Today, Namco Bandai officially announced their plans to publish Ni No Kuni in North America. The Level-5 developed RPG has already seen release in Japan on the DS and will be available soon on the PlayStation 3. At this time, Namco Bandai has only announced support for the PlayStation 3 release of the game, which has been retitled Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch.

Level-5 is best known for their work on the Professor Layton series, but have extensive RPG experience from their work on both Dragon Quest VIII and IX. Ni No Kuni marks a new experience for the company, however, as its production has included the talents of the famous Studio Ghibli. The creators of My Neighbor Totoro, Castle in the Sky, and Spirited Away have provided all of the game's character designs and animations, which flow almost seamlessly with the various cutscenes featured in the game. Joe Hisaishi of Studio Ghibli has also provided the game's soundtrack and is responsible for the scores featured in many of the studio's most memorable films.

The tale of Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch follows the exploits of a young man, Oliver, who has set out on a quest to become a master magician in order to bring his mother back from the dead in the parallel world of Ni No Kuni. Throughout his trials, he'll encounter a cast of other characters, grow his skills, and ultimately face off with the White Witch herself.

Carlson Choi, Vice President of Marketing for Namco Bandai revealed that Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch "will be one of [Namco's] premier titles for 2012," which undoubtedly sets a high bar on the expectations for the unique japanese RPG.

ROLE-PLAYING MASTERWORK ‘NI NO KUNI: WRATH OF THE WHITE WITCH™’ FOR PLAYSTATION®3 COMING TO NORTH AMERICA IN 2012

Developed by LEVEL-5 with Animation by Studio Ghibli, the Eagerly Awaited Title Takes Japanese Role-playing Games to New Heights of Beauty and Brilliance

SAN JOSE, Calif., - October 17, 2011 – NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc., today announced that the game-changing Japanese role-playing title Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch™ will bring its potent blend of preeminent anime talent and role-playing game (RPG) expertise to North America in 2012 exclusively for PlayStation®3.

The unique fantasy RPG is developed by LEVEL-5, the studio behind the smash hit Dragon Quest VIII and IX, and the Professor Layton series. For the game’s characters and animations, LEVEL-5 collaborated with the legendary Studio Ghibli, the team responsible for countless anime masterpieces including My Neighbor Totoro, Castle in the Sky and Spirited Away. The in-game music comes from the hand of Joe Hisaishi, the composer of the scores to over 100 films including many of Studio Ghibli’s greatest productions.

“We are very honored to be working with the talented Studio Ghibli and Hisaishi-san on this game,” said Akihiro Hino, president and CEO of LEVEL-5 Inc. “It is very exciting for us to bring the best of Japanese anime and video game cultures together, and also to bring it to players in Europe and America. We hope you will enjoy it.”

“With such a dream team of development talent, beautiful hand-drawn anime and an amazing fantasy universe, Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch will be one of our premier titles for 2012,” said Carlson Choi, Vice President of Marketing, at NAMCO BANDAI Games America. “At once epic and enchanting, this is a story that will drag you in and hold you transfixed from start to finish.”

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is an epic tale of a young boy, Oliver, who embarks on a journey to become a master magician and bring back his dead mother from the parallel world of Ni no Kuni. Along the way he encounters some extraordinary characters, many of whom become helpful allies. They guide Oliver as he explores the vast world and learns the magical skills that will make him strong enough to face his most deadly foes, and ultimately survive an encounter with the White Witch herself.

In the game, the beauty of Studio Ghibli’s hand-drawn animation has been perfectly reproduced, with the cel-shaded graphics engine producing stunning real-time animations of a quality normally only seen in their industry-leading feature films. In addition, Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch on PlayStation®3 brings a wealth of new content to the Ni no Kuni universe, with an additional cast of mysterious characters to meet, new areas to explore, and a whole different perspective on the involving story.

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is scheduled for North American release in 2012. For more information on NAMCO BANDAI Games’ entire line up please visit www.namcobandaigames.com