Some potentially sad – but not unexpected – news for hardcore Wii gamers. We’ve just heard from Nintendo’s local office that the Wii sequel to cult N64 shooter Sin & Punishment looks like it won’t be released in Australia.
Sin & Punishment: Star Successor, as the sequel is now subtitled, is an on-rails shooter from Japanese developer Treasure. Although best known for their work on Ikaruga, Gunstar Heroes and Radiant Silvergun, Treasure’s expertise with the shoot ’em up genre made the original Sin & Punishment a minor masterpiece upon launch.
However, such pedigree, and the fact that the sequel can boast the most impressive fireworks on the Wii, might not prove enough to secure it a local release.
For the last few weeks, we’d been hearing various rumours from retail sources that one moment had Sin & Punishment 2 down for release, the next moment it was off the agenda entirely. So we asked Nintendo.
According to a Nintendo spokesperson: “Sin and Punishment is not currently on Australia and New Zealand’s release schedule.”
With the game already out in Japan and, crucially, the UK, this doesn’t bode well.
So if you’re a Treasure fan, and you haven’t already imported from the UK, we advise you to call your local games retailer . Ask them about Sin & Punishment 2. Tell them you’ll preorder it now. Convince them you and three friends will buy it the day it launches.
Maybe then they’ll release its worth their while to order some stock from Nintendo. Because until those retailers start showing interest, there’s not a lot Nintendo can do.
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