Some Kind of Unofficial Announcements from NIS America

In a recent interview with RPGamer, some of the staff of NIS America have gone on record with some sort-of-announcements that, while aren't binding on NIS' part, should give you a fairly good idea of what to expect from the company in the coming year.

First item of interest is that the previously announced Hit Maker DS title, A Witch's Tale, has been pushed back due to development issues. Though no new date has been solidified, NIS mentioned that the game would probably be pushed back to sometime next autumn, possibly as late as Halloween. Part of the reason for the delay was Hit Maker's decision to change the title from an action-RPG to a traditional (presumably turn-based) one.

Next, PS3 NIS fans should be happy to hear that the abominable crossover title, X-Edge (pronouced "Cross Edge," for whatever reason) will indeed be seeing North American shores courtesty of NIS. Though they couldn't officially confirm the title's release, they basically said to expect it next March.

NIS also "hinted" that both Mana Khemia 2 and a game from the Japan-only Sakura Taisen series would be heading to North American PS2s sometime in 2009, though no details or dates were given.

It was also mentioned that future game development from Nippon Ichi (Japan) would continue to focus on the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii as Japan remains their largest market. No real surprises there.

My own reaction to this news is varied. I'm happy (if unsurprised) that Mana Khemia 2 will be making the jump, and cautiously interested in the Sakura Taisen title. I had almost totally forgotten about A Witch's Tale since its announcement, so I guess it will be interesting to see how that title shapes up. X-Edge... well, I think you know how I feel about X-Edge.

As a disclaimer, this isn't my story. All of the glory for this belongs to RPGamer, and I encourage all hardcore NIS fans to go read the real interview for yourselves.