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Sohei Niikawa takes over as NIS America president
Someone new is overseeing the American distribution of exploding penguin demons, three-dimensional Quotes, anthropomorphized console girls, and knells of Ar Ciel. Sohei Niikawa, already president of Nippon Ichi Software in Japan, is replacing Haru Akenaga as president of NIS America.Under Niikawa, NIS America is pursuing a philosophy of "Entertainment for All," which will embrace more media like "comic books, anime, music, movies, novels, and mobile games." Something tells us NISA's idea of "all" is still a charmingly limited niche.
Disgaea team crafting a dungeon RPG for 2012, Nippon Ichi announces more
During a recent Nippon Ichi press conference, CEO Sohei Shinkawa announced a handful of projects the company is working on for the immediate future. The first likely won't require all that much actual work -- it's Cave Story 3D, which the company is publishing in Japan. He added that two other projects are in the pipeline: A new adventure game scheduled for a Japanese Summer 2012 launch, and a dungeon-centric RPG from the Disgaea team due out sometime in 2012. During a later Q&A, Shinkawa revealed that the company would like to release at least one Vita title next year, but did not confirm whether either of the newly announced projects would be that title. Shinkawa also revealed all this information while wearing a Prinny-shaped hat, so we're not sure we can believe a single thing he said.
Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten review: A premise unchanged
The Disgaea series is a tough nut to crack. With its dated gameplay and recycled graphics and music, each new entry in the franchise has flown in the face of convention. Nevertheless, whether owing its longevity to quirky storytelling or staggeringly deep and complex mechanics, the franchise has found favor among strategy role-playing game enthusiasts. That storied tradition looks to continue with earnest in Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten, a testament that, all things considered, developer Nippon Ichi definitely still knows its audience. %Gallery-131379%
Disgaea 3 Return trailer shows Vita version's two new characters
The first trailer for Disgaea 3 Return gives you a look at the strategy series' latest portable outing, which is also its first PlayStation Vita version. It's intended to be a launch title for the system in Japan. Return features updated animations and two new characters (one of which is named Ruchiru, according to a text box in the trailer). As for the trailer itself, it features an unfairly adorable musical accompaniment.
Disgaea 3 Return playable on Vita at TGS
The PlayStation Vita will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of TGS next month, and it appears we have another title to try out. Andriasang reports that the enhanced Vita port of Disgaea 3 will be playable at the show (PS3 version pictured). Entitled Disgaea 3 Return, the port will include four new scenarios and two new characters. Return will also include all of the downloadable content featured on the PS3 version of Disgaea 3. Developer Nippon Ichi is considering other features for the handheld version, including possible touch and location implementation, as well as more DLC.
Disgaea 4's special attacks are as bananacakes as you'd expect
Even if you've never played a Disgaea game before -- heck, if you haven't played any game before -- you should watch the Disgaea 4 trailer posted below. It shows off a handful of the game's absolutely preposterous special attacks, many of which involve slamming foes into various celestial bodies.
Cladun 2: This is another RPG
According to Siliconera, Dengeki magazine has the first details on an upcoming PSP sequel to Cladun: This is an RPG. With only a translation of a blurb from a magazine scan, we don't know much about "Classic Dungeon 2," but Siliconera reports that it will feature more spells, weapons and jobs. The game will be released in Japan on March 24. We can safely assume that the 8-bit aesthetic of the first game will be used again for the sequel -- otherwise it would just be "Dun 2."
Only you can help name some of Disgaea 4's attacks
If you've got a penchant for giving your boring, monotonous daily maneuvers wildly eccentric titles like "Flying Eagle Bagel Spread" or "Tsunami Power Work Commute," you seem like the perfect candidate for Atlus' newest promotion. All you have to do is check out a few videos from some heretofore nameless special attacks from Disgaea 4, and provide each of them with a fittingly outrageous title. Of course, submissions are limited to ten characters, so the examples provided above wouldn't exactly be eligible. We're sure you can still blend brevity and exuberance, though. Here, watch this: "METEORGUN." Yeah, that's solid gold stuff, right there.
