150°

Ni no Kuni Makers Respond To Wizard’s Edition Fiasco, Debunk Conspiracy Theories

Kotaku: Fans were not pleased this week when they learned that their orders of Ni no Kuni Wizard's Edition were cancelled due to stock shortage. Some were puzzled as to why an eBay merchant, Play Canada, was able to get hundreds of copies of the game; many postulated that there was something sketchy going on.

Root4106d ago

How have they debunked anything, how the hell did PlayCanada then get over 200 copies.

I find this hilarious a coupon and a strategy guide...yeah that makes it up to those affected.

Skate-AK4106d ago

They say how PlayCanada got them in the article.

"According to our records, this individual or group of individuals purchased Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch – Wizard's Edition during the NinoStarter promotion period (August 2012); at which time, no limits were placed on how many units an individual could order."

This "individual or group of individuals" must have been PlayCanada.

Root4106d ago

Yeah but surley though they must of seen a LARGE order placed with PlayCanda....200 copies is not something you would miss, especially if they aren't your normal retailer.

rainslacker4106d ago

There was no reason to think it unusual. It was during the ninoStarter project, which was the place where the whole concept of the Wizards Edition started. Orders were sold on demand, and someone wanted 200 copies. Since there were no limits, and they were paying the asking price, they sold the product. What that person did with the purchased products isn't really Namco's concern, and not even out of the ordinary.

If it did raise alarm bells, it should be considered that they probably weren't the only ones that did this. The extremely limited editions of games often have people that purchase multiple copies for resale.

MmaFan-Qc4105d ago

Play Canada did buy their stock directly from Namco Bandai. That is the truth.

Some peoples may imply taht consumers are delusional and imagining conspiracies where there aren't any. No, that simply isn't true. While Ni No Kuni fans who wanted to support the Wizard's Edition release were not intentionally screwed over, they are the victims of sloppy, irresponsible business tactics.

Digital River mess up aside, there was a huge clusterf*ck on Namco Bandai's behalf in calculating how many units they needed to fulfill preorders and not catching that they sold hundreds of units to a KNOWN eBay scalper.

If true how does 100 units of a limited Editions wind up being ordered and shipped to one company without raising redflags even if it wasn't limited when they ordered it? Collusion or incompetence? Is there a third option?

on that, let me get my tin foil hat, meanwile someone play the X files theme...

rainslacker4105d ago (Edited 4105d ago )

@MMa-Fan

Can't argue on under producing the actual product. I don't know what led to it or why it would happen given that supply was based on pre-order demand. For now I'll have to go off the clerical error that's been thrown out by PR.

As far as selling 100 units though, I'm sure Play Canada weren't the only ones that did so. Quick search on Amazon had one guy that had 17 left in stock, likely down from the original amount of who knows how many, priced at $389 a pop. It's not unusual at all for people to do this...the Wii U pre-orders being a very recent example. Some people like to play the market, and while I think it's kind of a crappy thing to do, it's perfectly legal and a basis for our entire free market economy.

Digital River is also a fairly large distributor for direct sales. It's not practical for every publisher to run their own staff for that kind of thing so they outsource it. I doubt at no time did a person ever actually review individual buyers, and it's highly likely their system isn't set up to red flag something like this as they probably often send out hundreds of units of a products to resellers.

Should they maybe have cut out some of those 200 units to this one person or others like them? Maybe. The decisions made for this whole thing have been rather bad. To me it would have better to just send Play Canada 1 copy, instead of having 199 angry customers who did want to support you, particularly since Play Canada's only intention was to profit themselves, thus not serving Namco's best interest.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 4105d ago
Flavor4105d ago

this is nothing new, companies do this all the time to pump up prices.

Winter47th4106d ago ShowReplies(1)
wishingW3L4106d ago (Edited 4106d ago )

I really don't understand the problem here. Why can't they produce more Wizard Editions? 0__O

TacoTaru4106d ago

If they were going to do that, Play Canada wouldn't be able to sell them for more than they paid for them. It is only because they won't produce more that Play Canada can pull this scam.

rainslacker4106d ago

I'm not sure how it's a scam. They are merchants who are reselling a product people are willing to pay that price for.

