Both old and new titles are under consideration.
In a recent PR statement, MangaGamer, a video game publisher that focuses on localization and distribution of PC visual novels, announced its plans to increase its presence on the Nintendo Switch platform after the successful launch of NOVCET’s Seventh Lair on February 10th (via Noisy Pixel).
“After years of releasing our Visual Novels for fans to enjoy on Steam, GoG, and other platforms that cater to younger audiences as well, our first release to console has been a long time coming,” MangaGamer’s PR Director, John Pickett, said in a statement celebrating the new release. “We’re very grateful to Nintendo for being so open and cooperative with developers looking to publish on their digital storefronts, and we couldn’t be happier that one of our first console releases is a title developed by NOVECT, the amazing team responsible for the wonderful literary experience of The House in Fata Morgana,” he concluded.
According to Pickett, the team is evaluating a variety of titles from its catalog with an eye toward appealing to a youthful demographic. Both classic and new titles are being considered. MangaGamer has already localized several well-known works, including 07th Expansion’s Higurashi and Umineko, Innocent Grey’s Kara no Shōjo series, and the highly acclaimed The House in Fata Morgana. The last title in that list received a remarkable Metacritic score of 96 upon its release on the Nintendo Switch platform via Limited Run Games, and it is considered a literary masterpiece among many visual novel enthusiasts.
The characters in Seventh Lair come from The House in Fata Morgana, but their personalities and stories are very different. The game follows the journey of an independent game developer who craves recognition after receiving online criticism for his lack of success, leading him to release a new game on April Fool’s Day. Little does he know that the game he launches will draw him and others into a fantasy realm of despair and intense emotion akin to a role-playing game. Seventh Lair contains meta-textual elements that explore our interactions on the web, with game developers, and with games themselves.
NOVCET is currently developing a new point-and-click detective game codenamed M. Although information is limited at present, the developer confirmed in an interview with The Mako Reactor that all of the original team members who worked on The House in Fata Morgana will be involved in the project, including singer Tetem (Gao) and composer Yusuke Tsutsumi. Artist Lim Chin Yang, who worked on the popular anime film Weathering with You, is also involved. NOVCET intends to launch the game with an English localization from the start and has hopes to release it on PlayStation consoles, Nintendo Switch, and Steam.
