Level-5 To Open New Santa Monica Studio In September
White Knight ChroniclesSquare-Enix has a new office in Los Angeles and another Japanese developer is following suit in an endeavor to expand Westward.
It's Level-5, best known for the Dragon Quest, Professor Layton and White Knight Chronicles franchises. According to Siliconera, the developer plans to open an office in Santa Monica, California in September. It will be known as Level-5 International America and their expansion won't end there; they also intend to move into Europe some time next year. CEO Akihiro Hino has said these expansions are designed around the concept of releasing games overseas, which of course translates to more localization staff and (presumably) lesser delays is that area of production. White Knight Chronicles took over a year for it to go from Japan to North America, and let's not forget that White Knight Chronicles 2 is scheduled to release in Japan next month. With this new studio, US gamers should definitely look to the future with an expectant eye; Level-5 creations should indeed hit store shelves a bit earlier than usual in this neck of the woods.
We're also very interested to see how WKC2 comes out...we're one of the few who really liked the original, and the team has plenty of enhancements featured in the sequel.
6/2/2010 12:15:43 PM Ben Dutka
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Comments (30 posts)
mehrab2603
Wednesday, June 02, 2010 @ 12:56:23 PM
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2 up, 0 down
Highlander
Wednesday, June 02, 2010 @ 1:32:33 PM
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Either way faster releases in NA and Europe is a fantastic idea.
4 up, 0 down
Jawknee
Wednesday, June 02, 2010 @ 1:50:09 PM
2 up, 0 down
Rinoa
Thursday, June 03, 2010 @ 5:44:25 AM
but i do like their close relationship to sony. if they really bring some closure to white knight chronicles with the second release i hope they work on more rpgs for the ps3.
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Jawknee
Wednesday, June 02, 2010 @ 1:49:51 PM
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BikerSaint
Wednesday, June 02, 2010 @ 1:53:18 PM
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Now Sony just needs to make them an offer they can't refuse.
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Hezzron
Wednesday, June 02, 2010 @ 2:07:00 PM
0 up, 0 down
Shams
Wednesday, June 02, 2010 @ 4:17:42 PM
0 up, 0 down
MyWorstNightmar
Wednesday, June 02, 2010 @ 1:55:59 PM
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Ben, I'm dieing here. PAN OUT PAN OUT!!! If for no other reason, so that I can put my mind at ease to know what the heck is going on in that picture. You cropped it or chopped it, and now can you help a brotha out?
1 up, 0 down
BigBoss4ever
Wednesday, June 02, 2010 @ 2:03:55 PM
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Last edited by BigBoss4ever on 6/2/2010 2:04:12 PM
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kraygen
Wednesday, June 02, 2010 @ 2:27:16 PM
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off topic, where's the modnation review?
1 up, 0 down
Lotusflow3r
Wednesday, June 02, 2010 @ 2:38:00 PM
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Let's just hope this isn't SquareEnix all over again.
Last edited by Lotusflow3r on 6/2/2010 2:38:11 PM
1 up, 0 down
tes37
Wednesday, June 02, 2010 @ 3:32:03 PM
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1 up, 0 down
CharlesD
Wednesday, June 02, 2010 @ 4:19:33 PM
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1 up, 0 down
piratedrunk
Wednesday, June 02, 2010 @ 6:09:42 PM
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"Famitsu confirms that the latest version of the original White Knight will be included in full. In White Knight 2, the original White Knight, Inishie no Kodou, is referred to as "1st part" while the sequel, Hikari to Yami no Kakusei, is referred to as "2nd part."
1st part will include the 130+ pieces of content that were distributed as online download content. Additionally, the graphics and gameplay systems have been updated to 2nd Part standard, giving you access to some of the new gameplay features."
Oh and also apparently your avatar gets a knight of a different sort as well. Good times.
Last edited by piratedrunk on 6/2/2010 6:11:35 PM
1 up, 0 down
MyWorstNightmar
Wednesday, June 02, 2010 @ 6:22:45 PM
0 up, 0 down
Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Wednesday, June 02, 2010 @ 7:12:27 PM
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piratedrunk
Wednesday, June 02, 2010 @ 7:31:57 PM
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Scarecrow
Wednesday, June 02, 2010 @ 7:11:47 PM
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Hopefully it's for making more games
They currently only make one game at a time (I think)
Would be nice if they'd make 2 great games at any given time.
Sony Santa Monica better help them (and keep them exclusive 8) )
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sonic1899
Wednesday, June 02, 2010 @ 8:04:08 PM
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1 up, 0 down
Alienange
Wednesday, June 02, 2010 @ 11:03:21 PM
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0 up, 0 down
Lawless SXE
Thursday, June 03, 2010 @ 2:40:14 AM
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Peace.
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Lawless SXE
Thursday, June 03, 2010 @ 3:06:31 AM
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Peace.
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Lawless SXE
Thursday, June 03, 2010 @ 3:08:02 AM
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Peace.
0 up, 1 down
___________
Thursday, June 03, 2010 @ 4:12:17 AM
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im still waiting for rock band 2 for fu*ks sake that was released almost 2 fu*king years ago!!!!!!!
AU = the WORST! country to live in for games.
its not enough we have to pay double what the US pays.
its STILL not enough we miss out on half the stuff.
we also have to wait months sometimes year for the stuff that is releasing.
why is it every single time a game is made in the US its released in the US first and the reason is well its made there.
but when a game is made in EU 99% of the time the US sees it first. cough joe danger.
5 hundred billion dollars says LA Noire a game thats being made in AU not even 20 minutes away from my house, will be released in the US before here.
0 up, 1 down
Lawless SXE
Thursday, June 03, 2010 @ 6:51:47 AM
Peace.
0 up, 1 down
___________
Thursday, June 03, 2010 @ 8:31:20 AM
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Underdog15
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Wednesday, June 02, 2010 @ 12:37:42 PM