The Last Story confirmed for US release!

[Duke.Togo]

Thank goodness they listened! Due summer of 2012 from XSEED.
http://wii.ign.com/articles/121/1219199p1.html

[SirPsycho]

I need to get another Wii so I can jump on these awesome RPGs!

[FireStar]

Nintendo is too scared still too put much money behind RPG's here for some reason still, but I guess XSEED realised that and left nintendo out.

[SirPsycho]

Nintendo is too scared still too put much money behind RPG's here for some reason still, but I guess XSEED realised that and left nintendo out.

Since Nintendo published it everywhere else then NOA was the default license holder here in America, some legal mumbo jumbo about parent companies. So XSEED had to pay licensing, which NOA probably felt was the safer bet for them to profit.

I hate copyright law.

[MercuryCrusader]

The surprising thing is that Nintendo would sell the NA license to a third-party company at all. While this is common for Sony (Arc The Lad on the PSX being a Sony-published in Japan yet published by Working Designs in the US, Demon's Souls being Sony-published in Japan yet published by Atlus in the US), it's very rare for Nintendo, as they usually either publish the game themselves or not at all.  Also note that according to XSEED, the English version NA is getting is the same as the European version, much like how Nintendo is doing with Xenoblade Chronicles. That Nintendo would allow a third-party company that much leeway with a publishing license in the US shows they're willing to work with third-parties more closely.

[Duke.Togo]

I think allowing XSEED to publish it is a win-win for Nintendo. They get to keep hardcore fans happy, and take no risk for publishing it. I'm happy either way.

[MercuryCrusader]

I think allowing XSEED to publish it is a win-win for Nintendo. They get to keep hardcore fans happy, and take no risk for publishing it. I'm happy either way.

That's how folks should see it. NOA is preoccupied with the 3DS and the upcoming WiiU, and the only games they're willing to invest in are lower-risk titles that are guaranteed to sell, such as Mario Party 9, and in the case of Rhythm Heaven Fever, it's a budget title that should at least earn them a bit of a profit. Xenoblade Chronicles is going to be a pre-order-only limited print run game based on the PAL release, and GameStop is partially funding that project as well (considering Nintendo's online store and GameStop are the only two places you can pre-order the game). Nintendo allowing XSEED to handle the publishing of The Last Story in the US is one of the best moves they've ever made (I once heard Atlus was interested in bringing Mother 3 over to the US and Nintendo declined; them allowing XSEED to do this is the first I've heard of a situation like this).

And to be honest, I don't blame Nintendo for being reluctant to release JRPGs in the US. The console market for the genre is very niche, with SquareEnix taking up the largest numbers because of the Final Fantasy name, and companies like NISA, Atlus, and XSEED having a very dedicated (though small) fanbase that they're able to balance a budget around meticulously. Remember that the last big RPG they tried to sell to the US, Earthbound, did not do well at all. Then again, Nintendo did publish Dragon Quest IX in the US because SquareEnix didn't think the DQ market was large enough in the states, though the JRPG market on the DS was very large compared to the console one. They seem to pick and choose their battles based on what they believe will sell.

Anyhow, everybody should buy Xenoblade Chronicles and The Last Story in the US. If anything, the former might end up with such a limited print run that they'll be hella expensive in the near future. It'll also send a message to Nintendo that there's a market for those kind of games and those hardcore fans are willing to pay money for them.

[Cobra]

Xenoblade is a great game. I'm really glad I got it. But the rarity of these games does mean you shouldn't wait. Get them as soon as you can while you can. Can't wait for my copy of Last Story  to arrive.

[blcklblskt]

Really excited to see more region-exclusive games coming over to the Wii.  I think I'll pre-order these on that reasoning alone.  Now, if only Nintendo would bring over the second Fire Emblem DS title...

[blcklblskt]

I'm not sure.  I do know that the second DS game was a remake of the third game in the series, though.

[Crabmaster2000]

Thank goodness they listened! Due summer of 2012 from XSEED.
http://wii.ign.com/articles/121/1219199p1.html

This is the most exciting release news I've heard in a long time. I was really hoping it would make it over here in some fashion. I might even order 2 just because.

[Brianstorm99]

That's how folks should see it. NOA is preoccupied with the 3DS and the upcoming WiiU, and the only games they're willing to invest in are lower-risk titles that are guaranteed to sell...

It seems like the risk for NOA is so very small. All they have to do is print it up and get it into stores. It's not like Nintendo really has to pay licensing fees to Nintendo. Yes, they had some bad luck with Earthbound, but it was at the end of the life cycle, and the carts were very expensive to produce. It was also very expensive at retail and came in big weird boxes that retailers didn't want to stock. Wii games cost maybe $2 to manufacture. Add on shipping costs (very little) and retailer markup (all most nothing on new games), and you are still talking about NOA breaking even if they sell 1 out of every 10 they ship.

Personally, I'm just plain baffled by what NOA is thinking. I sometimes wonder if, despite all the excitement he brings, our beloved President Reggie doesn't really know (or care) that gaming is serious bidness.

[Sirgin]

Xenoblade and Last Story have been sitting on store shelves for months here in Belgium. I do want these games, but I hate that stores don't seem to price them down like they do with a lot of other games. By now, the damn €49.99 or €45.99 stickers are so yellowed, because no one buys them. Can't they just slice the price in half? I'd buy these in a second at €20 each.

[Crabmaster2000]

Xenoblade and Last Story have been sitting on store shelves for months here in Belgium. I do want these games, but I hate that stores don't seem to price them down like they do with a lot of other games. By now, the damn €49.99 or €45.99 stickers are so yellowed, because no one buys them. Can't they just slice the price in half? I'd buy these in a second at €20 each.

Thats basically my problem with games in general. I'd buy all my modern games brand new if they cost $25-$30. $50-$70 is just too much for me and I dont want to settle and just choose a small number of games so I wait until the price is low enough that I can buy all the games I'm interested in.

[Sirgin]

Xenoblade and Last Story have been sitting on store shelves for months here in Belgium. I do want these games, but I hate that stores don't seem to price them down like they do with a lot of other games. By now, the damn €49.99 or €45.99 stickers are so yellowed, because no one buys them. Can't they just slice the price in half? I'd buy these in a second at €20 each.

Thats basically my problem with games in general. I'd buy all my modern games brand new if they cost $25-$30. $50-$70 is just too much for me and I dont want to settle and just choose a small number of games so I wait until the price is low enough that I can buy all the games I'm interested in.

Yeah, pretty much. I rarely buy games new. Wii games are usually €49.99 here when they are new and PS3/360 games €60-70. Annoyingly, even though the Wii games have a lower initial price, they don't nearly get priced down as much as PS3/360 games do. I don't know why. It must be the "magic Nintendo" effect or something. And even the very old ones don't get priced down, especially when they have the word Mario or Zelda in the title. €39.99 for Mario Party 8? What a bargain! I could literally go into stores today and find 2+ year old Wii games (even bad ones) at prices like that.

Meanwhile, I just bought Enslaved: Odyssey to the West for €9.99 used and it's a newer game (and better game) than a lot of those Wii games that never get priced down.