Last year a fan-based group, Operation Rainfall, launched an online campaign to petition Nintendo of America to localise three major Japanese Wii releases: Xenoblade Chronicles, The Last Story and Pandora's Tower. The news that Xenoblade Chronicles will be released in North America is perhaps due to sales success in Europe, though it's nevertheless a positive result for the online campaign. Two titles are still unconfirmed for the region, however, and the organisers plan to maintain awareness.
The group has released a brief press statement outlining plans for a campaign centred around The Last Story, to coincide with the titles' release in Japan and then Europe. As always social network sites will be the focus of Operation Rainfall's efforts, as it hopes to encourage widespread support. The statement is below, will you be joining in?
Between the dates of January 27th (the 1 year anniversary of The Last Story releasing in Japan) and February 24th (the European release date for The Last Story) we will be focusing our campaign on The Last Story, as well as the people behind the game Hironobu Sakaguchi, (the creator of Final Fantasy) and Nobuo Uematsu (famed Japanese composer, best known as well for his work on Final Fantasy).
On January 27 we will be contacting Nintendo in mass, and then after during the month, we will be doing everything we can to raise public awareness of the title and its connection to Sakaguchi and the Final Fantasy franchise. We find it absurd that the title is so little known considering its pedigree, and we hope to correct that this month.
[source oprainfall.blogspot.com]
Comments 46
I am a bit interested in the game, but these petitions aren't really my thing. I don't use social networking websites and I don't feel I know enough about the game to actively support it. I will probably buy it if it gets good reviews and a North American release. Good luck to Operation Rainfall.
@ ueI
Operation Rainfall doesn't really do petitions. They aim directly at Nintendo and the public, instead of collecting signatures.
If I had a dollar for every annoying petition out there, I'd be a millionare.
Anybody else feel like they're wasting thier time? Seriously, Nintendo probably already has plans to bring it over, and if they don't, the best way to convince them is to make sure The Last Story is successful in Europe and Xenoblades is successful in America. Making yet another spamfest isn't going to do anything.
At first I thought of Operation Rainfall as nice people. Now I think of them as a metaphor for little children. Spoiled brats who yell to their mothers (Or in this case, Reggie) demanding what they want.
@Koto: Maybe petition is the wrong word, but I still have no intention of creating a brand new social network account for the purpose of a game I know next to nothing about. I'm not against Operation Rainfall. Everyone who wants to play this game should be given the chance, even if I'm not one of them.
I'm sure NoA has gotten the point already...
That being said, I wouldn't mind them bringing out some new games into the spotlight. The latest DS Fire Emblem comes to mind.
This is the game out of the Rainfall Three that I have always wanted the most. I really hope NoA brings it over.
I sure hope we would get this game before the Wii U launches, because after this April there is nothing coming out on the Wii (as far as I know).
I think these folks are seriously wasting their time. I believe NoA has "secret" plans to bring those games over. They are spacing game releases out as much as they possibly can, focusing on their popular franchises before lesser known like The Last Story and Pandora's Tower.
Those people need to get with it.
I pre-ordered Xenoblade from GameStop and participated in the Operation Rainfall stuff, but I just can't decide if I'm interested in The Last Story (and I'm not interested in Pandora's Tower at all). The color palette from TLS screens looks awfully dark and unvaried.
I keep thinking the game looks really small in the number of areas based on the similarities between the screenshots. Hopefully I'm wrong. I'd consider this if it came over, but I wouldn't pre-order it based on how I feel today.
Um... I though operation didn't influence Nintendo's decision to bring it over.
I was under the impression they were planning it all along. (If I'm wrong someone please tell me)
Jeez, if The Last Story actually made it to the US, life would be complete <3 I wanted it more then Xenoblade, but I kept my word on ordering it to help Op. Rainfall like I said I would. ^^
Let's think about it this way: The Wii U isn't coming out until after E3, so late summer early fall. Now the only worthwhile games coming out for Wii are Rhythm Heaven Fever, PokePark2 (if that appeals to some), Mario Party 9 and Xenoblade. Xenoblade comes out on April and it's a long game. Between April and E3 is baren for Wii games and it's still a long way off for the Wii U to come out, so my theory is Nintendo has to announce Last Story and Pandora's Tower for NA by E3 maybe a little later but not much. That way the Wii will have some longevity by the time Wii U is launched.
