Interview with Nippon Ichi Software of America

There are a lot of Atelier Iris ~Eternal Mana~ questions here. For the record, that game was developed by Gust and published stateside by NIS America.

RPG Land What does the title "Atelier Iris" mean?

NIS America Atelier Iris simply means "Studio of Iris." The game is about alchemy and all the alchemic skills are done in a studio, so we named it Atelier (I could never pronounce it correctly).

RPG Land How did NISA come to publish a game not developed by Nippon Ichi?

NIS America Nippon Ichi Software in Japan usually makes 1~2 games a year. For NISA to survive we need more titles. Therefore, we contacted Gust (who develops wonderful anime influenced RPGs) to bring over some of their games like Atelier Iris.

RPG Land Cool, so I guess that means NISA is going to bring more games to the states from other developers? Can you tease us by dropping a name or two of what you've been considering?

NIS America Yes, we will be bringing over Generation of Chaos from Idea Factory for the PSP next. Please expect to see more and more titles from various companies!

RPG Land Curious here: how do you go about casting for the English dubbing of the voices in your games?

NIS America I wouldn’t consider it as an audition, but we would first listen to the various voice actors perform and then decide who to use.

RPG Land We can't help but notice Makai Kingdom's name similarity to Makai Wars. Is that the only similarity between the two, or are there more connections?

NIS America We get this question quite a bit. Many people think Makai Kingdom is Makai Wars, but it is not. You might find a guest appearance from Makai Wars in Makai Kingdom. However, the stories are not related in any way.

RPG Land Final thoughts on Makai Kingdom: What about this game do you most expect to really impress people? What about it are you most proud of, in the end?

NIS America If you are looking for a strategy RPG that can be played for hours, then Makai Kingdom is it. The graphics aren’t as flashy as the latest multi-billion dollar games, but we strongly believe we are making that up with uncompromising game play.

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