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[Solune]

You don't know that.

Precisely That's why I didn't say we know they are, only that I could say that =D. At this point I think it's safe not to make any assumptions based on anything. If NoA releases Xenoblade they release it. They've shown it at E3 but that means diddly squat.

I'm not writing my thesis and instead refreshing this thread for any news that NoA might put up.

Ugh, why am I doing this to myself.

A little bit of masochism is always healthy.

 

[SciencePilot]

By the way, I didn't see much discussion of the title in this thread. What do you guys think of it? I'm pretty sad about it myself... lengthened for no apparent reason. I really see no marketing advantage in it at all.

 

[AceBandage]

By the way, I didn't see much discussion of the title in this thread. What do you guys think of it? I'm pretty sad about it myself... lengthened for no apparent reason. I really see no marketing advantage in it at all.

Adding Chronicles to the name does two things:

1. Makes it seem more epic and appealing.
2. Makes it seem part of a series.

 

[nincompoop]

Adding Chronicles to the name does two things:

1. Makes it seem more epic and appealing.
2. Makes it seem part of a series.

Clearly they're trying to trick people into thinking it's the follow-up to Aidyn Chronicles: The First Mage.

 

[hosannainexcelsis]

You don't know that.

Namco at least claims that Tales of Graces F is being brought over (and 8-4 seems to have hinted that they're localizing it). If they go back on their word, I expect an angry mob of Tales fans to burn their headquarters down!

Adding Chronicles to the name does two things:

1. Makes it seem more epic and appealing.
2. Makes it seem part of a series.

I guess, but is someone really going to look at this and say, "I'm not sure about the Xenoblade part but Chronicles? I must buy this game now!"

 

[ivysaur12]

Namco at least claims that Tales of Graces F is being brought over (and 8-4 seems to have hinted that they're localizing it). If they go back on their word, I expect an angry mob of Tales fans to burn their headquarters down!



I guess, but is someone really going to look at this and say, "I'm not sure about the Xenoblade part but Chronicles? I must buy this game now!"

Xenoblade relates it to the Xeno games (which are decent sellers) and the blade elicits and image of slashing at enemies. Chronicles confirms that it's an epic adventure and has a feeling of sophistication.

No one is going to go into a store and say "ooh, Chronicles!" But you'd be surprised what the right name and boxart can do for a game when people are browsing.

 

[Ratrat]

How does this game look on a HDtv? and is buying a used wii a bad idea?

 

[john tv]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure Treehouse localized all of the EU-exclusive games.

Nope, NOE does their own stuff. Treehouse quality has generally been a lot higher than NOE quality IMO, but they do some decent stuff over there now and then.

 

[ivysaur12]

Nope, NOE does their own stuff. Treehouse quality has generally been a lot higher than NOE quality IMO, but they do some decent stuff over there now and then.

Didn't they localize some game that wasn't actually released in America? I thought it was Disaster?

 

[McNum]

Adding Chronicles to the name does two things:

1. Makes it seem more epic and appealing.
2. Makes it seem part of a series.

It just means that marketing has meddled with the title. Any time you see Chronicles, Unleashed, or Origins as part of a title, beware.

 

[AceBandage]

It just means that marketing has meddled with the title. Any time you see Chronicles, Unleashed, or Origins as part of a title, beware.

Marketing was the entire reason it's called Xenoblade and not Monado.

 

[Drkirby]

doesn't Treehouse use different translations rather than share with NoE's? then no, the work isn't done for them

Depends on the game. Sometimes NoA and NoE do different translations, most of the time NoE uses the Treehouse translation for the English version, sometimes you even get Treehouse localizing a game that only comes out in Europe.

 

[McNum]

Marketing was the entire reason it's called Xenoblade and not Monado.

Well it has an X. X is a cool letter, way cooler than an M. And yes, with my username the irony is not lost on me.

I've just developed buzzword allergy lately. The word Chronicles is one of those words that say nothing, yet makes things look like more. Or like a spinoff. Very rarely is there any kind of chronicle about a game with that title. I was actually surprised that there was one in Valkyria Chronicles, to be honest.

 

[Diomedeskun]

I'm not writing my thesis and instead refreshing this thread for any news that NoA might put up.

Ugh, why am I doing this to myself.

