Nintendo has 'no plans' to localize Xenoblade

Nintendo has heard its fans' pleas...and denied them. A fan campaign to convince the publisher to import a trio of Japanese role-playing games--Xenoblade, The Last Story, and Pandora's Tower--for North American Wii players was dealt a setback last night as Nintendo of America said there were no plans to bring the titles over.

In a posting to its Facebook account last night, the publisher thanked the fan base for showing enthusiasm for the games, then broke the bad news. "We never say 'never,' but we can confirm that there are no plans to bring these three games to the Americas at this time," the status update read.

The campaign--dubbed "Operation Rainfall"--had been gaining steam. A push to preorder Xenoblade (under the name Monado: Beginning of the World) on Amazon.com was particularly successful, propelling the game to the top of the online retailer's best-seller charts for a time. (As of press time, the game had fallen to 11 on Amazon's chart, having spent six days in the top 100.)

While The Last Story and Pandora's Tower were never slated for release in North America, Xenoblade is another matter. Nintendo unveiled the game at the 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo under the name Monado: Beginning of the World. As recently as January, when the publisher reported its financial third quarter results, it still listed Monado: Beginning of the World on its "launch schedule of primary Nintendo products" for North America.

However, the schedule noted that the game's title was temporary, and the release window was given as "TBA." In March, Nintendo announced a European release for Xenoblade (under the name Xenoblade Chronicles), complete with optional English voice tracks and subtitles in five languages.