Twitter/Facebook campaign for Xenoblade

A Twitter/Facebook campaign for Xenoblade has been started up over at IGN forums in hope for localisation in North America. Join the movement!

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

Facebook page - Operation Rainfall

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Operation-Rainfall/212751422093743

Twitter page:

http://twitter.com/#!/OpRainfall

I know we're getting a EU release, but let's help these guys out as much as possible. This game deserves the exposure.

Nah.

Did they set one up for us to get Excitebots, I think not.

I'll pass, I quite doubt they would ever done something like that for us, so not feeling it. Plus, if they actually wanted the game they could just import it, you know, like we've had to do for years.

You guys are cruel!

Forgiveness is the way to go, no matter how many times they have let you down!

I'm not in though, I'm just too lazy.

Nah.

 

Did they set one up for us to get Excitebots, I think not.

I'll pass, I quite doubt they would ever done something like that for us, so not feeling it. Plus, if they actually wanted the game they could just import it, you know, like we've had to do for years.

Well said.

For years we have had to put up with this kind of treatment, it's nice to see the US getting screwed over this time. By rights though Nintendo should get their fingers out and bring it to all regions, there really is no excuse.

C'mon, guys. Don't do this for NA, do it for Monolith Soft. They deserve it.

And NA should have done it for Monolith for BK: Origins for us

If we eventually get "The Last Story" that should show that NoE does actually care. I don't know what they expect in sales and if the translation they're doing for Xenoblade will pay off. But it's sure nice to know at least one RPG I care about is coming to the Wii. ^^

Amazon.com still has Xenoblade listed as "Monado". If US gamers really want the game, they might as well preorder it:

If we eventually get "The Last Story" that should show that NoE does actually care.

I thought we were getting The Last Story in 2012? Fingers crossed that they follow through with that.

Nah.

 

Did they set one up for us to get Excitebots, I think not.

I'll pass, I quite doubt they would ever done something like that for us, so not feeling it. Plus, if they actually wanted the game they could just import it, you know, like we've had to do for years.

Wait....so it's US gamers responsibility to start "petitions" to get games released for the US and EU?

That doesn't seem quite fair at all. You'd have a better case had such pages popped up in the past for attempting to change NoE's mind and the US didn't help rather than the US just not making a page for you.....

Wait....so it's US gamers responsibility to start "petitions" to get games released for the US and EU?

 

That doesn't seem quite fair at all. You'd have a better case had such pages popped up in the past for attempting to change NoE's mind and the US didn't help rather than the US just not making a page for you.....

Of course not, that's just crazy talk. People can help them all they want, sure, but if it's the other way round, things would be different. America is being denied something, and now they're kicking up a fuss and everyone must help them(though fuss is justified). Europe doesn't have something? It doesn't matter cause America has it.

Now that is an extreme view and an exaggerated at that, but that's the kind of thing that would happen. But America will be far more prone to shrugging things off that they could assist in, while other gamers will undoubtedly help.

On to the Amazon thing though, things are getting set up for one giant fall. People must surely know that 1) There are multiple/fake pre-orders from folk 2) This will in no way reflect the actual retail sales and they know it, people will mass cancel pre-orders down the line whether the game gets picked up or not. And if it does and they get that chance for Xenoblade and cancellations happen, NoA will not do it again.

On to the Amazon thing though, things are getting set up for one giant fall. People must surely know that 1) There are multiple/fake pre-orders from folk 2) This will in no way reflect the actual retail sales and they know it, people will mass cancel pre-orders down the line whether the game gets picked up or not. And if it does and they get that chance for Xenoblade and cancellations happen, NoA will not do it again.

This has been said a lot, but I can't help but feel it's massively missing the point.

Nintendo are not releasing ANY of these titles in North America as it stands.

NA gamers are LITERALLY in the worst-case scenario right now.

So they localise Xenoblade. If they do that, this particular campaign has basically won. Nobody is really doing it for the long-term sales. They are doing it for the release in the first place.

What will happen then could go either way:

a) It sells well and bodes well for other JRPG

b) It sells horribly. Then what? NOA don't release any of the others?

How would that be any different from what's happening now?

I believe this campaign is more than just giving Nintendo money (Although, it plays a big part) But it's, more importantly, also a way to make NoA realise that thier core gamers are fed up of shovelware and want Nintendo to provide us with more core games. If they want to establish a hardcore market for the Wii U, then they're going to have to prove that they're able to bring these games over to us.

