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Nintendo of America, Xseed Comment on Xenoblade, The Last Story Sales

by Tyler Ohlew - October 6, 2012, 10:37 am EDT
Total comments: 35 Source: Kotaku, http://kotaku.com/5947861/its-time-for-japanese-de...

And will Monolith Soft's Wii U title make it to North America? 

Without revealing actual numbers, Reggie Fils-Aime told Kotaku that Xenoblade Chronicles sold "quite well" for Nintendo. The title, a Japanese role-playing game from Monolith Soft, was sold only through GameStop and Nintendo's online store in North America.

As for The Last Story, Xseed's Jessica Chavez said that it continues to sell "really well" and hopes for it to do the same moving forward.

Does North America's response to Xenoblade Chronicles bode well for a Western release of Monolith Soft's upcoming Wii U title? Fils-Aime looks to be taking the same approach Nintendo of America takes to any localization efforts. The title's sales potential will be evaluated, and if it's a "profitable venture," Nintendo of America will release the game.

Talkback

oohhboyHong Hang Ho, Staff AlumnusOctober 06, 2012

So a continuing policy of limp dickness. Message received.

SarailOctober 06, 2012

I just don't understand why Reggie doesn't get the whole "bring out different types of games for every type of gamer - which in turn will please your fanbase, causing you to prosper and grow" approach. It boggles my mind.

You can't make advancements if you don't take the risks.

CaliforniaFloridianOctober 06, 2012

Won't they be able to hedge their bets with Wii U titles and release them only on the eShop if they desire? Hopefully we don't see the same type of debacle that we had with Xenoblade/Last Story/etc. Yes, they will still need to localize the games into English, but the distribution costs should be much less...

Kytim89October 06, 2012

This imrpoves the porospects of North America getting Pandora's Tower.

ShyGuyOctober 06, 2012

Maybe Pandora's Tower as a Wii U download.

BlackNMild2k1October 06, 2012

With simultaneous translation and full retail title eShop releases, I see no reason for Nintendo to not release everything that is produced, at the very least in the eShop.

Maybe even use eShop Pre-Orders as a way to finance a translation effort.

Which makes a :lightbulb: go off.
Are there pre-orders on the console digital title services? Seems like a great way to push digital sales over retail, especially if there are pre-order (before demo) options.

Chozo GhostOctober 06, 2012

Quote:

Reggie Fils-Aime told Kotaku that Xenoblade Chronicles sold "quite well" for Nintendo.

Does this mean Reggie now realizes he was wrong about holding these games back? North America could have had these games back in 2009 just like Europe and Japan did. Imagine how much the sales of those games would be now, if they had been on the market three years ago and hadn't had their sales cut into by so many people having imported the game, or having abandoned the Wii entirely and moved on to greener pastures. As good as these games may have sold in 2012, if they had launched in 2009 they would have done far better.

I hope these games have sold better than the garbageware he likes peddling. Its too bad these games came out too late in the Wii's lifecycle to have made much of a difference, but it would be nice if they showed Reggie that core gamers matter and that he shouldn't neglect them in the future. No one cares about Reggie's garbage waggleware anymore. We want REAL games such as these. Hopefully the sales were good enough for him to have got the message, and more importantly hopefully he will change his ways. Reggie has the power to change. But first he has to want to change and he has to open his eyes to what gamers actually want.

Mop it upOctober 06, 2012

Quote from: Chozo

North America could have had these games back in 2009 just like Europe and Japan did.

So North America could magically have gotten the games a year or two before they were actually finished making them?

Without actual numbers, I don't want to assume that "quite well" in marketting speak is actually significant enough to effect any change. After all, Sony keeps saying that Vita sales are in line with what they were expecting to sell, which sounds good until you actually see the worldwide numbers...

MrPhishfoodOctober 06, 2012

Quote from: Chozo

I hope these games have sold better than the garbageware he likes peddling. Its too bad these games came out too late in the Wii's lifecycle to have made much of a difference, but it would be nice if they showed Reggie that core gamers matter and that he shouldn't neglect them in the future. No one cares about Reggie's garbage waggleware anymore.

