When it first released in 2010,Xenoblade Chroniclesbegan an arduous journey before it finally saw its North American release almost two years later in 2012. The Nintendo Wii RPG started out as a Japanese exclusive release, the game made its way to European shores in 2011 with an English dub and a full localization courtesy of Nintendo’s European teams. Despite this, Nintendo of America was still hesitant on releasing the title until, following fan campaigns to see it released in the United States, the game finally released as a GameStop exclusive release. Since then,Xenoblade Chronicleshas gone on to become a cult hit franchise with ports to the New Nintendo 3DS and now the Switch’sXenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, an expanded re-release of the original, has now gone on to sell over a million copies in its first month alone.
While a lot of the series' success comes from the inclusion of the first game’s protagonist Shulk inSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, and more recentlySuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, the first game’s cult success has gone on to inspire sequels likeXenoblade Chronicles 2andthe spin-offXenoblade Chronicles X. Thanks to the monumental success of the Nintendo Switch, bringing the game to the console has helped usher in a new wave ofXenobladefans experiencing the game for the first time, as the game has gone on to double the launch sales of the Nintendo Wii original and now stands alongsideXenoblade Chronicles 2as the second title in the series to pass one million copies sold worldwide.
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During Nintendo’s most recent quarterly financial briefing, the company confirmed thatXenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Editionhas sold 1.32 million units worldwide since its release on May 29th 2020. Most surprising of these figures is that 0.28 million of these sales stem from Japan, while 1.04 million sales are from the rest of the world. Surely, whatever doubts Nintendo hadwhen releasing the Nintendo Wii versionworldwide in 2011 and 2012 are gone. It also bolsters developer Monolith Soft’s intention of strengthening theXenobladebrand.
Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Editionis a remastered expansion of the 2010 Wii game, making changes to the game’s UI andsignificant upgrades to the Wii game’s visuals. The game also features a brand new epilogue titledFuture Connected, which takes place a year after the events of the main game and follows Shulk and Melia. The definitive edition also features new expert and casual mode difficulties.
Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Editionreleased on May 29th 2020, exclusively for Nintendo Switch.
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