The company had previously made feature phone games long before smartphones took off and is now coming back.
Nippon Ichi Software (NIS) had been involved in mobile gaming for quite some time, having had a great deal of luck back when feature phones were the big thing in Japan – the step in technology between the old flip-phones and the current smartphone – but their popularity rapidly fizzled out as mobile tech changed and brought a tidal wave of game developers into the mix.
The company has now announced their return into smartphone games, with a specific goal in mind.
NIS will now be stepping back into providing mobile gaming products, but will be doing so for PlayStation TV and Vita. It will be recreating some of its most popular games so that consumers will be able to play them over these channels. The time of the feature phone trend in Japan wasn’t very long, but when it happened, many consumers owned these devices and NIS saw a tremendous market in mobile games, as the competition in that market wasn’t nearly as large as is currently the case for smartphones.
The company now sees an opportunity to take advantage of mobile gaming nostalgia from its most popular titles.
Though the feature phone wasn’t nearly as technologically advanced as a smartphone, it did offer a number of interesting and unique advancements over what had been available to old cell phone and flip phone owning consumers. Mobile games were certainly among the most beloved features on those devices.
One of the most popular games that NIS had put out for those mobile devices was called “Duologue”. That will now be among the titles that will be released in Japan for PlayStation Vita and PlayStation TV as a part of its “App Archives” service. That service is being launched within that country and Duologue will be the first title released under its brand. It is expected to cost 556 yen.
This mobile gaming experience was first launched in 2006, and the new launch will allow gamers to be able to return to the adventures of its protagonist, Alius, on the continent of La Zik, with more than 1,000 different objectives to be reached.
According to the federal agency, from 2004 to 2013, Sprint outsourced payment processing for digital purchases, such as games and other mobile applications. The agency claims that many consumers were not aware that they would have to pay for these applications because of hidden charges. Sprint is accused of failing to properly monitor its third party vendors and stop them from charging consumers over their mobile devices.