"Advance Wars" was originally intended to remain exclusive to Japan, like the previous entries in the series, which were kept in Japan due to Nintendo feeling that consumers would not be interested in turn-based games, or in such complicated games. In order to alleviate this, the developers made the mechanics easy to understand, adding in an in-depth tutorial that didn't require players to read the manual. When Nintendo's US marketing division played the game, they found it to be great, wondering why they couldn't sell it in the US. Designer Kentaro Nishimura commented that ""Advance Wars"' success shifted Nintendo’s attitude over western tastes". He added that if it weren't for "Advance Wars", "Fire Emblem", a game that he also designed, would never have been released outside Japan.