There have been many instances of the spread of false information about Operation Rainfall and our goals and methods
Operation Rainfall is not a boycott, nor do we support boycotting.
Operation Rainfall does not support piracy, hombrew or modding
while we respect your right to import, Operation Rainfall's goal is to get an NTSC release for these titles
Operation Rainfall urges it's followers/fans/peeps to be civil and polite in all dealings with Nintendo
In order to fight the spread of misinformation we have decided to make a PSA that will dispel rumors, educate new members, correct misinformation, and hopefully be quite entertaining
as Operation Rainfall is a fan-driven movement we require input and services to be provided by the followers who make us what we are...
for full details on how you can help, visit the official thread in our official forums
for now we are working on the script for the PSA and all contributions are welcome, later we will request pictures and videos to be made for inclusion in the video
this video is for us, people like us, and peopel who cover us... it is not directed at Nintendo
lets make the best PSA we can
Thursday, July 28, 2011
help Operation Rainfall and Nintendo to make Xenoblade Chronicles a success in Europe
While we do not encourage importing and/or the homebrew channel, we do want Xenoblade Chronicles to be a smash hit in Europe... starting on August 1st, Operation Rainfall is taking it upon itself to advertise and promote the title in Europe. This is not a movement to encourage importing, but rather to help raise awareness of the title to European gamers. While those of us outside of Europe are limited in the scope of our efforts in Europe we will be bringing about several initiatives to help raise awareness of the title beginning on August 1st.
Stay tuned for updates to this post about these initatives
and remember...
Operation Rainfall is not a boycott, nor do we support boycotting.
Operation Rainfall does not support piracy, hombrew or modding
while we respect your right to import, Operation Rainfall's goal is to get an NTSC release for these titles
Operation Rainfall urges it's followers/fans/peeps to be civil and polite in all dealings with Nintendo
Stay tuned for updates to this post about these initatives
and remember...
Operation Rainfall is not a boycott, nor do we support boycotting.
Operation Rainfall does not support piracy, hombrew or modding
while we respect your right to import, Operation Rainfall's goal is to get an NTSC release for these titles
Operation Rainfall urges it's followers/fans/peeps to be civil and polite in all dealings with Nintendo
August 19th Campaign
On August 19th, 2011 Xenoblade Chronicles, the first of our supported titles, will be released in Europe.
It seems fitting, then, that we are targeting a joint mail-in campaign for that date. Yes, we are doing another letter writing event, this time in support of all 3 titles.
Details:
1. Letters should be sent with the intent to arrive on August 19th
2. the special item of this campaign will be the written promise to buy Final Fantasy (NES) on the Wii's Virtual Console on the 19th to coincide with the arrival of your letter, and the actual purchase of said game on the 19th (not when you send the letter but on the arrival date) . We have to show Nintendo our intent to buy games... if you already have the game on your VC we propose 2 alternatives, you can gift the game to another, a friend or family member or such, or you can instead make a donation to the Child's Play charity through the widget on this blog (the widget matters because it tallies the total of donations made through us)
3. We request that on this day, you also e-mail, call, and facebook comment Nintendo your intent to buy Xenoblade, the Last Story, and Pandora's Tower
here is our current template letter for this campaign
for shipping timing I will refer you again to this image I made for our last campaign
our current aim is for letters to arrive on Friday, the 19th... so if you live in Texas you might want to send on Monday or Tuesday, if you live in San Fransisco, it might be better to hold off until Wednesday
of course if the letter travels through air it could arrive much earlier, there is no exact way to predict the timing, just do your best
the address for your letters is
Reginald Fils-Aime (President and COO)
c/o Nintendo of America
4600 150th AVE NE
Redmond, WA 98052
you can e-mail Nintendo of America here
http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/webform.jsp
you can call Nintendo of America here
1-800-633-3236
and you can leave comments on their facebook page here
http://www.facebook.com/Nintendo
Operation Rainfall is not a boycott, nor do we support boycotting.Operation Rainfall does not support piracy, hombrew or modding
while we respect your right to import, Operation Rainfall's goal is to get an NTSC release for these titles
Operation Rainfall urges it's followers/fans/peeps to be civil and polite in all dealings with Nintendo
It seems fitting, then, that we are targeting a joint mail-in campaign for that date. Yes, we are doing another letter writing event, this time in support of all 3 titles.
