Akihiro Hino of Level-5 hints at big plans for the developer’s International America branch.
Level 5 has a pretty interesting stable of games, from Professor Layton titles to Guild01 – featuring Suda 51’s shooter section Liberation Maiden – but of its back catalogue, only Ni no Kuni: Lair of the White Witch is due for Western localization. And okay, that is the one created in partnership with Studio Ghibli, so if any title of Level-5’s was to come to the West it really ought to be Ni no Kuni. But Level-5 has a North American office now, so a question arises: after Ni no Kuni, what next for Level 5 International America?
CEO Akihiro Hino let a hint slip in a recent interview. “In the future,” Hiro said, “we would potentially like to develop titles overseas where Level-5 International America is taking the lead on developing for the overseas market.” Original titles for the West, created by the Japanese developer that worked on Professor Layton and Ni no Kuni? Now there’s something to look forward to!
Hiro refused to do more than hint at this stage. However Siliconera pointed out that there may be a concrete title in the works for localization. It’s not confirmed yet, but Guild01 – or at least Suda 51’s portion of the game – may get localized. So far the only evidence of this is some trademark filings, so there’s not much to be said other than it might be coming. Might. Holding your breath would be a bad idea …
Source: Siliconera
