"Please hire more employees to your localization and marketing departments so you can provide a steady flow of software to the Nintendo DS."
That's a good idea, but there's more to bringing games to different markets than just translating and marketing them. Jump Super Stars, for example, will unfortunately most likely never be released outside of Japan, because the various characters used in the game couldn't be licensed.
-Lucas M.
The article was otherwise good, and I agree with you that more non-games should be brought to American and European markets, but Jump Superstars would need more than just localization.
I've understood that in USA, the rights to all those different characters, which are from several different anime, belong to several different companies, so Nintendo can't just translate the game to English and release it. I don't know much about what Nintendo should do to get the rights to release the game in US, but it's apparently not that simple.
As for the Brain Training games and some other non-games. At the German Leipzig Games Convention show, Nintendo had Band Brothers (Jam with the Band), Gentle Brain Exercises, Brain Training and Electroplankton present at the show, so there's a chance that they will hit Europe and US at some point. Of course Nintendo had Electroplanton at E3 already and there's been no news about the game releasing in US, so maybe that's just wishful thinking...
-Ferdinand S.
I fully agree that the Western library, while steadily improving with the likes of Advance Wars, the Dogs, Kirby and Meteos, could use even more good stuff like the games you mentioned in your open letter. One example, though, is a toughie - making a game in the US using the anime characters within Jump Superstars require a whole lot of licensing and legal mumbo jumbo that the companies involved might not want to agree to. On a similar note, Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! wouldn't sound the same with an Americanized soundtrack. Perhaps, like Katamari before it, Osu! can come over with Japanese music intact, but will licensing problems block them? I don't know. As for the other games, yes - I'd love to see them come over and I think they're entirely possible. I can understand that the "everyone" in the States is different than the "everyone" in Japan - Electroplankton might just not be appealing to Stateside gamers. I do think they should try anyway. Heck, I'd buy a localized copy just for the damned instruction booklet even though I've already imported it.
-Mr. CHUPON
Glen Responds: The licensing issue was not something I considered. I appreciate
you guys bringing this to light. It's true that things aren't always as easy as 1+1=2.
Sometimes they become a bit more complicated and we're faced with ((1+1)/2)*(2)=2.
Although it produces the same result, in the second case there were additional hurdles
faced.
So I understand and respect the fact that Nintendo might very well be unable to bring
certain licenses and therefore games to other parts of the world. In those cases, I only
hope then Nintendo doesn't get upset that we take the initiative to bring certain games
over ourselves.
Still, as much as I'd like to see a good new game released, it would be a pity if Nintendo let the game engine go to waste. Who knows, perhaps it will prove useful when developing the next Smash Bros.
I fully agree with the letter you wrote to NOA. There have been so many great games released in Japan that haven't seen a release in America. Some of them don't have solid release dates and others aren't even announced for release in America. NOE is doing a better job with localizing some of the games. They are bringing Band Brothers and the Brain Training games. That still isn't good enough. Although great games, there are so many other games that deserve to be translated and released outside of Japan. Electroplankton, Jump Superstars, Ouendan and others are the games that need to be released in America and soon. Maybe 2006 will be the year of Band Brothers, Electroplankton, Jump Superstars, Ouendan and the three Brain Training titles? I really hope so.
-Spiffy G.
I 100% agree with you. I am a diehard fan of Nintendo I have over +20 GC, +10 DS, +10 GBA, and I even have 10 NES, and about 10 N64 games. Until recently I have never felt the need or extreme want to actually import a game. My first import was Naruto 2 and later 3 for GC, I understand they could not bring those games over. However Jam with the Band and Electroplankton should be. I've recenlty imported Jam with the band and Naruto on DS, and now I'm thinking about just importing Electroplankton.
I really hate having to spend +$50 in order to import a game, instead of buying it stateside for $29.99 or $34.99. Although the releases of Nintendogs and Advance Wars DS have settled me down for the time being I still think Nintendo needs to bring more to the US. There are many many people that would get Jam with the Band, if it was done properly (meaning no hip hop no pop, just game music).
I think you forgot to mention the play yan, it isn't something that would kill PSP, but it is something that I think the US market would embrace. I think the problem with Nintendo is that they think the DS is not owned by many people over the age of 12. In actuality I believe the DS demographic is much higher.
And to add to your comment about widening the audience, all I have to say is why hasn't Nintendo been able to cover all the necessary genres after nearly a FULL Year of its release! That needs to be adressed sooner. However I do see the RPG genre coming along, so that is a good sign.
-Willy G.
