Xenosaga HD Collection Still Possible, But Not Via Fan Campaign, Says Harada

Are you still looking for a Xenosaga collection from Bandai Namco? Katsuhiro Harada has shared a pressing update on the situation.

Harada first brought up the possibility of a Xenosaga HD collection last September. He pointed out that he did market research and found that there was not enough interest to make it feasible. He also pointed out that Kickstarter would only be a last resort, since a big movement would need to spur interest in such a project.

 At that time, Harada asked that fans to vote by expressing their interest, alluding to a fan petition or campaign like Operation Rainfall. He specifically asked for fans to not mass tweet him, since they don’t count. With a larger number of unique votes, which he said needed to be in several tens of thousands, he could pitch rereleasing the games.

Today, Harada’s message has changed. He says it’s unlikely that a petition will work, but he will find a different way to make it happen.

To Xenosaga Fan. About HD collection: I don't expect miracle by Petition any more. I'll find another way!! Thanks. http://t.co/w1IEjdsQCd

— Katsuhiro Harada (@Harada_TEKKEN) July 6, 2015

In the past few months, Harada continued to talk to Xenosaga fans, and shared some sobering revelations. For one, the Xenosaga games were very unprofitable for Namco when they were first released. This was corroborated by former Xenosaga developer Tetsuya Takahashi in an Iwata Asks.

Takahashi, of course, is one of the senior members of Monolith Soft, who made the Xenosaga games for Namco and now makes theXenoblade games for Nintendo. Harada seems to get a lot of requests to release Xenosaga collection on Nintendo platforms because of this connection. There is also some confusion that Monolith Soft still has copyright on the games. For now, he has merely replied that the games are owned by Namco, and were released on PlayStation platforms.

It would seem there are reasons to release the games on PlayStation or a Nintendo platform, but I think there is a third possibility. Sega recently rereleased former PlayStation 3 exclusive Valkyria Chronicles on Steam, and cited better sales for the game on that platform. Wouldn’t it make sense to bring the Xenosaga games to Steam, even if they didn’t get the remastered treatment?

What do you think Namco should do about a Xenosaga collection? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.