Details:
1. Letters should be sent with the intent to arrive on August 19th
2. the special item of this campaign will be the written promise to buy Final Fantasy (NES) on the Wii's Virtual Console on the 19th to coincide with the arrival of your letter, and the actual purchase of said game on the 19th (not when you send the letter but on the arrival date) . We have to show Nintendo our intent to buy games... if you already have the game on your VC we propose 2 alternatives, you can gift the game to another, a friend or family member or such, or you can instead make a donation to the Child's Play charity through the widget on this blog (the widget matters because it tallies the total of donations made through us)
3. We request that on this day, you also e-mail, call, and facebook comment Nintendo your intent to buy Xenoblade, the Last Story, and Pandora's Tower
here is our current template letter for this campaign
Dear Reggie, ( alt; To Mr. Fils-Aime, CEO, Fils-Aime,)obviously you would chose only the colored text that reflects your intent, and we highly recommend personalizing the letter with your own wording, or even altogether disregarding the template, the tamplate only exists to help those lost for words
As a member of Operation Rainfall, and fan of your company Nintendo, I am writing this letter to express my interest in the Wii games "Xenoblade Chronicles" (also known as Xenoblade, and Monado), "The Last Story", and "Pandora's Tower."
(option 1: In order to demonstrate my intent to buy these games, I, along with my fellow supporters of Operation Rainfall, will be purchasing "Final Fantasy" on the Wii's "Virtual Console" on the intended delivery date of this letter, August 19th.) (option 2: In order to demonstrate my intent to buy these games I, along with my fellow supporters of Operation Rainfall, had planned to purchase "Final Fantasy" on the Wii's "Virtual Console" on the intended delivery date of this letter, August 19th. However, I already own the title, and so have decided to gift the game to another wii owner on that date.) (option 3: In order to demonstrate my intent to buy these games I, along with my fellow supporters of Operation Rainfall, intended to purchase "Final Fantasy" on the Wii's "Virtual Console" on the intended delivery date of this letter, August 19th. However, I already own the title, and so have decided instead to make a $(insert amount) donation to the Child's Play charity on that date instead)
I hope you will pay attention to the spike in sales of Final Fantasy on the VC on August 19th to see just how much we in Operation Rainfall love and support Nintendo. Collectively, we have decided to target the date of August 19th in order to coincide with the release of "Xenoblade Chronicles" in Europe. "Xenoblade Chronicles" will soon be releasing in every other major market region as well, except the largest, America. This is a point of confusion for many, including myself, especially considering that the vast majority of these types of games have sold significantly better in the American region than in other regions: often times selling better here than all other regions combined. I hope that this letter can convey to you my intent to purchase "Xenoblade Chronicles", "The Last Story", and "Pandora's Tower." Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
(your name here)
(signed)
for shipping timing I will refer you again to this image I made for our last campaign
of course if the letter travels through air it could arrive much earlier, there is no exact way to predict the timing, just do your best
the address for your letters is
Reginald Fils-Aime (President and COO)
c/o Nintendo of America
4600 150th AVE NE
Redmond, WA 98052
you can e-mail Nintendo of America here
http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/webform.jsp
you can call Nintendo of America here
1-800-633-3236
and you can leave comments on their facebook page here
http://www.facebook.com/Nintendo
Operation Rainfall is not a boycott, nor do we support boycotting.Operation Rainfall does not support piracy, hombrew or modding
while we respect your right to import, Operation Rainfall's goal is to get an NTSC release for these titles
Operation Rainfall urges it's followers/fans/peeps to be civil and polite in all dealings with Nintendo
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Source: NTSC Xenoblade Done, The Last Story In Progress
NTSC Xenoblade Finished Prior to E3 Nintendo of America Sitting on Announcement
July 7, 2011
American localization of Xenoblade is complete, The Last Story is currently being translated to English for an American release, but there is no word on Pandora’s Tower localization. This information was disclosed to Operation Rainfall today from a source within Nintendo who wishes to remain anonymous. There is currently no indication of when Nintendo of America plans to formally announce these titles.