Disgaea 4 coming to PS3 in Japan February 2011
Nippon Ichi Software introduced a project that "holds the fate of our company" -- Disgaea 4. The president of Nippon Ichi took the stage of a TGS press conference to announce the game wearing a Prinny suit to show "how serious we are." Like previous entries in the series, Disgaea 4 is a hardcore SRPG with a comedic twist. NIS is promising "stupidity to the MAX" in this upcoming endeavor. Taking place in hell, the story will have a political theme, with players building their own political cabinets. "I'd love to have questionable politicians play this game," he joked. New features for Disgaea 4 are the addition of network features which will allow you to invade other player's worlds, and vice versa. However, the primary new feature is the revamped focused on graphics. While the game will still retain its trademark 2D look, the resolution of the sprite art has been bumped significantly, and will look more like illustrator Takehito Harada's original drawings. "Wow, that must have cost a lot," the NIS host joked during the presentation. Disgaea 4 will be releasing exclusively on PS3 on February 24, 2011 in Japan. A US release should follow afterwards.
NIS America has a 3DS dev kit
Sometime in the near future, we could be treated to three-dimensional Prinnies exploding in our faces. Haru Akenaga, president of Disgaea publisher NIS America, told Siliconera that the company has received a 3DS development kit. Akenaga did not confirm any specific titles in development, or even that NISA had begun development on anything at all. But this can only lead to good things for people who want quirky, patently Japanese games with the appearance of depth. We've followed up with NISA to ascertain more details.
Disgaea Infinite trailer makes as much sense as the other Disgaea games
That Disgaea Infinite trailer that snuck out in Japanese a little while back has now been officially released and translated into almost-English and, while it's a little harsh to call the series "the ultimate grind-fest" (unless fans want to wear that title as a badge of honor), this weird little adaptation that turns the strategy RPG into a "visual novel" adventure game still looks interesting. Last we heard, this one was due out for the PSP in May, but this trailer actually says June of 2010. We checked in with NIS America, and they informed us that the game is due out on June 8th of this year. Look for it as a downloadable title on PSN then.
Nippon Ichi earnings plummet in 2009
[Prinny Blog] Disgaea developer and publisher Nippon Ichi didn't have the best 2009, dood. Last week, the company announced its earnings for the first nine months of its fiscal year (ending December 31, 2009), recording operating profits 97.5% lower than those of 2008. This week, reacting to the news of the precipitous drop, investors freaked out a bit and the price of NIS stock on the Japanese JASDAQ exchange dropped ¥7,000 ($78.42), almost 20%. JASDAQ froze the price, or it might have dropped further. Siliconera posted a list of all recent and upcoming NIS games. Have a look -- we're sure NIS America would really, really appreciate a purchase of Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love or Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman 2 in the next few months.
