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Hailinel

I wrote this little thing (it's not actually a little thing): http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/hailinel/blog/lightning-returns-wha...

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Operation Rainfall: Help a Duder Out

What It's All About

Operation Rainfall is a grassroots movement with one goal in mind. To get Nintendo of America to release several currently Japan/Japan-Europe-only titles released in North America. Specifically, the campaign is targeting the games Xenoblade, The Last Story, and Pandora's Tower. In the off-chance that this campaign proves successful, it may move on to campaigning for other releases, as well.

The movement has already garnered press, as well as online support from Monolith Soft and Mistwalker, the companies behind Xenoblade and The Last Story respectively. The movement is focused on traditional avenues such as a letter-writing campaign to get the word to Nintendo and request the releases of these titles. Additionally, Operation Rainfall has taken to Amazon.com. Back in 2009, a product page was set up for Monado: Beginning of the World, the game which is now known as Xenoblade. The page is still there, and it's possible to take preorders. People have been lending their support by preordering the game in droves to the point that yesterday, Monado actually became the top-selling video game on Amazon.com. People were actually for a time ordering it faster than they were games like Ocarina of Time and Black Ops.

More information can be found here at Operation Rainfall's website as well as this Wikipedia article.

Granted, there's the chance that this may not work. That our pleas will still go unheard, but after having North American releases of everything from Fatal Frame IV to Disaster to Captain Rainbow to Zangeki no Reginleiv shot down, the people that want to see games such as these released deserve to have their voices heard. And for Xenoblade at least, there's the boon of both the ability to preorder the game and show Nintendo that people are actively willing to pay money, and it's also currently being localized for European release.

So if you're a Wii owner that feels burned by missing out on any of these games, or just someone that wants to promote the release of intriguing titles in North America, please, do your part and help out. It won't happen if we don't try.

UPDATE: June 29th

Even Australia is getting this. Why aren't we?
Even Australia is getting this. Why aren't we?

Nintendo posted some rather brief notes to Twitter and Facebook today as their way of addressing the issue, saying that they still have no plans to release any of the three games here in North America. I'd find this completely absurd if this wasn't Nintendo of America we were talking about here. But this isn't over yet. The campaign is just getting underway whether Nintendo (and certain forum users here) likes it or not. Everyone is encouraged to keep posting to Nintendo's Twitter and Facebook. If you haven't done so yet, also preorder Xenoblade and put The Last Story and Pandora's Tower on your wishlists. Prepare to send letters to Reggie. The address is at Operation Rainfall's website, linked above. Be courteous. Be poilite. But be firm.

UPDATE: July 7th

Hope springs eternal, ladies and gentlemen. According to a source at NOA, NTSC localization of Xenoblade has already taken place, and The Last Story is currently in the process of localization for both NTSC and PAL. If this is true, then it's still anyone's guess as to why NOA is sitting on announcing a release date, but this tidbit is at least enough to keep hope alive. Still no word on localization of Pandora's Tower, however.

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