Xenoblade gets US release as GameStop exclusive

By Fred Dutton Published 2 December, 2011

Operation Rainfall finally gets its way.

UPDATE: Nintendo of America has confirmed an April 2012 US release, via its Twitter feed.

ORIGINAL STORY: Xenoblade Chronicles, Nintendo's phenomenal Wii JRPG that so far has only been released in Japan and Europe, is finally getting a US release, judging by an eagle-eyed NeoGAF poster.

According to a retail database listing, it'll be out in The Land of the Free on 3rd April 2012 as a GameStop exclusive.

Online retailer Amazon will no doubt love that, considering the game got to the top of its pre-order chart thanks to the Operation Rainfall movement.

Nintendo had originally announced that it had no plans to bring the title to the US, despite the noisy fan campaign to convince the platform holder there was a market for the game.

"Thank you for your enthusiasm. We promised an update, so here it is. We never say 'never,' but we can confirm that there are no plans to bring these three games to the Americas at this time," read a post on its Facebook page back in June.

The Monolith Soft-developed RPG arrived in the UK back in August to universal acclaim.

"No Japanese RPG has more successfully married its various components this hardware generation," read Simon Parkin's 9/10 Xenoblade Chronicles review.

"It's a game that invites us to reassess an entire genre, pointing to a bold future while nodding its respect towards the past. It's a towering triumph."

Operation Rainfall still has two more Nintendo-published Wii titles still absent from US release schedules in its sites - Mistwalker RPG The Last Story and stylish button-masher Pandora's Tower. European launches have already been confirmed for both games.

Picture of Fred.

About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (30) Latest comment 6 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • retr0gamer #1 6 months ago

    A friend of mine that knows some one in NOA told me months ago that it was always coming to the States. Just hope NOA don't arse around with Last Story and Pandoras Tower, would be a shame if people miss out on good games. As a European we'v been missing out for years now so know how it feels.
    Edited by retr0gamer at 02/12/11 @ 17:29

  • Torkin #2 6 months ago

    I don't have a Wii, how I'd like a port for PS3 or 360 :( Loved the Xenosaga series, and I'm actually playing Xenogears for the first time.

  • TearYouAsunder #3 6 months ago

    They have much to look forward to. Xenoblade is one of the best games ive played this gen.

  • Canyarion #4 6 months ago

    @Torkin Pick up a Wii for the price of 2.5 PS360 games?

  • retr0gamer #5 6 months ago

    @Torkin It's not really got anything to do with the Xenosaga series but is made by the same developer who are now owned wholely by Nintendo so no chance of a port. You're missing out though because it's a fantastic game.

  • levitate #6 6 months ago

    I'm soooo getting this for my brand-spanking new Wii! And I don't live in the US.

  • Torkin #7 6 months ago

    Yeah I know that it's developed by Monolith and it's not related to previous Xeno games, but I'm sure it has a great story like them. Anyway I'm not buying another console only to play one game.

  • Torkin #8 6 months ago

    Post deleted at 09:50:35 12-12-2011

  • HiddenAway #9 6 months ago

    I think it's safe to say it's all but announced now :)

    Just updated

  • 5lectro #10 6 months ago

    Wait, this is 2011. jRPGs can still be good?

  • rabbler #11 6 months ago

    @5lectro Xenoblade is a special case. All other JRPGs for the past five years have been shit.

  • dfunked #12 6 months ago

    Absolutely fantastic game (which I really need to get stuck back into), but not exactly a bit of news that us EUROgamers will find very interesting in all fairness...

  • inutaihanyou #13 6 months ago

    I'm going to gonna buy it obviously, even though i've owned no Wii this gen, this game seems worth it >:) But, WHY U NO release "Last Story" and "Pandora's Tower"!?

  • figaro7 #14 6 months ago

    The more people that get to play this beauty the better, the game itself is a massive achievement in the jrpg genre!

  • Ror1984 #15 6 months ago

    About damn time, I'm glad our friends across the pond will finally get it. And I might even get around to playing it... in a few months! I got the Classic Controller bundle at launch, but I'm currently deep into Skyrim, will be playing Skyward Sword at Christmas, and then have FFXIII-2 in Feb and Mass 3 in March :|

    Anyway, well done and congrats to the Rainfall chaps/chapesses.

