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European DS Launch and Titles Announced

Posted by Zonk on from the two-screening-it-in-the-old-country dept.

GamesIndustry.biz has the news that the Nintendo DS has been slated for a March 11th launch in Europe. The launch will carry 15 different titles, and the handheld will be bundled with the Metroid Prime: Hunters demo, as it was in the states. Australian gamers have something to be happy about as well. From the article: "The £99 price point is around the expected mark. Interestingly, Australian fans will pay the equivalent of around £90 for theirs, and although exchange rate fluctuations are believed to be behind that slightly more flattering figure, they can hardly be blamed for the unusual sight of Nintendo hardware making it onto store shelves down under before it does so here; Aussie gamers will be able to pick up a DS from 24th February onward."

4 of 21 comments (clear)

  1. Again... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    With the screwing of europe.

    1. Re:Again... by SetupWeasel · · Score: 3, Insightful

      This is probably why you guys are getting the DS earlier than Europe. This is the first time the US has gotten a Nintendo console launch before Japan. The only reason I believe they didn't release it down under at the same time is that they didn't want to spread the units too thin, and they wanted to have a few more titles ready for you. Usually the US doesn't get a new console until a half-year after a Japanese launch, so I think they are trying very hard to please everyone this time.

      The DS does have multiple languages in the firmware, but each game still has to be translated into about 5 languages before it can be launched in Europe. The DS won't do that for them.

    2. Re:Again... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      This all sounds nice, but it's really utter, utter rubbish from start to finish.

      First of all, the language issue. This may seem hard for you to believe, but a huge proportion of European games do not get any kind of additional translation work. Moreover, this is not seen as a bad thing. I've spoken to numerous French and German gamers who are annoyed when they are given a release specific to their own language and will import a version from the UK. The reason for this is quite simple... most translations of games into French and German are pretty hideous. The translations of the text are bad enough, but translated voice-overs are even worse. A significant proportion of "Western" anime fans prefer to watch anime in the original Japanese, with subtitles, even though they don't understand Japanese. The main reason for this is that Japan's active culture of radio-drama and other voice-only entertainment means that Japan has a pool of talented voice actors to draw upon, who can convey subtleties that your average American voice actor, who's probably never done anything more taxing than a bit of shouting for Saturday morning cartoons, can't even come close to. The vast majority of European-language voice actors, at least, of those who are used in games, tend to be worse than the English-language voice actors by a similar degree. Moreover, the vast majority of Europeans speak English to a level that renders sub-titling unnecessary.

      Hell, one perfectly reasonable solution is to bring out an English-language only release across Europe at the same time as the US release, then come out with a region-specific version at a later date, giving customers the option. This has been happening for some titles in the PC market for years.

      Cultural preferences is also a bunk argument. Games suited for the "Japanese" culture sell perfectly well in Europe... hell, Disgaea sold far more copies in Europe than in the States, last time I checked. At least, they sell perfectly well when they actually get released.

      The technical arguments have been dealt with perfectly well by other responses, so I'll leave those alone.

      If supply and shortages are an issue, let's see the US volunteer to miss out on a few early releases.

      Basically, what your ill-tempered moan really boils down to is the fact that you are clearly a hideous Nintendo fanboy and will defend their decisions to the last breath. Nintendo could announce that their next console would be crafted from the skulls of orphaned babies and that all profits would be donated to the RIAA and you would still makes posts explaining why this was the right thing to do. Nintendo is the only one of the major console companies who still habitually shafts Europe. Most US PS2 titles make it over here in a reasonably timely manner these days. With the exception of the KOTOR games (which do seem to get held up a while), most X-Box games are either simultaneous world-wide release or so close to it that it doesn't really matter. Meanwhile, the UK is still waiting for Zelda: Four Swords, is getting screwed on the DS release date and pricing and has little-to-no hope of seeing a lot of the non-A-list Cube titles. The only real reason for this is that Nintendo have lost any semblance of clue they once possessed and are seemingly determined to drive their business into the ground. The revised profit forecasts issues yesterday are only the first taste of what's to come.

  2. Different Prices by christopherfinke · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Maybe I'm just ignorant, but why do they charge different prices in different countries? They cost the same to make, and shipping can't be that much, right?