Operation Rainfall, Project Rising Beetle: "Does the name Medabots ring a bell? Maybe you were a fan of the anime of the same name that ran on FOX Kids/ABC Family/Jetix/YTV in North and South America in the early-mid 00s? I’m about to blow many of your minds. The anime series that starred a wide eyed Ikki Tenyrou, and his stubborn hotshot of a robot pal Metabee is far from all of what the franchise has to offer. In fact, Medabots known as Medarot in Japan is a long-running series of role-playing games on Nintendo handhelds that originally started in 1997.While Medabots was a successful series in Japan, in the west it’s more known for the anime than the games that inspired it. As such, the only games in the franchise to receive an official English translation were ones tied to the anime series, and of those three games, only one showcased the series trademark battle system (it was Medabots: An RPG Adventure for the Gameboy Advance if you’re asking). Since the release of Medabots: Infinity in 2003 the franchise has seen the release of a wild re-imagining of the first game in the franchise with Shingata Medarot, a franchise rebirth with Medarot DS, and the game we’re currently championing, Medarot 7 for the 3DS all stay Japan-only."
Project Rising Beetle: "Over the last few years we’ve seen Natsume express interest in the localization of Medarot games on the Nintendo 3DS. Unfortunately, that interest has yet to materialize itself in the form of western video game releases. Natsume has stated on more than one occasion that was by no fault of their own. While their answers left room for speculation, they never elaborated on the exact reason … until now. In an interview with video game podcast Fragments of Silicon, Graham Markay, Director of Operations at Natsume, discussed a whole host of topics, including a few Medarot fans will want to hear the answer to."
Project Rising Beetle: "The cover of Role Playing Gameside Vol. 2 states that the Medarot video game series has sold more than 3 million units globally. The Japanese magazine will contain a 21-page retrospective on the franchise’s past 17 years in addition to an interview with Medarot series artist Horuma Rin.
Created by Imagineer and Natsume, the Medarot games series started in 1997 on the Nintendo Gameboy. Since then the series has grown to encompass over 20 individual games. The latest entry, Medarot 8, launched on Nintendo 3DS in Japan last August."
Despite raising fans' hopes with a cryptic message, Natsume has confirmed they aren't interested in either Medarot/Medabots 7 or DUAL for 3DS. XSEED also shows disinterest.
I think it would be great if this series came out of Japan again. So I hope it does.