Crap, yeah, thesis, I should get back to mine.

 

[teiresias]

The prospect of this game seeing a US release is pretty much the only thing keeping me from selling or trading in my Wii, so NOA better get it in gear.

 

[From The Dust]

Well it has an X. X is a cool letter, way cooler than an M. And yes, with my username the irony is not lost on me.

It was called Xenoblade mainly to cash in on the Xeno name.

 

[apana]

Adding Chronicles to the name does two things:

1. Makes it seem more epic and appealing.
2. Makes it seem part of a series.

Seriously? Chronicles makes things more confusing but then again they are probably going after the N64/Gamecube audience with this. Even then chronicles doesn't add anything epic to the title. Maybe a focus group responded to the word, somebody post that simpsons pic.

 

[ShockingAlberto]

By the way, I didn't see much discussion of the title in this thread. What do you guys think of it? I'm pretty sad about it myself... lengthened for no apparent reason. I really see no marketing advantage in it at all.

They probably think it won't be apparent as a JRPG without the Chronicles in it.

Xenoblade sounds kind of like an action game at first blush.

 

[From The Dust]

Xenoblade sounds like the spiritual successor of Xenogears and Xenosaga

 

[UltimaKilo]

Xenoblade sounds like the spiritual successor of Xenogears and Xenosaga

It's more like a Chrono game, IMO. I've only played the beginning on Dolphin and I can't wait until this game comes out. It's definitely my most anticipated game since FFIX.

 

[McNum]

They probably think it won't be apparent as a JRPG without the Chronicles in it.

Xenoblade sounds kind of like an action game at first blush.

I suppose it does, yeah. A Motion Plus hack and slash against aliens, which, all things considered, would be pretty nice to have. Or a space shooter in the Gradius/R-Type style. Which would also be nice to have. But when thinking JRPG with "Chronicles" in the name, I immediately get three names in my mind: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, Valkyria Chronicles and... Sonic Chronicles. Well, two out of three isn't too bad.

I suppose it's needed to say "Hey we have a story AND a cool sword in this game!" since I expect that red sword to be on the boxart. Doesn't mean I have to like the word, though.

As for the Xeno series successor. I think we got one of those in Europe: Xenosaga Episode 2. With a several hour long DVD with the Xenosaga Episode 1 cutscenes on it. The "Xeno-" brand isn't especially strong here. Much weaker than Tales, and we get even less of those than the US.

 

[apana]

Namco at least claims that Tales of Graces F is being brought over (and 8-4 seems to have hinted that they're localizing it). If they go back on their word, I expect an angry mob of Tales fans to burn their headquarters down!



I guess, but is someone really going to look at this and say, "I'm not sure about the Xenoblade part but Chronicles? I must buy this game now!"

I can't really see this being an impulse purchase. In that sense the name Xenoblade or Xenoblade Chronicles doesn't matter. Nintendo has to show off that interesting world (exploration) in their marketing and hope that their core (Zelda) audience shows some interest.

 

[VindicatorZ]

This game will sell on it's merits alone. Wait til the perfect 10's start rolling in. People will take notice.

I find it comparable to Bioshock. Before it was released, people were saying the game was going to flop and go unnoticed. But the stellar reviews it received I think really made people interested in it. I think something similar will happen here. Probably not to the same extent as Bioshock, but enough to be considered a success.

 

[BocoDragon]

"Chronicles". lol...

I can't wait for "The Last Story Adventures".

 

[farnham]

"Chronicles". lol...

I can't wait for "The Last Story Adventures".

Heresy its The Last Story Warriors!

 

[Fritz]

This game will sell on it's merits alone. Wait til the perfect 10's start rolling in. People will take notice.

I find it comparable to Bioshock. Before it was released, people were saying the game was going to flop and go unnoticed. But the stellar reviews it received I think really made people interested in it. I think something similar will happen here. Probably not to the same extent as Bioshock, but enough to be considered a success.

I have zero trust in gaming journalists though. Total bias in either direction, at least in print. Still, I hope you're right. Every quality niche game deserves some notice by the press of course.

 

[thefro]

I have zero trust in gaming journalists though. Total bias in either direction, at least in print. Still, I hope you're right. Every quality niche game deserves some notice by the press of course.

