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RPGamer Interviews NIS America: PS2 Will Live on in US, Sakura Taisen V US Release Confirmed and Others

December 18, 2008 in Interview comments 28

RPG fansite RPGamer had an exclusive sitdown with niche developer/publisher NIS America about the state of their 2009 releases. The article begins with already-announced games: Ar tonelico II: Melody of Metafalica (PS2), Mana Khemia: Student Alliance (PSP), and A Witch's Tale (NDS), with a couple questions asked about each of the games.

The games revealed in the interview:

  • X-Edge (PS3) - Gust x NIS x Capcom x Idea Factory crossover game - March 2009 release
  • Sakura Taisen V (PS2) - Will be first English release for series - Publisher unknown - 2009 release
  • Mana Khemia 2 (PS2) - No release date yet
  • Atelier Annie (NDS) - Possible, but not confirmed
  • An entry in an as-of-yet unreleased series in the US

Regarding the current generation of consoles, NISA is more inclined to deal with the Wii and PS3 rather than the 360 due to the state of both the US and Japanese markets.

Welcome to the State of NIS America interview, our second in a series of at least three interviews with North American publishers. NIS America has been kind enough to answer our tough questions about their upcoming schedule of games and much more. So please make yourself at home and get ready for some wonderful information from Nao Zook, Jack Niida, and the rest of the NIS America crew.
Akira_EX via rpgamer.com »
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  • 0
    Zero and X Dec 18, 08
    I am interested in X-Edge, cross-over games are cool, especially since capcom is in the mix, maybe Dante will be in it.
    • 0
      Storm Dec 18, 08
      Yeah, cross-over games are exciting, have been done well in the past (MvC). Dante? I'd love to see that.
      • 0
        Zero and X Dec 18, 08
        Hells, yeah, plus its a PS3 exclusive. They're not saying what kind of game it is though. Maybe it will be like Chaos Wars where it as a strategy game, which was a fun game I might add.
  • 0
    Shadow of Death* Dec 18, 08
    I THINK X-Edge was the demo I played from the JP store? It was actually decently fun.

    And it has Etna (And PRINNIES) in it, so it is win right there...

    Sakura Taisen? I have the OVA set myself. Steampunk mecha with (mostly) female pilots. Not bad, TBH. Dunno how the games are though.

    I just want them to 'grow up' a bit, graphically and as far as features go....It can't be THAT hard to get Peer to Peer online battles on the Playstation network....No servers required, after all...Would be nice to have that in Disgaea 3 (as an add-on), or at least Disgaea 4....Maybe they were trying to be nostalgic, but I don't want pixelated sprites on my HDTV >_>
  • 0
    Akira_EX Dec 18, 08
    X-Edge is already out in Japan.

    From the Capcom side is the Darkstalkers cast, with Morrigan, Felicia, Demitri and Lilith.
  • 0
    pyramidreaper Dec 19, 08
    "NISA is more inclined to deal with the Wii and PS3 rather than the 360 "
    isn't there a typo? more inclined to deal with Wii and PS2?
    • 0
      Shadow of Death* Dec 19, 08
      Didn't actually read the article, but I imagine that is referencing Next Gen games.

      For example, Disgaea 3 is on the PS3. If they go multiplatform on it, it would be on the Wii, and not likely to appear on the 360.
      • 0
        pyramidreaper Dec 20, 08
        " NISA is more inclined to deal with the Wii and PS3 rather than the 360 due to the state of both the US and Japanese markets."
        due to the state of US market? but X360 leads in US.
        • 0
          Shadow of Death* Dec 20, 08
          Well, that is a bit off, but meh.

          The fanbase is with Sony, probably (Disgaea 1, and 2 came on the PS2, among other NIS titles). I know one small part of the reason I got a PS3 was because I figured NIS would end up releasing stuff on the PS3, rather than the 360.

          And the Wii is a likely destination, since their low level graphics would be forgiven more on the Wii, versus the PS3 and 360.
  • 0
    Zero and X Dec 19, 08
    So whats Sakura Taisen anyways?
    • 0
      Shadow of Death* Dec 19, 08
      Like I said, it is a steampunk mech game with mostly female pilots. Oh, and if I remember correctly, it also has plenty of (if not primary focus on) a Dating Sim element. Imagine smaller, boxy gundams made of brass, powered by steam, piloted by girls, and you got the right idea I think.
      • 0
        Zero and X Dec 19, 08
        ..... and its a dating sim? Kinda like Ar Tonelico? Sign me up baby.
        • 0
          Shadow of Death* Dec 20, 08
          Well, I don't know how good the action is.

