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Here’s Nintendo of America’s Response To Operation Rainfall

By Ishaan . June 29, 2011 . 6:01pm

Heres Nintendo of Americas Response To Operation Rainfall

Following a fan campaign dubbed “Operation Rainfall” to get Nintendo of America to be more forthcoming regarding the release of Xenoblade Chronicles, The Last Story and Pandora’s Tower, NOA took notice of the movement and promised an update “soon”.

 

Today, they provided one. Here’s the statement, right off their Facebook page:

 

“Thank you for your enthusiasm. We promised an update, so here it is. We never say “never,” but we can confirm that there are no plans to bring these three games to the Americas at this time. Thanks so much for your passion, and for being such great fans!”

 

Before you decide to go wild in the comments, keep in mind that the extremely common “no plans at this time” response is exactly what it says — no plans at this time. Nintendo of America may very well have plans to release these games at a later date, especially considering the first half of that line.


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  • YsyDoesIt

    Nintendo of America can…oh, never mind. I’m actually looking forward to Modding my Wii to experience Xenoblade with British voice acting.

  • https://twitter.com/#!/SplashdownTiger STiger

    A friend just informed me that NOA also said “no plans at this time” in regard to Mother 3.  The GBA is pretty much dead, but the WiiU will have backwards compatibility with Wii games.  So which is it NOA?  Are these games never getting localized or what?

    • http://tristsantithesis.tumblr.com/ Tsunayoshi Sawada

      Im quite sure that there is hope for Mother 3! 

    • http://whatistheexcel.com/ Excel-2012

      I hope not. I need these games to stay cool.

    • kupomogli

      The DS had backwards compatibility with the GBA.  Just like the DS, the Wii U is a new system and the BC is more than likely not there to release new Wii games.

      • https://twitter.com/#!/SplashdownTiger STiger

        3DS is backwards compatible with DS games and we’re still seeing DS releases.

  • AzureNova

    I know they said “No plans at this time” which doesn’t mean never, but for some reason that statement still kinda hurt.

  • masuto

    “No plans at this time” means never because Wii-U is taking over. ><

  • http://twitter.com/TheRyusui Ryusui

    It’s just like I said: Nintendo was taking its time to figure out how best to say “no” without getting its face ripped off.

    We have to take “no plans at this time” for what it really means: a euphemistic, PR-spinned “not gonna happen.” It’s ambiguous, yes, but Nintendo can hide in that ambiguity: if they claim “no plans at this time” and turn out to have no plans ever, then we can’t say they lied. This way, they feel they can say “no” and get away with it.

    That’s the thing, though. They aren’t. Operation Rainfall has yet to truly begin. If Nintendo thinks it’s seen PR fallout from their E3 gaffe, they haven’t seen anything yet.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Danette-Sheron/100001563158266 Danette Sheron

    *Sigh* NOA, you have disappointed me. I’ve fully
    supported Nintendo since the SNES days, but now I can see why so many
    have strayed from Nintendo to Sony or Microsoft. I don’t know why they
    don’t bring the games over considering the demand. “No plans at this time” is just a professional and around the bush way of saying “no plans at all”. Why did NOA have to go all Namdai on us!?

  • http://www.youtube.com/B4ULoveShine Tim_at_where

    Damn.  It would be nice if The Last Story would be the swan song for the Wii… in America.

  • epy

    If I can count on someone dissapointing me, its Nintendo NA (..well, and Atlus USA, Bamco USA and of course SEGA)! Its nice to have something constant for years now in this world full of changes, even if that constant is vile and despicable.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Nicolai-Grude/1117146030 Nicolai Grude

    Let’s all set fire to ourself in front of the NoA HQ, after we’ve softmodded our Wii’s and played the PAL versions.

    • malek86

      Meanwhile, at the NOA HQ.

      Employee: Mr. Reggie, those hardcore gamers are down there, and keep clamoring for Xenoblade and Last Story!
      Reggie: dammit. We’ll need to deal with them some way or the other. What are our options?
      Employee: wait a second… they are setting themselves on fire!
      Reggie: oh cool, that’s killing two birds with one stone. Ok guys, now you can get back to making Mario Party 9.

      • solbalmung

        LOL! I think Reggie last reply should be somthing like: Guys keep working on that Big Mama cooking or what ever localization, we don’t care about RPG’s or good games HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUR!

