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[Zomba13]

The Wii U name absolutely caused confusion and people thought it was a controller type deal for the Wii.

Bet enough people still think it's the case.

I think you have to be completely blind or deaf or literally just live on big gaming forums to not see that stuff. Like, family members wondering where to just get the new controller without buying another Wii, people wondering why a Wii U game doesn't work in their old Wii.

People saw this from the start when they showed off the Wii U and the pad. It was a combination of the name and all the media being on the pad itself that lead most people to believe it was an expansion, a revision, a new way to play with the stuff they have.

Like, places like GAF or other gaming communities know the difference. People on places like this argue other pixels and frame rates that normal people don't even know what they are. Obviously, the name isn't the only thing that lead to shit sales but it was (is?) something that caused confusion.


The stuff about localising certain niche products I understand. Something like Captain Rainbow, while cool to try, is weird and crazy and so "Japanese" that you can understand not putting in the effort to localise it. But something like Xenoblade, this big huge high budget RPG, it seems kind of a shame and weird to want to keep it to Japan. Then again, at this point, I find it weird that there are Japan exclusive games at all (out side of anime idol moe sims and those kind of things). Like, the Japanese market is shrinking and shrinking, everyone is moving to portables and mobile. I'm no businessman but having another huge big budget game just for that small island seems like a waste of money.

 

[Vyse The Legend]

If NIS, XSEED and Aksys can survive bringing over text-heavy games, Nintendo/Square certainly can. Those three, in particular, bring out super niche games, some that probably don't even sell 100k yet somehow manage to sell out their shipments and turn a profit.

I may not know the "magic" that enables these smaller publishers to localize games that Nintendo/Square would never touch, but it's really disingenuous to decry that its nigh impossible when ample examples exist in the market place that it is doable. Plan better.

 

[Karsticles]

If Nintendo wants me to buy their consoles, they need to localize games for me to play. It's that simple. If the market isn't there, refusing to bring games over will shrink it even more.

 

[Mcdohl]

If NIS, XSEED and Aksys can survive bringing over text-heavy games, Nintendo/Square certainly can. Those three, in particular, bring out super niche games, some that probably don't even sell 100k yet somehow manage to sell out their shipments and turn a profit.

I may not know the "magic" that enables these smaller publishers to localize games that Nintendo/Square would never touch, but it's really disingenuous to decry that its nigh impossible when ample examples exist in the market place that it is doable. Plan better.

Yeah I don't get it either. Maybe they could save costs by not dubbing, just translating text.

 

[KiraXD]

he complains about eating the cost of localization... really? i mean id be willing to bet most people would have been fine with JP VA and just english translation/menus... which really doesnt cost enough to make a big deal about it...

Yeah I don't get it either. Maybe they could save costs by not dubbing, just translating text.

ha yeah.

 

[Pellegri Testament]

I can definitely agree with him there - it's delusional to think Captain Rainbow or similar games would have anywhere near the appeal to not be a waste of manpower and resources. In hindsight, it's fairly obvious localising Xenoblade at all was a mistake on NoE's part - even with the 3DS port, it can't have been profitable.

You can't be serious right? The game sold out at every store that had it, when it was on Wii. If you only print enough copies of a game to "only" cover costs of localization, then what's the point of localizing it? The game selling out likely blew away their expectations, considering they didn't even think it would be worth doing anything with outside of Japan.

 

[Sandfox]

If NIS, XSEED and Aksys can survive bringing over text-heavy games, Nintendo/Square certainly can. Those three, in particular, bring out super niche games, some that probably don't even sell 100k yet somehow manage to sell out their shipments and turn a profit.

I may not know the "magic" that enables these smaller publishers to localize games that Nintendo/Square would never touch, but it's really disingenuous to decry that its nigh impossible when ample examples exist in the market place that it is doable. Plan better.

You have to take opportunity cost into consideration.

 

[Wagram]

Thank the heavens for NoE because NoA sucks.

 

[vagabondarts]

If NIS, XSEED and Aksys can survive bringing over text-heavy games, Nintendo/Square certainly can. Those three, in particular, bring out super niche games, some that probably don't even sell 100k yet somehow manage to sell out their shipments and turn a profit.

I may not know the "magic" that enables these smaller publishers to localize games that Nintendo/Square would never touch, but it's really disingenuous to decry that its nigh impossible when ample examples exist in the market place that it is doable. Plan better.

