Gaming Petition: japanese games on Wii

[Kenshin Br]

Nintendo published some games in Japan, and they hold the rights to these games in North and Latin America, but for some random reason, they don't plan to release them here.

In the beginning was Disaster, then Fatal Frame 4, Trace Memory R... And now I'm afraid thet we also won't get Xenoblade, Last Story and the new Fatal Frame.

That's a serious issue for all Wii owners. Nintendo is keeping some great games in Japan. And it's not like these games wouldn't sell well here... I mean, they've released Sin and Punishment 2 and Endless Ocean. I'm sure that with the right marketing, games like Disaster, Fatal Frame and Xenoblade would do pretty well.

So I've started a petition just to let Nintendo know that there are some gamers who want to play these games here.

Link: http://www.petitiononline.com/wiijap12/petition.html

There is also a kind of promotional video with some more information (not really great but...):

 

[Goli]

*signs* From the ones you've mentioned I've played Trace Memory R and Xenoblado, both are so great and they really deserve a chance to shine here

. Also The Last Story'll be awesome.

 

[smash_brew]

good luck with your petition, but these things never work. I'm pretty sure i've seen several petitions in the past for the localization of fatal frame 4. obviously they didn't work.

 

[Kenshin Br]

good luck with your petition, but these things never work. I'm pretty sure i've seen several petitions in the past for the localization of fatal frame 4. obviously they didn't work.

Yeah.

I think that theses things only work with Capcom. LOL.

They released Tatsunoko here because of the fans, the same with Resident Evil 4 Wii (there was a petition for RE4 on Wii).

But I'm just trying because I'm really pissed of... I mean, it's not only one or two games, but actually 7 games that they could bring to America... That's a lot.

 

[DS1]

Personally I've never seen any internet petition accomplish anything, but that isn't to say that it's not a good reason to question why all of these games are being denied a North American audience (and NTSC-M).

I mean, I had only heard of a few of them, but I looked up the others and none of them seem like off-the-charts niche genre games. Fatal Frame has been in America for a while, while the developers of Last Story and Xenoblade have released most of their big titles in America without fail. I'm not so sure about Disaster, there are many similar games (all awesome), that never make it to America.

I expect Xenoblade to be released for sure. Don't worry about SquareEnix withholding release dates, they left people wondering if we'd ever get Dragon Quest IX, and we did, so it's all good.

 

[Kenshin Br]

Xenoblade is not a Square Enix title. Xenoblade was developed by Monolith, that is a Nintendo's internal studio.

Last Story is being developed by Mistwalker, but it will be published by Nintendo, so who will decide if this game will come America or not will be Nintendo.

All these games are published by Nintendo. I didn't put any third-party game on the list.

 

[Am0s]

give us a link to the info you found out about xenoblade please

 

[Kenshin Br]

give us a link to the info you found out about xenoblade please

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenoblade

 

[Taleweaver]

So I've started a petition just to let Nintendo know that there are some gamers who want to play these games here.

I don't mean to be cynical, but...I think nintendo would be less unimpressed if you had a big poll from gamers who would want to BUY these games here.

Even if you count out the fact that this is a forum full of pirates (aaarrrrrrrr!!!!), the guys that actually really want to buy these games end up buying an import version (and cracking their wii just enough to get around the region stuff).


so...yeah. Capitalism may not be the best system ever, but you can be sure of one thing: if there's money to be made, they'll listen. But taken the cost of regionalisation, voice acting and all that jazz, you need more than a handfull of devoted otaku's who buy everything from the region.



It's a shame, really. Sin and punishment 2 is one of the best games I have. But it's like nobody even knows about its existence.

 

[Giga_Gaia]

Xenoblade is still coming here, according to Nintendo.

Yes, some Monolith games never made it here, but there is a lot more that made it here then those that didn't. Soma Bringer is an exemple of the very few games that didn't make it here. Be patient, the game was released in June in japan, you can't expect them to announce a localization for a game before the japanese release or very soon after the release all the time. This isn't a first party title, I think they're busy with other things at the moment, like Pokemon B/W, Zelda SS, Donkey kong Country Returns, Kirby Epic Yarn and knowing them, probably another mario.

As for The Last Story ... really, calm down, it's not even released in japan.

 

[koji2009]

This is beyond common practice. It's not a simple matter of "will it sell?" but "will it sell WELL and will it compete with our other titles?"

It's a simply matter of economics... Is the time and effort to release game X in region Y worth the cost of Z in relation to the cost:benefit of option A?

