The release for both Pandora's Tower and Last Story could be switched, so I assume either one could be released in the other's time slot.
 
As for Dragon Quest X, I see the samething happening to that game as what happened with Twilight Princess. The Wii version will get released earlly in november of 2012 and the Wii U version will be released alongside the Wii U itaself sometime in november or december of next year. So, by the end of 2012 we should have anew home console and the success of Operation Rainfall.

[broodwars]

If these games were to be released in north America, this is how I see it happening:
 
Xenoblade: Spring of 2012
Last Story: Summer of 2012
Pandora's Tower: Fall of 2012
 
The release for both Pandora's Tower and Last Story could be switched, so I assume either one could be released in the other's time slot.
 
As for Dragon Quest X, I see the samething happening to that game as what happened with Twilight Princess. The Wii version will get released earlly in november of 2012 and the Wii U version will be released alongside the Wii U itaself sometime in november or december of next year. So, by the end of 2012 we should have anew home console and the success of Operation Rainfall.

OK, first off of the 3 Rainfall games, Pandora's Tower is by far the least likely to reach NA.  I'd be very pleasantly surprised if it did.  It wasn't developed by a Nintendo studio like Xenoblade, and it wasn't helmed by the creator of Final Fantasy like Last Story.  Aside from being an interesting experiment, there's just nothing going for it that would especially draw NoA's attention right now.

Next, you forget that the Wii version of Twilight Princess launched before the GameCube version did.  The Wii version released in November alongside the Wii, and the GameCube version released a month later in December.  So if you want your analogy to hold true, DQ X would release on the Wii U in late November, with the Wii version (if it even releases in NA, which I highly doubt) releasing just before Christmas in December.

[Kytim89]

If Pandora's Tower sells well in Europe then there is a very slight possibility that it could be released in the states. However, after watching gameplay videos of Pandora's Tower it seems to me that this game would be a better fit on the 3DS as a handheld game. NoA seems to favor the 3DS now, so hy not put a core tites on the system?

[ejamer]

Still wishing these games would come out in North America, but have no expectation that NoA cares about their core fanbase enough to risk losing money.


Does that mean Operation Rainfall was a failure? Not necessarily. It did raise awareness of these games, and ensured that the core audience who would most enjoy them have the information required to import. The games will receive a wider audience because of Operation Rainfall, and that is great news even if the ultimate goal of seeing them published here is never reached.

[Kytim89]

I wonder if the sales of Sin and Punishment 2 and the lukewarm reception of Other M might have had a hand in NoA refusing to release these games here in the states?

[broodwars]

I wonder if the sales of Sin and Punishment 2 and the lukewarm reception of Other M might have had a hand in NoA refusing to release these games here in the states?

Probably.  NoA is incapable of understanding the distinction between people not buying games because they're mediocre/not worth $50 and not buying them because they aren't interested in those kinds of games.

[Kytim89]

I remember Reggie talking about how Other M made it to 500,000 units sold and how it should have been a million unit seller. Well, this is kind of a sad statement when most of the third party business partners of Nintendo struggle to surpass even the 100,000 unit sold mark of their franchises.

[Sundoulos]

Sadly, I'll have to agree that a 2012 release for Xenoblade appears unlikely.  NoA has had plenty of opportunity to indicate that they might still be leaving the release on the table.  By delaying any potential announcement, they've already allowed an already niche market to become smaller through importing.  As more time passes, it makes less sense for Nintendo to announce a release.

I tried to hold out for a while, but I fear that NoE's stock would become unavailable if I waited to long.  Because I've taken the steps to import Xenoblade and install the software needed to play it, I'm all the more likely to import The Last Story at release.  I certainly don't confident that NoA is going to change course at this point, and I don't plan to wait around for them to do so.

[Luigi Dude]

Sadly, I'll have to agree that a 2012 release for Xenoblade appears unlikely. NoA has had plenty of opportunity to indicate that they might still be leaving the release on the table.

They've already done this.  They said they'll be monitoring the games performance in Europe before making any decisions.  The game has only been out in Europe for over a month.  Even if the games performance in the last month has changed NOA's minds, they wouldn't have announced anything since it's too late to get the game out by the holiday.

If Xenoblade does come out, the earliest it'll come out is Q1 2012, and NOA doesn't announe Q1 release dates until at least November.  Like how last year they announced Dragon Quest 6 completely out of the blue for a Q1 2011 release date at either the end of November or early December 2010.

[Spak-Spang]

I wonder if NOA could use these games as filler for WiiU launch?  Could they be upscaled to look nicer?  Just a thought.

[broodwars]

I wonder if NOA could use these games as filler for WiiU launch?  Could they be upscaled to look nicer?  Just a thought.

Sure, if their respective developers are willing to devote the time and resources to creating HD textures for all 3 games, as well as optimizing their engines to run better with the new textures and any other changes.  They could simply release the existing games coded to display at HD resolution, but that really wouldn't make the games look nice enough to be banner titles for a Wii U launch.

Do I think Nintendo of America cares about these games enough to do that when they've never shown much interest in RPGs (with notable exceptions)? No.

[Kytim89]

I plan to but Skyward Sword new this november, but everything else that Nintendo releases from here onto the launch of the Wii U I am buying used.

[broodwars]

I plan to but Skyward Sword new this november, but everything else that Nintendo releases from here onto the launch of the Wii U I am buying used.

Oh yeah, that'll hurt them.  In other words, you're planning on buying nothing as NoA prepares to try to sell you nothing.  Perhaps you'd like to hurt them even more by boycotting any future GameCube and N64 titles?

If you want your boycott to have any meaning at least to yourself, don't buy Zelda Skyward Sword new.  That's what I'm planning to do, and I fully acknowledge that in the grand scheme of things that means nothing to Nintendo of America.  But it means something to me.

[Kytim89]

There is always Flingsmash and Wii Play Motion. Wonder if Nintendo would port these games to the 3DS?