The only difference I can think of is that Nintendo has enormous overhead costs compared to NIS, Aksys, and Xseed.

 

[Vena]

I wonder what convinced them to localize FE X SMT then.

Known brands, SMT is a known brand for Nintendo users now, but more importantly NoA has changed a lot since 2012. Go watch a <2013 E3 and watch a >2013 E3 and you'll notice a certain group and people rising up into the spotlight for the company in the Americas...

...Or go watch their YouTube channel.

I don't see how Nintendo can justify even greenlighting Xenoblade Chronciles X. I guess that's an expensive way to galvanize their current fans, but I don't think it did much for them.

They're building Xenoblade into their RPG brand. Its a genre they have a severe non-Paper Mario lack of on their systems from internal studios.

 

[BennyBlanco]

Not even his apparent stance regarding the damage done by Wii U naming being mostly "whatever hindsight" and 'fan overreaction' on NeoGaf? Are you OK that he insists Xenoblade was too niche/risky for NOA and that he seems totally OK with the fact that NA wouldn't have gotten it unless NOE had taken the initiate to bring it to EU fans? In spite of the fact Xenoblade was successful enough to be one of the few titles N3DS-only titles along with MM and a major Smash crossover brand and Xenoblade X will be one of the biggest Wii U releases this fall?

I think the Wii U brand confusion is overblown, but it was definitely a bad choice to name it that.

I enjoyed Xenoblade and I'm glad it was localized, but he's right that probably cost a small fortune to localize and probably didn't set the world on fire with sales. It's not some lucrative proposition to translate 100 hour niche games but I guess it worked out for them and is a fan favorite. It's easy to say it was a good idea to localize it in hindsight.

 

[Soulflarz]

I guess the main question is, did Xenoblade sell well enough to cover the costs of localization?

Second question- how much was lost by a limited print and everyone having to spend 3 digits for a copy for awhile?

 

[Bio]

Okay, cause someone is going to have to eat the costs somewhere, because that game is guaranteed to not sell enough to justify how big that game is. You know, hundreds of hours, all voiced. That’s a lot of money that goes into that.

Free xost cutting idea: Just do the translation for subtitles, leave the voices alone. Eh?

 

[udivision]

I don't think a sequel necessarily means the first made money. Maybe they wanted to push it and try to build a brand for the long run....since there's no other RPG.

They're building Xenoblade into their RPG brand. Its a genre they have a severe non-Paper Mario lack of on their systems from internal studios.

Yeah... who's fault is that?
Paper Mario got sent to the handheld.
Pokemon Colloeseum/XD, despite even selling better than their console contemporaries (Tales of Symphonia, Paper Mario: TTYD, Baiten Kaitos, etc...) were never followed up.
And of course, lackluster 3rd party support.

The audience for RPGs on Nintendo consoles certainly hasn't been cultivated by Nintendo. I don't think they could have expected too much from Xenoblade.

 

[RK128]

Game localization is a big risk sometimes and even if a game has something really interesting to it, due to either its gameplay and other factors it is never bought over.

A good example of that would be Ciel No Surge, a Vita exclusive that (was) episodic and was a VN and Life Sim hybrid. Its story is as grand in scale and has visuals on par with what you would expect a JRPG to have AND its fully voiced in JP......

It never came to NA or EU due to its localization being not only expensive (to translate the text would take a long while and dubbing the VA would be a long process) but a number of factors hindered its appeal in the west (it having dating sim elements, it was largely a VN and the life-sim genre isn't the most popular genre in the west). So, it never got brought over....but its sequel, Ar No Surge was.

It got a mostly full English dub, a complete JP dub, and due to its JRPG nature (sudo-action/turn based combat, upgrading elements, leveling up, grand story, ect), it was localized due to it having a higher shot of success in the west then Ciel No Surge (despite that story being important to Ar No Surge; thankfully a dedicated fan made a very long, in-depth summary on the game).

Going back to Nintendo and its localization pratices, you can equate Captain Rainbow to Ciel No Surge (its very JP nature was 'too much' in Nintendo's eye for a NA/EU release) while you an equate Xenobalde Chronicles to Ar No Surge (having the most 'friendly' systems/mechanics/gameplay leading to it having a higher shot appealing to western JRPG fans).

