is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

video game developer A video game developer is a broad term for a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large ...

and

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

. The company was founded in 1991 and has developed several

role-playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...

s, most notably the ''

Disgaea is a series of tactical role-playing video games created and developed by Nippon Ichi. The series debuted in Japan on January 30, 2003, with '' Disgaea: Hour of Darkness'', later re-released as ''Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness'' and ''Disgaea D ...

'' and ''

Marl Kingdom is a series of RPGs developed by Nippon Ichi Software. The three main games in the series are '' Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure'', '' Little Princess: Marl Ōkoku no Ningyō Hime 2'', and '' Tenshi no Present: Marl Ōkoku Monogatari''. The first ...

'' series. Its

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

is the penguin-like ''Disgaea'' character

Prinny are a fictional race of creatures primarily in Nippon Ichi's ''Disgaea'' series of role-playing games. First appearing in '' Disgaea: Hour of Darkness'', they have appeared in all later titles by the company, as well as on various merchandise su ...

. NIS America, a localization and global publishing branch of the company, was founded in 2003. It originally focused solely on the North American market until being expanded to include Europe and other regions in 2007 and has also published

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

History

Nippon Ichi Software was founded in September 1991 in

Gifu Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,991,390 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture to the northwest, F ...

, Japan, as an entertainment software company. It was relocated and reincorporated on July 12, 1993. The company has made several acquisitions, mergers, and forming new subsidiaries. In the early 2010s, the company formed Nippon Ichi Software Asia Pte. Ltd and Nippon Ichi Software Vietnam Co., Ltd. In 2016, NIS merged with System Prisma Corporation and acquired developer

FOG Inc. was a Japanese video game video game developer, developer based in Machida, Tokyo, and a subsidiary of Nippon Ichi Software. The company was founded on December 2, 1996. FOG is best known for developing visual novels. History FOG Inc. was found ...

In 2012, the company was awarded the

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for being the company that released the most

strategy RPG Tactical role-playing games (abbreviated TRPGs), also known as strategy role-playing games and in Japan as (both abbreviated SRPGs), are a video game genre that combines core elements of role-playing video games with those of tactical (turn-b ...

s. The company has developed a number of traditional

s. Many characters from previous games make their way into later games as secret characters, even though their respective games may not be directly connected. Their flagship franchise, ''

'' series, shares the same universe.

Games

Nippon Ichi Indie Spirits

Nippon Ichi Indie Spirits, a label under which the company localises non-Japanese indie games for the Japanese market, was formed on December 28, 2016. The label's first games, '' Nidhogg'', ''Back to Bed'', and ''

Emily Wants to Play ''Emily Wants to Play'' is a survival horror video game created by Indie developer Shawn Hitchcock. The game was first released for macOS and Windows on December 10, 2015. It was later released for iOS, Android, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Ocul ...

'', were released in February 2017. All games that are published through this program are only released digitally.

NIS America

NIS America, a localization and global publishing branch of Nippon Ichi Software, was founded on December 24, 2003. Based in

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana () is the second most populous city and the county seat of Orange County, California. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census, making Santa Ana the List of ...

, it originally focused solely on the North American market until being expanded to include Europe and other regions in 2007. The branch was the result of the company's wish to focus on international publication of their works in the United States, given the increased popularity of their games outside of Japan. Prior to 2003, NIS games were released in English by contracted publishers. Some of the company's more well-known releases include entries in the ''

Atelier An atelier () is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices can work together producing fine art or v ...

'', '' Ys'', and ''

Trails A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. ...

'' series, among others.

Games

Anime

Personnel

is a chief executive officer of Studio ToOefuf and video game artist employed by Nippon Ichi whose art has been featured in video games such as ''

'', ''

Phantom Brave is a tactical role-playing game for the PlayStation 2 video game console, developed and published by Nippon Ichi Software. It was released on January 22, 2004 in Japan, on August 31, 2004 in North America and on February 4, 2005 in Europe. The Nor ...

'', '' Makai Kingdom'', and ''

Fate/Grand Order is a free-to-play Japanese mobile game, developed by Lasengle (formerly Delightworks) using Unity, and published by Aniplex, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan. The game is based on Type-Moon's ''Fate/stay night'' franchise, and w ...

''. His art style has been described as "crazy and bizarre" and features everything from demon children, to freaky pigs in royal clothing. His signature character, Pleinair, has appeared in Disgaea and Phantom Brave.

References

External links

* * (NIS America) {{Authority control Amusement companies of Japan Anime companies Japanese companies established in 1991 Video game companies established in 1991 Home video companies of the United States Japanese brands Video game companies of Japan Video game development companies Video game publishers Companies based in Gifu Prefecture Kakamigahara, Gifu