PixlBit

Laws keeping it off store shelves.

Citizens of Quebec may be disappointed to hear that Half Minute Hero is unfortunately not going to be coming to their territory.

Quebec has had a long standing rule regarding the requirements of games that will be stocked on retailer's shelves. The basic premise states that if the game is not in French, then retailers will not be stocking it.

Due to the fact that XSEED is not providing alternate bi-lingual packaging or a French localization, the only option for citizens of Quebec to get Half Minute Hero is via a PSN download.

A Gamsutra reader located in Quebec received the following response from XSEED in regards to the news:

"Thank you for trying to pick up a copy of Half-Minute Hero. Canadian distribution is always tricky because of the bilingual law that Quebec enforces, so for titles with limited distribution we do not create a second bilingual version specifically for Canada because it's too expensive. Unfortunately, that's what happened to Half-Minute Hero.

Wal-Mart Canada and EB Canada both carry it, but their stores in Quebec may not carry them because we did not offer French bilingual packaging. Our Canadian distributor does not have a relationship with Amazon Canada, that is why they never carry any of our products.

Sorry for the inconvenience, but the bilingual requirements in Quebec make it extremely difficult and expensive for us to provide games to Canada sometimes. Your best bet may be to purchase it from the PSN Store online."