Last week Nintendo of America told its followers on Facebook and Twitter that it had no plans to bring Xenoblade, The Last Story, and Pandora’s tower to America “at this time.” Nintendo intentionally left open the possibility of release. Allegedly, the Redmond, WA branch has been working with other branches to bring Xenoblade and The Last Story to North America.
According to our source, The NTSC version of Xenoblade was completed just over a month ago, while testing for the PAL and NTSC versions of The Last Story could begin in a month. There is currently no word on localization for an NTSC version of Pandora’s Tower.
Remember, this information was disclosed to Operation Rainfall in confidence. Until Nintendo of America makes an announcement, there will be no official word of an NTSC release. However, this news has increased our hope for a North American release of these games. It could also explain why retailers like Amazon continue to have Xenoblade (Monado: Beginning of the World) listed on their website.
Make of this information what you will, but after much internal discussion Operation Rainfall believed it would be best to share this information with our followers. Consider this our announcement of a forthcoming announcement.
Help us keep the pressure on Nintendo, and hopefully we will get a formal announcement of Xenoblade, The Last Story, and Pandora's Tower sooner rather than later.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
NINTENDO TARGET OF MAIL CAMPAIGN, WII OWNERS DEMAND XENOBLADE
NINTENDO TARGET OF MAIL CAMPAIGN, WII OWNERS DEMAND XENOBLADE
Operation Rainfall Increases Pressure on Nintendo of America with Mail Campaign to Bring Already Translated Game to America
Redmond, WA July 6, 2011
The 2011 Wii game line-up has left Wii owners to take matters into their own hands. Last week, Nintendo of America received thousands of requests from a group of fans known as Operation Rainfall to localize three games for North America: Xenoblade, The Last Story, and Pandora’s Tower. Nintendo’s response, that there are no localization plans at this time, did not silence the Wii owners. Instead, Operation Rainfall members are mailing letters and packages directly to Nintendo’s Redmond, WA office to show their support for bringing the three games to North America.
Operation Rainfall’s mail campaign begins this week, and letters will begin arriving on Nintendo of America’s doorstep between July 11th and July 13th. This is a follow up to the group placing enough preorders of Xenoblade, listed as Monado: Beginning of the World, to make the game #1 in Video Games on Amazon.com for over 48 hours. Writers are encouraged to write why Xenoblade should be brought to North America. The game has received critical praise in Japan, and it is already confirmed for a September 2nd release across Europe with full English, French, and Spanish translations.
Wii owners are also sending Nintendo items like plastic cocktail swords to Nintendo of America. This is similar to what fans of TV shows have done in the past to avoid cancellation. This is the first in a series of mail campaigns.
Nintendo of America stated via Twitter and Facebook that it has no plans to release the game at this time. “None of this started with any guarantee,” commented Mike D of Operation Rainfall when asked about Nintendo’s statement, “They have listened. Now we just have to get [Nintendo] to deliver.” Nintendo of America has declined to release a number of Wii titles to the United States, including Fatal Frame 4 and Disaster: Day of Crisis.
Xenoblade faces a similar fate in America. Meanwhile, European gamers get a special edition of the game that includes a red Classic Controller Pro, reversible box art, and a promotional poster. Operation Rainfall hopes to convince Nintendo to make a similar release in North America.
Interested in joining the campaign? Learn more at http://operationrainfall.com and send a letter to the following address:
Reginald Fils-Aime (President and COO)
c/o Nintendo of America
4600 150th AVE NE
Redmond, WA 98052
c/o Nintendo of America
4600 150th AVE NE
Redmond, WA 98052
About Operation Rainfall:
Founded in June, 2011, Operation Rainfall is an organization of gamers advocating for the release of video games in all regions around the world. Operation Rainfall has been covered by many news networks including Wired, Joystiq, Kotaku, Destructoid, and IGN. More information is available at http://operationrainfall.com.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Still Kicking: Here Are Some Stories to Help You Catch Up
Nintendo of America’s recent announcement of no localization plans has fueled the fire of Operation Rainfall. Do not be fooled by a lack of blogging, we are still here and we have been very busy. Our Facebook and Twitter followers have increased at a staggering rate while getting quality submissions to our YouTube Page. We have managed to tie up Nintendo of America’s phone lines with requests for these and other games over the weekend. We have established our own forums, and continue to work hard to build ideas from our followers into our campaign.