          But yeah, I'm pretty sure there are plenty of dating sim elements (from what I remember, there is a male captain, and all the other pilots are female).
        • 0
          Zero and X Dec 20, 08
          Dude thats instant win in my book. Kinda reminds me of Love Hina, except with Mechs.
  • 0
    pyramidreaper Dec 20, 08
    "The fanbase is with Sony, probably (Disgaea 1, and 2 came on the PS2, among other NIS titles). I know one small part of the reason I got a PS3 was because I figured NIS would end up releasing stuff on the PS3, rather than the 360."
    well, okay I agree with all of that but the quote was about MARKET, not fanbase. so I think they could follow in the footsteps of SquareEnix.

    btw, talteen why is there no reply button on your post?
    • 0
      Akira_EX Dec 20, 08
      From the interview:

      quote NISA
      This is a very difficult question. Since we have to release our titles in both U.S. and Japan we have to think about 2 different markets. If we're only working here in the states we could pursue consoles like the 360, but since we have to worry about 2 different regions we can't release a 360 title in Japan. There's just not enough install base for a niche title like ours. Therefore, we have to first start with consoles like the PS3 and Wii. Hopefully, as our titles become better known, we can broaden our reach to all the platforms.
      The PS3 has at least some semblance of a real market in the US, whereas in Japan, the 360 is pretty barren, with less than a million consoles sold in its lifetime. Like they said, if they were focusing on just the US, then they would use the 360, but since they have to keep track of two markets, its better to use the two better common denominators, the Wii and PS3. The 360 is too heavily US slanted, which wouldn't really hold well for the type of games they produce.

      Also, you can only do nested replies only so far down. If there's no reply link available, just use the one from the next level up.
    • 1
      Shadow of Death* Dec 21, 08
      Errr, the fanbase in this case, IS the market, pretty much. NIS is a niche developer. They target their games at a specific type of group of people. None of their own games are ever intended to sell like hotcakes (at least not outside of Japan).

      And their fanbase (re: market) happens to mostly reside (as far as next gen game systems go), on the PS3 and Wii. Moreso than the 360 in any case, I'm quite sure.

      ANd there is no reply option, because it is a reply of a reply to a reply XD Gamegrep only allows so many reply chains before you're stopped...

      Edit: Ah, didn't see your reply there Akira, my point stands regardless of course, you've pointed out the obvious 'no 360s in Japan' thingy, which is a pretty big point TBH.
      • 0
        pyramidreaper Dec 21, 08
        "the fanbase in this case, IS the market, pretty much. "
        fine then, in the case of Nippon Ichi you're probably right. outside of their home country, their games don't sell nearly as much.
  • 0
    pyramidreaper Dec 20, 08
    well, fine then.

    "Also, you can only do nested replies only so far down"
    this sucks
    • 0
      Shadow of Death* Dec 21, 08
      Like I said, if Gamegrep allowed you to do that, it would become rather messy >_>
      • 0
        pyramidreaper Dec 21, 08
        have you been to other sites, talteen? they do allow many chained commentaries.
        • 0
          Shadow of Death* Dec 21, 08
          .....And it can get pretty messy at times.

          Worst comes to worst on gamegrep, you can reply to the next highest comment. That's what I do, that's what was suggested for you, and it works just fine.
        • 0
          pyramidreaper Dec 22, 08
          quote
          it works just fine.
          except you don't see who's talking to who.
        • 0
          Shadow of Death* Dec 24, 08
          ...Whom /grammar Nazi.

          And ummm, it generally isn't that hard to guess. Especially if, like in this case, there is only a grand total of two people involved in the reply chain....
        • 0
          pyramidreaper Dec 24, 08
          my grammer is good enough for someone from a non-English speaking country .

          yes it's perfect. say, right now I'm replying to myself from 3 days ago.
        • 0
          Shadow of Death* Dec 25, 08
          Good for you (I was really just screwing around XD)

          And ummm....Nobody said it was a perfect system? The point is, it works just fine...
        • 0
          pyramidreaper Dec 25, 08
          BAH.

          the perfect part was sarcastic . it doesn't work just fine, it's half-assed imho.
  • 0
    Final Blade Dec 21, 08
    Oh guys if you want to see some X-Edge here's some videos of the game I found on another site.

    video 1

    video 2

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