Reggie Fils-Aime Suggests That Fan Petitions Might Not Necessarily Have A Big Impact On Nintendo

Gamers can be a pretty passionate bunch of people, especially when it comes to the games that they love. There are also times when gamers will sign petitions in order to get a particular game onto a certain platform. Nintendo certainly has their fair share of passionate fans, many of whom have taken part in Operation Rainfall, in which many gamers signed a petition to get Nintendo to bring Japanese titles, such as the Xenoblade Chronicles, The Last Story, and Pandora’s Tower to North America where it was localized. This particular petition was successful which undoubtedly made many gamers happy, but it seems that if you’re hoping that future petitions will sway Nintendo’s decisions, don’t count on it.

According to Nintendo of America’s boss, Reggie Fils-Aime, he told the folks at Siliconera that while the company is aware of petitions and gamers sentiments, it does not necessarily affect what Nintendo does. “I have to tell you – it doesn’t affect what we do […] We certainly look at it, and we’re certainly aware of it, but it doesn’t necessarily affect what we do.” Fils-Aime went on to state that he himself wanted to bring Xenoblade to North America, but had to look at it from a business point of view, such as whether it would be profitable and if localizing it would be worth it. After all Nintendo is a business at the end of the day and they can’t just cater to a handful of fans, right?

Fils-Aime concluded with a particular statement that we can’t help but feel rings a bell of truth, in which he says, “The thing we know [about petitions] is that 100,000 signatures doesn’t mean 100,000 sales,” What do you guys think?

Tyler Lee
Categories: Gaming
Tags: Nintendo