Nintendo does have a relationship with Atlus USA, given they handled Cubivore (GC) and Polarium Advance (GBA). So there’s a precedent at least… I doubt they’d ever relinquish rights for an established core 1st party IP (like Mother 3) but something like Soma Bringer has possibilities I think.

Also, Glory of Herakles doesn’t belong to Nintendo, it belongs to Paon. That’s much more similar to Fatal Frame IV, Ogre Battle 64 or the Tower SP really, it’s a 3rd party game they just picked up for co-publishing in Japan. It’s up to Paon (not Nintendo) on licensing it out.

With ASH, I’m not sure who exactly holds the rights though, Nintendo or Mistwalker (or both)?

@Tin Man – Thanks for leaving a comment! ASH is a mystery since it’s rated and we’ve heard from other sources that it was in localization. However, when I asked Nintendo about it they weren’t even aware of the game. The same thing happened with Soma Bringer so… (?)

Fatal Frame IV seems like it’s going to come out in North America since it’s a second party game. Tecmo and Grasshoper made it and Nintendo published it in Japan only. Since Tecmo has the rights to the franchise they could handle the game if NOA decides to drop it.

I hope Siliconera can eventually get to the bottom of this if they ever deem it worth investigating, as the staff here as a knack for getting in really good interviews (and answers!) with people and companies in the gaming industry. Even if it’s unlikely, the fact that Nintendo would be realizing that people know that something’s up (or that people are still following ASH) might just force them to make a definitive decision for better or worse. Considering their nonsensical policies on things like Disaster, Fatal Frame IV, Fire Emblem SD, etc. lately I’m sure we can all predict what ASH’s ultimate fate is, but just knowing for sure is a relief in the sense of not having to bear unnecessary anticipation. (Same for Namco-Bandai trademarks like Tales of Hearts and Mugen no Frontier, but those are different stories entirely…) Thanks for putting up with a newbie’s ramblings.

I said third party companies should still try contacting Nintendo for those purposes, it happened before and all that.

Color me interested in that Soma Bringer patch though.

That said, I’m not mad at NOA, or disappointed by them. They’re doing what they’re doing to make money, as a business, and given there’s no cease-and-desist letter sent out, they could care less about this franchise. But, neither does the average consumer.

Fact is, you can’t sell this story on the back of a box, or in a tiny ad blurb. And you kinda need to know the last two, which would take an SNES (or a port of Mother 1+2). And then, you’re already in too deep. The only way this could work, is selling all three on a DS cart. Of course, cost plays an issue here, too; so does trying to sell it again.

And even, once you’ve sold it, how do you keep interest in it? Nintendo’s been using a lot of advertising that lives way, way beyond a traditional game’s run. You can go to the Everybody’s Nintendo channel on a Wii and see ads for Mario Kart, Wii Fit, Nintendogs, and Brain Training, even though it’s older games. Why is this? These games are pick-up-and-play. That’s what Nintendo is getting good at selling… and not so much at the traditional-style games. Where’s advertisements for Battalion Wars 2, or Metroid Prime 3, or Star Fox DS? They’re not there… these used to be Nintendo’s bread-and-butter, and will always be there, but aren’t it’s focus anymore. You can’t sell that stuff to the new “Nintendo Family.” It’s all about casual games from here on out. And why shouldn’t it be, if that’s what gets you on morning news shows and New York Times? Casual titles are doing more for NOA than Zelda or Pokemon ever did.

In conclusion, Mother 3’s a great game, and we’re lucky a group out there could translate it and release it, for free even; but it’s only possible because Nintendo moved on from such things. And NOA would have struggled with selling it, possibly endangering future games in the series (or beyond), so this is the best possible outcome for the fans.

Slightly off topic, but the current rumor is that NOA fully localized ASH before shelving it last second (it even popped up on the ESRB site earlier in the year). Maybe they’ll pass it off to someone like Atlus, Ignition or XSEED…

Nice feature. Any plans for a Siliconera reader meetup at E3 or Anime Expo next year?