Ys VIII was announced for Switch this past week, and now some new details have emerged. The Switch version will not be handled by Falcom directly, with NISA is publishing the game in North America, and Nippon Ichi Software taking care of the release in Japan.
A discussion was held between Falcom CEO Toshihiro Kondo and Nippon Ichi CEO Sohei Niikawa on the NIS website that revealed some new details. For example, Niikawa feels that the three ways to play on Switch: portable, TV, and tabletop modes, are extremely attractive for players. He believes this is the key reason for the Switch’s success overseas and in Japan, since he has heard that Japanese players prefer to play games in portable mode, while western players prefer to play them at home.
Nikawa then discussed the close relationship between himself and Kondo and how they have helped each other grow as businessmen and game designers. The close relationship was the reason Nippon Ichi reached out to Falcom about bringing one of their games to Switch after the success of Disgaea 5 on the system. Because Falcom is a small company, it is necessary for them to reach out to partners, and this is where NIS comes in.
It is good to hear that success publishers are seeing on the Switch is leading them to seek out new games to bring to the system.