Whereas the massive publishers proceed pumping out sequels and remakes, Nippon Ichi Software program’s new CEO Kenzo Saruhashi says mid-sized firms must be taking extra dangers in the event that they’re to outlive.
In a Famitsu interview translated by Automaton, Saruhashi and Yomawari collection creator Yu Mizokami mentioned the corporate’s coverage relating to making new IPs within the face of rising improvement prices and danger of failure. This adopted the writer’s March 2025 “Untitled” stream, the place it revealed six new titles, of which 5 had been brand-new IP.
Saruhashi notes that though making sequels is the better and safer choice, NIS does issues otherwise. “In our case, we’re extra pushed by whether or not our followers desire a sequel. If there’s demand for it, we’ll make it.”
With regard to creating new IP, he stated that it is crucial for a mid-sized firm to dare to do issues huge firms cannot danger with a view to survive. He added, “If we had been to cease taking up new challenges, we might be like a fish out of water–I believe we’d die.”
These new and experimental titles are nonetheless being given restricted budgets, which suggests builders must provide you with inventive options. However within the interview, Mizokami commented that she prefers the joys of problem-solving inside a good funds, saying that she’d “most likely get bored midway via” if instantly given a multi-million funds. Saruhashi and Mizokami as an alternative liken NIS’s method to “speedrun/real-time attack-style sport improvement.”
NIS nonetheless nonetheless has some notable franchises it continues to launch, together with the Disgaea collection, whereas its Western counterpart NIS America publishes the worldwide launch of the Trails collection.