Nintendo Fans Are Taking It Into Their Own Hands to Get Xenoblade And Others In NA

[waytofailself]

It's kind of interesting to see Nintendo, which has some of the most rabid/volatile fans, face such a back lash over games that most people know little about. Well, know little except that they exist, and only know that there might be only 1 or 2 Wii games worth playing released this whole year. And possibly none for next calendar year.

But just take a look at this post from Nintendo's facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Nintendo/posts/162340667167231

There's lots of people sending messages, lots of people calling. But not just that, there's lots of people sending snail mail too:

http://www.destructoid.com/letter-writing-campaign-for-last-story-pandora-s-tower-204505.phtml

Nintendo has a bad track record of keeping regions locked out of certain releases (whether it's Europe or North America). But what's really bizzare with a game like Xenoblade is that it sold well, got very good reviews, and already has its English translation in place for its September release in Europe.

I just think it's an interesting story. NoA will have a lot of people watching them to see what they do.

[MachoMyers]

Re: Nintendo Fans Are Taking It Into Their Own Hands to Get Xenoblade And Others In N

I'm all for this seeing as region locking the 3DS has me more than concerned being in Europe and likely not seeing many releases.

[waytofailself]

Re: Nintendo Fans Are Taking It Into Their Own Hands to Get Xenoblade And Others In N

Hey guys! Look at what is currently the #1 ranked item on Amazon.com's video game section: http://www.amazon.com/Monado-Beginni...9065324&sr=8-1

(Hint: it's the old American title for Xenoblade)

Gamers across North America are uniting and are not going to take it anymore. All aboard

[goh]

Re: Nintendo Fans Are Taking It Into Their Own Hands to Get Xenoblade And Others In N

Nintendo hears ya,Nintendo don't care...

http://kotaku.com/5816904/nintendo-o...games-you-want

[Cyros]

Re: Nintendo Fans Are Taking It Into Their Own Hands to Get Xenoblade And Others In N

Nintendo hears ya,Nintendo don't care...

http://kotaku.com/5816904/nintendo-o...games-you-want

That sounds like Nintendo.

[mgoblue678]

Re: Nintendo Fans Are Taking It Into Their Own Hands to Get Xenoblade And Others In N

I guess they figure American Wii owners are too busy with all the other great Wii titles at the moment.

That is sarcasm in case anybody actually thinks that is a serious statement.

[av7]

Re: Nintendo Fans Are Taking It Into Their Own Hands to Get Xenoblade And Others In N

I guess they figure American Wii owners are too busy with all the other great Wii titles at the moment.

Or they think everyone would rather play next to Mario with their Mii character

[Flawless]

Re: Nintendo Fans Are Taking It Into Their Own Hands to Get Xenoblade And Others In N

Nintendo of America caves:

Xenoblade's North American Release A Victory For Fans And The Medium Both

I got something of a karmic pardon this morning. Nintendo announced the North American release of Xenoblade Chronicles for the Wii. Released in Europe in August to incredible acclaim -- it earned a 92 Metacritic -- it was best known in the U.S. for being the reason that many broke down and hacked their Wiis to play import games (myself included.)

It's a good thing Nintendo of America came to its senses and decided to release the game outside of Japan and Europe. It's really a very good game, for one thing.

It's the kind of game that fills a conspicuous hole in the generation: the revolutionary Japanese RPG that answers the complaints of audiences tired of what's wrong with the genre. This is something that other big names -- Microsoft (Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey), Square Enix (Final Fantasy XIII), Sony (White Knight Chronicles) -- have thus far completely failed to do.

This is the kind of game that is representative of something beyond itself. Developed by Monolith Soft, the team behind the Xenosaga series -- both a big hope and, ultimately, an unrealized ambition for the genre in the last generation -- it builds on the promising, uncompleted work started by 2006's Final Fantasy XII to modernize a genre that's doggedly resisted almost all attempts at evolution.

Xenoblade Chronicles is fast-paced, user-friendly, free, open, and respectful of its audience's time -- all of the things that JRPGs are typically accused of not being, in other words. But it doesn't lose the essence of the genre all the same, delivering the engaging melodrama, **** sweep, and charm that Japanese games are best known for. It's a beautiful blend. This is a game that deserves to be played, and by more than just the genre's die-hard fans.

Xenoblade Chronicles proves that there's life left in a genre that has become synonymous with stagnation and conservatism. It is a damn fine game, and there are frankly still too few of those being published relative to what's out there. And certainly, in 2012, very few of them will be published on the Wii. It is a game where a highly motivated developer stuck a stake in the ground and said "I want to transform the way this kind of game is made" and did it. How can a game like that not be made available to the broadest audience possible? It is, to my mind, an ethical question as much as it is a business one.

Now, I'm left with only one question for Nintendo of America. What are your plans for Hironobu Sakaguchi's The Last Story?

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