Jimquisition: Nintendo of America

[Stall]

and in response to your argument, yes your right, Nintendo is running a business, and yes it is to make shareholder's happy, but you forgot what the key part of running a business normally relies on. The Consumer. and i thought the aim of any corporation is to maximise profits as you pointed out? That's the point Jim's making. (he can be an arrogant one, but he backs up his arguments with evidence and thats got brownie points no matter what) why would a business not want to make money off a consumer base demanding there product?

Yes, and you and the individuals who want this game aren't NDA's sole demographic. Nintendo has a wide demographic to appeal to, and many different kinds of consumers out there who they can sell to. It's clear that they did not think this was a good business decision for whatever reason, and would not receive the profit margins to justify such an activity such as localizing these games. I'm not saying I agree with it, but I am saying that NDA, as much as you want to believe otherwise, did have good enough reasons not to localize these games, and their decision is just that. They have the right to make their own decisions, and that's all you can really do. It's bitter medicine, but you have to be a realist about this sort of thing.

EDIT: Honestly guys... do you seriously think this is going to even come close to scratching the money eating behemoth that is Nintendo? Nintendo and NoA are going to continue to print money like they have been. A decision to not localize a few games isn't going to cause the company to crash and burn.

Like I said, it goes back to this whole fallacy that people think companies are their friends... that they do thinks to make them happy and please them. And when they don't, their fallacy is shattered and we get a little fiasco like this.

 

[Zersy]

Jim we love you.

 

[Giantpanda602]

He even looked pissed when he was thanking God for himself

 

[RobfromtheGulag]

I played SSBB on my friends Wii. After quickly discerning that it did not stack up to its predecessors I never again wished I had a Wii.

I'm glad they're not localizing these games because that might shake my resolve to never buy the console.

 

[xyrafhoan]

Up to this point, all of these videos didn't really have any real punch to them, but this one? This had everything that needed to be said about Nintendo. For denying NA all the games that are ALREADY ANNOUNCED FOR EUROPE (and even almost complete in Xenoblade's case), what are they trying to prove? That there is no market? Even though there are companies solely devoted to localizing these kinds of games and they are still making money? Even though Nintendo published Dragon Quest IX for Square Enix/Level 5 and managed to sell over a million copies on the DS, which is probably THE more pirate prone system out there?

I just can't figure out, *why does Nintendo not want my money*. Or the money of hundreds of other hundreds of thousands of fans. It's no Zelda or Mario, but when the difference is either making a niche happy or pissing on them and making no one happy, why choose the latter?

 

[jpoon]

Completely agree with Jim on this, Nintendo are the kings of dragging their hardcore gamers through the dirt.

 

[themilo504]

They really are useless. Look at earthbound they don?t want to put it on the virtual console because they might get a lawsuit maybe they can change the music? Thereby doing something really nice to a bunch a fans who would spent 20 bucks for a game they already own to support the game.
The sequel didn?t get a release at all. Those music cunts play a roll again but another reason that just angers me so much Is that they say the game is to dark??.really? yes the game is dark its darker than most kids things and this game should be marketed for kids because this will sell and I can see parents complaining but really? Here is what they should make a 3ds sprite remake(like crono trigger) of all 3 games change them slightly(nothing plot related)market them to kids watch as fans rejoice and this becomes your new pokemon.if not then to hell with you.

 

[Sylocat]

For all those who repeat the "If you don't like it, don't watch it" mantra:

I remember when the main focus of the site was the articles, and the video galleries were just a bonus. Now, apparently, The Escapist is so desperate for the Lowest Common Denominator demographic that they don't even put links to this week's issue on the front page anymore, because tripe like this is more important.

Granted, I love Extra Credits, and I still like Yahtzee, but those are at least somewhat insightful and interesting. Jim basically takes one point for each of his videos and says it over and over and over in slightly different ways, and takes up the other half of the video with his insufferable attempts at tongue-in-cheek comedic puffery.

And by the way, when is the next Extra Consideration coming out?

 

[Eri]

I'm sorry, but this is just pathetic. Okay, so you don't agree with a business decision they made. That's fine, but there is no need to be an immature prick about it. I'm sorry that you've just now arrived at the crushing realization that Nintendo isn't in the game to be your BFF, and actually tend to do their own things with the intent of what would be best for the company and shareholders because the entire rasion d'etre of a corporation is to maximize profits for the shareholders: NOT to make you happy and be your BFF. Odds say NDA didn't do this out of spite: they had a legitmate reason for not bring these games over.

Sometimes Jim Sterling can make a good point, but this episode is just beyond pathetic. It's like a little kid getting mad about realizing that gaming companies aren't our friends. Be a god damn realist about this, would you?

Too bad you don't make any sense. There is no downside to bringing the games here. Only an upside. An upside on many fronts.

