Nippon Ichi Plans PS3 Disgaea Title

Nippon Ichi is having some big financial problems, and now expects to incur a loss of many zillions of dollars this next fiscal term.

But it's got a plan in place to get out of the gaming gutter. This:

Posted today at the Nippon Ichi corporate site as part of a earnings statement, the above visual promises a new PS3 entry in the Disgaea series as part of Nippon Ichi's strategy for the coming fiscal year.

The graph shows total shipments of the Disgaea series through the current fiscal year. Including Disgaea 1 through 3 and all related series, Nippon Ichi has sold 1.6 million Disgaea games. In the chart, blue indicates domestic sales and purple overseas sales.

The statement mentions a number of measures that Nippon Ichi plans on taking in order to recover.

It's aiming for a more focused lineup in the hopes of improving quality. For the year, the company plans 8 new game releases (the new Disgaea game included). Of these, six are original titles.

The statement blames externally developed titles as one of the reasons for a drop in quality. The company plans on decreasing its reliance on such titles greatly.

Finally, the company plans on targeting overseas markets. It will focus on the PlayStation 3 and North America.

Nippon Ichi's actual loss forecasts for the year, announced last week, aren't quite a zillion dollars, but are are still pretty high. While the company originally expected operating income of 30 million yen, it now expects an operating loss of 299 million yen. Sales are expected to reach 1,131 million yen, down from initial forecasts of 1,788 million yen.