I have discussed the status of the Global release of Yoko Taro’s SINoALICE smartphone game in the past, but we’ve got some big news that should make a lot of international fans excited!
NEXON has finally relinquished its rights to the global release back to Pokelabo, the developer. According to their announcement, the game should be out sometime this summer, around the beginning of July, if everything goes well this second time around!
This segment is only available to NicoNico Premium Members. There is no Net Ticket for this segment.
The final free-to-watch segment of the Anniversary livestream will likely be around 5 hours and function as a typical talk show like we’ve seen the crew do in the past. It’s currently unknown exactly what will be discussed during this segment, but there’s always a possibility they will drop something important on us (perhaps something about Yoko’s New Project?) We shall see…!
April 22, 2020 marks the 10th Anniversary of the NieR series.
The year 2020 was supposed to be an amazing 10th Anniversary year for the NieR series, but it’s turning out to be much more of the “curse” Yoko originally said it was.
First the Tokyo performances of the NieR:Theatrical Orchestra 12020 (March 28-29) were cancelled. Then the YoRHa Ver.1.3aᵃ performances (March 12-15) were cancelled. Now we’re left with very little to celebrate about…
Because of this, Saito has stated an interest in doing something on March 29 to sort of smooth things over and still manage to celebrate something for the 10th anniversary, which actually later on April 22.
“We’re going to do something on March 29. Worse comes to worst, just me and Yoko will do something. It’s the 10th Anniversary after all, so let’s go 10 hours.”
Of course, he is likely joking about the 10 hour thing, but it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for long livestreams that they’ve done in the past.
“I’m coming!!! (haha)” Akiyama Kaoru performs the voice of Pod153 in NieR:Automata and the voice of SS in the YoRHa Boys Ver.1.0 stage play.
アコギとビール持って行っても良いですか…🎸
— 後藤 貴徳 Takanori Goto (@pippi_pinopino) March 2, 2020
“Shall I bring my acoustic guitar and a beer…?” Takanori Goto has performed the guitar for multiple NieR related series, including the most recent YoRHa Ver.1.3a with violist Shirasu Kon and drummer Takashi Fukuoka.
“If you do Mahjong, I can play!” Inko (Rita Jay) played the role of Cactus in the YoRHa Boys Ver.1.0 stage play.
Regarding the cancellation of the YoRHa Ver.1.3aᵃ stage play, the cast and crew are still going to practice. Plans are currently being considered to livestream the show. The whole point of having this “rerun” version of the play was because the Blu-ray recording fell through at the previous show, so this was their “comeback” second chance at getting a physical release of the play. It’s likely that since the play has been cancelled, they are still practicing if just to complete a recording to later release on Blu-ray.
The cast has already had their character photo shoots, so plans are also under way to still release new Ver.1.3aᵃ merch.
“Anyway, according to Sekiya-P, his reason for making the announcement at the weird time of 3:30am was “I scheduled it to post at 10am but it blew up.”
So, it’s super sad that so many of these events have been cancelled, but there’s really nothing anyone can do about it. We just need to be sure to return our tickets & get our money back!
This week’s issue of Famitsu magazine points to yet another new IP from Platinum Games and their Platinum 4 project. Here’s a short excerpt via Ryokutya:
A young boy, body wrapped in pale light, poses before a giant monster…!
Platinum Game’s first self-published and completely new IP!
Kamiya: I’m working as director on a completely new title. Inaba: We’re going to betray everyone’s expectations on this– in a good way! Kamiya: This will be a challenge that Platinum has never attempted before.
Kamiya: Similarly with the single-body transformations in Viewtiful Joe reminiscent of Kamen Rider, or the squads in The Wonderful 101, G.G. will have gigantic heroes. Inaba: If we really had to put it in any given genre, it wold be ____ Action ____ (two words redacted!). Kamiya: The action feeling is a really important aspect of the game, but I wouldn’t say it’s forced.
Inaba: At this point in time, we want to release it on all platforms.
Inaba: When we started making the plans, the development team kicked into gear. We want to open a studio in Tokyo with about 100 people, so we’ll be looking for new talent. We have about 15 people thus far.
Kamiya: I’m kinda nervous because Taura beat me in the poll I started on Twitter asking “people you want to work with the most”. Inaba: We can only take it as fact. (haha)
Inaba: There have been other proposals similar to our partnership with Tencent and I’ve heard many stories about Platinum losing its independence, but I turned these down because we don’t want to sell our freedom in exchange for stability.
There are still 2 new titles that have yet to be announced. Platinum 4 includes four new projects from Platinum Games.
Inaba: The last one is a secret. We’re going to make something interesting that lives up to the Platinum name. Please look forward to it!
In an announcement by Editor-in-Chief, Chiki Ryoaki, we’ve learned that one of Japan’s longest running magazines on video games, Dengeki PlayStation, which began publications 25 years ago in 1994, will be discontinued at the end of March.
The Dengeki PlayStation monthly magazine will be discontinued following the final release of Vol.686 on March 28. Next to Famitsu, Dengeki PlayStation has been releasing issues for 25 years since Vol.1 in 1994. However, due to the continuing change in how information is distributed, releasing physical issues has become rather expensive.
Many readers have already been able to access articles on Dengeki Online or on the Dengeki Online YouTube channel during regular “Dengeki PS Live” segments. They will be considering producing additional publications such as extra editions, mooks, and more. They will also continue to produce articles on the Web under the “Dengeki PlayStation” title as well as releasing “Dengeki PS Live” programs and other videos on Dengeki Online.
Therefore, there are only two remaining issues: Vol.685 to be released on February 28 and Vol.686 on March 28.
