Wednesday, July 06, 2011

I just pre-ordered Xenoblade (or, who needs Nintendo of America when you've got The Hut?)

Of the three Japanese RPGs game-starved Wii owners have been begging Nintendo of America to bring stateside, the one I'd most like to add to my collection is Xenoblade. Thankfully, that Monolith Soft-developed game will be released in Europe in just a few months--on Sept. 2, to be more specific.

When the game hits the streets of London--or Paris or ... wherever else it'll be sold in Europe--it won't be called Xenoblade, though; no, the powers that be at Nintendo of Europe had to spruce it up a bit, make it sound more "epic." As a result of their shenanigans, it'll be called Xenoblade Chronicles when it arrives on European shores.

Although I think it's a completely silly, not to mention completely unneeded, change, it didn't keep me from pre-ordering a copy of it this morning after hearing that thehut.com is selling the standard version of the game (not the special edition pictured to the right) for the bargain-basement price of £29.85 (about $48).

Before any of you follow in my footsteps, I should warn you that I've never before ordered a game (or anything else) from The Hut and as such I can't vouch for their reliability as sellers or shippers. (Side note: I've heard that shipments, especially overseas ones, can take some time--up to a month--to arrive, but I'm willing to deal with that because I really want this game.)

I should also add that, had it been an option, I would have pre-ordered Xenoblade Chronicles from sendit.com instead, as I've ordered Euro-only games from them in the past and have never experienced any issues. Unfortunately, they aren't allowing people to pre-order it at the moment.

Anyway, I'll let you know what comes of all of this. I'll also let you know when and if the other two Japanese RPGs North American Wii owners have been clamoring for--The Last Story and Pandora's Tower--are given European release dates.

See also: 'Nintendo of America gives the finger to Xenoblade, Pandora's Tower and The Last Story fans'

10 comments:

Marcus said...

I hope your purchase through TheHut goes well. I know I always get nervous when trying out game/accessory vendors for the first time.

I'm probably not going to play Xenoblade or any of the other "Project Rainfall" games for a while but I'd still like to hear what others think.

In regards to your side note, have you never received things from overseas then? EBayers tend to work fast but online shops like to use shipping by boat, which is why it takes so damn long. Once I bought a PS2 item from some random Asian shop (terrible idea) and it took 2 months to show up. I totally figured I'd been scammed lol.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Me, too, Marcus! (RE: Hoping my purchase through The Hut goes well.) Oh, I've ordered plenty of things from overseas -- both from Europe and Japan, and both through eBay and through actual shops/stores. I'm always a bit nervous trying out a new one, though -- which is why I wish sendit.com allowed pre-orders of Xenoblade. Oh, well, fingers crossed...

Hayden Scott-Baron said...

I hate to tell you this, but TheHut/Zavvi are pretty bad for fulfilling orders, often leaving people hanging for months.

They're mentioned often on the neogaf bargain thread: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=415651&page=42

I'm sure the more reputable UK places will start allowing pre-orders once they have more product information, especially because of the pricing on the bundled version.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Thanks, Hayden. I already knew about the shop's issues -- I just decided to risk it anyway. That said, I may cancel that pre-order once (if?) sendit.com starts allowing pre-orders, even if they charge a bit more for it. I'd definitely prefer to buy it from a store that I've dealt with before!

Viewtiful_Justin said...

I won't do it. Ever. I won't give my money to Nintendo for games they don't localize. It's ridiculous.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Oh, I understand and respect that, Justin, but there's no way I'm passing on this game. I've been salivating over screens and videos and reviews of it since it was released in Japan. At least this way the money is going to the folks who deserve it (Nintendo of Europe). Plus, I buy non-localized Japanese games (like the original Rhythm Tengoku for GBA, etc.) all the time, so this really isn't any different.

Viewtiful_Justin said...

Oh, I completely understand that, Bryan. Maybe some day I will...but I'm just incredibly biter about it right now.

Bryan Ochalla said...

I understand. Hopefully NOA pulls its head out of its ass and releases it here eventually -- or allows someone else to...

Unknown said...

As far as I know, Last Story is scheduled for early 2012...

And as I write this comment, I just found this: http://mynintendonews.com/2011/07/08/nintendo-wii-american-localization-of-xenoblade-is-complete-last-story-coming/ What?!

Bryan Ochalla said...

Hmmm, I sure hope the person who wrote that article is right, Anne! Hopefully NOA will announce it soon so I can cancel my UK order :)