Topic: Anyone else sick and tired of this "Japan Only" release bs?

It's getting ridiculous. Mana Collection, Dragon Quest Heroes, Dragon Quest X and XI, and Monster Hunter XX have all been announced and/or released for the Switch. However, they've only been announced or released in Japan, even though Dragon Quest Heroes and substantial parts of mana collection have already been localized previously.

It's really ****ing messed up. In getting the Switch off the ground, Nintendo SHOULD be bringing all these releases stateside, or heavily leaning on these companies to do the same, especially with more Switches having been sold outside of Japan than in Japan itself.

I'm tired of it. All of these games should be localized. I worry that, in making the Switch region free, Nintendo has decreased the incentive to do so.

YES!
But it's not all Nintendo's fault, it's the developers, like Square Enix

I can read & understand some Japanese words, can read + write ALL Hiragana & Katakana words, still have to learn Kanji Words.
Japan Only games kinda tedious, but it depend on the game itself.
If the titles are Big titles such as Monster Hunter / Final Fantasy / Street Fighter / Dragon Quest / etc, English version are Really 100% Must.
But, if just only mediocre / not really famous titles such as Kurikin Nano Island Story NDS / Ochaken no Heya NDS / K-1 World GP Pocket GBA / Minna no series NDS / etc, Japan Only games are Okay for me as long not many Kanji words inside (More Katakana & Hiragana are preferable).
Usually, Japan Only games for kids have simple sentences with a lot of Hiragana and some Katakana, a few Kanji words.

I think learning foreign language is a good idea to understand and give respect toward the coutry we learn. Learning Japanese language is kinda tricky but fun. If you are a Die Hard Anime / Japanese fans, you will also like to hear their Japanese catchphrases. From "Itadakimasu", "Hazukashi", "Nani ?!" "Sonna" "Baka !" "Tottemo Daisuki", etc.

@Anti-Matter

I agree with you to an extent. My gf and I are taking a trip to Japan in September, and although it was on the pricey side I signed up for a summer "Japanese for business people" course to at least learn the basics.

However, I unfortunately am at a stage in my life where it is now difficult to find the time to learn more of the language. Plus, for me, reading subtitles and struggling to understand the language in the game breaks immersion to some degree, which I do not like since I play video games as a form of escape.

Regardless, it is still no excuse for the games that have already been full or partially localized. There is no cognizable good reason to hold those back I don't think.

Its very simple - the companies that make the games don't see a sufficient return on investment in English/North American localizations. The best way to change that is support the franchises when they make it over here.

Tbh, I like playing japanese games because I feel like back when I was a kid and understood barely anything but pressed on regardless. And even if you get stuck somewhere or really wanna understand something, i.e. the plot, you're bound to find an english walkthrough eventually.

I understand the frustration many of you have in this regard, however. All I can say is support the franchise you wanna see more of in the west not just by ranting about it online or making petitions but actively purchasing releases that come to the west - to give them actual incentive in investing in localizations of the franchises you wanna see more of in the future.

Note that in Monster Hunter XX's case that it always takes some time for MH installments to come to the west. Maybe we'll see it Fall 2018 when World had its time in the spotlight.

I'd take issue with idea that "it's getting ridiculous", which seems to imply that cases of Japanese games not being immediately localised are increasing and reaching some sort of breaking point.

I don't have solid data on hand, but isn't the converse true? I seem to recall having to wait months for the mainline Pokémon games to get released outside of Japan, and then even longer for them to make it from America to Europe. As for Dragon Quest, well... that hasn't even existed in the West at all for a significant period of its history - despite being huge in Japan - and similarly for the Monster Hunter series. And let's not forget that one generation ago you couldn't even play games from other regions at all.

Perhaps the thinning of the barriers between regions has made people all the more aware of what they're missing on the other side - only a language barrier away. But I feel it's inaccurate to argue that things are getting worse, when evidence only seems to suggest that they're getting better (albeit slowly).

Is there still progress to be made? Absolutely. But fundamentally, these can be considered domestic Japanese products first and foremost, which undergo the processes necessary for a worldwide release if there is deemed to sufficient demand. We can only hope that the business case for global release becomes powerful enough that franchises which previously never made it beyond the Far East at all (like DQ, MH, etc.) are given global launches in the future - much like mainline Pokémon games are now.

I'm honestly not sure what the best way of making that happen is. But let's not indulge the false narrative that things are becoming insufferably bad when the general trend seems to be that they're improving.

It's not like there's an obvious solution to the problem, so we've just got to grin and bear it.

If you really can't take it anymore then perhaps you should consider migrating to an English speaking manufacturer I.e. Xbox...

...good luck with that

Aren't there always Japan-only games in every console? Switch is no exception to the rule, but for the very least, people of other territories can still play them.

Localization isn't a straight forward process. Not only are there the costs of the localization (which is more than translation mind you) but there is also the ROI for releases as well as licensing and ratings also when modifying scenes that are heavy in Japanese text (such as signage in the background) that requires code modification. That all equates to time and workhours. Vocal fans often forget that they are often a really loud minority and that doesn't help a company's bottom line. Also some games are for things that a western audience doesn't have a reference to. Many shows and anime don't leave japan still and any games referencing them would be wasted on the general western audience. Just because you can find out something exists on the internet doesn't mean that the general public cares...and if they don't care then that is way less ROI.

I would love for shogi video games to be localized...but despite being one of the most popular iterations of chess it isn't really played as much around the world. So I have to import. At least the Switch is region free. I have two wiiu systems and 2 (well 6 actually) 3ds systems. Yet I only haul around 1 switch. I love it.

I will say I'm way more annoyed about the mismatch of special editions between regions.

I'm sure Japan doesn't get many western games localized for them, so if you think we have it bad, imagine what it is like for them too. This isn't a new issue. Just have to live with it, or learn some Japanese and buy a 3DS from there.

I'm under the assumption nearly all those games are coming here. There's no actual good reason not to.

@Maxz I thoroughly agree. I'd love to see these Japanese games localised, and the sooner the better, but I can't pretend the situation isn't better than it's ever been. Back in the day, we didn't even know half these games existed.

Plus, I suspect we'll see all these titles fairly soon, apart from the Mana collection. However, as pointed out elsewhere, the fact Squeenix fairly recently localised Rom SaGa 2 suggests there is always a hope.

There are a ton of JP games, but many of them have English localizations from releasing on PS4 already, or will have because they're announced for the west on other consoles.

I can't imagine Nobanugas Ambition, Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII, Nights of Azure II, Dragon Quest Heroes I & II, Dragon Quest XI, and even Monster Hunter XX won't eventually make their way over.

A lot of it is probably the localization delay and/or release planning.

The OP's post is a little assumptive. Who is to say that some of these games are not coming? For all we know, they could still be localized, just not immediately made available. You need to have patience. Worldwide releases are a great thing but that isn't always possible.

Second, Nintendo isn't always responsible for localizing third-party games. That's up to the developer or another publisher. Sometimes they may step in when the developer doesn't want to, like they did with Monster Hunter Stories and (I think) Dragon Quest, but not all the time.

Well @CerberusAzdin is trying to get the Seiken Densetsu Collection (Secret of Mana trilogy) to come to US/EU, see below for a link to his petition:

https://www.change.org/p/square-enix-to-localize-seiken-dense...

Having watched gameplay for Dragon Quest XI, I was really impressed and was looking forward to playing it as I've never played a Dragon Quest game, then to find out it was Japanese only I was disappointed. There are people outside of Japan who will play these games not just Dragon Quest XI.