Topic: Place your bets. Xenoblade, the entire series on one cartridge, or milked?

While I don't think it's impossible Monolith is making a completely new RPG, Nintendo is pretty conservative when it comes to starting new AAA level franchises, and a new Monolith game would probably require that kind of money. Sure, Nintendo still occasionally publishes smaller games with a new IP, such as Arms, Snipperclips, Good Job, and Drag x Drive, but when was the last time they released a big-budget game that wasn't a part of an existing franchise? Splatoon?

Xenoblade is not popular enough to warrant the issue of Switch 2 versions. Best case scenario they offer a free patch for Switch 2, to update the framerate and the resolution, but I wouldn't hold my breath, except from Xenoblade X, which could have been made with the Switch 2 upgrade in mind.

I would rather talk about the new Xenoblade entry for Switch 2, I am salivating just thinking about it... Imagine what Monolith Soft could do with Switch 2's hardware, my mind cannot comprehend it. They are by far the best developer when it comes to beautiful, detailed, and awe inspiring landscapes, and I cannot wait to see what they can do with actually modern graphics.

@JaxonH @VoidofLight

https://xenomira.wordpress.com/2019/06/07/the-tribulations-of...

"Monolith Soft has sent Nintendo 10+ business proposals for approval over the years, but the only one that has been approved recently was Xenoblade, says Takahashi."

I dunno, sure sounds like Nintendo is only letting them make Xenoblade. Doesn't necessarily mean that'll continue being true, but still.

@kkslider5552000 Yeah, XC2 is in desperate need of some cleaning up. Technically and mechanically. And, in an ideal world, an English redub, but I'm not expecting that.

@alexwolf I mean, that would be more believable if they didn't continue supporting the franchise with new entries, expansions, and remasters.

@Ralizah Yea, this is the thing that I remembered hearing about. How Monolith kept sending proposals for games outside of Xeno, but Nintendo kept swatting them aside. There's a chance that it'll change in the future, but I feel like Nintendo still just wants them to do Xenoblade while it's growing larger and larger as a series. Monolith is a company that keeps growing though, so there's a chance they could always make a fourth team that's responsible for new IPs while having a team that works on remakes/remasters, a team that works on mainline Xenoblade, and a team that helps to support Nintendo.

I also feel like while 2 needs a redub for the english dub, they're not going to do that.. mainly because they would have to recast a few of the VAs. Skye made it clear how she genuinely hates Pyra and Mythra as characters- and dislikes how the fanbase treats her on stream due to being the voice of those characters. Al got a lot of hate for voicing Rex, so there's no telling if he'd be willing to return or not to redo lines. We know Nia's VA is open, and Malos' VA would probably come back.. but even then, you're out two of the main cast's VAs.

@alexwolf Xenoblade is Nintendo's core pillar for RPGs. It keeps getting a lot of support as a series, and each entry sells better than the last. If Xeno is niche, then Metroid is niche- and Prime 4 is getting a Switch 2 version... sooo.

I am like 200 hours into xenoblade chronicles x, I just wish Nintendo would let us know what they intend to do with this game for us Switch 2 owners

@VoidofLight ???

Skye Bennett streamed the game from beginning to end and, at least as recently as a couple of years ago, talked about how much she liked the fanbase in interviews. Never got the impression she had issues like that.

Honestly XC2 would only benefit from recasting Rex.

In terms of Xenoblade's popularity, I'm confident we've more or less reached the peak of the series' popularity, barring some crazy, completely unexpected thing happening. I'm again bringing up my theory that the price increases are gonna hurt what chances Nintendo's niche games could have in growing in popularity. (and quite frankly the lack of great sales are likely already doing this)

I was also gonna bring up a redub, but I can't even possibly imagine that happening, considering how I'm pretty certain even Xenoblade 1's remake is the same exact voice lines from the Wii.

@Ralizah I remember that she hated the fanbase though? Especially because of weird people coming to her stream to try to make her say weird stuff in Pyra's voice- along with the weird sexism that they had towards female characters and female VAs in general.