It's not like there is some grumpy guy in nintendo who goes "How can I make children cry today? I know, I won't release this game they're looking forward to!"

In short: Your petition won't change squat because it won't change the equation which decides which games get localized in favor of others.

 

[VashTS]

there are a lot of other games that wouldn't make it in the usa as well, its cultural differences. that goes for pal region and jap.

they are not going to release a game that will sell 25,000 copies. its not worth the investment.

 

[Inunah]

Trace Memory R...

Trace Memory R is just an enhanced remake of Trace Memory for the DS except with a few extra features... Why wish for that here when you can just play the original?

 

[Kenshin Br]

So I've started a petition just to let Nintendo know that there are some gamers who want to play these games here.
I don't mean to be cynical, but...I think nintendo would be less unimpressed if you had a big poll from gamers who would want to BUY these games here.

Even if you count out the fact that this is a forum full of pirates (aaarrrrrrrr!!!!), the guys that actually really want to buy these games end up buying an import version (and cracking their wii just enough to get around the region stuff).

so...yeah. Capitalism may not be the best system ever, but you can be sure of one thing: if there's money to be made, they'll listen. But taken the cost of regionalisation, voice acting and all that jazz, you need more than a handfull of devoted otaku's who buy everything from the region.

It's a shame, really. Sin and punishment 2 is one of the best games I have. But it's like nobody even knows about its existence.


Just buy an import version? Did you forget that... These games are in japanese?

Can you enjoy an RPG like Xenoblade without knowing what the game is saying? I don't think so...

And you're wrong about people not wanting to buy these games. It's just a matter of marketing.

Muramasa, which is much more "cult" game than these titles, did sell well in North America: more than 150k units (outselling by 50k the japanese version).

So, if Muramasa could do these numbers, there no reason to belive that Xenoblade or Fatal Frame 4 wouldn't achieve decent sales, right?

QUOTE(VashTS @ Oct 5 2010, 02:26 PM)

there are a lot of other games that wouldn't make it in the usa as well, its cultural differences. that goes for pal region and jap.

they are not going to release a game that will sell 25,000 copies. its not worth the investment.

25,000?

As I said, Muramasa sold 150k... about 50k in the first week... What you have to say about it?

 

[Aeladya]

Trace Memory R...

Trace Memory R is just an enhanced remake of Trace Memory for the DS except with a few extra features... Why wish for that here when you can just play the original?

Uhhh no it's not. Another Code R is a sequel to Another Code/Trace Memory.

 

[Taleweaver]

So I've started a petition just to let Nintendo know that there are some gamers who want to play these games here.

I don't mean to be cynical, but...I think nintendo would be less unimpressed if you had a big poll from gamers who would want to BUY these games here.

Even if you count out the fact that this is a forum full of pirates (aaarrrrrrrr!!!!), the guys that actually really want to buy these games end up buying an import version (and cracking their wii just enough to get around the region stuff).

so...yeah. Capitalism may not be the best system ever, but you can be sure of one thing: if there's money to be made, they'll listen. But taken the cost of regionalisation, voice acting and all that jazz, you need more than a handfull of devoted otaku's who buy everything from the region.

It's a shame, really. Sin and punishment 2 is one of the best games I have. But it's like nobody even knows about its existence.

Just buy an import version? Did you forget that... These games are in japanese?

Can you enjoy an RPG like Xenoblade without knowing what the game is saying? I don't think so...

And you're wrong about people not wanting to buy these games. It's just a matter of marketing.

Muramasa, which is much more "cult" game than these titles, did sell well in North America: more than 150k units (outselling by 50k the japanese version).

So, if Muramasa could do these numbers, there no reason to belive that Xenoblade or Fatal Frame 4 wouldn't achieve decent sales, right?

I didn't forget it...but it can be overcome.
-some Japanese games have english subtitles included
-regional fanmade translations tend to happen
-believe it or not, but some foreigners actually know or learn Japanese. Of course not solely for the purpose of playing a game, but it sure helps (I actually learned more English from games and movies than from whatever English I had at school).
-I wasn't just talking of RPG's. There's a decent amount of fighters & shooters that require virtually no knowledge of what kind of language whatsoever.


Sorry if it sounds arrogant, but I think that "just a matter of marketing" is just an easy way to justify yourself without you actually knowing the market. That Muramasa sells well doesn't mean everything Japan produces is pure awesomeness. In fact, I'm willing to bet that if Muramasa was turn-based instead of the hack 'n slashing fun it is, those sales numbers would be A LOT less.