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[Princess Skittles]

You should if it's out in EU but not in North america or vice versa.

I don't think it's as important in regards to the point of the thread.. and I think you can easily find a table for this on Wikipedia without any extra work.

Edit: Apparently not, but I'll still bypass on VC for the purposes of this thread.

 

[DXB-KNIGHT]

How on earth Mystery Case Files gets a green light and XenoBlade is excluded i know its a million seller but neither is the first one.

 

[RPGCrazied]

After Zelda: Skyward Sword, the Wii is dead to me. I really don't want to spend close to $100 to import a game. I'd like to see the 3DS try to hold Nintendo together before the Wii U comes out.

 

[Quadrangulum]

The disparity between Nintendo's Japanese first party and everywhere else is disgusting and perplexing. Surely an English language version alone (released in all English speaking territories) of games like Xenoblade, Last Story, Last Window could easily surpass or at least match the respective Japanese sales.

 

[mclem]

Here's the thing as well. Localization should not be expensive, especially for Nintendo of all companies. Doesn't each branch have their own localization team? Those people are already on the damn payroll. Localizing a game should simply be another project handed to them. They aren't contracting some outside company. I would assume dialogue files and audio are design in such a way that makes access to them and translating them easier. In many cases text files have already been done by other branch or another. Some don't even require much translation. Nintendo is also known for doing small print runs on newly made games in Japan of all places after spending a ton of money to have the game made. No way they wouldn't be willing to do that with a game in other country to make even more of their investment back. It makes no sense why many of these games aren't released in the US or even Europe (even if you have to translate text in other languages). The problem has to be the guy in charge that has no clue what he's doing outside of speaking in public.

I think some of the reason for this may actually be found - bizarrely - on PSN. There's quite a few PSP games that weren't considered financially viable for a commercial release (with the ensuing localisation, printing, distribution issues), but an enterprising company still picked them up to release only over PSN (where the only major cost issue would be localisation).

I do wonder if you might have seen more of these titles if the Wii/DS had a more viable large-data digital distribution model.

 

[Big One]

The disparity between Nintendo's Japanese first party and everywhere else is disgusting and perplexing. Surely an English language version alone (released in all English speaking territories) of games like Xenoblade, Last Story, Last Window could easily surpass or at least match the respective Japanese sales.

TLS I think definitely can especially if it had the "From the creator of Final Fantasy" label Lost Odyssey had.

 

[TunaLover]

When the list is somewhat complete we should throw it at NoA in the face, through a mail letter.

And yet people still like Reggie...

 

[Princess Skittles]

when the list is somewhat complete we should throwing it at NoA in the face, through a mail letter.

I think it's pretty close, there have been no replies in a while suggesting other titles (except a few WiiWare titles I haven't added yet).

But yeah, it would be nice if several of use would print it out and mail a letter suggesting they release at least the really big stuff.

 

[AndyMoogle]

After Zelda: Skyward Sword, the Wii is dead to me. I really don't want to spend close to $100 to import a game. I'd like to see the 3DS try to hold Nintendo together before the Wii U comes out.

Just wait a month or two and the games will drop to £15-20.

 

[charlequin]

If Europe was treated the same way one could say NCL was at fault but this is looking more and more like Nintendo of America is the problem here.

Nintendo of America is a terrible regional branch -- perhaps the worst Western* regional branch of any video game platform holder ever. They don't support the platform worldwide with strong development initiatives and unique software. They don't localize a steady stream of all the Japanese first-party titles to ensure a positive experience for the local consumer. They don't work with third-parties to bring new well-suited software to the platform to expand its library and make it more desirable to own. They don't modify their price and platform positioning to reflect the realities of the market they're operating in when those realities diverge from the situation in Japan. Really, when you get right down to it, NoA doesn't actually do anything useful at all.

NoA is basically a sullen, teenage son who will take out the garbage if you yell at him but otherwise spends all his time in his room cranking his music and refusing to do anything productive and who will do small unpleasant things purely out of spite.


*Because lol Xbox Japan, right

 

[Princess Skittles]

In addition to Stump's Softmod Guide, can some people offer some sites that members could go to to import US or EU games to their region?

Play-Asia is the main one I can think of.

 

[TehOh]

What's the best site to import UK games from? I just found out that Amazon doesn't ship games to the US.

 

[Why would you do that?]

What's the best site to import UK games from? I just found out that Amazon doesn't ship games to the US.

In addition to Stump's Softmod Guide, can some people offer some sites that members could go to to import US or EU games to their region?

Play-Asia is the main one I can think of.

I got my UK Jam with the Band from Zavvi. Was cheaper than a new DS game in America. They also had Another for like $15 at one point.