Prinny 2 named 'Dawn of the Great Pantsu War,' coming to Japan on March 25
Prinny 2: Dawn of the Great Pantsu War will reportedly launch for the PSP on March 25, 2010 in Japan, according to Dengeki Online (via Siliconera). Sure, Nippon Ichi Software might not exactly want us to know that it's making a sequel to this year's Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero?, but that doesn't stop the company from releasing a mess of screenshots and a release date to gamers across the Pacific, along with with the game's full title. As if the first game's premise of securing cakes for Etna wasn't ridiculous enough, the second game tasks you with recovering underpants for her (thus the title). To combat the various adorable enemies along the way (just look at that penguin!), the developer has added new moves as well as a "baby mode" for novices. We've added a handful of screenshots to our gallery below, but you can peep a metric ton more right here. %Gallery-81200%
PSN Thursday: All systems are PSP Go for a massive update
If a PSN Update could be a classified as a zombie invasion, consider this humble paragraph the red door keeping the horde at bay. Once you click past the break, be prepared for an update the likes of which you've never seen. It's big, it's scary and it's going to eat your brains ... in a good way. Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list: (Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)
NIS America to fix Disgaea 2 save error with free DLC
"If you save now, your save data will be saved in the state in which you cannot use the DLC." This error message has been scaring off players that picked up Disgaea 2 for PSP. However, NIS America admits that this error message is unwarranted, and "the message will appear regardless of whether or not the current saved data contains DLC." Players are encouraged to simply ignore the error. "Our investigation has revealed that this message will not harm your game play experience with Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days or any future Downloadable Content offerings." There will be a fix to this error, but it won't be available until late November. According to NIS, the company plans on making the first DLC for Disgaea 2 -- Sapphire from Disgaea 3 -- free for all users due to the "distress and confusion" caused by the error. Until then, players will have to continue their journey through the game, ignoring the save error along the way. [Via Kotaku]
NIS classics hit PSN in October, price cut in half
NIS America's library of PSP games is about to go digital. Games like Disgaea, Prinny: Can I Be the Hero?, Blade Dancer and more are being transformed into downloadable games, available from the PlayStation Store. Unlike many other UMD archive games on the PSN, NIS America will be offering a special discount on these downloadables: 50% off. The promotion isn't set to begin until October 1st, when the PSP Go launches. The sale will last for one week, allowing PSP owners new and old to pick up some NIS games for $12.99 and less.
Disgaea 3 trophy patch hitting on July 16
Trophy patches are continuing to trickle out (except, no, not for that game, sorry) and the latest title to receive an update is NIS' Disgaea 3. You should be seeing this patch hit in the US on July 16 at 1AM PST. The patch will add over fifty trophies to the game, but there's a downside. Installing this patch will render your previous game saves unusable. You'll have to start from scratch. Considering the game came out last August, chances are you've probably put a few hours in. If you don't want that time wasted, don't install the patch. There's no word on a European release for the patch, but we're looking into it. [Thanks, nikku]
Toro and Kuro join Disgaea 2 as DLC
American audiences will be able to enjoy the PSP enhanced version of Disgaea 2 later this year. However, gamers in Japan are already getting ready for some free (and paid) DLC content for the game. As usual, Nippon Ichi is preparing post-release DLC. The most surprising addition to Disgaea 2 comes through a collaboration with Sony: Mainichi Issho's Toro and Kuro can both be added to the game. The two Sony mascots are relatively unknown here in the States, but the felines are quite beloved by players on the other side of the pond. The two cats will be ready to hand special items to players, so keep an eye out for them! It would be nice if NIS America decided to include this DLC content as part of the retail release in the States. However, considering the DLC for Disgaea 3, that's unlikely. To see the other DLC characters, visit PSPHyper.
Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days coming to PSP this year
The PSP enhanced port of Disgaea 2 will be getting a US release this year. Dark Hero Days will feature all the content of the original SRPG, but will add new story chapters, a new main character and additional skills, items and side characters. New battle features introduced in Disgaea 3 will also be transplanted into this portable game. While the game's trailer specifically states a Summer release, the press release says the game will release in the Fall. Either way, you'll be able to play the game this year. Keen observers will see a PlayStation Network icon at the end of the trailer -- could this title be digitally distributed? %Gallery-63010%
Disgaea 3 patch adds Trophies and Home support
Disgaea 3 has been updated in Japan with two new features: Trophies and PlayStation Home support. The two go hand in hand as well. Unlocking a Trophy in the game will also earn you a reward in Home: a Prinny trophy you can place in your virtual abode. Of course, getting the Trophies won't be very easy. Siliconera reveals some details on what you must do: "One trophy is awarded after dealing over 10 billion damage and another is given after a Counter-counter-counter-counter-counter-counter-counter-counter-counter-counter-attack." Excuse me? We're hoping English language versions of Disgaea 3 will also receive this patch. It's always nice to see developers update their games to take advantage of all the new features added to the PS3 post-release.
