In this exclusive interview with TechHive, oprainfall co-founder Richard Ross speaks about the original Operation Rainfall campaign and the challenges of being the newcomer trying to sway a giant, well-established company. He emphasizes the importance of physical pen-and-paper communication, whereas “you can easily click and delete an email.” He also goes on to illustrate why each game in the Rainfall trilogy was important to him and the rest of the fans, noting that Pandora’s Tower was included simply because it “looked really cool,” while Xenoblade Chronicles and The Last Story had a much more evident pedigree on their side.
If the oprainfall website is any indication, there are some gamers out there who are seriously passionate about their hobby. Founded by a small number of dedicated individuals, Operation Rainfall was initially a campaign to bring three Japanese Wii RPGs to the West. An outpouring of community support (excuse the pun) brought the organization to Nintendo’s attention and through a petition shared across all manner of social networks, countless emails, tweets, and Facebook messages, and some eloquent handwritten letters, The Big N gave in.
The interviewer compares the success of Operation Rainfall to the struggles of Starmen.net in their attempts to get the Mother series localized, and discusses whether such efforts really impact the decisions made at Nintendo or if their campaigns simply happen to coincide with plans already forming behind the scenes.
Check out the full interview here then let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