 

[mclem]

Nintendo of America is a terrible regional branch -- perhaps the worst Western* regional branch of any video game platform holder ever.

Ever? I dispute that. Compare with NoE circa the early nineties. Heck, even up to the end of the Gamecube (HOW LONG did it take to get Animal Crossing?)

 

[jay]

I sent NoA an angry email this morning, so we should be seeing a lot of these games coming to America now.

 

[FoneBone]

Really, when you get right down to it, NoA doesn't actually do anything useful at all.

In fairness, Treehouse does really good translations... when they get the chance...

 

[slaughterking]

I sent NoA an angry email this morning, so we should be seeing a lot of these games coming to America now.

You did it!

 

[Princess Skittles]

I've added the Twitter/Facebook campaign links to the OP.. for whatever its worth.

 

[Sophia]

Ever? I dispute that. Compare with NoE circa the early nineties. Heck, even up to the end of the Gamecube (HOW LONG did it take to get Animal Crossing?)

NoA is certainly a contender. I've never seen such a useless brach. Although, you might be right about NoE back in the 90s....

Honestly, they're both equally bad. =P

 

[Quadrangulum]

TLS I think definitely can especially if it had the "From the creator of Final Fantasy" label Lost Odyssey had.

Last Story has obvious appeal but the point is that these games didn't sell that well in Japan yet games of the same class are continually made. I think Last Story and Xenoblade are both 150k-200k. Last Window sold far worse. It seems obvious that jumping over this bar between all of the English speaking nations alone would require only a modest effort. If NCL thinks those games are worth making in the first place, then why aren't they worth exporting everywhere else?

 

[ShockingAlberto]

They don't modify their price and platform positioning to reflect the realities of the market they're operating in when those realities diverge from the situation in Japan.

Not to defend NOA here, but they have surprisingly little autonomy in this area.

 

[arglebargle]

I sent NoA an angry email this morning, so we should be seeing a lot of these games coming to America now.

i sent NoA a polite email in november of 2008 when we were missing disaster day of crisis and fatal frame 4. maybe yours will change their mind, since mine obviously didnt.

 

[Grampa Simpson]

I would so buy these two:

NPC! Pikmin 2
Pandora's Tower

 

[Zalasta]

Honestly, why should Nintendo care. It continues to profit off of hardware and its staples of first party remakes/reinventions. It does not need to change because the consumers continue to support them in how the company conduct its business. If you want to place the blame, look around at your fellow gamers, they are the ones that are perpetuating this behavior with their dollars.

 

[Sophia]

Last Story has obvious appeal but the point is that these games didn't sell that well in Japan yet games of the same class are continually made. I think Last Story and Xenoblade are both 150k-200k. Last Window sold far worse. It seems obvious that jumping over this bar between all of the English speaking nations alone would require only a modest effort. If NCL thinks those games are worth making in the first place, then why aren't they worth exporting everywhere else?

To be fair, Nintendo's marketing tends to be atrocious in this regard. At least Xenoblade and Last Story got marketing and commercials. Another Monolithsoft game didn't get as lucky.

 

[Brazil]

Edit: Oh, I see Super Fossil Fighters has already been brought up.

 

[jay]

I'm not sure I understand how people defend the idea that NoA don't localize games they don't think will make money. Nintendo makes many games that very likely will not sell well, do these people also think those games should not be developed? Basically it seems like defenders go from stock holder to gamer whenever it best suits them.

I also don't understand how Nintendo's strategy is coherent. If Nintendo is willing to take a risk developing games we all know will bomb because, as they have conceded, it can be hard to tell where the next hit will come from, then why can't NoA take a similar risk by publishing these games?

i sent NoA a polite email in november of 2008 when we were missing disaster day of crisis and fatal frame 4. maybe yours will change their mind, since mine obviously didnt.

We are obviously approaching a tipping point. I suspect a third email will be the straw that broke the camels back, so to speak, and we will soon be awash in previously unlocalized games.

 

[Busaiku]

Excitebots and Sin & Punishment Star Successor probably debunk the fact that NoA isn't wiling to only produce games they think won't sell.

 

[Grampa Simpson]

Not to defend NOA here, but they have surprisingly little autonomy in this area.

NOA is not what it once was. In the 80's, it was seemingly mostly autonomous. Now, it seems to be mostly the marketing mouthpiece of NCL. I get the distinct feeling that NOA has little say about which titles get localized for NA.

That said, Nintendo as a whole should be pushing all their medium sized or bigger titles in *every* territory. Even if they're sent to die with no marketing. That they're not even releasing them is a load of bullshit.