  • http://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=2704923 Buntar0

    Go for the homebrew channel guys! It costs as much as an SD card and a rented game in the worst case. And better preorder asap, those import game dealers are not sleeping on their pricing either!

    Nintendo of America is one huge joke of a company. I shouldn’t be this upset (PAL gamer), but I am.

  • banballow

    Reggie: The gamers of North America will look up and shout “Games please?”.
    … and I’ll whisper, “No”.

  • darkfox1

    yeah it makes sense they are gonna wait until the Wii COMPLETELY dies out…… I mean I don’t even know any Wii game that came out recently that is even worth mentioning, Hell I don’t even KNOW about any Wii games that came out. They should have already been making these games so if they were to come out let’s say tomorrow they can at least be the last good wii selling games…. But the way they say “no plans now” THEN WHEN WHEN THE WII IS DEAD?

  • http://twitter.com/ChaseBurr Chase Bonner

    its still a slap in the face to those who really dedicated time into this movement but it’s all good i will always support nintendo no matter what.  i ain’t spend much time on the movement just preordered monado on amazon is all

  • Kris

    I can’t think of a recent Japanese game released in North America that a publisher hasn’t had “no plans” for at some point or another. It’s a standard PR response that doesn’t necessarily mean much. While I agree that it’s a pretty terrible “update” given the excitement around Operation Rainfall, I certainly don’t think people should act as though all hope is lost. It seems unlikely to me that RPGs with such impressive pedigrees wouldn’t be released in North America.

  • http://twitter.com/Defil_R Peete

    I really don’t get NoA… The game comes out in UK, it’s already translated in english, how dumb can they be to not announce it in US. I’m really disappointed sometimes from Nintendo (I’m from Switzerland, PAL though), but it’s the same with the 3DS as well, why going back to regional protection again?
    I love their games really, but somehow I still think Nintendo’s only after the money and do not really think of the real fans and hardcore gamers… To release this three games would maybe not give that much profit, but it would be a sign to the fans.

    The best way is to learn japanese and import everything… :-/

    • vemir

      Arc rise Fantasia released in english in american, then why not realesed in the eu? (i’m  from hungary )Which are translated to English, why not to realesed both in eu/usa ? i do not understand this logic … 

      • Gelsa

        Because they would have to translate it to German, French, Spanish, Italian and whatever language a European country it wants it games in.

        • vemir

          I see most of our players are playing games in English only in hungary,  think it would be enough to release  English  language game in eu first place and later  translated into german etc …so we do not miss games like arc rise fantasia.
          And let’s say, very few games are translated in to our  language :(

          • Gelsa

            I’m assuming that Hungary doesn’t have a policy/rule/law to dub every media that comes into it (Germany dubs nearly everything, even porn). Germany however does have a policy/rule/law or whatever it is that everything must include German into it :/ And with politicians that refuse to change and it’s population of around 82 million people they can’t be ignored. They’re to big of a potential market.

            Personally I think it would be enough to simply remove the region lock so people could import the games they want to have without modding their console. Nintendos attitude towards region locking is exactly the reason I won’t support them with the Wii U or 3DS. I mean, you really gonna add a region lock to the 3DS when the DS didn’t have one? And when it’s a portable console and people travel the world more than ever?

          • Corvax

            That seems like sort of a silly law to me…  I could understand the rationale if German was a dying language like Irish, but it’s not.  Oh, well.  At least Germany is big, so the translation efforts don’t go to waste the way they would in a smaller country.

            To be fair, though, unlocking consoles would mean English-speaking Europeans would just import games from North America.  Most companies wouldn’t actually bother localizing for Europe, so non-English speakers would miss out.  I don’t think there’s any real easy solution for the region lock problem as far as Europeans go.

          • Gelsa

            Why can’t I reply to Corvax? Feels stupid to reply to myself.

            Anyways, the DS is region free. Same with the PS3, PSP and IIRC the PSVita has been announced to be region free as well and for the consoles that has been released, it has worked out pretty well.

        • http://www.facebook.com/people/Vitonofrio-del-Rosso/1170175361 Vitonofrio del Rosso

          and that’s beyond dumb..
          no offense, but gamer, before being gamers are person.. and nowdays if there’s a common-ground language that is recognized in all europe (and beyond) it’s english..
          So really playing in english should be the “norm” while localization should jsut be a sporadic “plus-value”..
          :/

          • malek86

            If you want to reach a bigger market, you’ll need to localize the games.