 

[Stall]

Too bad you don't make any sense. There is no downside to bringing the games here. Only an upside. An upside on many fronts.

There's no downside from where you are sitting as an outside observer. You are only seeing a fraction of the picture. You have NO idea if there was no downside, as you are only speaking from your very, very limited perspective. There might had been a HUGE downside for the company if you were a shareholder or an executive who actually made this decision. We don't really have all the information, and probably never will, so it is remarkably ignorant to assume that there was no downside to this decision.

Note that I am not making any assumptions about this decision being right. I am only saying that you cannot say there were no downsides, since you do not know the inter workings of Nintendo of America. All we can conclude is that the executives and shareholders of NoA thought this was a good decision for whatever reason.

 

[Draconalis]

I watched cause I was bored.

I laughed a couple of times.

 

[Regal49]

I'm in Europe, and while I do sympathise with those folks out west for losing out on these games, I do wonder if Operation Rainfall are knocking on the wrong door for this. See if Nintendo of Europe are the ones taking a big gamble localising, perhaps the pressure should be on them to "share their work", so to speak, with NoA. Or, if that's a bust, to publish the games themselves, possibly through a third party.

I know there are probably a hundered different reasons why the latter wouldn't work, and I'll probably see them all in the replies. But if you look at the release history of games on the Wii and DS, you'll see that NoE and NoA seem to work on localisation of games independently(two good cases of this are the Advance Wars series, especially the Dark Conflict/Days of Ruin title, and the Professor Layton series). This could be a chance for NoE to really step up to the plate, and show NoA how it's done.

And great work Jim. I like the points of these articles, even if the joke of the "persona" is lost on some people.

 

[theultimateend]

Wow, Jim made sense! Truly the end of times us uppon us!

Really, another good video Jim. Getting better all the time.

This is ironic. The posters are getting more cliche than the guy playing a character.

I agree with the latter point.

 

[Feylynn]

It's this over idealized postulations of these corporations that kill me. Nintendo, Sony, MS... all of these guys... they aren't here to make you happy. They don't care what you want or think. They are here to cut a profit.

You miss the point so I'll break it down.
I had money.
They wanted money.

They had games.
I wanted games.

Now in math.
Money x Games = ?
Where: Games = Zero.

They don't care about me, I don't care about them very much right now.
They still own the equivalent of 47 solid gold planets and I'm an angry forum poster busy exercising my freedom of expression to other like minded bitter forum poster that happened to want these games.

Now I think we are having very different conversations here so I can give you my entire point in like 6 words.
"They did not take my money."
The end, there is nothing more to be gleaned from this data. The potential for money existed they chose to pay for that potential, and then not release the game.

 

[aba1]

meh doesn't bother me I was a nintendo fan boy until the wii came out saw that they clearly had no intention of putting out games for my kind and moved on and I refuse to come crawling back just because they put out on or 2 more good games they lost me the second they stoped making games for gamers

 

[Midnight Crossroads]

I would literally buy a Wii just for Fatal Frame 4 if they released it in the US, but it seems Nintendo doesn't want money.

I know that feeling, Jim.

 

[Mangue Surfer]

Still waiting for Fatal Frame 4.

Well, sometimes you need to think outside the box. Look Demon's Souls for example, Sony don't to publish the game in America (Demon's Souls is a Sony property), Atlus did it and it's the best selling game ever for Atlus.

 

[daxterx2005]

I knew about the lack of Earthbound (mother) here, I didn't know they were actually blocking imports tho.
How rude.

 

[Little Duck]

I think everything I have felt about nintendo this generation has just been beautifully summarised.

 

[commasplice]

Snip.

Okay, okay, hold on. You're treating the company like just because they have a shitload of money, and just because they're in it to make more, they always know what's best for themselves. This is simply not the case. Take the whole recent American economic downturn, for example. The mistakes that led up to that were largely perpetrated by people who had a shit ton of money, and who were doing what they thought was in the best interests of making more. And while they did make more, that doesn't mean that it was the best decision they could've gone with at the time.

And I get that you're just saying that Nintendo has its reasons. But I don't think that those reasons are necessarily "good" just because you say so. Maybe they do have a plan in mind. But business models fail all the time, and this particular one seems to be going out of their way to bet on some clandestine Xanatos gambit rather than, you know, just giving their consumers what they want. You can't honestly tell me that sounds smart.

You know what, though? You're right on one point: Nintendo isn't here to be our friends. No one is saying they are, though. Consumers want things and businesses deliver. That's how the economy works. In this particular example, though, consumers want things and Nintendo is denying them, despite the fact that this particular chunk of consumers is easily Nintendo's largest. They're in the business to sell games. Except they're not doing that. I don't see how that could ever be good for business. It would be like a doctor who doesn't see patients. Ever. He just sits in his clinic all day and plays Sudoku.