That they're not releasing the ones that are getting English localizations in Euroland in the US feels like a knife to the heart. Nintendo needs to send the message that they care about their core gamer fans, even if we know that they don't.

 

[Princess Skittles]

I'd add Super Fossil Fighers as a game that'll be released in America but not in Europe (at least yet).

I think a few people were saying that it's already on a few release lists or retailer sites for Europe.

 

[atomsk]

What's the best site to import UK games from? I just found out that Amazon doesn't ship games to the US.

also curious to know this because I'll probably have to import Half-Minute Hero 2 this fall if there is no US version

 

[friskykillface]

I would so buy these two:

NPC! Pikmin 2
Pandora's Tower

Pikmin 2 NPC is easily the most wanted by me cause I don't want to pay those insane ebay prices :/

smh Nintendo is treating pikmin like it's shit , cmon

 

[dallow_bg]

Shouldn't Inazuma Eleven should be excluded from the list, since it's a third-party game? I mean Trauma Team isn't being added to the EU list.

It was published by Nintendo in Europe though.

Should be on the list.

I mean, if we're going to do that, you'll need to remove a lot of those Japanese DS games.

 

[Reallink]

Yeah they really make no sense whatsoever.

Nintendo has billions of dollars in the bank, doing small fan services like sending the Last Story over here is an absolute no-brainer.

They are insane in this regard.

If you want to talk NoA and senseless, greedy, or insane, all of this pales in comparison to publicly and nationally broadcasting a <50¢ purchase incentive (3DS OoT OST) then canceling it after like 1 day and maybe 100k fullfillments.

 

[Father_Brain]

Not to defend NOA here, but they have surprisingly little autonomy in this area.

They seem to have no real autonomy in any area other than deciding which NCL games not to localize.

 

[Ushojax]

Excitebots and Sin & Punishment Star Successor probably debunk the fact that NoA isn't wiling to only produce games they think won't sell.

The thing is that Star Successor's failure apparently put the kibosh on a release of Zangeki no Reginleiv. I think NoA got a bit ahead of themselves with S&P, they thought it would sell based of the VC sales of the original game but it didn't, and that seems to have put them off these sorts of games. The decision makers don't really seem to have a firm grasp on things.

Could the weak dollar have anything to do with their attitude? Circa 07 they were still putting out titles like Hotel Dusk, Trace Memory and Elite Beat Agents, these days it seems like those titles wouldn't have a chance in hell of coming to America.

 

[linko9]

Sorry if this has been addressed, but since when has Pandora's Tower been announced for EU?

 

[slaughterking]

Excitebots and Sin & Punishment Star Successor probably debunk the fact that NoA isn't wiling to only produce games they think won't sell.

That's probably exactly why we got S&P2. Nintendo deliberately released a hardcore game that nobody would buy, so they have an excuse to not release certain niche titles. Sin and punishment indeed.

 

[creid]

It was published by Nintendo in Europe though.

Should be on the list.

I mean, if we're going to do that, you'll need to remove a lot of those Japanese DS games.

Isn't part of the point of the thread to point out games that Nintendo is blocking other publishers from taking? It wouldn't be only NoA's fault if Inazuma Eleven never came to America, so it's not exactly Nintendo's distribution failure.

 

[charlequin]

Ever? I dispute that. Compare with NoE circa the early nineties. Heck, even up to the end of the Gamecube (HOW LONG did it take to get Animal Crossing?)

NoE in the 90s was pretty bad, to be sure. Who was actually in charge of Rare at that point, though? If NoE were their primary bosses on the Nintendo side that'd already bump them up above NoA in terms of contribution to society.

Not to defend NOA here, but they have surprisingly little autonomy in this area.

Well, part of why I like the teenage son analogy is that it's ultimately NCL's fault for having a terrible approach to running their Western regional branches (which is why NoE in the 90s and NoA today are the two contenders for worst branch ever.) They should have the autonomy to do those things, and then they should do them. To a large degree it's not their fault that they're not allowed to, but it still makes them, as an organization, pretty worthless.

Honestly, why should Nintendo care.

2008 called, it wants its argument back! Nintendo isn't riding high on piles of printed money anymore; they could definitely use whatever edge they can get by tapping the core market with unlocalized games these days.

 

[wsippel]

The thing is that Star Successor's failure apparently put the kibosh on a release of Zangeki no Reginleiv.

That was also only about a possible European release I remember correctly.

 

[slaughterking]

It was published by Nintendo in Europe though.

Should be on the list.

I mean, if we're going to do that, you'll need to remove a lot of those Japanese DS games.

