TSR's Super Smash Bros Thread|SWITCH HYPE TRAIN NOW BOARDING

[Kriven]

Honestly, I think they won't reissue Xenoblade's Wii incarnation for the simple fact that Wii games are so easily pirated... there's a greater amount of risk in releasing a product that the majority of its fanbase has likely already acquired for free. The cost of manufacturing the discs and distribution and all...

I suspect the new 3DS OS update will provide greater protection against the use of flashcarts, so currently the best way to release Xenoblade is via 3DS where it won't be as easily pirated. The new 3DS is kind of a bummer, but I'm not too bent out of shape about it... I don't think too many games will require its use. That's pretty bad marketing considering the number of people who already own one of the original 3DS models... developers with less of a safety net than Nintendo will find it risky to develop for a system which will arguably have less market presence. It's more likely going to be a perk for owners to have that, with "New 3DS Accessible" games as opposed to exclusive ones.

As for why Xenoblade wasn't released in the US, I do suspect the downward trend in JRPG sales had something to do with it. I think we missed out on a Fire Emblem game for a similar reason, right? It seems silly since Xenoblade is arguably very influenced by Western RPGs, but Nintendo may just be playing conservatively with market trends in mind.

Nintendo not caring about their fanbase is something I felt the past decade or so, and it's still teetering in my mind when they talk about obvious money quests like Amiibo... but at the same time, I feel like Nintendo has really been making positive headway back into appeasing all their fans. Their games have been more compelling this generation, and they're letting themselves branch out into more genres than ever before so we don't have to wait five or more years between releases. Honestly, about the only thing they could do to make me feel better about them currently is to fix up the Wii U a little to better integrate WiiWare games into the system, and to allow the digital purchase of DS and Wii games from the eShop for the 3DS and Wii U respectively (since both of those systems can actually play those games). They really are catching fire, and I think it's going to be a year or two before the trend slows down.