Nintendo released the DS Lite model three years after its older, Phatter sibling. Now, it's been three years since we've seen the release of the DS Lite; following the pattern, we may actually be seeing a new version of this handheld at this year's E3. However, it may not be the widescreen DS as a lot of people expect since Nintendo has debunked that rumor. To find out more, head on over to the full article.

Finally, some love for Nintendo DS fans: compared to last week, the domain of all things Ninty (at least, the smaller Ninty device) is now getting some action in the form of exciting game release announcements, like Chrono Trigger for the DS (yay!) and some possibility of brickage for R4 users (nay!). Get the full skinny of what you might have missed this week in the full article.

The release dates for the upcoming Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice for the PS3 and Disgaea: Prince of the Demon World and the Red Moon for the DS are finally out, and as it turns out, Nippon Ichi fans only need to wait for less than two months before the next Disgaea comes out. The dates, and a surprise mention of a certain NIS America title, in the full article!

It's now official: Disgaea DS is coming to North American shores thanks to NIS America. Previously announced for Japan as Disgaea: Prince of the Demon World and the Red Moon, this version for the Nintendo handheld will be loaded with new features introduced in Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness with additional improvements to boot. Hit that jump to learn more, dood!

Thought Sony PSP owners will hog all the Disgaea fun with Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness from NIS? Think again. Nintendo DS owners will have their fill of dark, tactical glee as Famitsu announces the confirmation of Disgaea: Prince of the Demon World and the Red Moon. We've got a scan to prove it after the jump.

Phoenix Spaulding, the person responsible for translating Nippon Ichi Software (NIS) games before reaching the west, sat down with Gamasutra to shed light on what NIS America does during the localization process to get its games outside Japan. Aside from finding out who's behind the wacky item descriptions of Disgaea 2, what caught our interest the most is the possibility of Disgaea going to Nintendo platforms.

Now that NIS America is porting Disgaea on the Sony PSP as Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness, it seems like the company is testing new waters. When asked if there's any chance we'll see Nippon Ichi games on the Nintendo Wii or the Nintendo DS, Spaulding replied:

I don’t have any details on it, but I know back at Anime Expo, NIS Japan made a very brief mention about Disgaea on the DS. As far as I know, that’s still planned, and I know they’re at least looking at the others, like Wii, and maybe some other DS titles. I hope they do because so many of our fans, they’re all DS kids. It really just makes sense to at least try it.

While NIS Japan is sorting out plans to give Nintendo fans some love, those who haven't played the first Disgaea on the Sony PS2 should try it out. The cult hit, originally published by Atlus, didn't come in abundant supply (ask any Atlus fan how difficult it is to find its games months after release), but NIS America recently reprinted Disgaea after seeing its sequel's success.

For the full interview, click on the Read link below.

 

By the looks of it, Luminous Arc will be the next big SRPG for the DS. Atlus USA recently earned publishing rights for the title developed by Image Epoch, yet the absence of a release date is difficult to bear. If you can't wait for the game which boasts of  an amazing art style,  Wi-Fi connectivity, weapon creation via Vitae Imbuing system, and all the elements to expect from a top class turn-based strategy game, you might want to drop by their spankin' fresh English official website.

Clicking on the Read link below takes you to Luminous Arc's extensive site, full of info that are sure to make you drool. Taking the shoes of Alph, a soldier in the Luminous Church's elite "Garden Children" unit, players will set out on a quest to rid the world of the Witches and return peace to the world.

With music coming from Yasunori Mitsuda, and character design by Shibano Kaito, we won't be surprised if the game rivals Final Fantasy Tactics or the Nippon Ichi SRPGs. In other words, it's definitely a title to watch out for. Don't worry, we'll keep you posted.

This is for those of you guys who love Disgaea, as well as other games from Nippon Ichi's stable. Although they don't talk about the North American PSP version of the beloved game, GameSetWatch's interview with Jack Niida and Mitsu Hiraoka of Nippon Chi Software America (NISA) talks a bit about the mother company's future game plans... and a lot about Prinny collecting.

Niida was quick to point out that, while a majority of their releases were on the PS2 and PSP, they are nonetheless committed to supporting other platforms as well: "gamers (on all platforms) can expect surprises from us." Of course, they will still work as closely with Sony, "providing great games for PS2/PS3/PSP users as well."

Wonder why GameSetWatch didn't ask about the possibilities of a PS3 game set in the Disgaea universe?

Moving on... Part of the interview was dedicated to NISA's contribution to geek love, their online store RosenQueen.com. The name's taken from an item shop in Nippon Ichi's Marl's Kingdom series, and since it doesn't "literally" carry the NIS/NISA name, it can carry both Nippon Ichi-related products and products that aren't related to NIS/NISA at all, providing a service to both the customer and other companies (double cha-ching to NISA, too).

Remember the Disgaea wish list? They carry Prinny plushies! (Dunno if the plushies carry their in-game power, though: you might want to run them past an X-ray or something, just to be sure. Kidding!)

Speaking of collectibles, in this case special editions of their games, Niida also explained the logic behind putting out a collector's edition of a game. "Judging cost effectiveness on a bonus item for video games is always a difficult task. What it comes down to is cost-benefit, customer interest, affordability, and future impact."

It also depends on the retailer's cooperation - if they're willing do devote resources to promoting these spec.-editions in stores - but Niida did say that they would "like to provide similar special editions packages." Hmm... we're wondering if there will be a special-edition North American Disgaea Portable with free Etna and/or Flonne in the pack... Who wants to start the letter-writing campaign?!

 

NIS America just made our day when they spilled the beans on Disgaea Portable's US version. Now, we'll just have to wait if Nippon Ichi would indeed fulfill our Disgaea wish list. While we wait, let's focus our attention on the other things that NIS America has in store for us.

It was way back in June when NIS' Jack Niida talked about making games for the Wii, potential downloadable titles, and sticking to 2D games. After that, we heard nothing about NIS making games for the Wii or the Nintendo DS...until now. Apparently, during the presentation of NIS' new online store, RosenQueen, a company exec hinted that NIS is moving into Wii and DS development. He said that "I've heard rumors - just rumors! - that NIS is preparing DS and Wii contracts". And if you check out RosenQueen, you would see that the company now sells Wii and DS accessories.

Hmmm. We don't know what games they are planning to make for the Wii and the DS or if they are really serious in developing for the mentioned platforms. We guess we have to hear some official word from NIS America. For now, keep checking us out for updates.

New scans for the games announced earlier, Atelier Iris and Infinite Undiscovery, have surfaced. The problem is we don't know anything about these games at all. For now, these scans are just a showcase of artwork and screenshots for the two games. The two on the left are for the Atelier Iris game for the DS while the two on the right are for Infinite Undiscovery for the Xbox 360.

The original Atelier Iris was on the PlayStation2. This game will be on the DS and is being developed by Gust. It's likely to be published by Nippon Ichi Software. Infinite Undiscovery is a brand new franchise for the Xbox 360. It's an RPG game developed by Tri-Ace. That's all that is currently known. However, Xbox 360 fans are probably excited that they're finally getting a lot of JRPGs for the system! There are many people thinking of getting a PS3 because the 360 is lacking in JRPGs. Games like Infinite Undiscovery might help change their minds.