Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was released last July and enjoyed lucrative sales, topping the Japanese sales charts and selling more than any Xeno game upon release in the United Kingdom. The game’s predecessor, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, has sold almost 2.5 million copies and the third entry in the series seems poised to sell even more than that worldwide. Xeno has become a household name and what makes these sales numbers even more impressive is that the Xenoblade franchise is Nintendo-exclusive. All the Xenoblade games, save Xenoblade Chronicles X, have sold over a million copies and are available on the Nintendo Switch.
By buying Monolith Soft, Nintendo has given the Xeno name and Tetsuya Takahashi a second chance to realize his vision. Unfortunately, his work was always being meddled with, whether it be by Square Soft with Xenogears or Bandai Namco with the Xenosaga franchise. Regardless of what critics may say now, the first and third entries in Xenosaga hold an 83 and 81 Metacritic rating. The second game has a 73, which is where Bandai Namco’s meddling came in, but, it’s still regarded as one of the best series of JRPG games for the PlayStation 2.
The Xeno brand has never been more relevant or profitable than it is currently. Xenosaga Episode I was released about 20 years ago, and fans of the newer Xenoblade trilogy would be intrigued to try the games out. There are so many things that Xenoblade pulls from Xenosaga, from its religious references, philosophical references, various themes, and so much more. If there were any time to make a Xenosaga HD Remaster trilogy, it would be right now, while the brand is as profitable as ever.
A number of years ago one of the main heads at Bandai Namco, Katsuhiro Harada, stated that a Xenosaga HD Remaster trilogy went all the way to the planning stages but fell apart when it was analyzed as to whether or not it would actually be profitable. This also is not the first time Harada has talked about a Xenosaga HD Remaster collection; it’s actually asked quite frequently. With the release of Xenoblade 3, its popularity, its profit, and many of its story points being taken directly from Xenogears and Xenosaga Episode III, this is the perfect time to do another cost/profitability analysis once Nintendo releases its sales numbers for Xenoblade Chronicles 3 during their upcoming financial report.
This actually progressed to the remaster's plan, but failed in a profitable market analysis.
Sorry guys, This plan will be difficult to resurface… https://t.co/0CRJJDPl5Z— Katsuhiro Harada (@Harada_TEKKEN) December 26, 2019
A Xenosaga HD Remaster collection has a ton of potential to be profitable in this current climate, especially if Bandai Namco could collaborate with Monolith Soft once again to perfect it. It wouldn’t even need to be a Nintendo Switch exclusive, although Nintendo fans would eat it up; after all, the games did originally come out on the PlayStation 2. Bandai Namco is being incredibly short-sighted if they are not seriously looking at bringing Xenosaga to HD. It’s not only one of the best JRPG franchises to grace any console, but it has a lot of forward momentum thanks to its successors, the Xenoblade games. It’s foolish to think that with all the remakes and remasters that have been coming out over the years that Xenosaga would somehow not be more successful than most.
Timing is everything, and the timing couldn’t be better for Bandai Namco. Once the story DLC for Xenoblade Chronicles 3 comes out, the game will be remembered as one of the greatest RPGs of all time; in fact, it already is considered such. Its legacy comes from Xenosaga though, and this shouldn’t, and cannot be forgotten. As has been repeated throughout this article, the timing couldn’t be better; Xenoblade Chronicles 3 may sell 3 million copies, more than any in the series. Bandai Namco has the chance to capitalize on its success and re-release one of the greatest franchises of all time. Whether they choose to do that is up to them, but if they don’t release a Xenosaga HD Remaster collection, it will be a wasted opportunity.
Time is of the essence. Bandai Namco, don’t let this opportunity slip through your fingers.