            You have no idea just how many people don’t know more than one language. In the forum I go to, there are many people who say “yeah, but does it have italian language? If not, I won’t buy it, because I can’t read english”. Other people can read english well enough for an action game, but not well enough for an entire RPG of dialogues. And mind, it’s a hardware-related forum, so people would be supposed to know some english due to their line of work.

            Overall, releasing a game only in english is like accepting to sell to a much smaller market.

            And besides, while that could be acceptable for smaller companies, NOE has always localized their games in multi-5 ever since the Gamecube era.

          • http://twitter.com/Xander_VJ David García Abril

            Sorry, but you couldn’t be more wrong… and more insulting saying it’s “beyond dumb”.

            Even if English is the international language, that doesn’t mean that you must (nor should) know it by default.

            And even if you do know English, the feelings you have from it are not the same that you get with your mother tongue.

            Famous Spaniard actor Javier Bardem spoke about this once. He said that he has said plenty of times the words “I love you” ever since he started performing in English, but that for him those words doesn’t have the same emotional impact that the Spanish version (“Te quiero”). He has way more life memories attached to the Spanish words than to the English ones. Hence, he needs to do an extra effort when he performs in English that he doesn’t need when he does in Spanish.

            And that’s true for common people too. When you read in a different language, even in one that you have some skill with, you have to make extra efforts that you are not supposed to make. Things like sayings, idioms, puns, etc… You need a REALLY high level of English that most people are never gonna get… and they don’t have to.

            I know that English native speakers have a REALLY hard time empathizing with this, but it’s just the way it is. You tend to give too much for granted when it comes to your language.

            Like malek86 says, if you release a game only in English, then you are self-limiting your market and the number of people you are gonna reach.

            The problem is that localization is VERY expensive and time consuming (at least, if you wanna do it right), so it’s kind of a vicious circle: you don’t localize because you don’t get enough sells, but you don’t have enough sells because you don’t localize.

      • Extra_Life

        There are more languages to translate to for Europe, that’s usually a costly issue.

    • thebanditking

      If rumor can be believed I was told NOA has a pretty strict policy on releasing games that have British accents and believe that people over here won’t accept the title because of it. Not sure if I by it but seems to apply here.

      • http://myanimelist.net/profile/Kuronoa Kuronoa

        Rumor seems inconsistent then, NoA is localizing and releasing the last of the DS Layton games.  A series based in London.

  • vemir

    Finally europa gets an wii jrpg game, but I never thought that this would be xenoblade.I hope Nintendo europe realese  Arc rise Fantasia, Last story, pandora tower  too. 
    No worries american  gamers, we eu players never got xenogears,parasite eve 1, baten kaitos origins, tales games . 

  • malek86

    Honestly, this is the kind of answer I was expecting from the start. When has this kind of campaigning ever worked?

    • AdrianHeng

      The pressure fans put on Atlus and Namdai resulted in the localizations of both Catherine and a Tales title. Which, I suppose, gave hope to others that they could do the same with Nintendo. Tough luck …

      • malek86

        Atlus was probably going to localize Catherine anyway, but wanted to bid their time – it was just that fans had become paranoid due to all the lack of localization announcements from other companies, and so wanted a straight answer immediately, so Atlus retracted their previous statement (besides, come on… the 360 version should have been enough of a hint).

        As for Tales, maybe it worked… or maybe Namco just noticed that their previous plan of making western-aimed games didn’t work, and so naturally returned to localizing their japanese games. I’m not sure fans really had a hand on the matter like they believe.

        • http://tristsantithesis.tumblr.com/ Tsunayoshi Sawada

          I have to agree. Catherine had to have been worked on a way long time before fans were getting agitated about it. How fast did those trailers come out after its reveal, and press shots in english, etc. 

      • http://www.siliconera.com Spencer

        Catherine was always coming to America, Atlus subtly teased it even before the whole “no plans” comment, which was a standard PR response blown out of proportion. 

    • http://tristsantithesis.tumblr.com/ Tsunayoshi Sawada

      Tales of Graces F?

  • Crimson_Cloud

    Hmm, on that  ”Thanks so much for your passion, and for being such great fans!” should be replied with ”And thank you for being such a normal businessmen!”

  • XypherCode

    it’s their loss

  • AdrianHeng

    I wish NoA would be less of an ass and just answer with a simple “yes” or “no”. This fence sitting, “we’ll wait and see” kind of response really grates on my nerves. “No plans at the moment” is no better than a candy coated “no” anyway. And it was pretty much the answer I was expecting (and dreading) – with the Wii U around the corner, Nintendo seems about ready to pack up the Wii’s support and toss it in a basement. 

