NIS America the challenges of continuing a long-running series like Disgaea

S: What goes through your head now with Disgaea the series coming up on so many years of ongoing titles and success?

Sohei Niikawa, President of Nippon Ichi Software: When I was first working on this, I never thought that it would have lasted for a whole 15 years, and at first it wasn’t even intended as a series for overseas publication. We were just thinking of selling it here in Japan. The only reason that we were able to continue this long is that not only do we have a great fanbase here in Japan, but we also have fans around the world who say, “I love this game, I love Disgaea!” It’s really thanks to our international community that we have lasted this long.

S: With such a long-running series, what kinds of challenges do you run into even now when it comes to making each entry?

SN: When we made [Disgaea] 1, we didn’t necessarily expect it to be as well-received as it was. When we had these incredible reviews from the fans who said they love the game, working on the second one we went, “What can we do to make it better than the first? How can we exceed our fans’ expectations?” With 2, after that was 3, then 4, and every time that is our biggest challenge in making this series.