Xenoblade Chronicles X, the epic RPG coming to Wii U this year, is going to be an interesting case. It’s the sequel to Xenoblade Chronicles, a Wii RPG that came out in the United States in 2012 and almost immediately became impossible to get. A Gamestop exclusive in America, the game’s prices on the secondary market became extremely high, often over $100—even when Gamestop started printing up more copies and selling them at that price themselves. Question is, could this happen again with Xenoblade X?
Xenoblade Chronicles X Release Date
On the face of it, similar problems don’t seem too likely. After all, Nintendo is re-releasing the original Wii game exclusively for the New Nintendo 3DS—That’s out on April 10 in North America—just so people who didn’t get to try it last time will have their go. And they announced X and the remake with great fanfare at E3, suggesting that they are, in fact, actually doing it right this time. This is going to be a pretty big push.
At least that’s what you would think. But Nintendo’s track record with these sorts of things isn’t very good lately. Look at the Majora’s Mask 3D travesty. Granted, that was about a special limited edition. Or look at the Amiibo rush, and all the bungles that have arisen from that. Or consider that iconic Nintendo 3DS games, like Kid Icarus: Uprising and freaking Ocarina of Time 3D are out of print and basically impossible to get for a reasonable price—this, right after Majora’s Mask 3D comes out. It’s hard not to wonder if Nintendo will manage to print enough copies of Xenoblade X, considering what happened last time around.
Sure, Nintendo is trying to make a bigger push with it—That’s why Shulk was in Super Smash Bros, and why his Amiibo will be rolling around again. I think the company wants Xenoblade Chronicles X to be a big hit. I just think they’ll underestimate demand in the United States, make enough copies for those paying attention to get it, and then sell out in a few months and never make more. It would be so them. Here’s hoping they don’t bungle it. The Xenoblade Chronicles X release date is set for later this year; the Japanese version comes out in April.
