As so often happens, it seems there were minor regional differences between the Nintendo Direct broadcasts for the east and west. Japanese fans were treated to games missing from the North American and European versions.
First up is Dragon Quest Rivals, a free download first released on mobile back in 2017. It's an online card-based battler in the Hearthstone mould with characters from across the RPG series and cross-play between Switch and mobile.
Next is a cutesy baseball game from Konami, Jikkyuu Powerful Pro Baseball, launching this year. Part of a long-running series, it's arguably most notable for being from Konami - they still make games, see! - but we're not the biggest baseball fans. Four-player co-op sounds interesting, though, if you like a spot of rounders.
Finally we have a crossover, Doraemon: Nobita’s Story of Seasons, and we're a bit jealous. It appears to mix classic Harvest Moon-style gameplay with the cast of Doraemon in a beautiful watercolour world. Check out the trailer:
Looks lovely, no? Hopefully we'll get some information about a western release soon - otherwise we'll be finding ways to add points to our Japanese eShop account when this one releases this year.
Do you wish that any of these were included in the North American or European Directs? More enthusiastic about baseball than we are? Let us know in the usual place.
[source gematsu.com, via siliconera.com]
Comments 60
Doraemon: Nobita’s Story of Seasons looks great. might have been what they were teasing way back in 2017.
not sure if Doraemon is big here in the west. but in Japan it's a pretty huge deal. so very smart move of the developers to try something new for this game.
Dragon Quest Rivals looks interesting, i think that has more of a chance of coming to the west than the other two.
Jikkyuu Powerful Pro Baseball looks interesting.
Edit: i do plan on picking up Story of Season (since that's not likely coming out in the west) and trying out Dragon Quest Rivals today (i do have a Japanese account )
@AlternateButtons
Because releasing a game without English language options in an English territory would be a bad idea?
Not every game is suited for every market, there are actually a lot of western Switch games that aren't available on the Japanese market too.
LOL
Nobita as a farmer in Harvest Moon Back to Nature style. 😆
@AlternateButtons Because translation and ratings and stuff?
@AlternateButtons Why spend money on translation and promotion for a game that will sell poorly, especially since it can be played in the west with relative ease anyways? Besides, it's very unlikely that it was Nintendo who decided that these games wouldn't come westward.
EDIT: Also, there really isn't a reason to localize everything considering how few people in the west care about these games.
Picking up bokumono.
@AlternateButtons
Not every gamers / peoples can accept Japanese things.
For example Doraemon games are NEVER and Will always NEVER got an English release because the games will NOT really appeal for Western market. Also, it occurred on other Japanese franchises that ONLY popular in Japan but will not make a cut on Western market due to different taste between Japanese peoples and Western people's.
@AlternateButtons I think you must be underestimating the amount of work and resources that would go into localising a game. If not many people are going to buy it then it's just not worth it, unfortunately.
@AlternateButtons I must've missed all those million seller Doraemon games in the west. Or the western release of Dragon Quest Rivals on mobile. Or the commercial acclaim of the MLB Power Pro games.
Oh wait.
I mentioned this before, but the VN market that kept the Vita afloat in Japan will be absorbed into the Switch now. Given the amount of text, and the much smaller international market for them, most will likely stay in Japan. And if Nintendo expects them to do well there, it is in their best interest to mention it the Direct to maximize their commercial impact. It's a way of market segmentation.
@Anti-Matter Interesting fact the Doraemon TV series did manage to be released in the west but unfortunately it was short lived.
@Claude I'm sure most are staying in Japan, but I've also seen quite a few come to the West, as well.
@AlternateButtons ...I listed a Japan exclusive Dragon Quest game because it's in the article. A game that's Japan exclusive because Dragon Quest has seen relatively little success in the West prior to XI, and a game that's Japan exclusive due to Square Enix.
Man, I loved MLB Power Pros growing up. I may have to try this again, even if it is in Japanese.
Of course even in this day and age, Dragon Quest continues to get Japan-only games that never come to the rest of the world for some reason...
If every game on the Japanese EShop was forced by NOJ to get an English release, most creators would either jump ship to Sony or PC or use Google Translate and create a poor translation.
@LaytonPuzzle27
Something about Doraemon games :
1. It ALWAYS Japan version Only.
2. It ALWAYS on Nintendo machines
3. Their games are mostly Mediocre
@AlternateButtons Nintendo has nothing to do with devs not localizing a game if they aren’t the at the very least the publishers. Either way they can’t be expected to foot that bill. Region free doesn’t mean translated for every region as there are plenty of games where this makes no business sense. Also Japan only games aren’t exclusive to Nintendo systems. At least importers no longer have to buy two systems. (That was getting expensive. ) If it is that critical, Japanese can be learned like any other language.
Already downloaded Dragon Quest Rivals. I'll try it out later.
I wouldn't mind Power Pro Baseball. The Switch could use more sports games and I have a soft spot for baseball. RBI Baseball isn't cutting it.
Nobita as a farmer???? Sign me in
Yeah, but it's good they're showing the 3DS some love in Japan, it's got that 26 million install base that fanboys keep touting, remember?
For all those saying why no English it comes down to Cost to localize the language and that isn't cheap on the budget. Worse if the sales are not as forecast that will also kill any future projects slated for Western release as they will say why do it if even doing Localization cost more and the return was far less. So no it's not that they don't want to give us those games it's if there isn't a Market for those games why taking the Huge Risk of losing all you invest in the game R&D to find you gain little. Bringing a Local Japanese game to the US market isn't just oh let's just high people off the street to Translate to English and that all. This is the simplistic view people take but if you really done Real Translation for a living it's anything but simple.