Nintendo of America's attitude to Xenoblades localization baffles me a bit (as they sound very stingy with money); the game is a JRPG and a very open one using western RPG mechanics (large open world ala Skyrim for example) to help appeal world-wide. Granted, they don't make many RPG's to begin with outside of FE (which only got localized in the west thanks to Smash Bros.), Paper Mario (died with Sticker Star :'(), Mario & Luigi (still running) and Earthbound (...were's Mother 3 Nintendo...) but when they have a great one right at their foot.....they hesitate to bring it over :l?

Thankfully NoE took a shot with the games localization and it became a big series for Nintendo now (three ports on Wii, New 3DS and Digital Wii U Wii-port (EU only so far), Shulk and XC elements in Smash and Xenoblade X being a big fall game for the Wii U in the west ).

 

[Mory Dunz]

If NIS, XSEED and Aksys can survive bringing over text-heavy games, Nintendo/Square certainly can. Those three, in particular, bring out super niche games, some that probably don't even sell 100k yet somehow manage to sell out their shipments and turn a profit.

What's the budgets of those games usually though?
I don't really know myself so I'm asking.

You can't be serious right? The game sold out at every store that had it, when it was on Wii. If you only print enough copies of a game to "only" cover costs of localization, then what's the point of localizing it? The game selling out likely blew away their expectations, considering they didn't even think it would be worth doing anything with outside of Japan.

Selling more than they expected doesn't mean it sold enough to break even.

I mean, from playing it, Xenoblade seems pretty close to any AAA rpg in terms of presentation, story,length, music, etc. The SD graphics would be the only thing reducing costs.

Did it even clear 1 million WW? How could that make a profit in today's market?

 

[tebunker]

All I see in those quotes is someone who believes in a short term, near sighted strategy, and has a clear disdain for the passionate fans of his company.

Look, I agree fans can be dumb assholes, but you still don't think of them like this, because they pay your bills. I see these quotes as indicative of a lot of what's wrong with Nintendo.

And to be clear, I am not talking about niche super Japanese as fuck games. I am talking about things like JRPGs or other games with potential worldwide appeal. I get not bringing the crazy weird shit, but if you aren't willing to put the long term effort in to building a fan base and showing that you have breadth and depth of software to try, then you will always end up with a Wii U, because honestly, that's what you did. That's why WiiU failed. Not the name, not the awkwardness of the controller, but the poor leadership. Noa had a great opportunity to get a lot of new gamers to try out different software with the Wii, but because it wouldn't have an immediate ROI or not as high of an ROI as bringing out some other flaky Wii***insert whatever here*** game they didn't do it. Add that to the fact that they can't get 3rd parties on board and you get what you earned.

 

[Meffer]

He's absolutely right. Groups that demand certain games are pretty small and even then there's no guarantee all of them would buy it for any reason (not enough money, game doesn't have a feature I want, etc.). Xenoblade is no exception, I bet my ass it was very expensive to localize. It's a huge game with a lot of voice acting, not to mention all the text that had to edited. Must of been quite the endeavor.
"Gamers" are a very fickle group and Nintendo knows that.

 

[Mory Dunz]

I wonder what convinced them to localize FE X SMT then.

Every Wii U exclusive has been localized I believe.

 

[Nanashrew]

It's pathetic that they think localizing something like Xenoblade wouldn't have been worth the cost and that's why it took so long. You know why the cost for something like that is hard to justify? Because they do nothing but under ship and don't care to print more copies of a rare game that actually seems to be doing really well. It honestly says quite a bit when it comes to how they treat some of the companies working under them and how they value the work they create, when they don't even deem said work as being worthy of giving it a chance.

Do we know if 1 million sold was enough to break even? Xenoblade is a very, very large game with a fully voiced story and battles and lots and lots of written dialogue. It was by all means a AAA JRPG in a time where large scale JRPGs were in a huge rapid decline on consoles outside of Square Enix. It was a huge risk to even think about localizing as much as anyone wanted it too. It was kind of NoE to front the bill on that in a market where JRPGs are still more adored so it was probably seen less of a risk for them despite the costs to get those amazing actors and having them voice everything and so on.

Now we have Xenoblade Chronicles X coming which they have increased everything substantially. That's most guaranteed a risk but I imagine there's hope that it will perform even better because sequels often tend to.

