Sounds like a worthwhile game, and the decision not to release it is a pretty childish one on Nintendo's part. At least it's importable.

Is Nintendo just asking us to buy R4DS's?

is this being released in any region?

Impooort

Complete Bullshit

Sounds like they haven't been told anything about the game, and they're stating the obvious. If Nintendo hasn't heard anything about a game that a developer is planning to release on DS, there would be "no plans for this game to be released for any Nintendo platforms in North America.", yet.

I just don't see this game in Nintendo's lineup, or anyone elses for that matter. Very touchy subject matter.

yes release the imagine series. But don't release this. Nintendo has to be taking gaming in the most negative direction possible.

If this somehow ends up being good, I'd import it.

Then again, I don't know of any importer that actually ships games from Europe.

I'll import this if it actually comes out.

Nintendo themselves are perpetuating the "games are toys, toys are for kids" mentality. God forbid someone approaches a serious issue in a game.

Perhaps the word "game" is the problem.

Well lets look at the facts, Japan was on the Axis side of WW2, Nintendo dates back to before the 40s, Japan denies its own war crimes like the Rape of Nanking. I'm not saying Nintendo is run by Holocaust Deniers...I'm just saying they may be those semi-deniers who claim that "only" a million or so died in the Holocaust.

Or they just don't want to be bothered by Jack Thompson.

I realize that many people will be really mad at Nintendo or whatever but I think Nintendo is making a decent decision. I mean, look at Bashcraft saying "from what we can tell." Regardless, if it offends someone Nintendo could get in trouble. Perhaps not legally or anything but let's give the example of PSPs in school yards magically picking up pornography.

I'm sure a lot of us remember that school yard incident in which a child had pornography on his PSP and teachers and parents were led to believe that the PSP could pick these things out of thin air. What's worse is that - if I remember correctly - these people held Sony responsible for the pornography that these children got.

I think Nintendo is playing it safe and I don't see anything really wrong with that. Obviously they're trying to appeal to a large demographic and not everyone is as well informed as the rest of you. "Nintendo publishes Nazi game" could be the headline of a newspaper and that would not garner very good attention for Nintendo.

Of course, by the time I actually submit this comment (because I type slow and am slow in the head) I'm sure people will have numerous arguments as to why this should be made and already have a counter argument for everything I've written.
I mean, if you were Nintendo - which only recently has reclaimed a large part of the market - what would you do? Keep in mind most people don't research these games and just hear of them through sensationalist articles or word of mouth.

I think they will release this game somehow, at least we can still import it.
On a sidenote, the story of this game reminds a little on Pan's Labyrinth.

Didn't Nintendo publish Mario is Missing???

@DeLoRtEd1: Okay, scratch that. Fact remains, Nintendo's done edutainment before.

How is this a "Nazi Game"?
That would be like calling the LEGO Indy series coming out "Nazi" games. Simply because there are Nazis in them doesn't make it a bad thing. If education is the driving force behind the game, this is a bad call. As for offending people, people are too damned touchy these days anyway.

Isn't this game really far from release? I mean, isn't Bernard still working on Eternity's Child? And that's scheduled for May, so what would this game's release target be?

@Channing:
What's wrong with that? It's basically self censorship because they're scared of blow back from the mainstream media/consumer misinterpreting it. To put it simply: it's cowardly.

Nintendo are damned if they do, damned if they don't. If they do release it, 'NINTENDO RELEASED NAZI GAME TO BABIES'. If they don't release it, 'NINTENDO ARE HITLER'.

@waarbat: I was thinking. Just. The. Same.
It's sad that Nintendo has no problem at all releasing the most braindead games ever which are just copycats and lowbudget kiddy cash-ins to their wast "mainstream" audience but fails to bring gaming realy further by taking true "risks" with a title like this. It's a shame.
I must say for all the respect I have for what Nintendo managed to pull of with Wii and DS I'm getting more disgusted by the minute with every stupid wanna-be game they allow realese on their platform which points out that it's realy not about widening the audience for gaming but widening the audience to make more profits.
For all the missteps Sony has made with its PS3 and PSP it's by far the more avantgarde publisher with titles like EverydayShooter, Echochrome, LittleBigPlanet and many more.
I think it's sad that people are making NIntendo synonymus to videogames again when most of the software on their platforms is realy the bottom of the videogame barrel. Here is an industry striving for more recognition and to be taking more serious yet it's the least representative software that's shaping the mainstream idea of what videogames are.