  • SirRichard

    How does it feel, America?

    HOW DOES IT FEEL TO KNOW THE PAIN OF EUROPE!?

    Oh I’m sorry, not quite sure what came over me there. Er-hem.

    I’m repeating myself here but it is a shame that Nintendo of America seem completely dedicated to not localizing anything that isn’t a guaranteed million-seller. I mean, Nintendo of Europe’s already done the localization work (without using the same five voices everyone else uses, too), just lift that over.

  • Phlo

    This is exactly why I’m not touching a 3DS until I can be sure there’s a way to play import games on it. Obviously, I can’t trust Nintendo to do the smart thing and localize even their own damn games.

  • http://bluehighwind.blogspot.com/ BlueHighwind

    Hey, Nintendo, where did you ever get the crazy idea that I would take ‘no’ for an answer?

    I really don’t see how this is making a case for a pysical game market like Nintendo wants.  If I had a hacked Wii, I could download the games, not pay a cent, and never have to deal with any localizing crap ever again.  Nintendo, why again should I play it your way, if you’re going to fail me?

  • 128bitigor

    So that’s how Nintendo plan to cater to hardcore audiences, huh? 

  • Guest

    They need to add Zangeki No Reginliev and Earth Seeker to Project Rainfall but ah what’s the point NoA obviously doesn’t care

    • http://myanimelist.net/profile/Kuronoa Kuronoa

      Earth Seeker is 3rd party, we have a better chance of getting that one.

    • Shinji Kazuya

      Yes, I’m really hoping for Earth Seeker myself. Looks like a really fun action RPG!

  • theoriginaled

    “Thank you for your apathy. We promised an update, so here it is. We
    never say “never,” but we can confirm that there are no plans to buy any more Nintendo hardware or software at this time. Thanks so much for your response, and for being steadfast in your refusal to listen to your fans!”

    • malek86

      Unfortunately, Nintendo fans have never been particularly good at boycotting.

      Reggie: we are never going to localize Xenoblade ever.
      Fans: damn you Nintendo! We are no buying no more games from you! No more!
      Reggie: by the way, here’s a new Zelda trailer.
      Fans: omg want! … well, it will be just one exception, got it?
      Reggie: also, some Super Mario 3D screenshots.
      Fans: we want this game so much! But… it’s just two exceptions! Just two!
      Reggie: and stay tuned for tomorrow, when we’ll have some Kid Icarus footage.

      • http://tristsantithesis.tumblr.com/ Tsunayoshi Sawada

        Nintendo fans have caught themselves in an elaborate scheme of the world of Nintendo…unless gamers get tired of Zelda and Mario.  Im honestly shocked Ninty just didnt just abandon their other properties this gen. 

        • thebanditking

          Agreed. It never surprises me how often Nintendo screws their biggest supporters over and after a small outburst they all go right back to kissing their rear. They will excuse anything, except anything, and consistently get the shaft and not just take it, but ask for more.

        • daizyujin

          Agreed.  I have a buddy that is a “video game nut” but all he knows anything about is Nintendo.  His knowledge of anything begins and stops with Nintendo.  It is embarrassing when he doesn’t even seem to realize that the “great new game” on his shiny Nintendo console is just a port or spinoff of something that has existed on a competitor’s console for years.  And then everybody just looks at him like he is insane.  He litterally looks like the elephant in the room every time he opens his mouth.

          It is odd when you have to constantly remind somebody that there were game companies out there before Nintendo.  Dude didn’t even hardly know where Activision came from and this is a guy that is older than me (31).

          The sad thing is he fully admits that the Wii has nothing on it he wants anymore, he admits Nintendo did a poor job on games he likes with the Wii, but he still is going to get Wii U, yet he has no 360 or PS3 even though both are getting several games that appeal to him and at least one is cheaper NOW than Wii U likely will be in a year.   I am not sure how a person can call themselves a “video game enthusiast” when they can honestly claim they have never owned any of the following systems.

          Atari 2600, Genesis, Playstation 1, 2, or 3, Xbox or Xbox 360, Saturn

          The guy has not owned even one of those machines.  It is like he lives in a “Nintendo Bubble.”  No matter how bad they treat him, he comes back for more punishment.  It is like he is the battered wife or something.  Punched in the face but show him a video of the 3DS and oh my god, it is like a battered spouse white trash reunion.