Does it make you feel more manly to insult someone? You're also making an assumption in that Reggie is solely responsible for holding back those games. Nintendo isn't a celebrity that owes something to their fans, they are business. They spend money to make money.


I consider Xenoblade to be the best game of this generation (yes including 360 and PS3) and I'm glad Nintendo localized it.

I think the 25GB disc capacity on the Wii U will be interesting. This generation if someone wanted to make an RPG with a huge expansive world then it had to be PS3 exlcusive because players would find all the disc swapping cumbersome on the 360. Final Fantasy 13 could have turned out to be a very different game if it remained PS3 exclusive. A Nintendo developed RPG will remain exclusive and won't suffer from any design road blocks from having to go multiplatform.

Because there is so much storage on a single disc I would also expect full Japanese voice overs and stunning CG cut scenes with hardly any compression.

ThePermOctober 06, 2012

he held them back and then created the marketing push to bring them, improving their sales from what they originally would be.

all a clever ploy. New Coke. You marks fell for it.

Chozo GhostOctober 06, 2012

Quote from: MrPhishfood

Does it make you feel more manly to insult someone?

I'm not insulting someone, I'm insulting the casual waggleware that Reggie has been peddling the last 6 years. That is not someone, that is something. And the reason I insult it is because it is an insult to gamers everywhere. By pushing it on us Reggie was insulting us. He was insulting our intelligence by expecting we would buy into it. But we didn't want that. We wanted REAL games like Xenoblade and Last Story. Hopefully now Reggie realizes he was wrong all along and will change his ways accordingly.

Mop it upOctober 06, 2012

How can Reggie satisfy you when you want games to be released before they are even completed?!

Quote from: Chozo

Hopefully now Reggie realizes he was wrong all along and will change his ways accordingly.

You're still assuming that "quite well" means what you think it means...

MrPhishfoodOctober 06, 2012

Quote from: Chozo

I'm not insulting someone, I'm insulting the casual waggleware that Reggie has been peddling the last 6 years. That is not someone, that is something. And the reason I insult it is because it is an insult to gamers everywhere. By pushing it on us Reggie was insulting us. He was insulting our intelligence by expecting we would buy into it. But we didn't want that. We wanted REAL games like Xenoblade and Last Story. Hopefully now Reggie realizes he was wrong all along and will change his ways accordingly.

When you associate the words pedlar (as opposed to salesman or advertiser)and garbageware with someone, when is that not insulting? Especially when said person likes to peddle their garbageware? Nobody pushed anything on to you, the games were simply available and you either buy it or don't buy it. It doesn't insult you by merely existing and doesn't insult you by being advertised to you.

Whatever was advertised to you surely didn't go "hey you the gamer, buy this game you'll love it". Maybe you're just too sensitive if you feel so incensed to go as far as ranting about it on a public forum. Who are these "gamers" you are referring to, I assume you must be one of them but that doesn't tell me a whole lot. Are these "gamers" a group of people that companies owe something to? To me a gamer could be anyone from 3 to over 100 years old, working in any profession or not working at all, a model citizen to a degenerate scum bag. A broad spectrum of people who would have a very broad spectrum of tastes when it comes to entertainment.

You may be upset with the existence of waggle games but not everyone has the patience and time to put 100 hours in Xenoblade. There are people out there who actually play that stuff, it may not be for you but you shouldn't write off its significance to others.

You're still making the assumption that Reggie is soley responsible for holding back those games. Where is your source? He may be the head of NoA but he's not the head of Nintendo Japan, you don't even know what this professional responsibilities are.

You make far too many assumptions and come off as entitled as if companies are beholden to you.

Chozo GhostOctober 06, 2012

Quote from: Mop

How can Reggie satisfy you when you want games to be released before they are even completed?!

They came out in 2010 in Europe and Japan, right? If so, then I was wrong about 2009, but my point is still valid. The games came out in other regions 2 years before they came out in North America. If it were just Japan I would understand it was because of localization issues, but then why is it that Europe had them localized into English without a problem?