@koops: At first I thought of Operation Rainfall as nice people. Now I think of them as a metaphor for little children. Spoiled brats who yell to their mothers (Or in this case, Reggie) demanding what they want.
the gods forbid they should let a corporation with a product know what they as consumers want. much better to be real little children just sitting there waiting for whatever the parent/corporation dishes out to them.
what i'm wondering is why they're contacting Nintendo in Massachusetts. Isn't NoA based out of Washington?
that said, no, i won't be joining in. Operation Rainfall is irrelevant (much as they'd like you to believe otherwise), and I find it highly amusing that they think they had or or will have any kind of effect on whether any of these three games are or are not released here in NA. Nintendo's got their own plans, whether anyone likes it or not.
@theblackdragon: I'm just hoping the games get released here (Well, Last Story anyways). I don't really care how it happens, just the results. ^^
I agree with koops that thier just acting like spoilt brats now,they are going to release it anyway, its hard to find 1 game that came it japan and europe that didnt come to US as well!
There is absolutely no harm in letting Nintendo know what you want. If you choose to remain silent now, you'll have no right to complain about not getting these games later.
I'm with @Gamesake. No harm done. No need to sit around insulting them.
Anyway, the gameplay in The Last Story looks pretty cool really.
Well we got Xenoblade. No use in not trying for the 2nd of the trio.
(though I could care less for pandoras tower at the moment)
come on last story
Operation Rainfall: "First off, I just want to reiterate the purpose of our campaign:
We are a positive campaign that is attempting to communicate with Nintendo for the release of two critically-acclaimed RPGs: The Last Story, and Pandora's Tower. We also promote the selling of Xenoblade Chronicles in hopes that it sells well enough to justify the release of the other two games. "
How are they acting like "spoiled brats?" Just sayin'
@joevox316: no offense, but their 'mission statement' varies quite strongly from the behavior of their followers. :3
I love the immediate revisionist history. No one cared about these games before this started. Now people care about these games. And then people bought the game in Europe so NOA decided to bring the games here. That's what happened. Facts and stuff.
and yeah some of the people there are lame and stupid but it's no worse than ANYWHERE ELSE ON THE ENTIRE INTERNET. Considering some of the people you have to deal with here...
@theblackdragon lol why would that offend me? Thanks though. I don't know much about Operation Rainfall or how it works really. But I could declare myself a "follower" and act like an idiot, yet as I said I don't know anything about it. I'm just saying that Gamesake has a good point, and just because there are, of course, idiots on the Internet that doesn't mean everyone should just call the folks behind Operation Rainfall "spoiled brats." Though maybe some of them are beastly buffoons. I dunno. That could be said of anything really.
@joevox316: you posted their mission statement thingy-whatever and then asked how that meant they were acting like 'spoiled brats', when unfortunately that statement is not how it plays out IRL. to me, any good intentions they may have had have long since been erased by the hordes of fanboy-raging apples in their collective bunch that have been spoiling any public attempts for Nintendo to communicate with their fans, whether via Facebook or other means.
yes, there's always going to be idiots on the internet, and yes, it's nothing new, but that doesn't mean they're somehow above reproach just because of the 'someone else would've acted the fool anyway' excuse IMO :3
When you upload a YouTube video, the uploader chooses the tags for the video, right? If so, then look at the tags at the bottom of the description of the Xenoblade Chronicles reveal trailer for NA.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Q_KFemPumA&feature=plcp&context=C3efabc1UDOEgsToPDskI_OyHKh8LDYYZGuxFZUgxK
im hoping last story and pandora's tower come over here.........
Last Story is the one game of the three (other two being Xenoblade and Pandora's tower) that i really want. The other two don't seem to catch my interest much
Looking forward to The Last Story being released here.
At first it was the game that I was most excited about out of the three, but there's no way it'll be better than Xenoblade.
Still expecting a really good game though.
It's way too early to attempt another Operation Rainfall with Last Story or Pandora's Tower. Nintendo has already decided to release Xenoblade in the US, so their efforts would be better spent spreading the word and getting Wii owners or JRPG fans to buy Xenoblade.
