 |
|
|
||||||||
 |
We got a chance to catch up with NIS America’s Jack Niida to ask him a few questions about the future of NIS and the games they are going to release. Here is what Jack had to say to the many fans of their games. Interviewer: Angie Quidim / The Testmarket Evolution (TME) |
TME: NIS has started to release some games in America on other systems. Will there be future plans to release older titles on the downloadable channels on Xbox live or Wii Channel?
Jack: There are plans within the company to release some of our older titles as downloads. In the coming months you will see some of our older PSP games on the PlayStation Network. In regards to Xbox Live and Wii Channel, it will take a little longer before we could release any games, since doing so has some serious programming changes. But keep your hopes up; we’re doing our best to fulfill our fans’ requests and downloadable games are high on the list.
TME: Is there any plans in the future to create games for the Wii?
Jack: We can’t announce anything just yet, but there are some titles in the works. Whether it’s an RPG or something completely different remains to be seen, but you can count on us having something great up our sleeves.
TME: As NIS is known for their excellent gameplay in creating SRPG's(strategy RPG) and Witches' Tale would be the first action RPG what aspects are creators looking to capture compared to the action RPG's out there (example Kingdom Hearts)?
Jack: Since there are a ton of action RPGs on the market, we wanted to make a game that stays true to the NIS style, which is ridiculousness and humor. A Witch’s Tale will carry on that tradition, and hopefully gamers who want to try out something different and surreal will enjoy A Witch’s Tale.
TME: Puchi Puchi Virus seems to add elements of casual game play that would invite casual gamers into trying that game out (by casual gamers we mean those who play Solitaire, Bejeweled) is NIS going to make more games that capture that audience?
Jack: We won’t be releasing too many casual games, but we are hoping to broaden our audience with some casual games like Puchi Puchi Virus. Perhaps we will be releasing 1 or 2 casual games per year.
TME:Nis has a distinct art style in their games. With the power of the next gen systems are the designers looking to change the style?
Jack: NIS has always kept the anime style 2D artwork for its games and that will not change. However, we do understand that we cannot maintain the same graphical level on the next-gen systems as we did with PS2. It’s taking time but we are gradually making changes and improving the graphical side of our games.
TME: There are many titles in Japan that do not make it to the US yet there is a cult following willing to buy the Japanese product (import) Will NIS have that available at some point to the us customers (not as a translated game but offer some sort of collector’s bundle deal)
Jack: That is a tough question. For the fans in the U.S. we would like to offer a collector’s bundle, but being a small publisher we may not be able to sustain the cost for doing so. We’re currently seeking ways to bring more of the niche games over to the states, so please look forward to them.
TME: The Disgaea anime and Manga were released not too long ago. It is the market trend with games that these off shoot products hold something that a user can enter into the game and it will unlock a quest or item. Any plans to do this?
Jack: That is certainly something that we have been discussing. This feature is not implemented for Disgaea 3, but the game will have a downloadable content feature that players could download new characters, maps, and story chapters through PlayStation Network.
TME: The Prinny niche of fans has taken off quite a bit. Any plans to do anime spinoff episodes such as the commentary put on Disgaea for DS?
Jack: Hahaha, that would be awesome. I’ll make sure to let the guys in Japan know that there are plenty of Prinny fans for a Prinny anime. They may consider making something if they know we really want it over here. Personally, I would love to see a Prinny anime or even a game of its own.
