Nippon Ichi Software "seriously thinking" of supporting 360 & Rev

[GreenMonkey]

http://www.planetgamecube.com/news.cfm?action=item&id=6423

 

http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20050802/sheffield_01.shtml

 

Gamasutra: Will Nippon Ichi be making games for next gen?

 

Niida: We are seriously thinking of working to Xbox 360 and also Revolution.

 

I've seriously bought like 5-6 of their titles in the past couple of months. Shining Force for GBA re-awakened my desire for strategy RPGs.

 

For you non-RPG folks this is the company that publishes/makes Disgaea, Phantom Brave, and La Pucelle Tactics...also involved in other Niche RPG releases along with Atlus.

 

My choices were a new thread or post the same message in both the Xbox360 and Revolution threads. I figured, new thread.

 

So I will try a discussion starter:

Question? Is this a trend we will see continuing? Is the support of smaller developers going to help the 360 & the Revolution? Are companies perhaps tired of having their games overshadowed by so many other AAA multi-million dollar releases on the Playstation?

[JFo]

Is this a trend we will see continuing? Is the support of smaller developers going to help the 360 & the Revolution? Are companies perhaps tired of having their games overshadowed by so many other AAA multi-million dollar releases on the Playstation?

 

I'm not sure I see much of a difference between being overshadowed by Nintendo's first-party software or the likes of Halo and Splinter Cell. Every system has its superstars, and smaller companies are always forced to compete with the biggest, most recognizable franchises.

 

Honestly, I would think that a smaller developer would prefer working on the Playstation 2 simply because the user base is so much larger than either the Xbox or the Cube. Hence, they're more likely to find an audience for the game, even though there may be so many other titles getting in the way. Whether that will change in the next generation has yet to be determined though. I think we're going to have to wait and see what the user bases look like for the 360 and Revolution before companies like Nippon Ichi commit themselves to either console.

 

I guess the real question is would a small Japanese RPG developer find its audience on the Xbox? Do you think hardcore GameCube loyalists are interested in something that isn't made or published by Nintendo? I'm inclined to say no at this point, but we all know how quickly things can change in the console market.