First off, let me just start out by saying that this is strictly an editorial opinion piece and my opinion does not represent the campaign or other staff members of the campaign. Second, when it comes down to it, who is responsible for getting Xenoblade here in the NoA region does not matter. What does matter is that we got the game! I do not care if somebody stumbled across a magic lamp and wished Xenoblade here from a genie (If that was you, thanks!). We got the game. I’m happy.
I am writing this editorial because I have a lot of pride in Operation Rainfall and in what I feel Operation Rainfall has accomplished. I have been here since the very beginning working behind the scenes. Let me tell you, sometimes this feels like a full time job. Hey I’m not complaining, I do it because I want to do it. I have passion for these games and I want to see everybody have the chance to play them. I also do not agree with the localization policies of Nintendo at all. Not in this day-and-age.
With all that being said, I would like to make my case for why I feel Operation Rainfall made a difference in bringing Xenoblade to the NoA region. I think the best way to approach this is my listing all of the “evidence” that points to this, one-by-one. This is mostly conjecture on my part, obviously we are unlikely to ever get a confirmation from Nintendo one way or another. Well, read what I present and then you decide.
A tweet from Soraya Saga, the wife of the creator of Xenoblade: “Thanks for bringing the rain. I believe fans’ enthusiasm made this happen
Hope Xenoblade will be loved. #Xenoblade” https://twitter.com/#!/sorayasaga/status/142735933421268994
The wife of the creator of the game says she believes fan enthusiasm made this happen, and thanks for the rain. Obviously directed at Operation Rainfall. I would assume she shares a similar view as her husband, they have no doubt talked about the subject, so I would say even the game’s creator agrees with us.
Nintendo revealed the game first on Facebook by posting three Xenoblade images at what was an obvious tease
Who do you think that was directed to? They posted three pictures without even a title or description. Of course Operation Rainfall followers would recognize the pictures immediately; and that we did.
The announcement came via Facebook and Twitter
Kind of a strange way to announce a “niche” game don’t you think? Though it makes perfect sense when you consider that Operation Rainfall is a social media campaign and much of our efforts went into posting on Nintendo’s Facebook and sending NintendoAmerica Tweets. By the way, there were 5 posts in a row on Nintendo’s Facebook. It’s almost as if they were excited about the announcement as we were.
Nintendo’s last Facebook post was this: “Thanks for your PASSION and ENTHUSIASM for Xenoblade Chronicles! Like the Nintendo page if you haven’t already to stay in the loop on the latest Xenoblade news and content.”
Notice anything about that last post (you should I underlined the words). Seems awfully similar to the post Nintendo sent to OperationRainfall back in June: “Thank you for your enthusiasm. We promised an update, so here it is. We never say “never,” but we can confirm that there are no plans to bring these three games to the Americas at this time. Thanks so much for your passion, and for being such great fans!
Coincidence? Or a big wink wink to Operation Rainfall?
Nintendo of Europe held a Xenoblade contest in which the winners would receive copies of two games as the prize
Any guesses what they were? The Last Story and Pandora’s Tower. Again, is it just another coincidence that all three Operation Rainfall games were involved with the NoE contest? Neither the Last Story nor Pandora’s Tower have even been released in Europe yet so NoE gave away vouchers.
Nintendo has chosen to do a limited release going through GameStop and their online store
This is an approach they have never tried before to this extent. It seems strange that if they had planned to bring Xenoblade here all along, Nintendo would be trying a new approach almost as if they are testing the waters. Nintendo, in response to Operation Rainfall, has devised a new strategy that they can even use for more niche titles in the future. Hardly seems like part of a master plan, seems more like experimentation.
Nintendo seemed unprepared
Some people argue that Nintendo had this planned all along because of the scarce 2012 Wii lineup. And yet, if this is the case, surely they would have had time to properly prepare a cover art for the game or even a new trailer. The trailer is nearly an exact clone of the NoE trailer and it took them weeks to post the boxart. Now before you tell me that this is because the game is based off of the NoE version, I would remind you that NoA and NoE approach marketing very differently and would not likely share the same trailers; and yet they did. Why? because this was not planned.
Nintendo kept the Xenoblade Chronicles name instead of Monado like they had shown previously.
Again, if this was all part of a plan, why would Nintendo change the name? The main reason I can think of is because of all the free press Operation Rainfall gave the game as Xenoblade Chronicles
In the Xenoblade trailer, one of the only noticeable differences from the NoE version from the NoA version is that in the NoA version there is a single line said by Dunban ” Sorry I kept you waiting”
Keep in mind that very little is said in this trailer. That seems like another wink wink from NoA recognizing the frustration of the fans, namely, Operation Rainfall
Probably the most compelling evidence comes from the same trailer that Nintendo posted on Youtube
In the tags, Operation Rainfall is tagged not once, but five times with “Operation Rainfall” “Project Rainfall” “Operation” “Project” and “Rainfall”. I do not know how clearer the evidence can get. Nintendo just called out Operation Rainfall by name. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Q_KFemPumA&feature=g-all
I realize that no matter what evidence you provide, it just will be impossible to convince certain people because they do not want to be convinced. And let me reiterate, who gets the credit really does not matter to me other than from a sense of pride and hard work. But I do think what is important is that if Operation Rainfall played a role in getting Xenoblade released here, it also means that Operation Rainfall will have a role in getting the other two games released here as well.
So buy the game people. Let’s show Nintendo we were serious when we said we would pay money for these games. We may have very well started a new launch platform that Nintendo could use for every niche game they published, and not just the Operation Rainfall three. Influencing a company to change their business policies which directly affects how they make money, does matter. It is my opinion that everybody involved with Operation Rainfall made a difference for gamers everywhere.