@Channing:

Just noticed the article that Xbox Live is sending children pornography. Why isn't this mother more informed about parental controls and measures to actually stop this kind of stuff from happening? If she heard Nintendo was making a "Nazi Holocaust" game, do you think she would do her research and find out about this game? Or do you think instead she would become outraged?

Another example is Bully. Before the game even hit the shelves it was already under fire for it's name. However, if anyone has actually played the game you're not exactly the bully. Well, you COULD be, but the game isn't necessarily about that. But look at the reactions it gets. It's already come out once before and the RERELASE is still underfire.

If everyone (mainly parents, media) could take a few minutes to actually read or reasearch what these things are about, they probably wouldn't be so adamamant about stopping the proliferation of video games. Besides, when it comes to media, sensationalism sells. What would stop some integrity-lacking news station from spouting non-sense about the new "Nazi Holocaust" game made by Nintendo?

@Channing: I see your point, but what Nintendo is doing is sabotaging itself(in my opinion) by not expanding its cultural significance in the medium.

Both Sony and Microsoft has taken chances and the industry as well as gamers have benefited from it as the medium has expanded beyond its original premise.

What Nintendo is doing is staying in the same rut they have been for a long time. Anybody remember Mortal Kombat and its sweat?

Why are people talking about Nintendo as if it's up to them to find a publisher for this game? All they're saying is that "at this time" they have not heard from any US publisher planning to release this game (Bernard's working with a UK publisher only, at the moment). That's just the truth, it has nothing to do with Nintendo and their policies.

I think that this game should, without doubt, be released. It's an amazing idea, and if it comes out in Europe, I'll be picking up a copy.

It doesn't sound like Nintendo have heard about the game yet. Naturally they'd be unaware of any plans to publish it anywhere, though if an American media outlet asked NoA to comment, they'd be told about whether it'll be released in America.

Did a little hunting. Alten8 is a UK-based developer that largely self-publishes where possible. That means their focus is going to be on releasing in the UK, and apparently they've secured distribution partners through Europe. They just haven't got round to the other continents yet, and probably will when and if the game does well.

From Alten8's press release quoted in the NYT article: "Other regions will also be announced ASAP !!". Panic over.

why not make a "fantasy" game a la Jeanne D'arc? oh, wait wrong idea.

@Channing: You make a good argument but when it comes to any form of media or entertainment it's sad that companies will write something off completely because it may offend someone.

A game like this isn't too outlandish and shouldn't really pique anybody's "this may piss off the masses" senses.

It may be a very powerful and uplifting story but it may not see release because all people will see is a game about the holocaust and assume it's blatant violence and anti-semitism.

Not releasing the columbine RPG is totally understandable, this on the other hand is really pushing political correctness. What's sad is a game like Manhunt2 will see companies going to court to fight for its release but others won't give this a chance.

Personally if Nintendo doesn't want it, bring it to someone else. Nintendo is mostly for kids now, there are some more adult games like boxing and stuff. But Nintendo is more set for the younger people. It's a video game I mean come on, I get that some people might find it a little touchy, but they aren't forced to buy it.... or are they?

oh, where are you witzbold?

So...everyone seems to be getting nice and hysterical over nothing here. No plans to distribute means...the game's release is really far away and none of that stuff is finalized, and probably not even discussed yet. What else would they say?

I think the subject matter of the game is definitely an important one, but I don't think it's fair to jump to the conclusion "Nintendo is suppressing the voice of the holocaust!" because they won't release this game.

I mean, step back and think here. Is it a good game? Maybe it's actually not a good game, more fixated on delivering its points than providing interesting gameplay. I don't know much about it; I can't be the judge. But to jump in there and shout from the rooftops that this game must be great because it's being "repressed" is...pretty silly.

The holocaust is as valid a topic for videogames as it is for stories of any other media, but Nintendo isn't suppressing anything by not releasing the game - especially when one could easily go out and read a book about the holocaust. The information is out there.

It could make a compelling game setting; of that I have no doubt. But, as previously mentioned, it could all too easily be turned to flame-bait for the media, and I wouldn't want to see that.

@PixelRambo:

True. Nintendo has been left behind before because they were afraid to innovate. However, to my knowledge, we (as a collective we) don't know much about this game yet and neither does Nintendo. It'd be a bit forward to immediately say "YES! We will publish this!" when they don't know much about the game yet.