What will happen then could go either way:

 

a) It sells well and bodes well for other JRPG

b) It sells horribly. Then what? NOA don't release any of the others?

 

How would that be any different from what's happening now?

It will result in this:

Person: So Xenoblade bombed in America. It seems the fan interest didn't translate into actual sales. Who knew eh?

I believe this campaign is more than just giving Nintendo money (Although, it plays a big part) But it's, more importantly, also a way to make NoA realise that thier core gamers are fed up of shovelware and want Nintendo to provide us with more core games. If they want to establish a hardcore market for the Wii U, then they're going to have to prove that they're able to bring these games over to us.

If D_prOd's second option ends up being true it won't be a case of giving money to Nintendo, it will be a case of taking a hell of a lot away.

If D_prOd's second option ends up being true it won't be a case of giving money to Nintendo, it will be a case of taking a hell of a lot away.

How much is "a hell of a lot", when all they theoretically have to do, is kindly ask NoE for their translation, pay the ERSB for rating the game, do a limited print run and send out review copies? If there's not some disproportional money sink hidden in there somewhere, they would have to sell like no copy at all in order to actually lose money.

It's not like anyone is asking them to run Super Bowl ads.

How much is "a hell of a lot", when all they theoretically have to do, is kindly ask NoE for their translation, pay the ERSB for rating the game, do a limited print run and send out review copies? If there's not some disproportional money sink hidden in there somewhere, they would have to sell like no copy at all in order to actually lose money.

 

It's not like anyone is asking them to run Super Bowl ads.

To the latter point its a lose-lose situation. No ads and poor sales = "well you didn't advertise it" - fans. But with ads they're starting at a loss.

Why are they just sending out review copies exactly...?

To the latter point its a lose-lose situation. No ads and poor sales = "well you didn't advertise it" - fans. But with ads they're starting at a loss.

 

Why are they just sending out review copies exactly...?

It's probably hard to effectively advertise an inherently Japanese home console RPG that's not Final Fantasy to a mass audience, if it suffers from piss poor texture quality (due to the game's scope and the platform it's on) in any case. Viewed up close, Xenoblade isn't a looker.

That's why they shouldn't bother with expensive ads and rely on review copies. Favorable reviews are nothing but pure advertising (half the point of gaming media is, really) and are guaranteed to reach the enthusiasts. Those are the people who are after Xenoblade, not the soccer moms. Trailers on their homepage, press releases and youtube videos hardly cost them anything and will reach the same audience. In this day and age, they're the most effective means to advertise niche games.

You cannot tell me that this doesn't work. Ever heard of Radiant Historia? Atlus didn't have to do a second print run because the game bombed. And Xenoblade easily plays in a different ball park.

Heck, with people in the US campaigning for the game, it's currently getting free advertising from fans. Even in Japan, Xenoblade, Pandora's Tower and The Last Story climbed in Amazon rankings in the last two days, probably due to the campaign.

I wasn't arguing that it may not work, it just seemed to stop at "give people review copies"

Now I understand.

After "sending out review copies", I omitted "selling the game", as that seemed too obvious.

Ever heard of Radiant Historia? Atlus didn't have to do a second print run because the game bombed.

Yes indeed I have. I thought it got a second print run? There was a good bit of hype around it as there is with all Atlus games.

Yes indeed I have. I thought it got a second print run? There was a good bit of hype around it as there is with all Atlus games.

As I tried to imply in the part you quoted: Yes, Atlus had to do a second print run.

As I tried to imply in the part you quoted: Yes, Atlus had to do a second print run.

I... err... right.

I must have been too sleepy after work to catch your implication.

Here's Nintendo's official response.

Thank you for your enthusiasm. We promised an update, so here it is. We never say “never,†but we can confirm that there are no plans to bring these three games to the Americas at this time. Thanks so much for your passion, and for being such great fans!

It's the response I was expecting and they didn't even say why.

Damn, that's a pretty harsh reality right there.

Especially when you consider NINTENDO will probably be losing quite some dedicaded fans over this....

I get that Nintendo are thinking "well, the Wii's life is almost done, no need to bother", but this reflects extremely badly on them. I'm sure this will remain in the back of a lot of people's minds when it comes to buying the Wii U, which will not be good for Nintendo at all.