  • midnight_walker #16 6 months ago

    Are we sure it's not just some kind of Gamestop Exclusive packaging or something? It seems incredibly weird that a game would see release in one store only.

  • Canyarion #17 6 months ago

    Apparently you can get it from GameStop or the Nintendo website. I can understand why they do it this way: they're afraid it won't sell enough to justify a full retail release.
    So they're trying something new.

    If this doesn't sell, there's no way the Americas will see The Last Story or Pandora's Tower.

  • abigsmurf #18 6 months ago

    And so (as it seems that Last Story and Pandora's Tower are now likely to get releases in the US) the list of EU exclusives goes back down to Tingle and a few other minor games...

    It's the best home console RPG of this generation and it's nice that more people can now play it but I have to admit there was a certain amount of enjoyment to be had from the knowledge that for the first time since Terranigma, there was a good, original JRPG out in Europe that never made it to the US.

    With the region locked 3DS we're no doubt doing to be back to getting no Atlus releases (Devil Survivor Overclocked anyone?) and stuff like Kingdom Hearts taking 6 months to come out here. At least we could've had these late Wii titles to comfort us and tell us that the US suffers along with us.

    *sits in the corner crying, clutching on to his PAL copy of Megaman Wily Wars*

  • Stuz359 #19 6 months ago

    @Torkin

    Buy the console for at least 5 games then. Xenoblade, The Last Story, Zelda Skyward Sword and SMG 1+2. No to mention the other dozens of games which are brilliant for the Wii.

  • Muddtallica #20 6 months ago

    I have just this evening finished playing Xenoblade Chronicles, after an epic 180-hour completionist runthrough. It is an absolutely staggering achievement, one that compeletely revitalises the entire JRPG formula, with one of the most immersive and constantly awe-inspiring gameworlds I've experienced. And I'm not even a JRPG fan, typically.

    I'm delighted that it's getting a US release: the more people who get to experience this game, the better, and I urge anyone in Europe who's ever had any fondness or even tolerance for the JRPG genre to give this a try. You may find yourself overwhelmingly surprised, like I was.

  • Biker_Bob_1971 #21 6 months ago

    Post deleted at 16:59:10 06-02-2012

  • Incarta #22 6 months ago

    Now stop complaining and buy it. Might very well be my GOTY as well.

    I wonder how well it will sell. It's already been heavily imported. It deserves good sales.

  • hybridial #23 6 months ago

    @rolandbelford

    No, Xenoblade is still shit. I actually bought it, tried to play it and realised that pretty quickly. I have no idea why people think this game is good, it's aesthetically terrible, the combat is tedious, the content is 90% busywork and the writing isn't anything better than the crap Square Enix usually produces. Last Story *looks* a lot better, I hope it is.

  • The12thMonkey #24 6 months ago

    I'm still on my first playthrough! Quarter 4, I shake my first at your burgeoning release schedules!

    I do keep getting sidetracked sorting out everyone's problems in Xenoblade, Alcomoth being my current hub, 50 hours in, and I'm sure going to be getting into a second playthrough with all the bits I've missed.

    Glad more people will get to experience it. Hope they keep the Euro VA, as I've grown rather fond of it.

  • alcides #25 6 months ago

    Yay! I wish they'd release Tinkle Baloon Trip of Love too...

  • ruddiger7 #26 6 months ago

    This game is worth it, best on the wii by far

  • Toothball #27 6 months ago

    I keep thinking I should get this, but have no idea where I'd find the time to play it.

  • apoc_reg #28 6 months ago

    AWESOME!

    This is great news for gamers everywhere, I have it in the UK and its brilliant

  • metroid455 #29 6 months ago

    @rolandbelford
    If your willing to import there's some Fantastic Japan only RPG's

    JRPG's are still good your just not looking hard enough IMO

  • Phishfood #30 6 months ago

    The best RPG I have ever played. Its been a while since I played a game, looked at the clock and thought 'where did the time go' that's how I know I'm having fun.