@Fuzzysmith:

Well, the fact that Indiana Jones was heavy fiction with Nazis makes it completely different from a game who's main theme is the holocaust.
I'm not saying that I personally think this is some crazy "Nazi Hiter" game, I'm trying to see what the uninformed public would see.

@Grey_Fox:

It may be, but it's hard to expect a corporate giant to try and push the envelope. At least, that's what I think.
Take movies for an example. Do we get pissed every single time they release something like "Fantastic 4" or some other movie which is made for nothing more than entertainment? Well, maybe some of you do because you're film buffs or critics or what have you. However, most of the population gobbles this stuff up. Now, if someone was making a film about a particularly touchy subject, would you expect movie-comany things to hop at the chance to make it - without even knowing everything about it? (Sorry I don't know the exact words for what I'm trying to say, kinda just woke up and on not too many hours of sleep)

@Sabre_Justice: Okay, no more long name.:

Unfortunate as it may be, I can't help but agree.

---------------

I think it would be great if videogames could expand as an art-form or whatever but it's still a relatively new form of media and a lot of people are still very uninformed about it and - for that reason - fear it.

@swarmster: ditto. This just seems like sensationalist reporting on the part of the Times. The title they gave it is very misleading.

Whoah whoah whoah whoah. Not every game gets released in every region. This is a matter of distribution and localization, not censorship.

Would anyone here say that Nintendo "censored" Mother 3 since it never hit North American shelves?

Yeah, right. Since when does Nintendo (or any licenser) ever say "You can't release this game the gameplay isn't up to standards." The DS library is full of shovelware. I'm guessing a game would have to be literally unplayable to be denied release.

It's the Nazis, man. The Nazis.

Am I reading something wrong, or am I correct that this is being released in Europe on the DS, just not in the US?

This would kind of blow all the "Nintendo are Nazi Sypathizers" crap that I've been reading in this thread right out of the water.

zzzz... wake me up when a WW2 game delivers an accurate and realistic view of the Axis instead of freakish, occult-loving, trenchcoat-wearing, maniacal evil-doers.

This game's description could've been:

"The game follows a young Japanese boy living in Hiroshima during the US attacks during World War II. In order to escape the horrors around him and the impending a-bomb, he imagines a fantasy land that becomes the basis of the game's world."

Point being, there's two sides to the story, if you can't handle it, don't try it.

Wait, is Nintendo publishing this game? It sounds to me like Nintendo is licensing the game to be sold in NA. Which would limit their involvement to giving the go-ahead and getting the royalties, not doing any of the work involved.

Pfff.

Nintendo isn't responsible for making sure a third party company releases their games in every market. This game coming to NA has nothing to do with Nintendo.

Nintendo is a business. As a business, their only obligation is to make a profit. Its bad business to publish a game that won't sell, and I honestly don't see where the market for a game like this is.

Edutainment only works on young children, and only when it's actually entertaining. I'm not seeing any hint of deep gameplay; in fact, given that the bottom screen appears to be entirely filled with text, it looks like a simplistic early SNES era platformer... There's no real integration of entertainment and education that I can see. To look at the limited screens I can find, the game looks like it has all the educational value of opening a textbook and using it to hide your GBA. If you look away from the action, you may learn something, but you have no gaming reason to do so and would probably get more out of either the book or the game if you didn't have both.

I'm all for meaningful, socially grand, and artistic games, I just don't think this is the vessel for that. I don't think people old enough to appreciate the historical context and the magnitude of the facts will enjoy the game, and I don't think the younger audience will care enough to bother playing it. I'd say that it's a game for parents to buy for their disinterested children, but most of what gaming takes flack for is that parents have no idea what's in the games they buy prior to the child running over their first whore.

@Xiedo:

They did to some extent on the Super Nes, and possibly the Nes (before my gaming time)

Has anyone considered this might be a business decision? That the Nintendo of America side of it might not think such a game would sell well enough to even try it?

Just as they don't feel Cooking Navi, Poem collections, electronic books, and the like Japan has, but aren't coming to the States?

After all, it's not as though Hotel Dusk set the world ablaze, or any other that was more story and literature then game in nature.

I'm not saying that is the reason, nor that I have proof or evidence in one way or another.
However, why must we always fall into the same pitfalls and go toward the assumptions abound in this post?

If Jack Thompson had anything to say about this game, I would personally take a plane from Madrid to wherever he lives and smack him in the face witha a good history book.
I hope this game is a trendsetter for other ones in the future. I guess I'm over with the à-la COD and MOH Nazi story.

But shooting Nazis and showing America as the winners is A-OK.