 

[BennyBlanco]

Free xost cutting idea: Just do the translation for subtitles, leave the voices alone. Eh?

man, what a buncha jokahs

the english voices were so good

 

[Game Guru]

To be fair, I don't think Wii U as a name itself is as confusing as people let on... At least not when MS is using a Random Number Generator for their Xbox line. Sony seems to be the only console manufacturer who just sticks with consecutive numerals. PS1, PS2, PS3, PS4... People at least know Sony's bringing out a new PlayStation console when they advance the count by one. Wii U's issue was in not clarifying that it was a new console in the first place.

As for the risk in localizing some games... While that makes sense for Captain Rainbow as a very Japanese game back on the early Wii, it doesn't for a JRPG like Xenoblade when it released especially when Tecmo Koei seems to have no problems localizing Atelier games. It really doesn't when XSeed Games, Atlus USA, Idea Factory International, and NISA can localize their own niche JRPGs as well. It especially doesn't with the current state of home console gaming in Japan.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Gamecube lifetime sales were 22 million. Wii U sales are in the 10 million range.

Where'd the last 12 million of that old guard go?

Gamecube was more than a generation ago. That system was still able to get some of the kids who grew up on NES and SNES and were now adults with disposable income. Nintendo has lost a large part of an entire generation of kids with the advent of mobile games and the growth of MS and Sony in the market. Their fanbase in the console market is shrinking. You have entire generations of kids who no longer grow up with Nintendo as their first exposure to video games.

 

[stuminus3]

"Look at you people."

 

[chicagocubsfan]

I agree that the voices for Xenoblade were great, but if you want to cut costs for niche games just leave in the Japanese VA. The people interested will still buy it lol.

 

[shinra-bansho]

I'm somewhat confused.
Setting aside how dated the basis of this thread seems to be (Link directs to something from Oct 14?), there's nothing that controversial being said.

A modicum of resultant success doesn't necessarily change the degree of perceived risk prior.
The name is awful, but it is a small part of what makes the product a poor proposition.

So far as I can tell, the issue is with the tone of delivery?

 

[Dryk]

The problem is with this type of thinking that it makes a lot of sense in the short term, but in the long term it gives the impression that Nintendo systems have no games, and even when there are games, NOA isn't going to localize them anyway.

I mean Xenoblade Chronicles has been sold 3 times in the West now: Wii, 3DS, eShop. They will probably continue to sell it for decades, it will probably break even one day.

Even then, by clamping down on homebrew and region locking you make the problem worse because the most vocal people can't just translate and patch the game themselves like they did with Mother 3.

 

[Pellegri Testament]

Selling more than they expected doesn't mean it sold enough to break even.

I mean, from playing it, Xenoblade seems pretty close to any AAA rpg in terms of presentation, story,length, music, etc. The SD graphics would be the only thing reducing costs.

Did it even clear 1 million WW? How could that make a profit in today's market?

You'd be surprised how many corners can be cut when it comes to saving on costs (like not having a different set of VAs for the US). Xenoblade sure as hell wasn't some $50+ mil title like so many AAA games are, especially since it was never marketed in the West (marketing is the largest cost when it comes to AAA games).

 

[Vena]

Yeah... who's fault is that?
Paper Mario got sent to the handheld.
Pokemon Colloeseum/XD, despite even selling better than their console contemporaries (Tales of Symphonia, Paper Mario: TTYD, Baiten Kaitos, etc...) were never followed up.
And of course, lackluster 3rd party support.

The audience for RPGs on Nintendo consoles certainly hasn't been cultivated by Nintendo. I don't think they could have expected too much from Xenoblade.

I'm not arguing with you, I am telling you why they are doing what they are doing. They are making their own "premiere" title for RPG fans that isn't "and Mario". (Also some of you list has to do with PokeCo. not Nintendo proper, or Bamco's decisions with "Tales of" and producing an absolute shitpile of a game for the Wii which they only fixed with a re-release for another console...)

They are now trying to cultivate the RPG audience at home (or in general, since console/handheld may soon not be as much of a distinction for the software) with a premiere title.

Now, Xenoblade didn't happen to pan out like Splatoon in terms of blowing up out of the gate and redefining the audience to some degree, but at least they've not just given up and/or slapped Mario on it.

 

[Parfait]

I guess the fanbase was too small for XBC

I mean it's only the game that pushed me over the edge to invest in a Wii U, you know, the console with the least amount of RPGs coming out in the near future.

Maybe instead of whining that the fanbase for a game is too small, how about making the fanbase larger in the first place.