Xenoblade's success will determine if Nintendo gives Last Story a chance. If the sales aren't up to par, then Nintendo will have a valid reason not to spend resources to bring Last Story over to the US.
Nintendo has given Xenoblade a shot, and if the sales aren't there then all the petitions in the world won't change their minds. They need to see good sales before they devote any more resources to these games.
I'm getting Xenoblade when it comes out. Let's show Nintendo that these games are worth bringing over by giving it strong sales.
That alone will send a stronger message then any petition or e-mail.
People will act like immature spoiled brats about anything, not just this.
When I saw the title for the article, my heart skipped a beat. Only then, did I realize that it said Operation Rainfall, not Operation MOONFALL.
@theblackdragon lol yes I already knew you were saying you don't think that's how it plays out in real life. But, if you want to think that because there are some idiots that support it out there that you can mock everyone in general that supports is behind it and say they're wasting their time and etc. etc. that's fine with me. I'm just saying, and you'll notice others here that have also, there's no need for the general insults. I never said I liked it. Never paid much attention to it. I also understand your frustrated with the buffoons making it look bad. I just think it's sorta small minded to insult it with sweeping statements (like others are doing). You know, seems like folks here could just tone it down a little. It's not like it matters. They're not blocking it from coming. If sales are good they'll send it over. Just seems to me it's not as big a deal as folks are making it out to be.
@joevox316: i fail to see where I've insulted anyone? first i dropped some truth into the mix, then i played a bit of devil's advocate when you said something that to me looked pretty mistaken. i'm not one of the ones outright calling people names, but i can see why people would certainly feel that way about the situation, an explanation of which is all i was trying to bring to the thread.
@theblackdragon "Operation Rainfall is irrelevant (much as they'd like you to believe otherwise), and I find it highly amusing that they think they had or or will have any kind of effect on whether any of these three games are or are not released here in NA" It just seemed a little overly harsh to me ok? lol I can have my opinions as well. And you'll notice if you reread my comment I was trying to acknowledged the other people making direct insults and that you were likely directing that mostly at the buffoons that support Rainfall. Everyone simmer down lol It just doesn't seem like a big a deal or "situation" as folks are making it out to be. I almost forgot Rainfall existed until today. It just doesn't matter that much to me. Not trying to offend you.
"The news that Xenoblade Chronicles will be released in North America is perhaps due to sales success in Europe"
Wich succes! It was almost nowhere available! It didn't have any commercials on television! And as a result it never appeared in wii's top-5 as far as I can remember! It failed big time (sales-wise)!
@Henmii Um. It ranked second place on the Wii charts the first week in Europe, and was fourth overall. I don't know what your talking about, we really couldn't have asked for a better performance sales-wise especially considering the stock shortages. And also, just because a video game isn't advertised on TV doesn't mean it's sales were bad. That has nothing to do with it at all.
I just hope we get the Last Story, I will be participating because I plan on legally purchasing the game. I seriously doubt requesting something I want to BUY could be considered me being a spoiled brat.
@Daisaku36
Completely agree. I'll also be chiming in!
@joevox316: sorry you feel that way, i guess :3
@theblackdragon lol me too I guess. Sorry I don't see why it's such a big deal lol Perhaps I might if I ever encounter any rude Rainfall folks. Have a nice evening.
Good luck to you in the USA, I hope you can get The Last Story to come over to your shores. I've seen a video of the japanese version & it looks even better made than Xenoblade Chronicles & given Xenoblade is my favourite game of all time (I'm ~155 hours in & I still haven't finished the game, I don't think it has an end It just keeps going & going) that's saying something. Can't wait for the end of Feburary!
There is no doubt that the game will come to the NA just like there was never any real doubt that Xenoblade will come to the NA.
Yep. I remember reading a rumour that Nintendo actually delayed Xenoblade in the US because of Operation Rainfall, because they didn't want to be seen giving in, lest fans start demanding all kinds of games being released.
well im looking forward to this game coming to america
the battle system looks like fun
still waiting on my xenoblade order to arrive in april. every1 else plz support these games and operation rainfall 2!
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