Quote from: MrPhishfood

Nobody pushed anything on to you, the games were simply available and you either buy it or don't buy it. It doesn't insult you by merely existing and doesn't insult you by being advertised to you.

I didn't say he forced it on gamers at gunpoint. Obviously you had the option of not buying it or going to the competition (which many Wii owners did). But he did "push" the games, and by that I mean that's what he promoted and trumpeted for you to buy. His attitude was basically "here's your food. If you don't like it, starve". And that was it... and then when he received criticism he responded by saying "gamers are insatiable" those were his actual words. I'm not making that up.

Quote from: MrPhishfood

You're still making the assumption that Reggie is soley responsible for holding back those games. Where is your source? He may be the head of NoA but he's not the head of Nintendo Japan, you don't even know what this professional responsibilities are.

1) Apparently everything is an assumption.

2) I realize he's the head of NoA and not Nintendo of Japan. But do you realize that the head of NoE isn't the head of Nintendo of Japan either? Yet, somehow the head of NoE was able to localize these games two years ago and didn't drag their feet about it or make excuses.

Reggie's excuse for taking so long to deliver the games may have been his belief that they wouldn't sell, but this recent comment where he said they sold "quite well" seems to prove he was wrong for rejecting the games as long as he did. Yes, that's an assumption, but so what? Everything I say is an assumption apparently. But isn't that assumption correct?

Fiendlord_TimmayOctober 06, 2012

ITT: Good news? More reason to BAAAAAAWWWWWW about OpRainfall.

Mop it upOctober 06, 2012

Quote from: Chozo

They came out in 2010 in Europe and Japan, right? If so, then I was wrong about 2009, but my point is still valid. The games came out in other regions 2 years before they came out in North America.

Xenoblade was released in June 2010 in Japan and August 2011 in Europe, and The Last Story was released in January 2011 in Japan and February 2012 in Europe. In both cases the games were released in North America six months after the Europe release. That's a far cry from the two/three years that you claimed.

The dates seem important to your argument, so if you get that wrong then it just goes to show that you're blowing things out of proportion. I don't totally disagree with you, I don't think it should have taken something like Operation Rainfall to get the games here (regardless of whether or not it affected anything, it shouldn't have needed to exist), but I understand the reasons behind it. Europe is a different market, I'm pretty sure that these days RPGs sell better over there, and so it was likely seen as a better choice. I don't think things are as bad as you're making them out to be. Unless these two games are the only ones out of the entire Wii library that interest you, in which case you should have bought a different system a long time ago.

MrPhishfoodOctober 06, 2012

Quote from: Chozo

1) Apparently everything is an assumption.

Well there are assumptions that are based on facts where sound reasoning is given for the assumption.

Then there are assumptions based on facts with little to no reasoning given in to how you came to your conclusion, that is called conjecture. You seem to take it one step further and word it to sound like the worst thing ever. That is nearing the activities of a spin doctor.

I noticed you didn't bother responding to this:

Quote from: MrPhishfood

When you associate the words pedlar (as opposed to salesman or advertiser) and garbageware with someone, when is that not insulting? Especially when said person likes to peddle their garbageware?

You're still sounding very entitled, its not like those games you didn't like were marketed specifically for you. There are people who enjoy those games too. What if it was the other way round? What if you got all the games you wanted but then there are people out there on forums asking "Hey where are the fun casual games, I don't have 40 hours to pour in to a game, I didn't buy a Wii for this crap".

VahneOctober 06, 2012

Just picked TLS up yesterday, and am loving it! 4 hours and 38 minutes in and 1 hour spent just running around Lazulis City!

doodiesOctober 06, 2012

RPG fans are not mentally trained to be patient due to the massive amounts of hours spent grinding and questing per game.  It's a stereotyped point of view but it's true, unfortunately. :-\

Quote from: doodies

RPG fans are not mentally trained to be patient due to the massive amounts of hours spent grinding and questing per game.  It's a stereotyped point of view but it's true, unfortunately. :-\

Isn't it the other way around? Don't you need an extraordinary amount of patience to grind out levels for hours of delayed gratification?

Oh well, I'm a Zelda fan AND an Animal Crossing fan. I'm used to waiting forever to get my games, either because of numerous delays in the first case, or laborious localizations in the second case.

joshnickersonOctober 06, 2012

Meanwhile, I've yet to have time to even OPEN the copies I purchased...

LittleIrvesOctober 07, 2012

Hey Chozo Ghost, buddy, ease up on the harshness, yeah? I've been playing games for 25 years and have loved this gen's "garbage waggleware" like Wii Sports Resort, Wii Music, and whatever else you don't consider "real" games. You can enjoy your 100 hour RPGs. I can enjoy my quirky new motion-control. We're all playing games. See you in the Miiverse...

AdrockOctober 07, 2012

Operation Rainfall gave Xenoblade and The Last Story way more exposure than any marketing strategy could have ever hoped to provide. If you tell people they can't have something, they'll want it even more. I have my doubts that either game would have sold anywhere near as well had Nintendo of America just released the games like they would have any other title. I don't think it's fair to say Reggie or Nintendo of America were 100% wrong about the sales potential of the games. I can't speak for anyone else, but I probably wouldn't have bought Xenoblade right away had it come out like 18 months before it did. There would have been no urgency to do so. I had the game since April and I'm like an hour in.

The potential fallout of Operation Rainfall resulting in good sales could be positive or slightly positive but still kind of negative. At best, Nintendo of America takes a chance and releases similar games on Wii U without delay. They may or may not sell without the support of an entire organized fan movement. At worst, they become download only titles which sucks for people who prefer physical media and don't want to buy extra storage for the game. In either case, we will most likely avoid the clusterfuck as it was on the Wii and will get these games in some way.

Luigi DudeOctober 07, 2012

Quote from: Adrock

At worst, they become download only titles which sucks for people who prefer physical media and don't want to buy extra storage for the game. In either case, we will most likely avoid the clusterfuck as it was on the Wii and will get these games in some way.

Yeah this right here is why people shouldn't be too worried about NOA not releasing games on the Wii U and 3DS.  Since DDL is a much cheaper way to release games, anything NOA doesn't feel will sell well in North America will probably get the PAL version put on the eShop.  NOA has no problem releasing really niche games online so these games shouldn't be a problem anymore with the eShop.  It might take a year and a half but they'll eventually get here.

BlackNMild2k1October 08, 2012

Quote from: Luigi

Quote from: Adrock

At worst, they become download only titles which sucks for people who prefer physical media and don't want to buy extra storage for the game. In either case, we will most likely avoid the clusterfuck as it was on the Wii and will get these games in some way.

Yeah this right here is why people shouldn't be too worried about NOA not releasing games on the Wii U and 3DS.  Since DDL is a much cheaper way to release games, anything NOA doesn't feel will sell well in North America will probably get the PAL version put on the eShop.  NOA has no problem releasing really niche games online so these games shouldn't be a problem anymore with the eShop.  It might take a year and a half but they'll eventually get here.

I said the same thing back on the 1st page;

Quote from: BlackNMild2k1

With simultaneous translation and full retail title eShop releases, I see no reason for Nintendo to not release everything that is produced, at the very least in the eShop.

PlugabugzOctober 08, 2012

This entire thread would not even occur if region locking was not an issue.

Sadly, it is, because Nintendo includes currency fluctuations into their sums more than any other console. Lets be honest, money (and how much can be extracted per unit in that region) is the only reason both Wii/U and 3DS are region locked.

Xero!October 08, 2012

I think that the belief that Operation Rainfall helped these games sell as well as they did in NA holds a bit of weight. I don't totally believe it though. However, with that in mind, I think this should teach us Nintendo gamers that some obscure JRPG's could use that extra push even when they are localised.
I think that in the future, the word about future JRPG's that get released on Nintendo platforms should be spread as much as possible. Extra advertising if you will. That way, the games will be more likly to do well. Extending the Operation Rainfall for this purpose doesn't seem like a bad idea.