But there has also been a lot of coverage from other sources. With it being a holiday weekend in the USA, some of the updates could be easy to miss. Below is a list of some of the outstanding coverage we have received since Nintendo’s big tweet to finish out June.
Interviews
We have received some questions about who the leadership of the movement is, and what our plans are going forward. We are fortunate to have many people working in the background who are dedicated to building a grass roots following. But if you are interested in the thoughts of some of the founding members of Operation Rainfall, the links below are right up your alley:
VGChartz: Interview: Chris Ward of Operation Rainfall
This interview discusses the start of the Operation Rainfall movement and our initial reaction to Nintendo’s localization announcement.
The ? Block: Mide D (EvilTw1n) from Operation Rainfall
Another interview cataloging the beginnings of Operation Rainfall and our direction going forward.
Nintendojo: Interview: Operation Rainfall
Similar to above, plus Ward’s hypothetical “If you had Reggie here in front of you, what would you say?” response.
My Video Game News: Operation Rainfall Interview
Similar to above, plus Mike D’s “If you had Reggie here in front of you, what would you say?” response.
Editorials & Opinions
Many a pixel has been spilled since Nintendo’s announcement. Some of it negative towards Nintendo. Some of it negative towards Operation Rainfall. Although the debate might be polarizing, it has also gotten many Nintendo gamers thinking about where Nintendo stands now and where they might be going in the future with the 3DS and WiiU. Below is a selection
Zach Kaplan, nintendolife, Talking Point: The Growing Storm of Operation Rainfall,
Kaplan does a great job of discussing the plight of the Wii in its current state while also outlining Nintendo’s possible point of view and Operation Rainfall’s future challenges.
John Lindemann, Nintendo World Report, Nintendo’s Tipping Point?
Lindemann looks to past failings of Airwalk, a popular American shoe brand in the mid 90’s, and wonders if Nintendo is making a similar, potentially crippling mistake.
Richard George, IGN, Nintendo’s Fans: Alone in the Dark
In light of a deluge of reader responses, George evaluates how Nintendo’s failure to communicate with its most die-hard fans could have long reaching repercussions.
Zero, Negative World, An Open Letter to Nintendo
The site owner of Negative World gives an impassioned take on what it means to be a Nintendo gamer and why Nintendo needs to change its localization policy.
Gaming Bus Blog, A Different Take on Operation Rainfall
The Gaming Bus takes a step back and turns a critical eye to how Nintendo & Operation Rainfall seem to have different definitions of “core” gamers.
Nintendo Lee, That’s why you can’t have nice things,
Lee addresses two problems: the fact that many other “core” games on the Wii sold poorly and the steep up-hill battle Operation Rainfall faces given Nintendo’s localization history in Europe.
MuddBstrd, DToid Community, The Cracks in the Dam: Operation Rainfall & Nintendo’s Neglected Fanbase
This blog has probably one of the best “one-liners” from the week: “When was the last time you heard a Nintendo fan lament about a new Zelda game?”
Podcasts
And what would a quick view into this week’s web coverage of Operation: Rainfall be without a glance at some podcasts that discuss the campaign itself along with issues both Nintendo and Operation: Rainfall face. A lot of people have been talking about Nintendo’s localization decision, but some people would rather listen than read about it.
Radio Free Nintendo #249: Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My head
GoNintendo Podcast Webisodes #306 & #307
http://gonintendo.com/podcast.
Nintendo Voice Chat: The Missing Wii Games
RolePlayer’s Realm VIII: Operation Rainfall and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Negative World Podcast 012 – Operation Rainfall
Still Stuck on an Idea for Writing a Letter?
We here at Operation Rainfall really want you to send your own original writing to Nintendo. But if you are stuck for a place to start, read through some of the above materials for some inspiration. This weekend has shown many things. One of them is that there is plenty to talk about!
If you would like your work featured here and we missed it, feel free to contact us as oprainfall@gmail.com. Thanks again for all of your help and support. We hope you enjoyed reading, and make sure to get Xenoblade letters ready to send to Nintendo!
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