Hello, Nintendo of America.
I am writing to ask about whether or not you guys will localize games made by one of your Japanese studios, Monolith Soft. I have been a big fan of that studio for years, and since they became a first party developer with Nintendo, I have been sad to see that Nintendo of America has not localized a single game they've made.
Atlus USA, a third party publisher, has localized one of their Role Playing Games for the Nintendo DS, Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier in 2009, which was fantastic news for me. In addition, Namco Bandai, Monolith Soft's other owner as I understand, has localized their licensed RPG, Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans. Having played both, I can say that they are good games, and come from a studio that obviously puts a lot of time and dedication into the games they make.
It makes me question, why does Nintendo of America continue to ignore the other games they've made?
If it were maybe one, or even two games that were looked over, I would understand. But, combining the work for both the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS that they've done since Nintendo bought them, it is a grand total of six games that Nintendo of America has overlooked. Two, as I mentioned were localized by other companies. However, there are still four games, including one extra DS game made before the buyout, that have not made their way to North America yet.
Which four? Well, there is the DS Action-RPG, Soma Bringer, from 2008. Then, there is the DS RPG Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier EXCEED, the sequel to the game mentioned previously, from 2010. On the Wii side, there is 2008's Action-Adventure title Disaster: Day of Crisis, and 2010's open-world RPG, Xenoblade (known in Europe as Xenoblade Chronicles).
In addition, the fifth game, made before Monolith Soft was acquired by Nintendo, is Xenosaga I&II for the DS, an RPG made back in 2006. I have previously asked about the chances of the localization of this title in particular, as it represents Monolith's work before it was acquired by Nintendo.
It disturbs me that Nintendo of America has continued to overlook such a fine Japanese studio such as Monolith Soft for localization opportunities, especially considering that they are owned by Nintendo. However, it is not only that. This decision confuses me as well, because Nintendo of Europe has already localized Disaster: Day of Crisis (released in 2008 in PAL regions and Australia) and is planning on localizing Xenoblade Chronicles, releasing in September of this year. Stranger yet, Disaster was prominently shown during your E3 2006 press conference, and Xenoblade was unveiled at E3 2009, both being American venues.
I know at one point Nintendo of America had plans of releasing Xenoblade Chronicles, known at one point as Monado: The Beginning of the World, but the listing on your website has since disappeared.
So, I must ask. Can I, as a fan, ever expect to see any of these titles, or any future titles, from Nintendo of America? At the time of this writing, June fifteenth 2011, the DS has been receiving its last few waves of software, while the Wii is entering its final years as well. It would be fantastic to see both of these consoles' lifecycles topped off with titles developed by a fantastic studio like Monolith Soft. It would greatly appeal to many hardcore fans who up until now have been waiting years for Nintendo to truly deliver on its promise to please hardcore gamers and bring games to North America for any and all ages. We beseech you, Nintendo of America. Please localize the games made by this studio.
With love,
A Nintendo fan for more than a decade,
and Club Nintendo member,
(Name)
"
