Whether you’re a fan or not, you have to give Nintendo some well deserved credit for remaining such a hot topic after 25 years. In the early days, it was all about lawsuits against competing companies like Atari, and struggling to make innovative creations that would carry them to the top. Today it’s all about making sure those devices remain popular while loyal fans stay satisfied -- or so we thought.
Many of Nintendo supporters aren’t getting what they want, and Nintendo’s latest console isn’t doing extremely well. Given the facts, we arrive at two highly significant topics that recently dominated headlines: Operation Rainfall and the 3DS already getting a hefty price slash.
Operation Rainfall: Hardcore localization efforts
We've seen many attempts at localizing popular games, but none remained as persistent as Operation Rainfall. With over 7,000 Facebook fans and a legion of nameless members supporting the cause, this letter-showering campaign hopes to make The Last Story, Xenoblade, and Pandora’s Tower --all exclusive Wii titles in Japan -- available in North America. Nintendo, however, already released a statement in June, claiming they did not have current plans to release these games in the NTSC region. Now don't worry -- this doesn’t mean our chances are lost, because even Nintendo themselves said “We never say never.”
Even with Nintendo being so adamant about the situation, Operation Rainfall remains strong. Though many skeptics still believe Nintendo of America will ignore the significance of JRPG's in this country, regardless of the campaign’s overall success to gain notice. Others even assume they’re some kind of boycott group, when in reality they’re not. Operation Rainfall has gone out of their way on multiple occasions to prove that they are, in fact, legitimate Nintendo fans who are more than interested to prove their loyalties to the company. To display their dedication, they also schedule times to purchase certain online products, all while rating similar titles -- via Nintendo channel -- with great satisfaction. Even on Amazon.com, Xenoblade’s prior listing of Monado: Beginning of the World made the #1 spot on the site's top 100 video game sales.
Operation Rainfall continues to receive phrase for its adamant resolve. Multiple news outlets and podcasts in the industry -- including IGN, Destructoid, and 1UP -- have maintained stories on the groups progress. Perhaps these events could prompt other developers and publishers to localize more titles than they already do, since Operation Rainfall has clearly proven that many unavailable titles are still highly coveted in North America. I'm sure we'll eventually see companies who analyze these facts, and consider it an economical loss for the organization.
[Source: Operation Rainfall, IGN, Nintendo via Facebook]
3DS Price Drops: We’re here already?
If you bought a 3DS, chances are you screamed after hearing about the approaching $80 price drop. Purchasing the system near launch gave you privileges like mediocre launch titles, third-party nightmares with save files you can’t delete, and E3 announcements failing to tell us anything new. Oh, but wait a second -- because of everything you went through, Nintendo is handing out 20 Virtual Console games. That’s a $100 profit, which now makes the 3DS a wise investment.
Now for those of you who would rather have the $80 in your pocket, this might be a letdown. Nintendo knows that 3DS sales are waning, so they’re hoping to play catch-up with this promotion, which may prompt others to buy the console before this free game deadline hits. After all, it’s an excellent deal for someone planning to buy at least twenty virtual console games in the first place. It’s also an excellent opportunity for fans who missed out on certain NES and GBA hits.
Though Nintendo also made it clear how they appreciate business from their ambassadors, considering them “some of Nintendo's most loyal customers.” Outside of this price drop taking place so soon, it’s still wonderful to see Nintendo recognize over 800,000 consumers who -- out of faith in both the company and its newest device -- decided to jump the gun early.
But there's still the elephant in the room: Sony's PlayStation Vita, which is already set to sell between $250 to $300. This is a portable console thought to be somewhere in the ludicrous price range of $500, so Sony already has an upper edge by announcing such a quality portable system for a lower price. What's even worse is how Nintendo’s obvious lack of confidence in their product -- based on how this price drop occurred within the first six months of its existence -- is already enough to put the Vita on top as this generation’s choice handheld. But Nintendo, however, is famous for not going down without a fight, and always finds ways to maintain its reign as the king of all portable gaming devices. If history feels like repeating itself, there's a good chance Nintendo has other plans lurking behind the scenes.
[Source: CFD!, Nintendo, Nintendo via Facebook]