It could be a scam if they colluded with Namco, or their distributor for this, but they are denying that connection. I doubt Namco would worry about the small amount of extra money they would make by doing this. We're only talking about an extra $60,000, which isn't that much to them. Their distributor is quite large and it may be a drop in the bucket for them as well.

@original poster
Production actually costs quite a bit of money. Not sure how many people were affected by this, but I doubt it is monetarily sensible for them to do so. It sucks, and wish they could find a way to provide for those that participated in the pre-order.

ApolloTheBoss4106d ago

Yeah, there's a lot more to this story here. Something doesn't smell right.

Seraphim4106d ago

the problem is Namco Bandai didn't oversee the ordering process. here's the problem. Publishers don't have the manpower or internet storefronts for this type of thing. Nor do they have the funds to maintain a proper store. NISA had headaches early on and it took them a while to get on top of things.

I will say that their E-Commerce provider should have said hey, wait, we have X orders going to the same people but don't have enough inventory to fill all the orders placed. Maybe we should contact Namco and see if they want to limit this to 1 per household/order so all orders will get filled. Honestly I think this is the kind of thing that should have been a retailer exclusive. Amazon, Best Buy, really doesn't matter. Also moving forward I think a truly limited edition item such as this will see a limit of 1 per as well. It is sad that the company was able to obtain so many copies and try raping fans on ebay for them but only in hindsight did this come to Namco and the E-Commerce they use probably could care less....

joab7774106d ago

I agree so its hard to blame them. Illbet that in order to make more it would cost them quite a bit and take some time. Personally, i would eat the cost difference. Maybe they counted canada as 1 because there was obviously a clerical error. Or they were not supposed to send them and they got sent. I regretted not ordering one but i guess i am glad i didnt. I hate to see something bad tarnish this product

Clarence4106d ago

I got lucky and was able to orderd 2 uk wizard edition form Game co uk. Im hoping to get at least one of them.

USEYOURFIST4105d ago

although its sold out everywhere i dont think we will have the same problem in the uk, also CEX are offering £140 for it so if you get 2 your be able to make a quick profit!

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130°

Where the Heck is Ni No Kuni 3, Mun?

Matt from We Game Daily writes: "Cross Worlds isn’t going away. It’s making a small fortune, particularly in Asian markets, so there’s no reason for Level-5 to pull the plug. That said, there’s no real reason why a full PC/console sequel can’t be developed alongside efforts to support Cross Worlds."

Read Full Story >>
wegamedaily.com
Relientk77100d ago

While Ni no Kuni 3 would be cool, if it was like the first game, where is Dark Cloud 3 and Rogue Galaxy 2?

phoenixwing99d ago

I thought the dev recently went mobile and Japan only. They shut down their American offices. So don't expect anything for consoles

shinoff218399d ago (Edited 99d ago )

I swear they just announced a few new games.

https://www.nintendolife.co...

phoenixwing99d ago

I stand corrected then. Never heard about these games and also i just remember ni no kuni online being mobile only.

Michiel198998d ago

they said a loooooong time ago that Level 5 was working on a new installment but there has been no news since afaik. I just hope that they take more inspiration from 1 than 2, especially when it comes to the story.

thorstein98d ago

Ni No Kuni Cross Worlds is the mobile game you're thinking of.

It looks amazing but I don't like to play mobile games.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 98d ago
-Foxtrot99d ago

Yeah the sequel was okay but had nothing on the first game, especially the battle system.

The story just didn't have that charm and even the twist at the end of the game wasn't really anything cool like Wrath of the White Witch.

Also the fact there was like ZERO mention of Oliver or his adventures in the game, no references, nothing was such weird. It's set a hundred or so years after but still, I'd have expected to seen some throw backs. I think we just got like a temple with his statue in it or something.

goldwyncq98d ago

If you want more Oliver, just watch the movie.

shinoff218399d ago

Fking word. I've been hoping for this for quite some time.

melons99d ago

The premium games didn't sell amazingly, right?

shinoff218399d ago

Not to sure. They should of though. They were pretty good. I like both.

