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curl-6 on 31 March 2015
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Skullwaker said:
curl-6 said:
It would be an excellent pacifier, but for some reason Nintendo seems very reluctant to bring it over; perhaps its a little too risque for their family-friendly image in the US, or they're not confident in it reviewing well.

 

I don't think it has anything to do with their image (they did publish Bayonetta 2 and are publishing Devil's Third after all, both of which are way more graphic than Fatal Frame) or reviews (they've published quite a few games that review worse than any FF game). 

I think it's purely about sales. I'm not sure they think they would make a profit off of localizing it. But at that point, why even make the game in the first place? It's never sold fantastic even in Japan. In fact, it always sells better in the West, so why ignore its most successful region?

I'm pretty sure they're going to localize it eventually. Either a.) when they need to fill software droughts, b.) whenever the Hollywood adaptation is close to release, or c.) as one of Wii U's last titles before their next platform hits.

Sexualized content in Devil's Third and Bayonetta seems to feature grown women, the protag of Fatal Frame is a skimpily dressed teenager. Bit of a difference in image there.

As you point out though, the game did not sell gangbusters in Japan, and probably didn't recoup the cost of developing a HD title, so you'd think they'd bring it West and take what they can get, especially in light of their software droughts.

It's true value, however, is symbolic; localizing it would be a statement to gamers that Nintendo gives a crap about them.

Damned if I can figure out their reasoning...