Namco not spinning any Tales outside of Japan

by David Hinkle { Apr 10th 2008 at 7:00PM }

In speaking with Cubed3, Hideo Baba-san from Namco has presented those of us not lucky enough to reside in the gaming capital of the world with some grim news: Tales of Innocence, the latest DS entry in the Tales series of games, won't be leaving Japan. At least, for now, as Namco has no plans to localize the game for other territories. This all comes from an interview which is set to run later this week on Cubed3.

What's odd, though, is that they would choose to bring a Wii title and Xbox 360 game to the U.S., yet would completely ignore the DS. It's just ... it's just, well ... odd. We just don't know how else to put it.

Tags: japan, namco, namco-bandai, rpg, tales, tales-of-innocence

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Mad Martin Kinderhook @ Apr 10th 2008 7:19PM

I'm bitterly disappointed, but go ahead and be that way, Namco. I was interested in getting Knights of Ratatoskr for the Wii but the sheer stupidity of their decision has made me significantly less interested now, especially considering that ToI was far more intriguing than ToS:KoR to begin with.

Kia @ Apr 10th 2008 7:26PM

God-dammit-, Namco. They just continue to prove me right with their insistence on completely and utterly ignoring the US handheld market.

Well to hell with them. I'll still get ToS2 and ToV, but they can be damned sure they won't get a penny from me and I'll grab them secondhand somewhere. I'm done supporting this joke of a company.

It's bad enough they can't even license opening music when a -tiny- company like XSEED manages it, but their continued ignorance of the DS and PSP is just infuriating. I'm done with Namco.

llamapalooza @ Apr 10th 2008 10:31PM

I know it's tempting to say "boycott Namco" and get enraged, but this is a critical moment if you want to see this game. Start getting in contact with Namco-- via email and/or telephone-- and telling them that you want this game. Showing a little demand can go a long way. Talk to Namco of Japan, Namco of America, and Namco of Europe if possible-- any localization period and you can import it with region-free games. Spread this news to the world of gaming and help create that demand yourself.

More importantly, don't get angry and say "I'm not buying the other Tales games now." That's just stupid. High sales numbers mean they're more likely to bring the game out here. Don't get it secondhand; pre-order it, and get all of your friends to buy it, too! Low sales numbers for the last GBA game are probably the biggest factor in this decision right now.

It sucks. I know from Mother 3. But we can learn important lessons from it. Companies are not out to piss you off (unless you're an EarthBound fan, hehe), they just don't think there's demand. If you want this game, the best you can do is show them that there IS demand, not pout in the corner.

Verde @ Apr 10th 2008 7:59PM

This is just plain stupid...
Actually, I wish Namco Bandai would just let a more competent company like Atlus, Xseed, NISA, or anyone else to bring over Tales games.

I still will buy the Xbox 360 and Wii Tales games but I will feel guilty about supporting such a lousy company!

Common! The DS prints money! Let the DS print you some more money in the US, Namco!

iofthestorm @ Apr 10th 2008 8:47PM

Seriously, WTF? There aren't enough JRPGs in the US and this isn't helping matters. To date the only Tales game I've played is Phantasia, and I loved it, but I haven't been able to play any others. I'll probably have to grab Symphonia from somewhere and get the Wii sequel, but I really play my DS about 5x more than I play my Wii since it's so portable and easy to play whenever I want.