10 Japanese Video Games That Will Never Be Released In The West

Released in 2005 for the Nintendo GameCube, and developed by Chunsoft, the makers of Pokémon: Mystery Dungeon, Homeland was a multiplayer focused RPG with an emphasis on exploration and collaboration. In the game, players create a custom avatar, and use that avatar to interact with others players online, trading items with friends and optimising equipment.

The game was one of two online titles developed for the GameCube, and the only one not to receive an international release. At the time, there was some demand for the game to be ported to the West, but ultimately, this was never considered a viable option. The game’s reliance on network play limited its potential audience outside of Japan, and ultimately, this was likely the main reason it was never localised for English speaking audiences.

The online capabilities of the GameCube were never really utilised, unlike the original Xbox. It was designed for couch co-op, and was never really marketed as an online device, meaning very few people had purchased the console in order to play games online. Homeland was also a relatively unknown property, and couldn’t rely on name recognition like many of the other entries on this list. To this day, the game remains remarkably obscure, and as a direct result, will likely never receive a worldwide release.