Mop it upOctober 08, 2012

Quote from: joshnickerson

Meanwhile, I've yet to have time to even OPEN the copies I purchased...

That's all right, all these companies care about is that you bought the games, so you're good!

Ian SaneOctober 09, 2012

Quote from: Racht

I just don't understand why Reggie doesn't get the whole "bring out different types of games for every type of gamer - which in turn will please your fanbase, causing you to prosper and grow" approach. It boggles my mind.

You can't make advancements if you don't take the risks.

Nintendo in general is bad at that, not just Reggie.  They think "for everyone" means that nearly every game should play to the lowest common denominator as then hypothetically "everyone" can enjoy it.  The idea of having a wide variety of different games aimed at different audiences just does not register with them.  That's why they were the kiddy company during the N64 and Gamecube days and they're the casual company now.  They don't get why teenagers don't want to play Mario with all his cutesy "wha-hooing" or why a core gamer doesn't want to play such a simplified game like Wii Sports.  They never noticed that when the Playstation brand was king they had "mature" content like God of War, kid friendly games like Ratchet and Clank, hardcore games like ICO, and casual fluff like Buzz all on the same system.  Or how today MS has both Kinect and Halo on the same system with different people playing the two different products aimed at completely different audiences.

To be fair though I think EAD is mostly to blame.  Intelligent Systems, Retro and Monolith are more likely to make games that appeal to more specific tastes.  EAD likes to be broad.  As well as the Wii sold, Nintendo would do even better if Nintendo's games tried to aim at more specific audiences instead of trying to grab everyone with every game.  In the end, they grab mostly kids and casuals because those are the lowest common denominator so that's the audience that would feel like Nintendo's games were specifically designed for them.  Wii Sports is a game anyone COULD like in theory but only casuals would feel it was a game specifically for them.  At the same time Xenoblade is specifically for an RPG audience but that's good because that's what that audience wants.

WindyOctober 16, 2012

This is just plain and simple Holding Back software till the bitter end and pretty much making fans of these Genres Desparate for a release date. They have done it in the past and continue to do it now. Xenoblade is a game that would sell systems but I guess they just might be to stupid to see that. Nintendo has been holding back software for years ever since they stated this quality over quantity garbage and got people to buy into it. This thinking they have leaves it unlikely too see a sleeper on the nintendo platforms. If you compare there are way more sleepers produced from the rival systems. I'm sorry but I'm not buying Quality over Quantity these days. Nintendo is getting their butt kicked right now By it's Rivals and both Apple and Android are working their way into the picture. They better change their strategy very soon. I say open the floodgates and let the gamers choose for themselves

Xenoblade couldn't've been a system seller. JRPGs don't sell hardware outside of Japan, and certainly not as late in the Wii's life as it would have come out, when everybody already had one.

MoldyClay87October 17, 2012

Quote from: Luigi

Yeah this right here is why people shouldn't be too worried about NOA not releasing games on the Wii U and 3DS.  Since DDL is a much cheaper way to release games, anything NOA doesn't feel will sell well in North America will probably get the PAL version put on the eShop.  NOA has no problem releasing really niche games online so these games shouldn't be a problem anymore with the eShop.  It might take a year and a half but they'll eventually get here.

Not necessarily true. NOA still held back some WiiWare titles and VC games. For example, the WiiWare Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games never came over here. You know, actual games... but we got the My Pokemon Ranch crap.

They could easily still hold back games that could be released on the eShop for no real reason. And while it has nothing to do with localizing, I am still trying to figure out why they hold VC releases back on the 3DS eShop. Japan and Europe keep getting games way in advance (Japan makes sense, but Europe too?).

I can't imagine the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games ever sold that well outside Japan even on the DS, so I can see why they might not care enough to localize ones on a platform nobody bought games on. That Virtual Console thing makes no sense, though.

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