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Level-5 opens new Tokyo office for 'overseas business'
Professor Layton, White Knight Chronicles, and Dragon Quest IX developer Level-5 is expanding from its Fukuoka, Japan base, founding a new office in Tokyo focused on its ROID mobile gaming platform, overseas business, and "new enterprises." The move could portend worldwide release of the developer's mobile games, or even expansion of its publishing business. In Japan, Level-5 publishes the Layton series, Inazuma Eleven, and other titles independently. If a localized Inazuma Eleven is indeed on the way, Level-5 could be looking to start up its publishing business outside of Japan with that title. Or, less spectacularly, we suppose the new office could be tasked with localization of games and dealing with Western publishers. [Via Siliconera]
TGS 2009: The Recap Post
Last week, the Tokyo Game Show brought in over 100 posts worth of news, previews, interviews, galleries, and videos. Clearly, a lot happened. If you're looking for a comprehensive list of all the goings-on during TGS 2009, Joystiq has you covered -- and organized! Click on a platform below to scan the highlights: (On the far right: that's "News" and "Culture" on the top and bottom, respectively)
TGS 2009: Hands-on: Ni no Kuni
Level-5's Ni no Kuni: The Another World is, in general, a pretty standard JRPG. However, it's a pretty standard RPG that takes place in a Studio Ghibli (Spirited Away, Ponyo, Princess Mononoke) world, and is thus magical. It really feels like you're inhabiting a Ghibli movie, from the appearance of swarms of cute little spherical characters to the lush forest environments. The frequent animated cutscenes and the persistent voice acting (every line of text in the demo, whether in a cutscene or spoken in a pop-up text window) is fully voiced, which helps the cinematic feel.
TGS 2009: Unboxing the Level-5 Premium Gift
Level-5's booth is one of the most popular attractions at Tokyo Game Show. It was our first stop this morning when the expo floor opened, and still we waited in line for at least 30 minutes -- a line that completely surrounded the ginormous booth. The line ended at a small theater lounge, in which we sat down to watch the Ni no Kuni, Professor Layton and the Devil's Flute, and ROID trailers we had just seen from the line. Finally, we were ushered into a game demo area, and then handed the requisite swag bag. Having been told that the swag bag contained this year's version of the vaunted Level-5 "Premium Gift," with either a DVD or a DS demo cartridge, we decided to share the excitement of opening the sealed envelope with the internet. Enjoy the exciting conclusion in the video above!
Level-5 and Studio Ghibli's Another World delayed until another year
Ni no Kuni (The Another World), the Level-5/Studio Ghibli RPG for DS that includes the huge spellbook, will no longer be considered Level-5's 10th anniversary game -- because it won't be out in 2009. The game has been bumped to spring 2010. A playable demo was available at the LEVEL-5 VISION conference, and the same demo will be playable at Tokyo Game Show, where it will also be handed out to lucky attendees as part of the Level-5 Platinum demo cartridge, which also houses Professor Layton and the Devil's Box and Inazuma Eleven 2 demos. Check out Andriasang for predictably lush new screens and artwork.
TGS08: First footage of The Another World [update]
Update: First images of the book and the package it all comes in have made their way online! Head past the break to catch a glimpse.Level-5 and Studio Ghibli's upcoming DS RPG, Ni no Kuni: The Another World is sure to be a big success. Why? Uh, have you watched the video above yet? The game looks awesome. With the visual presence that Studio Ghibli provides with its great animation and wonderful character design, along with Level-5's RPG experience, this is going to be a game you want to keep your eyes on.Know what else is cool? The game is going to come with a custom spellbook specific to that copy of the game. What's inside? Spells, of course (among other things, such as a bestiary)! You can see a bit of it in the video above, where the weird symbols are drawn. After the video, hit up this link to read the Level-5 president's interview with Famitsu about the game.
Take a closer look at Ni no Kuni: The Another World
Well, it's Friday, and as promised, Level-5 has sent out some juicy screens for their upcoming game with Studio Ghibli, Ni no Kuni: The Another World. As you can see above, Studio Ghibli's amazing animation is present and the their wonderful imagination means the game will have some incredibly inspired characters. Head past the break for some more screens, courtesy of Famitsu.