Michiel198998d ago

yeah, especially outside of japan. They should have released on pc at the same time as the ps3 version or a short time after.

Inverno99d ago

They should've worked with Ghibli to put out a proper movie. Should've also made a Pokemon-esque spin-off rather than make Yokai Watch. If they do make a third game they gotta work with Ghibli!

200°

Remembering the Best JRPGs on the PS3

Get ready to embark on a journey filled with monsters, magic, and overpowered haircuts, because this list features the best JRPGs on the PS3.

Read Full Story >>
altarofgaming.com
shinoff2183262d ago (Edited 262d ago )

There wasn't that many. Thanks to the west's criticism. It was definitely lacking compared to every other ps system. Dont get me wrong there were a few good ones i know that.

jznrpg262d ago

Nier, Valkyrie Chronciles, Tales games , Ni No Kuni, Resonance of Fate, FF13’s, Ys8 just a few off the top of my head and there were a lot more.

CrimsonWing69262d ago (Edited 262d ago )

Not nearly to the degree of PS1 and PS2.

@shinoff2183 makes a good point that around the PS3/Xbox 360 gen is when the genre wasn’t as prevalent and began to shy away from turn-based. There’s some standouts for sure, but look at the PS1 and PS2 JRPG library and then compare that to the PS3 and PS4’s.

Theres definitely a decline in a selection of titles. Even worse was the quality seemed to take a massive hit as well. I think Lost Odyssey was a huge standout for that gen when you look at production values, then you look at something like Fairy Fencer on the PS3 and it’s kind of depressing.

But by that generation there was a shift from western developed games overtaking Japanese developed games. Back from the NES to PS2 Japanese games were the cream of the crop… I don’t know what happened but like midway into the PS3/360 life-time they became less so.

shinoff2183261d ago (Edited 261d ago )

Compared to the ps1 ps2 and he'll even ps4 ps3 doesn't hold a candle to either imo. It's also when turn based damn near disappeared. Again thanks to the west's criticism

Crimson I'd put money on the west being at fault, guys like Phil phish, and numerous others at that time were attacking jrpg and Japanese games in general pretty hard.

Ni no kuni was probably my fav jrpg back then , and the blue dragon

GameBoyColor261d ago

Tales got kinda lucky here. When they took a chance and finally brought tales of graces f over west it sold like 250k lmao a lot of jrpgs did 500k or below. Disgaea was worse i think. Bamco decided to keep bringing more games over though.

Tapani261d ago (Edited 261d ago )

Demon's Souls, Dark Souls and Dark Souls II were the best RPGs on PS3 made by Japanese developers. Everything else just fell short always. Ni No Kuni was a full package, an okayish game as well. Nier and Drakengard III had superb writing, setting and voice acting, however, the performance was a real drag on the gameplay. Traditional RPG-wise I'd actually say 360 had better JRPGs, and think that Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon were the best traditional JRPGs of the era. PS3 Valkyria Chronicles was okay, but it is closer to an SRPG.

Ryu Ga Gotoku games were also solid, they were still finding their footing and breaking new ground with new cities and formats.

PS3 was the era that almost made me quit gaming and I started playing on PC because I could not find good performance nor games on the system. PS4 got me back into it, and now PS5 is a mix in and between, I just play my PS4 library on the PS5 and rest on PC, just like during the PS3 era. The only new exclusive Sony JRPG is pretty much FFXVI and it is so streamlined and simplified from the normal RPG experience that I can't fit it into the genre anymore. Dragon Quest XII hopefully remedies all of this, but it is just one game.

These new games will all be on PC (while it does take 2-3 years to wait, and 6-12 months from launch to have them patched + fixed by modders) and they perform better on it. The only point in owning a PS5 is to play games a couple of years earlier, but for a hard-working family man like me, the quality of the experience is more important than playing it as soon as possible. And I can't do modern games at 30fps 720p after playing 120fps at 4K. For older games, that's okay.

PSX and PS2 though, those were the days...Still have a massive collections of classic RPGs in CD and DVD format and a phat PS3 to play them!