@kkslider5552000 To be fair, Xenoblade 1's VA didn't really need a redub. 2's dub was incredibly rushed and they didn't give the actors any context into what they were dubbing over.

Yeah, she got burned by a few overzealous fans. You know the sort; the ones who seem incapable of distinguishing between actors and the characters that they're playing.

I'd be surprised if she holds anything against the rest of us though. It's just that it doesn't take a lot of bad experiences to outweigh a far greater amount of positive ones.

Most voice artists who reach out to the fanbase do it through an agency with experience in keeping such people at arm's length rather than running their own streams, like she did.

@Matt_Barber Yeah. It sucks though that this is generally an issue with female voice actors. A lot of male ones usually are able to hold streams and enjoy interacting with the community, but the moment women do it- they tend to get a lot of creeps in their chat doing and saying weird stuff about them or the characters they play. Wish it wasn't like this.. and that people could separate character from actor.

@VoidofLight

Xenoblade 3 sold way poorer than 2, so each new entry is not selling better than the last one.

Metroid Prime 4 gets a Switch 2 version because it's getting released so close to Switch 2, same reason why I mentioned Xenoblade X may get a Switch 2 version.

But out of the older titles that Nintendo has released, I think the Xenoblade titles are pretty low on the priority list for Switch 2 versions compared to other, more popular games.

Milked. The best value Nintendo has ever offered is Super Mario All Stars and Metroid Prime Trilogy, the latter being Retro's and not Nintendo's idea

I don't think we will see any bundles at all, not for a long time if ever.

@alexwolf 3 still sold super well, even if it wasn't as well as 2. 2 sold well due to sex appeal and people not knowing what the series was. XDE and 3 are still selling very well though, and the series is going incredibly strong. It's Nintendo's front-runner RPG franchise. Given X has 60 FPS support in its code, the rest are 100% getting some form of upgrade on the next system.

I don't agree with this at all, just on the basis of how much it outsold borderline every Japanese game in the past decade that feels defined by sex appeal. (unless you count Nier: Automata, which I don't)

I think a decent chunk of its fans actively like that part of the game (even I do for a certain later plot relevant character), but I don't think nearly anyone bought it because of that. Or at most, it did well to get a certain audience interested in Xenoblade as a series, but they wouldn't have bought it if it wasn't for it being a well liked video game that does the things people like about it as a video game. (and also being a very notable year 1 Switch exclusive JRPG)

Now if you said it appealed to shonen anime fans that think PG-13 fanservice and fanservice comedy in shonen anime is still good or interesting, I'd agree with that entirely.

@kkslider5552000 Sex appeal and campy shonen are why it sold as well I believe. A lot of fans of XC2 that I've met have been the type to refuse to play 3 or 1 because it lacks the campy humor or the sexualized character designs of 2. I said sex appeal, but I know it isn't the main reason. It's just one of the many reasons.

@VoidofLight

Your statement of every Xenoblade game selling better than the last was blatantly false though, Xenoblade 2 sold 3 million and Xenoblade 3 sold 2 million. The sales of Xenoblade games are good but not amazing, JRPGs are a niche genre, and Xenoblade is not even one of the most popular IPs among JRPGs, so it's not hard at all to see why offering a Switch 2 upgrade for those games wouldn't be Nintendo's priority.

@alexwolf I don't know what world Xenoblade is considered "not that popular." These games are pretty popular as a whole?

Also Monolithsoft would be upgrading the games, not Nintendo. Monolith is the developer. You can claim we aren't going to get upgrades all you'd like, but you're wrong. Xenoblade X has a locked setting to support 60 FPS that'll probably be activated for a Switch 2 patch. Wouldn't surprise me if they supported the other games in the series with the same thing.

Whenever Nintendo can milk something, they will. So moooo.

I mean no disrespect by the comment, but one only needs to look at how frequently Mario appears in their games to understand it. It works and makes them money and I love these games, but it also is what it is.