It's going to be pretty hard for them to give the game medicore reviews. Even the Wii-hater trolls on 2ch ended up loving the game once they played it.

Certainly there's some flaws that hopefully get corrected in the international release (i.e. no quest log/bestiary), but my understanding is that this should get high scores unless the localization is incredibly butchered.

 

[farnham]

It's going to be pretty hard for them to give the game medicore reviews. Even the Wii-hater trolls on 2ch ended up loving the game once they played it.

Certainly there's some flaws that hopefully get corrected in the international release (i.e. no quest log/bestiary), but my understanding is that this should get high scores unless the localization is incredibly butchered.

hating on a game is easy

Read Gamesmops newest Xenoblade Chronicles Review

while the game offers a vast open world the character design really lacks and the western language option is obsolete as the voice actors are terrible. Also the japanese voice acting is bad because you cant understand a thing. The quick warp option that you get from the start of the game is breaking the game as the vastness of the landscape gets undermined. Also the story is way too convoluted as you progress in the game. Oh yes and its sexist because the female protagonist (spoiler)

4 out of 10

see?

 

[slaughterking]

So while I personally have no doubt that Xenoblade will come to America I'm still baffled that Nintendo is not able to announce the release for the US and Europe at the same time. It's like they are still oblivious of the dynamics of the internet and don't want to maximize the collective hype of their most loyal followers (which a game like Xenoblade certainly needs). Now we are stuck in a situation where Europeans are already looking forward to the game and Americans are still waiting for NoA's to announce anything and can't really be bothered to spread the word.
Or maybe I'm jumping the gun here and they announce it today. That would be okay I guess.

 

[kiryogi]

Friend dug this up for me as a reminder of the reality that is NoA, originally posted by our own Stumpkapow himself:

NoA's awful localization record gets worse and worse

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=337482

 

[Alrus]

Friend dug this up for me as a reminder of the reality that is NoA, originally posted by our own Stumpkapow himself:

NoA's awful localization record gets worse and worse

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=337482

I'll never ever understand why NoA decided to localize Glory of Heracles instead of Soma Bringer/ASH (well, ASH is translated but they didn't publish it). This kills me :/

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

Friend dug this up for me as a reminder of the reality that is NoA, originally posted by our own Stumpkapow himself:

NoA's awful localization record gets worse and worse

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=337482

The past few years NoA's been deluging the DS with RPGs though (Glory of Heracles, Mario & Luigi 3, Fossil Fighters, Fire Emblem, Golden Sun, DQIX/VI, tons of Pokemon titles and spinoffs, etc). It's not like they've shied away from titles like Xenoblade at least, not recently. Wii hasn't had a ton, but then it's not like Nintendo's had a ton of attractive Wii RPGs they've skipped over either.

Looking at raw numbers also doesn't help when a good chunk of those titles are things that wouldn't really make for good localizations anyway (like the NHK Quiz game for example, or that Google Quiz game). I'm not saying Nintendo's localization track record is stellar, but just doing pure game counts doesn't really bring any clarity to things, it more obscures any meaningful context.

 

[VivaciousSoul]

"Chronicles" does not have the best connotation as far as video games are concerned. Not quite with the same way and strength that a numbered entry in a series might beat a random subtitle but close enough.

 

[faridmon]

Thats it right there. I am buying a Wii. Only needed a bloody good excuse to do it anyway.

I am happyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Thanks you Nintendo EU, I love you.

 

[Zwei]

I wake up again this morning, still no word of an American release..

Fuck school today, I'm going back to bed.

 

[farnham]

I'll never ever understand why NoA decided to localize Glory of Heracles instead of Soma Bringer/ASH (well, ASH is translated but they didn't publish it). This kills me :/

ash sucks

i played it

 

[WillyFive]

Friend dug this up for me as a reminder of the reality that is NoA, originally posted by our own Stumpkapow himself:

NoA's awful localization record gets worse and worse

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=337482

Yeah, Nintendo of America is absolutely terrible.

 

[Seda]

Please NoA Please.

 

[Mael]

Nope, NOE does their own stuff. Treehouse quality has generally been a lot higher than NOE quality IMO, but they do some decent stuff over there now and then.

I can't comment on the UK localisation, but here their french localisation is the best in the biz....except for the VA.