The point is that Nintendo was not involved in the development of the game. They didn't pay for it and there was no other contract between Nintendo and Level 5. It is no "second party" title so to say.
The fact that even some parts of Europe got the game shouldn't be held against them.

 

[dallow_bg]

Isn't part of the point of the thread to point out games that Nintendo is blocking other publishers from taking? It wouldn't be only NoA's fault if Inazuma Eleven never came to America, so it's not exactly Nintendo's distribution failure.

You got me there.

In that case, the Jump games and Jet Impulse games should be taken off the Japanese DS list.
Might be a few others but I can't research all right now.

 

[wsippel]

Honestly, why should Nintendo care.

What charlequin said. Also, it would help Nintendo's "IP milking and casual shit only" image.

 

[Tiktaalik]

I'm pretty irritated by Nintendo not bringing over many of these games. Xenoblade, Last Story, Tingle 1+2, Last Window, and Zangeki no Regenleiv for example, but not everything was worth localizing.

To reverse the discussion though, what games do folks think Nintendo was correct in not bringing over to NA?

My list:
- Ouendan
- Ouendan 2
Justification: Japanese licensed music. Released a swell localization with Elite Beat Agents (which didn't meet expectations)

Captain Rainbow
ASH: Archaic Sealed Heat
Justification: Apparently lousy


As an aside I imported both Ouendan 1 and 2.

 

[MisterHero]

Could the weak dollar have anything to do with their attitude? Circa 07 they were still putting out titles like Hotel Dusk, Trace Memory and Elite Beat Agents, these days it seems like those titles wouldn't have a chance in hell of coming to America.

A little. The bulk of the cost would be translating, publishing, and marketing the games though. If, like in the case of The Last Story, they put a large campaign behind it, and the game doesn't really sell, it's considered a bust.

Also consider, if a game tailored for the Japanese audience (RPGs) doesn't do well in Japan, how well could they expect for it over here?

 

[Anth0ny]

I'm pretty irritated by Nintendo not bringing over many of these games. Xenoblade, Last Story, Tingle 1+2, Last Window, and Zangeki no Regenleiv for example, but not everything was worth localizing.

To reverse the discussion though, what games do folks think Nintendo was correct in not bringing over to NA?

My list:
- Ouendan
- Ouendan 2
Justification: Japanese licensed music. Released a swell localization with Elite Beat Agents (which didn't meet expectations)

Captain Rainbow
ASH: Archaic Sealed Heat
Justification: Apparently lousy


As an aside I imported both Ouendan 1 and 2.

Jump Super Stars and Jump Ultimate Stars is a licensing nightmare anywhere outside of Japan.

 

[BluWacky]

How on earth Mystery Case Files gets a green light and XenoBlade is excluded i know its a million seller but neither is the first one.

I think you underestimate the selling power of Mystery Case Files, the biggest casual game franchise out there with over 2 million games sold to date. They are the creme de la creme of hidden object games and the PC incarnations have been massive hits for Big Fish Games for years now.

Given that, as we all know, most Wii owners are not hardcore gamers, publishing a Wii exclusive installment of a smash hit casual game series makes much more sense economically than localising and releasing a hardcore jRPG. Well, normally, except that NoE are doing so... (and I don't believe we have a release date for Mystery Case Files over here!)

To be fair, Nintendo's marketing tends to be atrocious in this regard. At least Xenoblade and Last Story got marketing and commercials. Another Monolithsoft game didn't get as lucky.

Oh, so I hallucinated this TV ad, then, and the Creator's Voice interview on Nintendo's website for the game, and the extensive Famitsu coverage, and...

 

[hosannainexcelsis]

The point is that Nintendo was not involved in the development of the game. They didn't pay for it and there was no other contract between Nintendo and Level 5. It is no "second party" title so to say.
The fact that even some parts of Europe got the game shouldn't be held against them.

Level-5 games have only been brought out in America and Europe by being published by platform holders, either Sony or Nintendo (White Knight Chronicles II being released by D3 in NA will be the first exception I'm aware of). Level-5 has no distribution network in place to release their games themselves outside of Japan yet. Nintendo can definitely be blamed for localizing an English-language version of Inazuma Eleven for Scandinavia, but not releasing it in the UK or NA.

 

[Sophia]

Oh, so I hallucinated this TV ad, then, and the Creator's Voice interview on Nintendo's website for the game, and the extensive Famitsu coverage, and...

If you can call that poor youtube-level quality video an advertisement, sure. I don't think a floating DS in space with a disembodied voice talking qualifies as a proper advertisement. The actual amount of gameplay amounts to three seconds.

Xenoblade had some pretty good ones. Actually, keeping that same basic style for an English commercial would work well...