'Xenoblade is too big it costs too much money to bring over because only 10 people will buy it!" Maybe you should advertise it so that 20 people will buy it, instead of alienating people from your console.


It would hurt a lot, but I could do without Splatoon, or smash 4, or even Zelda U. They're the icing and cherry on top for a system I'm getting for a single RPG that i've wanted for years.

 

[RK128]

Gamecube was more than a generation ago. That system was still able to get some of the kids who grew up on NES and SNES and were now adults with disposable income. Nintendo has lost a large part of an entire generation of kids with the advent of mobile games and the growth of MS and Sony in the market. Their fanbase in the console market is shrinking. You have entire generations of kids who no longer grow up with Nintendo as their first exposure to video games.

And while the bolded is a very, very big problem for Modern Nintendo right now (even worse with the Wii U under-preforming), its something that can't easily be solved :l.

They make a console more in line with Microsoft's/Sony's boxes? Make a new handheld that really sells like hot cakes? Exploded into the Mobile scene and really steal the show? Having another lightning in the bottle deal like the Wii and DS for the future?

It really comes down them making smart moves going forward to stay relevant for new generations but until their next console/handheld lands, there really is no clear answer to the bolded .

Fantastic point you brought up though and I just wanted to highlight how Nintendo has to tackle that problem going forward.

 

[Haines]

Did it say anywhere if we would get the digital version in noa of xenoblade?

 

[Pandy]

The WiiU name on its own didn't ruin the console, the name combined with an awful launch marketing campaign did.
It faded into obscurity at a time when the general public would actually have quite liked to buy an HD upgrade to their Wii console, but didn't know such a thing existed. People on gaming sites like to talk about the WiiU failing because Nintendo were chasing gimmicks that didn't work, but that has virtually nothing to do with it when I still meet Wii owners today who are unaware that the WiiU exists, let alone what it actually is.

The general public didn't reject the idea of WiiU, for the most part they simply haven't heard of it. Even today.

If Microsoft can largely get away with the Xbox One being the third Xbox console and the follow up to the Xbox 360 , it's impossible to blame the WiiU name entirely.

And while the bolded is a very, very big problem for Modern Nintendo right now (even worse with the Wii U under-preforming), its something that can't easily be solved :l.

They make a console more in line with Microsoft's/Sony's boxes? Make a new handheld that really sells like hot cakes? Exploded into the Mobile scene and really steal the show? Having another lightning in the bottle deal like the Wii and DS for the future?

It really comes down them making smart moves going forward to stay relevant for new generations but until their next console/handheld lands, there really is no clear answer to the bolded .

Fantastic point you brought up though and I just wanted to highlight how Nintendo has to tackle that problem going forward.

Nintendo has already addressed the bolded. Before the end of the year Nintendo IP will be used in mobile games, and the hope is that they will bring new users/bring users back to the dedicated console business (as well as providing a nice income in themselves.)

 

[Balb]

Gamecube was more than a generation ago. That system was still able to get some of the kids who grew up on NES and SNES and were now adults with disposable income. Nintendo has lost a large part of an entire generation of kids with the advent of mobile games and the growth of MS and Sony in the market. Their fanbase in the console market is shrinking. You have entire generations of kids who no longer grow up with Nintendo as their first exposure to video games.

I don't know about "generations." I mean maybe the current 7 year old, yeah but the Wii era wasn't THAT long ago.

 

[udivision]

I'm not arguing with you, I am telling you why they are doing what they are doing. They are making their own "premiere" title for RPG fans that isn't "and Mario". (Also some of you list has to do with PokeCo. not Nintendo proper, or Bamco's decisions with "Tales of" and producing an absolute shitpile of a game for the Wii which they only fixed with a re-release for another console...)

They are now trying to cultivate the RPG audience at home (or in general, since console/handheld may soon not be as much of a distinction for the software) with a premiere title.

Oh, I know. I didn't mean to come off that way.

Now, Xenoblade didn't happen to pan out like Splatoon in terms of blowing up out of the gate and redefining the audience to some degree, but at least they've not just given up and/or slapped Mario on it.

Not that I didn't love Xenoblade, but I wouldn't have minded a Mario RPG presented in a different way than M&L or Paper Mario too... heh.

 

[Golnei]

I don't see how Nintendo can justify even greenlighting Xenoblade Chronciles X. I guess that's an expensive way to galvanize their current fans, but I don't think it did much for them.