Freaking Japan
@AlternateButtons in this case i guess because some of those IP's are not especially known here, although i would love to play that baseball game rather than RBI baseball.
Also in the case of the Doraemon game, some of the humor is typically japanese and would likely offend some delicate western soul
@AlternateButtons actually there are some if you are a game company that wants to make a profit, cost versus expected sales is an obvious one. Why would they make that extra cost if they can't expect a nominal profit from it.
I have also posted for the localizations of interesting games but i can (reluctantly) undestand the POV of a company.
I so want that Jikkyuu Powerful Pro Baseball. I wonder if I can fumble through the Japanese to play it.
@AlternateButtons Because if every game developer was forced to localize every game it would probably cost more time and money than their budget can afford.
@AlternateButtons people have to understand, if the game isn't developed by Nintendo it is not their fault. If a game is developed by a local Japanese studio and they decide not to localize it to other regions it is their decision alone.
@AlternateButtons Because when it comes to marketing, market preference and culture are still a thing. Also, they are not stopping anyone from buying it on eshop.
That baseball game looks pretty fun, actually (says one of the like 7 people to buy Super Baseball 2020; and one of the 3 people to actually love it).
Hmm.. not sad about missing these. I believe you could still get these with a Japanese Nintendo account?
"First up is Dragon Quest Rivals, a free download first released on mobile back in 2017. It's an online card-based battler in the Hearthstone mould with characters from across the RPG series and cross-play between Switch and mobile."
Whyyyyy don't we get this?
@Mamabear yes, but only in Japanese. There wouldn't be English offered
Off topic, but for some reason I thought Doraemon was for adults when I was a young kid XD
I hope the baseball game comes to the US.
@AlternateButtons I don't know why people even bother responding to you seeing that these games have nothing to do with Nintendo - except the fact that they are coming to the Switch (and other platforms that won't see a western release either). Try Konami and whoever makes the other two games
That baseball game looks right up my street...
I hope that Doraemon get's an English language availability for SE Asia. I'm definitely getting it if that's the case, that game looks beautiful and SoS gives me confidence it'll play well as well.
I'm a simple man. I see Doraemon, I buy.
Seriously though Doraemon is an AMAZING series. I first saw it back when Disney XD Dubbed the anime remake, but it got me into such an amazing series that has one of the saddest and most amazing endings in a series ever.
@IceEarthGuard The original was a bit too much for kids lol. It had alot of adult jokes and innuendos in like. Like Nobi peeping in on the girl taking a shower. Which oddly enough they actually kept that plot point in, in the anime remake they did around 2006.
Might get Dragon Quest Rivals. I love me some hearthstone
I really wish Nintendo would let us have Jikkyuu Baseball in the states. Its much more interesting than RBI has ever been on Switch.
I miss a good arcade style baseball for Nintendo. I would love this one. Until then, I guess it’s Super Mega Baseball 2 on my XBon ONE.
What's with Square and bombarding the Switch with all of these games all of the sudden? lol
@AlternateButtons Localization is a lot more complicated than saying "just localize it". It's a very expensive process and it isnt as simple as typing the script into google translator. The nuances of the Japanese language are very complex and often times there isnt an English equivalent to many words.
It took like 3 years for the Mother 3 translation for example
@SethNintendo I dont see the need to block anyone. Even if it was a troll thing I'm going to give the logical answer because that's who i am.
Oh please bring Jikkyuu Powerful Pro Baseball to the USA!!!!
@AlternateButtons
These aren’t Nintendo games. If Konami/Squeenix/Marvellous don’t want to publish them outside of Japan that’s their call. Not much Nintendo can do really.
@AlternateButtons sorry that everyone is hating on you for having a different opinion and trying to bring about change.
I don’t agree that this is Nintendo’s fault. And blaming them might be part of the backlash. But I would love to see more efforts in global localisation.
Localisation is not cheap, but some are making out it will cost millions and that is not the case. With most games the sales will be enough in the west to cover it and these games will clearly have Nintendo’s advertising to help them.
I would like some developers who haven’t localised to test the waters on it. They might be surprised by the results as things change.
Previously we had little interest for some Japanese cartoons not because of public demand, but because of television broadcasters being in control of what we saw. Now we are more online, more connected and we are free to choose without restriction.
Out of all the games above I would say that the Dragon Quest card game would be the best one of these to translate and bring over. It probably has the least dialogue and the broadest appeal.
Omg bring power pro baseball stateside Konami!! My son & I had a blast with the Wii versions!!!
Stop calling baseball rounders, damn Brits.
Doraemon mixed with Harvest Moon?! That is the most adorable thing ever!
Jikkyuu Powerful Pro Baseball, though. These games used to rival Bomberman in the visual POW POW department, but this version, with the drab lighting and unenthusiastic color palette? Manages to make the timehonored designs look, well, boring.
@F-ZeroX
Sure, if you stop calling football soccer.
@AlternateButtons you seem to think localisations don't cost anything...
plus, none of the three games of this article are from nintendo
@Pod Oh, that great football rivalry. Is it football vs soccer? Football vs American football? Or, this is where my friend from South Africa interrupts and yells...
"Both those sports are for weaklings! Real men play rugby!"
I hope Konami's Baseball game releases here. I can't stand R.B.I. Baseball.
@TheFox
And from up north in Kenya and across the ocean in Idia they'll be like "Proper gentlemen play Cricket!!"
@Pod I'm European. I call football football.
edit: Comes off belittling, as I understand rounders is considered a kids game. It's also not baseball. Soccer's just semantics. Americans avoiding confusion.
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