image

Just a few hours back, we shared news of Nihon Falcom showing interest in bringing some of their older titles over to the Switch. Now it seems they have even bigger plans for the system down the road.

In an interview with Famitsu, Nihon Falcom President Toshihiro Kondo was asked about Switch plans in general. Kondo was tight-lipped on specifics, but he was very clear that things are definitely in the works.

That’s the plan, and we even have already decided on titles we want to release next. I can’t specify exactly which ones at the current time, but we believe our fans on Switch have a lot to look forward to.

[Nihon Falcom President Toshihiro Kondo]

Along with that, Kondo was asked about bringing over The Legend of Heroes: Kuro no Kiseki to Switch. Kondo was more straightforward about this, stating that they’re currently looking into doing that, and testing out other Trails entries as well.

In addition to Kuro no Kiseki, we’re currently testing out the feasibility of porting the other entries in the Trails series that aren’t represented on the platform to Nintendo Switch. At the same time, we’re evaluating to the degree we might be able to have further entries in the series developed for the hardware. Of course, these discussions aren’t just limited to Trails, and we’re also considering the possibility of releasing our other franchises on the platform.

[Nihon Falcom President Toshihiro Kondo]

Long story short, it seems Nihon Falcom has a lot of irons in the Switch fire right now. All we have to do is sit back and see what gets confirmed!

Add Comment

Comments (4)

the_crimson_lure

2y ago

Remember when Nihon Falcom said their audience was on PlayStation, not Nintendo?

It's almost like you really can't be sure where your audience *isn't* until you honestly try supporting the platform in question.

Crazy!!!


I certainly remember. I also remember the founder being very condescending about the Switch.
That was exactly at the same time when I decided not to buy a single Nihon Falcom game when they would inevitably arrive on Switch. What a coincidence, right?


I think you're really reading way too into it and more than likely never intended to buy any of their stuff anyway.

Falcon is a smaller company, meaning its harder to just jump on any platform without any guarantee. Saying the audience isnt there is a reasonable deflection when you know youd have to sacrifice resources they just don't have to split development on a platform with no history. They didnt have other partners until very recently to help with ports, and Switch ports were something they couldnt afford to fit in without that support. Just last year, the president in an interview said "Simply, we aren’t able to get everything done at the same time without involving other companies like Clouded Leopard Entertainment (CLE) and Nippon Ichi Software."

And not just that, there wasn't really any instance in the last 10+ years before Switch where Nintendo's hardware was capable enough for their games anyway. The gap between DS and PSP was too much for this, and while 3DS ports might have been doable with a ton of scaling and optimization, Ys 8, Cold Steel 1, and 2 were already pretty poorly optimized on the Vita which shows they struggled with the time or resources for those versions even.

Once Xseed lost the localization/publishing contract and they were able to partner with a company able to handle ports, the president has said many times lately there was no ill will, nothing "condescending", and are more than happy to have their titles on Switch because it's actually feasible now. But you seem pretty proud you made a poor, emotionally charged assumption to remain butthurt about a reasonable business decision, so you do you I guess.


conangiga

2y ago

@bakfug

Reading your wall of text I wonder who's the butthurt and emotionally charged one here.
As you said, the president said those things about no ill will 'lately' because that's where his target audience is right now. But right at the beginning of the Switch's lifecycle he was every bit as condescending as i claim he was.

I really wanted to get into the Ys series but I don't like people who talk shit and then backpaddle when they realise that they bet on the wrong horse.