Ninokuni North American Release Confirmed for 2012

I've had my fingers crossed for a release of Ninokuni outside of Japan ever since the game was first announced. Many titles from Level-5 fail to see release in the West due to the perception of low demand, but it's now safe to say that the publisher has every intention of bringing the Studio Ghibli-directed game stateside, following an announcement by the publisher at the Tokyo Game Show.

Speaking at the Sony Computer Entertainment conference at TGS, Level-5 president Akihiro Hino said that work on the English localization of Ninokuni: Shiroki Seihai no Joou ("Queen of the White Ashes") is currently in progress, and that it will be out in North America in early 2012 on the PlayStation 3.

In addition to the story told within the Nintendo DS version of the game, the PS3 version of the RPG will be ratcheted up with all new story content. The story will be told differently after the game's midpoint, and will be followed up with additional story content that takes place after the end of the DS storyline.

Level-5 has also announced plans to launch the game in Asian markets in Japanese, and the publisher is considering translating the game to Chinese if there is demand for it. The game will be followed up with additional DLC content post-release, but the publisher can't comment on it until a later date.

Ninokuni is the first and only game to feature the collaboration of Studio Ghibli, best known for their animated films, with a videogame studio. In Ninokuni, players take on the role of Oliver, a 13-year old who is magically transported into the parallel reality of Ninokuni, where he finds himself on a mission to resurrect his recently-deceased mother.