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Level-5 Comcept

Topic: Company

 From HandWiki - Reading time: 8 min
Short description: Japanese video game developer
Level-5 Comcept
Native name
株式会社レベルファイブコンセプト
Kabushiki gaisha Reberu Faibu Konseputo
FormerlyComcept (2010-2017)
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
FoundedDecember 1, 2010
FounderKeiji Inafune
HeadquartersOsaka , Japan
Key people
Keiji Inafune (CCO)
ProductsMighty No. 9
ReCore
Number of employees
15 (as of June 2017)[1]
ParentLevel-5
Websitewww.level5.co.jp/level5comcept/

Level-5 Comcept, formerly known as Comcept Inc., is a Japanese video game developer company based in Osaka , founded on December 1, 2010 by Keiji Inafune, formerly of Capcom.

Their projects include Soul Sacrifice, Mighty No. 9, ReCore and Red Ash. In addition to games on handheld and home consoles, the studio has developed multiple mobile games. In 2017, the company was acquired by Level-5, adopting its current name in the process.[2]

History

Founding

Logo from the company's foundation until the Level-5 acquisition.

Keiji Inafune founded Comcept after his departure from Capcom in December 2010.[3][4] After the cancellation of Mega Man Legends 3, which he mentioned as a "long-time held dream",[5] he thought that "not only had he abandoned himself, but the fans too".

Comcept is a design and production studio which pairs up with other studios to develop games.[6] This often includes working on multiple games at once, and doing a variety of genres instead of being narrowly focused.[6]

Comcept's first game was the free to play smartphone title, The Island of Dr. Momo. The game had micro-transactions, and was released through the GREE platform.[7] They also developed another mobile game, J.J. Rockets.[8]

Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z

Main page: Software:Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z

In September 2012, the team's next project was revealed as a new Ninja Gaiden title, named Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z.[9] The game is a collaboration between Comcept, Team Ninja, and American developer Spark Unlimited.[10] When announcing the game, Inafune said: "“I’m very happy to stand here next to Mr. Hayashi today, and we’ll prove to you that we are going to survive and make good games that will lead the Japanese game industry."[11]

The game was released in March 2014 to a largely negative reception, with Metacritic giving it a score of 43.[12] GamesRadar included it in their list of "the 50 worst games of all time".[13]

Kaio: King of Pirates

Main page: Software:Kaio: King of Pirates

In 2012, Comcept and Intercept (another game developer founded by Inafune) began work on Kaio: King of Pirates (海王, Kaiō), which was to be published by Marvelous. It was set for release on the Nintendo 3DS .[14] Using a pirate setting, the plot was a retelling of the Chinese story Romance of the Three Kingdoms.[15] Marvelous cancelled the game in 2015, and reported a loss of ¥461 million (roughly $3.8 million USD) on the project.[16]

Soul Sacrifice

In 2013, Comcept assisted Sony Computer Entertainment and its Japan Studio in designing the PlayStation Vita game Soul Sacrifice and the expansion, Soul Sacrifice Delta.[17]

Mighty No. 9

Main page: Software:Mighty No. 9

At PAX Prime 2013, Inafune held a special panel in order to reveal a brand new project called Mighty No. 9, a spiritual successor to the Mega Man series. At the end of the panel, Inafune officially launched the game's Kickstarter campaign.[18] He thought that Kickstarter would be "a great way to make dreams a reality". The game was developed jointly with Inti Creates (another studio founded by Capcom staff). After several delays, the game was released in 2016. It was met with a mixed critical reception for its level of quality and gameplay.[19][20]

Following the release of the game, Inafune stated: "You know, I want to word this in a way to explain some of the issues that come with trying to make a game of this size on multiple platforms." adding "I'm kind of loath to say this because it's going to sound like an excuse and I don't want to make any excuses. I own all the problems that came with this game and if you want to hurl insults at me, it's totally my fault. I'm the key creator. I will own that responsibility."[21][22] His translator, Ben Judd, followed up these remarks by giving his assessment of the project: "In this case, it was do the base game and do all the ports all at the same time. And it ended up being a huge amount of work, more than they actually estimated. Definitely, when they looked at the project, they were wrong about a lot of things. They underestimated how much work, time and money was going to be necessary. All of those things create a huge amount of pressure."[21] Later Judd added “But, again, we can hope that if things go well, there'll be sequels. Because I'll tell you what, I'm not getting my 2D side-scrolling fill. And at the end of the day, even if it's not perfect, it's better than nothing. At least, that's my opinion.”[23]

In 2017, Comcept licensed the Mighty No. 9 characters to Inti Creates, allowing them to feature the characters however they wished, free of charge, in their Nintendo Switch game Mighty Gunvolt Burst.[24]

Red Ash

The logo of Red Ash: The Indelible Legend

Red Ash: The Indelible Legend[lower-alpha 1] was announced as a spiritual successor to the Mega Man Legends series. The game was to be funded via Kickstarter, a campaign that ended with $519,999, well short of its $800,000 goal. It was later announced on July 30, 2015, that Chinese game company Fuze would finance the game.[25]

The campaign for Red Ash was heavily criticized by game journalists and fans alike, describing it as rushed and poorly planned.[26][27]

A CGI short titled Red Ash: -Gearworld-, originally known as Red Ash: -Magicicada-,[28] was funded by a separate Kickstarter campaign handled by Studio 4°C, that was released to coincide with the game.[29][30] The short was released in March 2017 as part of the Young Animator Training Project's Anime Mirai 2017 project.[31]

As of 2023 there have been no official updates about Red Ash's production and is currently to be shelved until further notice.