Glen Responds: You're right. I did forget to mention Play Yan. It was my original hope that NOA would bundle the video and music player with the Game Boy Micro. I think it'd make the $100 price tag much more appealing. But then you have to realize, ever since the travesty of the SNES-CD, Nintendo's attitude towards multimedia devices has been one of fear and disgust. Plus Nintendo would prefer you primarily purchase and play Nintendo games for your Nintendo consoles. I recently purchased a cell phone that plays MP3s via an SD Card, so I'm not too upset over Nintendo's decision. Judging by the design of the Game Boy Micro as well as its next-generation console codenamed Revolution, it's clear Nintendo is trying to appeal to the increasingly tech-savvy consumer. Including the Play Yan could have also gone a long ways to improving Nintendo's animated-toy company image. Granted I don't want the company to change its image too much. I like who they are now. But I think the Play Yan could have been positive for consumers and as a result the company.
Sounds good so far. Or, something to the effect of a petition that would show the demand for these games to be brought over. Spread the word!
-Ben M.
Can't we get a petition going? I would sing it right away! -- Thanks,
- Chad G.
Glen Responds: I have to admit, this is the first time I've ever heard of someone serenading a petition. I can't sing myself, so I suppose I'm a bit jealous. If you meant "sign a petition" (and I know you did; I'm just kidding with ya), then I'm going to have to reveal some bad news. Video game related petitions don't work. Have you ever heard of the Earthbound Petition? These guys spent months gathering over 30,000 signatures in order to convince Nintendo to bring the next Earthbound to America. It's understandable the company never did since the title hasn't released in Japan either. However, Nintendo of America later had the opportunity to bring over Mother 1+2 for the Game Boy Advance and chose not to. The title was fully developed and released in Japan. If a petition that large can't convince the execs at Nintendo that there is a market for a particular game or product...I'm normally a hopeful person but when it comes to petitions, I've lost all confidence in their validity. Of course if you started one, I'd be happy to link to it but I suggest keeping any hope you have grounded in reality. Sorry. The only thing that will convince the company to bring a game over is the big $. Regardless of the amount of signatures we can gather, it's ultimately no guarantee that Nintendo will see them transfer into sales.
Hi, Glen. I'm a Japanese living in America, and I've been back to be a Nintendo fan when I picked up Nintendogs two days ago (I haven't touched Nintendo products for like 5 years or so). I've read your article on N-Sider. This's my quick thought to it.
*** Title with little hope **** Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan!
- Ouendan's weirdness is based on Japanese 80's old high school madness. It's like Hippies/Afro-hair in America. Characters in this game all have Asian look. I don't think this can give the same impression to American audience. However, Gameplay is nice. I just hope Nintendo had a porting team who can translate "characters" in the game. It'll be a lot of work, though. FYI, this game didn't do very well in Japan.
* DS Rakuhiki Jiten
- This is Japanese dictionary. Most of the contents need to be modified, then that will eventually be another title.
* Yakuman DS
- Will only appeal to Asian-background American or those who interested in complecated game. I think Nintendo should make "Poker DS" instead.
* Electroplankton
*** Title with little hope, but Nintendo should release ***- This worked as a model game on DS. But I don't think it's good idea to put this game on the shelf of usual game shops. It won't sell well.
* Gentle Brain Exercises
*** Title that must be released here ***
* DS Training For Adults: Work Your Brain- These seem basically "Text-based Quiz" games. A lot of work and new ideas will be required for their translation. A recommendation from a professor of Tohoku University might not appeal to most of the American. Need to work with new person, and remake as new title. It can take a lot of time. I hope Nintendo is already working on this. If they successfully manage it, it'll be a *novel* work in the history of game translation.
* Jump Super Stars
- Jump Super Stars doesn't have universal appeal, but USA has already got "Shonen Jump" and numerous translated manga titles available. It's been readied.
* Jam with the Band
I personally recognize Nintendo as a "small" company compared to a profit it makes, and I think it will continue to be. (If you devide the profit by the number of its employee, ridiculous amount of money will show up.) So I think "Solving problems by hiring more employee" could be regarded as "the last choice" or "not smart choice" by Nintendo. But I do think Nintendo should have more employee for translations and for new "English language original(I don't say American-original) taste titles". Putting less words in the game doesn't seem to work for some DS titles.- I have no doubt this will be released in America.
I apologize advance for my English skill. Have a nice weekend!
-Hiroshi YAMAMOTO
Glen Responds: Thanks for the email. You offer a very nice perspective on these particular game titles and their relevance to the North American market. I hope Nintendo of America eventually releases a game like Brain Training, if only to test the water. If it's successful, it could have a domino effect since third-party developers would follow the lead and release similar games. This in reality, is what is most important to the success of the Nintendo DS. It's about providing gamers with a large and diverse library of games. In the end, that's really all I'm asking.
Thanks again for all your comments.