 

[charlequin]

All I have to say is LOL NINENDO OF AMERICA, the new Bandai Namco.

Namco is still just as bad as they've ever been; Nintendo has just sunk to their level.

I'll never ever understand why NoA decided to localize Glory of Heracles instead of Soma Bringer/ASH (well, ASH is translated but they didn't publish it). This kills me :/

They localized ASH, they just didn't release it!

 

[TunaLover]

I hope this is the same case as Mario Wii Bundle, which was announced for Europe first, and then America

Please =(

 

[Shirokun]

How does this game look on a HDtv?

Having played this game on three different HDTVs, I think it looks fantastic if used with a component cable. It's a very vibrant, colorful game, and it really shows on a nice TV.

...is buying a used wii a bad idea?

The biggest thing to worry about would be getting a used wii with a borked GPU. You might avoid this by buying refurbished, but I dunno. Honestly, the Wii isn't all that expensive these days(relatively speaking), and there will likely be a price cut in the foreseeable future(E3?). If you intend to buy a wii for anything other than this game, I'd grab a new system.

 

[duckroll]

ash sucks

i played it

Heracles sucks too, even more so. What's your point?

 

[Solune]

Is it localization costs? No, it isn't. Games are being localized by Treehouse, tested by NoA's testing team, and then thrown into a void. Case in point: ASH-Archaic Sealed Heat. This game was localized. This game was tested. It's been done and ready for release for six months. It's ESRB rated. No planned release at this time. None of this is in dispute.

Taken from the post kiryogi linked. There you have it, just further enforces what I said. Nothing matters until the game is actually released.

 

[Neon_Icarus]

The past few years NoA's been deluging the DS with RPGs though (Glory of Heracles, Mario & Luigi 3, Fossil Fighters, Fire Emblem, Golden Sun, DQIX/VI, tons of Pokemon titles and spinoffs, etc). It's not like they've shied away from titles like Xenoblade at least, not recently. Wii hasn't had a ton, but then it's not like Nintendo's had a ton of attractive Wii RPGs they've skipped over either.

Looking at raw numbers also doesn't help when a good chunk of those titles are things that wouldn't really make for good localizations anyway (like the NHK Quiz game for example, or that Google Quiz game). I'm not saying Nintendo's localization track record is stellar, but just doing pure game counts doesn't really bring any clarity to things, it more obscures any meaningful context.

It's just the contrast to last gen which makes the situation so frustrating. They pretty much localized all of their Gamecube titles (except for...Giftpia?), even the ones which were hopelessly niche. Odama anyone? They even released Baten Kaitos Origins in 2006(which had flopped in Japan), when the Gamecube market was all but dead. They must have known that the release would not be profitable for them. And according to the guys at 8-4 the localization was pretty expensive too, with some of the best voice talent in the business.

Nintendo, are not just another publisher, for whom decision to localize products only depends on immediate profitability. They are also a platform holder, to whose advantage it is to build up and inject variety into the software lineup for their consoles. A good overall software lineup keeps core gamers (the people who by far buy the most games) interested in your system. Keeping this core fanbase happy is also important, if they want this group to buy their next console as well.

From this perspective it is baffling why they would choose not to release decent software like Disaster or Another Code R, at a time when their system was going through an extreme software drought.

 

[Shed_a_Ninja]

I'll never ever understand why NoA decided to localize Glory of Heracles instead of Soma Bringer/ASH (well, ASH is translated but they didn't publish it). This kills me :/

I'd say it has something to do with their relationship with PAON. Which is probably why Donkey Kong Barrel Blast made it over here instead of the other games Stump listed.

What's funny though is that Nintendo owns the Glory of Heracles IP despite PAON originally grabbing that franchise from their predecessor Data-East.

 

[trejo]

Heresy its The Last Story Warriors!

Surely you meant The Last Story of War.

 

[Shed_a_Ninja]

Surely you meant The Last Story of War.

No, it is The Last Story: Infinitum.

 

[cw_sasuke]

Heracles sucks too, even more so. What's your point?

It's more similar to dragon quest which they also decided to push/publish in the west - probably was a case of gauging the interest level for these kind of rpgs.... At least thats what I thought back then.

 

[bobbychalkers]

Dissidia 012 The Last Story: The Legend of Elza: 23141/3.14 days