Ni No Kuni, Level 5's Collaboration With Studio Ghibli, Secures 600k Initial Shipment

Ni No Kuni, Level 5's forthcoming RPG created in collaboration with legendary Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli, has secured 600,000 initial DS retail orders in Japan, according to CEO Akihiro Hino. The figure was revealed at the Nintendo DS title's launch event; a PlayStation 3 version of the game, titled Ni no Kuni: Shiroki Seihai no Joo launches next year. According to Famitsu comments (translated by Andriasang) Ni no Kuni has achieved the highest number of initial retail orders of any previous Level 5 game, including entries to the developer's popular Professor Layton series. Hino said: "We consider Ni no Kuni to be Level-5's next big title to follow Professor Layton and Inazuma Eleven," indicating that the developer hopes to sell in excess of 2 million copies of the game. For Studio Ghibli, the major Japanese animation studio co-founded by animation legend Hayao Miyazaki and known for films like My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away, Ni no Kuni is its first major video game collaboration. The forthcoming PlayStation 3 version of the game will feature high-definition graphics as well as a significantly different game design and plot.