          It is sad when somebody lets nostalgia get in the way of their judgement.

          • Guest

            A lot of Nintendo fans are their own worst enemy. And Nintendo knows that.

  • http://myanimelist.net/profile/Kuronoa Kuronoa

    I hope it is just sweeping it under the rug until they really do announce it later but doubt it.
    Makes me worry about their practices on the Wii U, if they cannot give us these there’s not much confidence for what they will do on the next console.

    This also hurts the company influence and respect Nintendo has, if Nintendo doesn’t want to release RPGs made by Monolith and Mistwalker what does that say to 3rd party where the recognition isn’t nearly as grand?!

    Oh and I want to softmod for import but I dunno if I can.  Console is half mine,  don’t like paying extra for the games or look online now that it is in demand (though I’ll bite in this case) and I tend to not trust these things even though my Wii is years old.

    • thebanditking

      This was the perfect time to announce this in fact E3 was. Xenoblade at least should have saw a Fall release because with Wii U coming sometime in the Spring exactly when are they going to “make” time to release this. From where I sit saying no now is the final answer.

  • Roses4Aria

    Sigh.  Isn’t this more or less what they’ve been saying all along?  So how is this update REALLY an update?  I’m disappointed, but I kind of expected it.  I’ll keep on hoping.  I’m not holding my breath, though.

    Yeah, thanks for being such great fans.  Here’s a kick in the teeth. :(

  • Equus

    I never say “never,” but I can confirm that there are no plans for me to purchase a Wii U at this time.

    • thebanditking

      Exactly like I said before Nintendo is clearly out of touch with the core market and have no clue how to properly support it. I am not buying a Wii U until these thick headed practices change, because if Nintendo can’t even localize a few titles for the core market how are they ever going to support a system designed to appeal to it.

  • Aiddon

    eh, not surprising. I’m disappointed that they don’t have any plans for them, but I can’t blame Nintendo due to the current economic climate as well the fact that they’ve spent a lot of capital on the Wii U’s development.

  • http://myanimelist.net/profile/Kuronoa Kuronoa

    Just thought of something.  What if there’s a low print for Xenoblade and Last Story?  With the huge import demand and the fans living in Europe already, this is going to be a pain to buy for an American isn’t it?
    Also if everybody imports then the sales for the US version (if they actually bite later on) would be low…
    Ah dammit decisions decisions.  I already stated why I might not import it but wow what a way to screw a gamer over.

  • thebanditking

    Wow really Nintendo? This is a new low even for you, this was the perfect opportunity to throw your most loyal supporters a bone as a good faith effort. Would have done wonders for you come Wii U time, but no; you remain an unchanging dinosaur, content to only release titles that fit within your narrow view created by bean counters and focus groups. Sad really….”We never say “never,” (is that a Justin Beiber plug?)
    http://postcaption.com/i/son-i-am-disappoint_ndop-_0.jpg

  • darkfox1

    My Wii is Soft modded so I can import it. I can also download and burn it too. 
    *Evil Face* 

  • daizyujin

    Step 1:  Install the Homebrew Channel.

    Step 2:  Install Gecko OS for booting imports, it works great on my copy of Tatsunoko Vs Capcom I imported.

    Step 3:  Buy the game from Europe.

    Step 4:  Play the game while giving your favorite obscene gesture to the picture of Reggie of your choice (or whoever you blame for the game not coming here, I actually have a dartboard with a picture of Douchebag Director (aka Michael Bay))

  • http://twitter.com/AaqibRawat Aaqib Rawat

    I prayed for months and months {i think a year?!} and my prayer was heard for KOF XIII.

    Out of the blue nintendo might be like oh and Last story xenoblade and pandoras tower are coming out for the wii!

    Have some hope people………. i mean these games would be a good selling point for the WiiU maybe nintendo have a mad idea?? {or there just dumb}

    I live in the Uk[woah we got a good game for once ^^] if worst comes to worst i might just help you guys out by buying a ton of xenoblade copies and sending them your way……….

    Your souls as payment please:P

    • Guest

      Earth Seeker
      Zangeki no Reginliev
      Dragon Quest Monsters Battle Road Victory

  • thaKingRocka

    I don’t think being told that I’m getting nothing really deserves enthusiasm and exclamation points. I would expect more along the lines of an apology with solemn periods and such.

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