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It can’t be denied that Operation Rainfall played a huge part in the North American localization of Xenoblade Chronicles and The Last Story. The group managed to stir up interest among a considerable amount of hardcore Wii owners, and led organized efforts in garnering Nintendo’s attention.

However, a Nintendo representative says that Operation Rainfall wasn’t the only factor that motivated the company to bring the much-requested titles to North America:

“Our fans are very passionate, and have demonstrated an interest in this game. We certainly appreciate this passion, but it alone did not impact our decision to launch the game or the timeframe in which it would launch.”

Ryan Tyner, one of Operation Rainfall’s leaders, believes Nintendo might be downplaying their involvement:

“The fact that they revealed [Xenoblade Chronicles] on Facebook is telling, considering that is where the campaign asked for the game. There are other little ‘signs’ such as [NOA President Reggie Fils-Aime] stating in the The Last Story reveal that many people had been ‘clamoring’ for the game. Privately, we had inside sources that confirmed that Nintendo was taking notice of us and that it was indeed because of our efforts that these games were being released…”

Tyner also discussed how Nintendo of Europe’s translation most likely made Nintendo’s decisions easier:

“Really, it was just a matter of the circumstances being ideal for our campaign. I think we showed them that if they did bring the games over, people would buy them. But of course there is also the fact that our member participation has been great, and that the staff has worked hard to make this happen. I work harder on Operation Rainfall some days than I do on my actual job.”

Source


A couple of weeks ago, Nintendo of Canada added a terse entry to their official website about an upcoming “Spring Break Surprise”. The post simply reads, “Come back March 1st to see what it is!!”

It sounds this could be specific to Canada, as the news was not included in Nintendo of America’s “What’s New” section. I’m not expecting the tease to be about a major new title announcement, but this could be interesting!

Thanks to 3DSponesiPod for the tip!


To prepare fans for the March 23 launch of Kid Icarus: Uprising for the Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo of America will host multiplayer tournaments at select GameStop stores across the United States starting March 8 and culminating in a national championship event in New York on Thursday, March 22. Three winners from each market will participate in the final round. The final national championship event at the GameStop store at Broadway and 84th Street in New York will also feature a special pre-sale opportunity, allowing consumers to purchase the game one day before it goes on sale throughout North America.

The bracket-style tournament will include regional competition at select GameStop locations in San Francisco (March 8), Orlando, Fla., (March 11), Los Angeles (March 15) and New York (March 22). Winners from each of the four markets will be eligible to win prizes including an all-expenses-paid trip to New York to participate in the national championship and a variety of exclusive Kid Icarus-themed items. Even if they are not participating in tournament play, consumers will be able to visit GameStop tournament locations to play Kid Icarus: Uprising before its nationwide launch on March 23.



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