FinalFantasyFanatic261d ago

It's kinda like that, the PS3 generation was a bad time for JRPGs, especially with the Japanese feeling the need to westernize their games, shooters dominating that gen, the racism from western game journalists (it was bad, between G4, Phill Fish, and a slew of others), and the higher development costs...

It really made me miss the PS1/PS2 days of JRPGs, even the quality of half of those games during the 7th gen weren't as good. The 360 tried, but Microsoft's consoles weren't popular in Japan and no body in the West bought a Xbox for JRPGs (despite Xbox having Vesperia, Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey).

on_line_forever261d ago

" It's kinda like that, the PS3 generation was a bad time for JRPGs, especially with the Japanese feeling the need to westernize their games "

This is when everything fall down and games looks not fun to play anymore except for few games like demon and dark souls for example

-Foxtrot262d ago (Edited 262d ago )

Nah. It's a bad trilogy of games

The only reason XIII-2 stands out is because XIII was so bad

When the bar is so low, anything after feels better.

goldwyncq261d ago

The monster catching mechanic was nice.

Eonjay261d ago

Don't understand the hate for it at all. Seems forced.

shinoff2183261d ago

Watching the credits roll on ff16 now it is good but , I'd really like to re try ff13 least it's turn based and would fill that gap for me.

FinalFantasyFanatic261d ago

They got better after the first one in the trilogy, not outstanding game though.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 261d ago
CS7262d ago

Honestly, I played FFXIII a few years after release and maybe because it was after the hype cycle and I knew the flaws of the game, it actually became my favorite FF after VII.

I took off the mini map and never used auto battle and the stuff that mattered to me in an FF was just so well done.

The art and graphics were insane at the time
The music is still special
The story still lingers in memory more than a decade later
The RPG systems were decent

I never really got the hate for it, still have a soft spot for that game inside me.

goldwyncq261d ago

Still better than XV and XVI.

Yui_Suzumiya262d ago

Drakengard 3 goes for a small fortune nowadays

Knightofelemia262d ago (Edited 262d ago )

Only gripe I have with Ar Tonelico 3 is that Saki is annoying as hell whether English or in Japanese. Then Saki's English voice actor became Ionasal on Ar Nosurge she was a little annoying but not as bad. Johnny Young Bosch voicing Tatsumi I thought he did a great job. And Akiko Shikata with her vocals and the music from the games just went hand and hand.

DarkZane262d ago

I wish Ar No Surge and Ar Tonelico 3 would be remastered on PS4/PS5.

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280°

Top 10 Rarest PS3 Games That Are Worth a Fortune

Twinfinite: "During the PS3’s tenure, plenty of huge games launched, but the interesting thing is, many of the system’s rarer titles are largely not amazing games. Sure, there are one or two exceptions to that rule (I’m looking at you Ni No Kuni!), but many of the more desirable and valuable games in the PS3’s library are usually rare for a reason."

Read Full Story >>
twinfinite.net
ModsDoBetter284d ago

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Sold my Painkiller for around £3 years ago and my Asuras Wrath for even less. Managed to pick up Lollipop Chainsaw and Splatterhouse again but they cost me a fair bit more than I initially paid on release when I first bought them.

Wish I bought Godzilla, the number of times I saw it in the game store for the price of a coffee and didn't bother.

Knushwood Butt284d ago

Never knew Last Guy had a physical release.

gold_drake284d ago (Edited 284d ago )

i own nba, lolipop and nino kuni. never heard of the rest tbf xD surprised they are worth that much, for what they actually are.

roadkillers284d ago

Getting a valuable game is all luck.. I had three of these. Africa is one that people might have seen coming, but otherslike Ni No Kuni wouldn't have been.

My most valuable game I remember owning was Conkers Bad Fur Day. When the game was being re-released on Xbox (remake/ upgrade if you will), the price dropped dramatically. Once the game released and the changes were seen, the value went back up. Then it was released on Rare Replay and value dropped again. 2020 hit and all collectables shot up along with Conker. Before stopping around $110 which it currently is.

Games change all the time because their digital media that can be reproduced even in weird contract bindings (GoldenEye as an example). One day it can be worth $300 and the next $150. The shrink wrapped items in mint condition cannot be reproduced.. but that takes strength to spend, not open, and hope its worth something.

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