"Somebody made a good Back to the Future game, and it was only in Japan? What the fuck is wrong with this fucking world?!!"
Simply put, some
franchises seem to churn out tons upon tons of
merchandise, goodies, and special content.
The majority of this stuff sees limited international release, if any at all — logic or profits be damned. For reasons why this occurs, see
the analysis page.
In adding examples, remember:
this isn't about you! Just because some series or game doesn't see the light of day in
your particular region doesn't make it an example of this trope. This is about media that's not exported for
no obvious reason. If there's likely not to be a strong market for the export, it's a completely
fair reason for a company not to export their media to your region. (Old movies made in Europe from the 1920's through the 1950's are an excellent example; unless the starring actor/actress is a really big, recognizable name - Sophia Loren, say - there are simply
OMIGOD FUCK not likely to be enough people interested in the movie in the U.S. to make the commercial release of said movie there financially viable.)
Because of the Internet, people are far more aware of media they were never really intended to be aware of in the first place. Just because a
Vocal Minority believes a market is viable doesn't mean the market
is viable.
In order for an example to qualify, the media must not be released in any given region for no obvious reason. Typically this means the example must meet at least one of the following conditions:
- It is part of a franchise which has at other times been proven successful in other regions (e.g. Sailor Moon).
- It was made with the specific intention of being sold overseas (e.g. Sin and Punishment).
- Its genre and/or sensibilities make it the sort of thing that would be exported in the absence of foreign fans clamouring for it.
The following are
not valid examples:
- Television series of any kind (this includes much anime). By nature, most television is made explicitly for domestic consumption with little intent to export anyway. The only exception would be if it has already been released to some extent in some markets and proven successful (see criteria above).
- Media which has releases only in very similar markets. Because Canadian and US markets share so much in common, success in both means little to success in different markets.
For video games, examples are to be included only if at least
one installment of a
franchise has been released in a different
Video Game region. Hundreds of other games never get released outside of their home market for the same reasons as television shows.
Trope may overlap with
Region Coding, especially where DVDs, Blu-Rays, gaming media and web media is involved. May also invoke
Screwed by the Network if it's only later seasons of a show that is not being exported and the show has been taken off the air, which may result in a case of
Keep Circulating the Tapes.
When stuff just doesn't come out of their home country things get depressing since let's face it, nothing sucks more than a certain series you want to see translated and in some cases can't since the company may throw a
Fanwork Ban at you which stonewalls any translation attempt.
Can lead to
Sequel First or
Marth Debuted in Smash Bros.. Contrast
Short Run In Peru. See
Bad Export for You for a less extreme, yet more insulting version. Compare to
Offer Void In Nebraska. See also
Import Gaming for a way around this.
Examples:
