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Sometimes I feel like Nintendo treats its core North American fans like the U.S. Democratic Party treats its progressive base. Every now and then they’ll do something that kind of appeases their supporters, but for the most part they’d rather chase after the bulk of people who fall into the moderate or casual category. In short, I’m frustrated that Nintendo is being so stubborn when it comes to releasing a trio of solid Japanese role-playing games for the Wii in the U.S. It’s as if the company holds its hardcore fans to an unfair, high standard by expecting people to buy more games without actually putting out any that are worth buying.
First, Nintendo published Xenoblade Chronicles, The Last Story, and Pandora's Tower in Japan -- all of which earned fairly strong review scores. Then, they released Xenoblade in Europe last week and announced their intention to put out the other two titles sometime in 2012. But for some reason, the company doesn't seem too interested in bringing these experiences across the pond. North America has more Wii owners than any other region, but maybe not enough of them marked off that they enjoy JRPGs on those stupid surveys Nintendo is always asking its fans to fill out.
But I suppose this highlights an interesting paradox: Nintendo doesn’t want to risk putting out games that appeal to the more niche, hardcore audiences if they won’t sell well, and dedicated gamers are less likely to buy those kinds of titles for the Wii because, if they're like me, they’ve already given up on the console for the greener pastures of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. But that’s kind of bullshit.
I like good games of all genres and platforms, so if Nintendo had some dope JRPGs, I’d pick them up. Just like if the Democrats actually did something that benefited people who have to work for a living, I’d probably vote for them. In the mean time, until either group acts to appease its base, I’ll just remain apathetic and reluctant to self-identify as a supporter. It just sucks being left with the short end of the stick, or in this case, Wii remote.
