“Our U.S. office mainly works to efficiently release the Japanese titles that Level-5 has created overseas and they are involved in production and distribution in the overseas territories. With Ni no Kuni, they are helping bring it to the overseas markets and potentially with other titles. In the future, we would potentially like to develop title overseas where Level-5 International America is taking the lead on developing for the overseas market.” – Level 5 CEO Akihiro Hino
Hmm… It’s a bit up for debate as of right now, but once they finish localization of Ni no Kuni and the rumored publishing of Guild 01 I could see them slowly taking on a development role. Assuming that Ni no Kuni and Guild 01 sell enough to keep them afloat, that is!
What the heck is going on with Rodea: The Sky Soldier? Even Prope founder Yuji Naka isn’t entirely sure.
When asked about the status of Rodea, Naka once again said that the Wii version was completed almost an entire year ago. Oddly enough, the 3DS edition is what seems to be holding up Kadokawa Games, who is developing and publishing the title for Nintendo’s handheld.
“I want to ask the same question! We have finished developing the Wii version and we have already submitted it. That was around a year ago. But it seems like they are still considering the [details of] the 3DS version.”
Naka said that he isn’t positive on what will happen with Rodea, but hopes fans will be given an opportunity to purchase the game. He estimates that a 2013 launch could be possible.
“It might be close to being finished, but we havent spoken to Kadokawa in a while, so I’m not sure. Kadokawa never said they’re not going to sell it, so I would guess they’ll release it sometime in 2013 or so. That has to get cleared up. Because of that, I’m not sure what’s going to happen to the game. However, I’m very confident we were able to create a new type of action game. I really want a lot of people to play this game.”
There is one major concern on Naka’s mind: the Wii U. He has no issues with the console itself, but explained why the console’s introduction could impact Rodea:
“One unfortunate thing about the Wii U announcement: It doesn’t come with a Wii remote, so Rodea and all the other Wii titles I created, people won’t be able to play it with a Wii remote. They’ll have to use the Wii U GamePad. I created the game specifically for the Wii remote, so it’s going to turn into a totally different experience. I’m really down about that because Rodea is a really good game.”
Again, Naka has no qualms with the actual Wii U hardware. In fact, he made a few game concepts after the system was revealed.
“Whenever there is new hardware, I feel like creating something for it. Following the announcement of the Wii U, I’ve been writing a bunch of game concepts. I’m hoping to be able to create a game for Wii U. Any new piece of hardware always looks fun. Kinect looks interesting, as well.”
Konami published Neko Entertainment’s downloadable game “Puddle” on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live earlier this year. It’s coming to the Wii U eShop as well, it seems.
Neko’s managing director, Laurent Lichnewsky, shared the news when asked if the studio had started working on the platform. The team is readying the title for the console’s launch.
According to Lichnewsky:
“Yes we have the chance to work on the Wii U over the past few months already: we prepare a beautiful version of our ‘Puddle’… which will be released for download on the Wii U console launch!”
