Nippon Ichi Software, Inc. (株式会社日本一ソフトウェア, Nippon Ichi Sofutowea; also known as Prism Kikaku Ltd. from July 1993 to July 1995) is a Japanese company that creates and sells video games. It was started in 1991 and has made many role-playing video games, including the Disgaea and Marl Kingdom series. The company's mascot is a penguin-like character named Prinny from the Disgaea series.
NIS America, a branch of the company that helps make games available in different languages and regions, was created in 2003. At first, it only worked with the North American market, but in 2007, it expanded to Europe and other areas. This branch also publishes anime.
History
Nippon Ichi Software was created in September 1991 in Gifu Prefecture, Japan, as a company that makes entertainment software. In July 1993, it moved its headquarters and changed its legal structure. The company has bought other companies, merged with others, and started new businesses. In the early 2010s, it formed two new companies: Nippon Ichi Software Asia Pte. Ltd and Nippon Ichi Software Vietnam Co., Ltd. In 2016, NIS merged with System Prisma Corporation and bought FOG Inc. In 2012, the company received a Guinness World Record for releasing the most strategy RPGs. The company helped Hamster Corporation with their Arcade Archives series in 2014 but later stopped supporting it as the series became financially successful.
The company has created many traditional role-playing video games. Characters from earlier games often appear in later games as secret characters, even if the games are not directly connected. Their main series, Disgaea, takes place in the same universe.
Games
Nippon Ichi Indie Spirits is a company that helps bring non-Japanese indie games to the Japanese market by translating and adapting them. It was created on December 28, 2016. The first games released through this label were Nidhogg, Back to Bed, and Emily Wants to Play in February 2017. All games published through this program are only available for download online.
NIS America
NIS America is a company that helps translate and publish games worldwide. It was created on December 24, 2003, by Nippon Ichi Software. The company is located in Santa Ana, California. At first, it only sold games in North America, but in 2007, it began selling games in Europe and other areas. This happened because Nippon Ichi Software wanted to share its games with more people in the United States, as its games became popular in countries outside Japan. Before 2003, other companies translated NIS games into English for release. Some of the company's most famous games are part of the Atelier, Ys, and Trails series.
Personnel
Kenzo Saruhashi is the president and chief leader of Nippon Ichi Software. He became the president after Tetsuhisa Seko passed away in January 2025.
Takehito Harada is the chief executive officer and video game artist at a company owned by Nippon Ichi Software called Studio ToOefuf. His artwork has been used in video games such as Disgaea, Phantom Brave, Makai Kingdom, and Fate/Grand Order.