It's a bizarre decision; maybe they thought (before the Wii U's failure became apparent) that the original's critical acclaim had the potential to translate into reasonable commercial success in a sequel? Either way, I can't imagine the series will continue past this point.

This is a really naive and ideological stance to take on the issue, but I'll echo comments critics sometimes make in the film and television industries: when you are in the business of culture, it's not all about the money. You have a serious responsibility to your consumers. And your image is as important to your business as your sale smarts.

This is why Yahoo picks up a sixth season of Community. This is why Netflix makes season four of Arrested Development. Your business is culture. Your business is all image. And your business is about making your audience feel like you bring them the absolute best and highest quality experience and that they, as your customers, come first.

This doesn't mean localize Captain Rainbow.

But it Operation Rainfall existed for a reason.

Sure, but there's a point where even those prestige projects become unsustainable, especially for a platform holder with limited resources. Xenoblade and the other Rainfall games would have been a financial black hole for NoA to localise, regardless of how passionate their fans are, and the damage done to their brand for keeping them Japan-only would likely have been negligible.

I agree that the voices for Xenoblade were great, but if you want to cut costs for niche games just leave in the Japanese VA. The people interested will still buy it lol.

Shipping a first-party Nintendo game with Japanese VA and nothing else would be disastrous - as a platform holder, they can't operate at the standards of lower-budget, niche localisation outfits. The thought process behind Xenoblade and similar games was clearly that bad English VA fit their image better than none, regardless of cost.

Though it'd be fantastic if they could come to an arrangement with XSEED or similar groups to distribute subtitle-only localised titles...

 

[Mory Dunz]

I'm not arguing with you, I am telling you why they are doing what they are doing. They are making their own "premiere" title for RPG fans that isn't "and Mario". (Also some of you list has to do with PokeCo. not Nintendo proper, or Bamco's decisions with "Tales of" and producing an absolute shitpile of a game for the Wii which they only fixed with a re-release for another console...)

They are now trying to cultivate the RPG audience at home (or in general, since console/handheld may soon not be as much of a distinction for the software) with a premiere title.

Hm, but why take away Paper Mario I wonder? To get Mario fans actually playing RPGs on a console in hopes that they might get another one like Xenoblade.

Paper Mario to 3DS still seems like a wrong decision.

Honestly, it didn't even sell that much more. As in, it didn't see a Luigi Mansion explosion in growth with the 3DS userbase coming from the GC. It did over 2 million I believe. A Paper Mario for Wii U could've maybe cleared 1 million and you would be cultivating the rpg fan base on the console instead of taking it away these past 8 years.

I guess XenoX and FE SMT are there

 

[SoundPulse]

I can certainly understand being hesitant to localize a game like Xenoblade, given that it would cost a very not insignificant amount of dosh to do. Xenoblade is a very big niche game with a lot of voice acting ($$$), after all, and Nintendo's not one to jump at the chance to take large risks. It appears that it was the right call, however, even if was NoE picking up the tab instead.

As for the name, the controversy probably was a bit overblown. That said, it would have been better to have chosen a different name that didn't make people immediately think "This is just a tablet controller for the Wii, right?".

 

[Vena]

Hm, but why take away Paper Mario I wonder? To get Mario fans actually playing RPGs on a console in hopes that they might get another one like Xenoblade.

Paper Mario to 3DS still seems like a wrong decision.

Honestly, it didn't even sell that much more. As in, it didn't see a Luigi Mansion explosion in growth with the 3DS userbase coming from the GC. It did over 2 million I believe. A Paper Mario for Wii U could've maybe cleared 1 million and you would be cultivating the rpg fan base on the console instead of taking it away these past 8 years.

I guess XenoX and FE SMT are there

I think Sticker Star was all-in-all a mismanagement of the PMario brand in general. But it was also at a time when the 3DS was on "fire all cylinders" mode, to salvage it.

I doubt #FE is going to continue past its first title... unless it becomes Nintendo's Persona or something. It looks fantastically silly and fun, but I don't know if it will actually turn into anything in the long run.

 

[Nakho]

Do we know if 1 million sold was enough to break even? Xenoblade is a very, very large game with a fully voiced story and battles and lots and lots of written dialogue. It was by all means a AAA JRPG in a time where large scale JRPGs were in a huge rapid decline on consoles outside of Square Enix. It was a huge risk to even think about localizing as much as anyone wanted it too. It was kind of NoE to front the bill on that in a market where JRPGs are still more adored so it was probably seen less of a risk for them despite the costs to get those amazing actors and having them voice everything and so on.

Now we have Xenoblade Chronicles X coming which they have increased everything substantially. That's most guaranteed a risk but I imagine there's hope that it will perform even better because sequels often tend to.

60 million dollars isn't enough to break even on a localization? What the hell.

 

[rjc571]

So does this idiot think Nintendo should never take risks? Just release nothing but a million versions of Mario every year ad infinum? Companies don't become successful without taking risks.

 

[Sterok]

Iwata mentioned that Xenoblade's western sales were surprisingly strong, so obviously Nintendo decided they were good enough. And between Europe and America, it almost certainly outsold what it sold in Japan (around 200K not counting the used market). Since I doubt localizing cost more than the game's original development, Xenoblade probably got them more money in the west than it did in Japan. Which is something I expect to happen again for Xenoblade X between the west's preference for open-world games and the holiday boost.

More importantly, as a first party Nintendo should be held to a higher standard as to what games come over. It's their job to make sure that their console owners get a steady stream of new games, even if it means they have to risk some projects that aren't likely to make money like Bayonetta 2. During the Wii's twilight years the system was light on notable games, and the Rainfall trio would've helped satisfy core fans at least if they had been released in a timely manner. But what's done is done. By now hopefully Nintendo has realized it's a bad idea to let their systems have long droughts, especially when they're the only notable publisher for the system.

 

[CaviarMeths]

Yeah I don't get it either. Maybe they could save costs by not dubbing, just translating text.

Free xost cutting idea: Just do the translation for subtitles, leave the voices alone. Eh?

Don't non-dubbed games sell significantly worse?

 

[Sandfox]

60 million dollars isn't enough to break even on a localization? What the hell.

One million sales doesn't translate to 60 million dollars for Nintendo.

 

[Nanashrew]

It's a bizarre decision; maybe they thought (before the Wii U's failure became apparent) that the original's critical acclaim had the potential to translate into reasonable commercial success in a sequel? Either way, I can't imagine the series will continue past this point.



Sure, but there's a point where even those prestige projects become unsustainable, especially for a platform holder with limited resources. Xenoblade and the other Rainfall games would have been a financial black hole for NoA to localise, regardless of how passionate their fans are, and the damage done to their brand for keeping them Japan-only would likely have been negligible.



Shipping a first-party Nintendo game with Japanese VA and nothing else would be disastrous - as a platform holder, they can't operate at the standards of lower-budget, niche localisation outfits. The thought process behind Xenoblade and similar games was clearly that bad English VA fit their image better than none, regardless of cost.

Though it'd be fantastic if they could come to an arrangement with XSEED or similar groups to distribute subtitle-only localised titles...

Nintendo often has agreements with 8-4 because they acknowledge how great their localization skills are. They believe that 8-4 matches their creative and quality driven standards.

 

[Mory Dunz]

60 million dollars isn't enough to break even on a localization? What the hell.

We're talking about 1 million WW. So 60 million breaking even on Dev costs, marketing, locaization, music, etc.


Not that they'd get 60 million anyway

 

[Pellegri Testament]

60 million dollars isn't enough to break even on a localization? What the hell.

Might want to look into what retailers take away from sold games before thinking that 1 game sold = $60 for Nintendo, even a million sales wouldn't have been anywhere close to $60mil.

 

[Sakura]

What's the budgets of those games usually though?
I don't really know myself so I'm asking.

Why exactly would that matter? They would be paying to localise a game that is already developed, not funding it's budget.

 

[chaosblade]

Wii U was never a good name, it's not a matter of hindsight. It doesn't work because Wii was platform, not an all-encompassing brand like "Playstation" or "Xbox," or even "Gameboy." That alone added an element of confusion, but Nintendo's marketing made matters worse by "not focusing on the box."

I mean, they literally could not have done a better job trying to confuse people. The E3 and announcement thread should make that clear enough, when even people here were light "wait, is this a new system or not?"

 

[xDUMPWEEDx]

Near the end of the Podcast, Pranger says it really irritates him that fans on NeoGaf constantly complain about Wii U sales suffering due to confusion surrounding the 'Wii U naming convention' and says this complaint is mostly just fan overreaction to something we can only see now "in hindsight."

Fucking idiot.