Level-5

In 2017, Comcept was acquired by Level-5 and became Level-5 Comcept. The Tokyo location was closed, leaving the Osaka location as the sole base of operations.[32][33][2] Their first game under Level-5 was the mobile game Dragon & Colonies, launched in June 2019. The game was shut down on February 17, 2020.[34] Additionally, they have provided development assistance for various of Level-5's latest games such as Yo-kai Watch Jam: Yo-kai Academy Y – Waiwai Gakuen Seikatsu and Megaton Musashi. In February 8, 2023 it was revealed Level-5 Comcept would handle the development of Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, slated to come out later that same year.[35]

Games developed

Year Title Co-developer Platform(s) Note(s) Ref
2011 The Island of Dr. Momo Android, iOS Published via GREE
2011 JJ Rockets Marvelous AQL Android, iOS [8]
2012 Sweet Fuse Idea Factory PlayStation Portable
2013 Soul Sacrifice Marvelous AQL, Japan Studio PlayStation Vita
Guild02 – Bugs vs. Tanks! Level-5 Nintendo 3DS
2014 Yaiba Team Ninja, Spark Unlimited Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Soul Sacrifice Delta Marvelous AQL, Japan Studio PlayStation Vita
2016 Mighty No. 9 Inti Creates Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, Xbox 360, Xbox One Kickstarter; Vita and 3DS versions never completed
ReCore Armature Studio Windows, Xbox One
2018 Fantasy Life Online Level-5 Mobile phones
2019 Dragons & Colonies Mobile phones Launched in June 2019, temporarily taken offline from August to October and relaunched, shut down completely in February 2020
2020 Yo-kai Watch Jam: Yo-kai Academy Y – Waiwai Gakuen Seikatsu Level-5 Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4
2021 Megaton Musashi Level-5 Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4
2023 Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Level-5 Nintendo Switch [36]

Notes

  1. ↑ The Japanese title of Red Ash: The Indelible Legend is RED ASH機鎧城カルカノンの魔女 (Reddo Asshu Kiganjō KaruKanon no Majo)

References

  1. ↑ Lemon, Marshall (June 14, 2017). "Level-5 acquires Mighty No. 9 dev Comcept". VG 247. https://www.vg247.com/2017/06/13/level-5-acquires-mighty-no-9-dev-comcept/. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "株式会社レベルファイブ" (in ja). https://www.level5.co.jp/news/20170615_02/. 
  3. ↑ "Keiji Inafune quits Capcom" (in en). Eurogamer.net. https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2010-10-29-keiji-inafune-quits-capcom. 
  4. ↑ 社長のblogは11/1をもって公開終了いたしました。ご愛顧ありがとうございました。 :
  5. ↑ Niizumi, Hirohiko (September 23, 2007). "TGS '07: Mega Man celebrates 20th anniversary". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/articles/tgs-07-mega-man-celebrates-20th-anniversary/1100-6179759/. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Leone, Matt (2016-02-01). "Keiji Inafune looks back on five years of Comcept". https://www.polygon.com/features/2016/2/1/10863910/keiji-inafune-five-years-of-comcept. 
  7. ↑ Feltham, Jamie (2011-07-22). "Keiji Inafune Details New Game" (in en-US). http://www.ign.com/articles/2011/07/22/keiji-inafune-details-new-game. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Ashcraft, Brian (2011-08-03). "Top game designers going social" (in en-US). The Japan Times. ISSN 0447-5763. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2011/08/03/digital/top-game-designers-going-social/. 
  9. ↑ Mitchell, Richard (September 12, 2012). "Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z a partnership between Keiji Inafune's Comcept and Team Ninja [update: trailer!"]. Joystiq. https://www.engadget.com/2012/09/19/yaiba-ninja-gaiden-z-a-partnership-between-keiji-inafunes-comc/. 
  10. ↑ Ashcraft, Brian (2012-10-03). "Inafune, back to save Japan's gaming industry from death" (in en-US). The Japan Times. ISSN 0447-5763. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2012/10/03/digital/inafune-back-to-save-japans-gaming-industry-from-death/. 
  11. ↑ Feit, Daniel. "Ninja Gaiden, Dead Rising Creators Team For Zombie-Filled Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z" (in en-US). WIRED. https://www.wired.com/2012/09/yaiba-ninja-gaiden-z/. Retrieved 2018-08-01. 
  12. ↑ "Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z". Metacritic. https://www.metacritic.com/game/yaiba-ninja-gaiden-z/critic-reviews/?platform=playstation-3. 
  13. ↑ "The 50 worst games of all time" (in EN-US). gamesradar. http://www.gamesradar.com/worst-games-all-time/. 
  14. ↑ Ray Corriea, Alexa (December 10, 2015). "Inafune's 3DS game Kaio: King of Pirates delayed to 2014". Polygon. http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/10/5195502/inafunes-3ds-game-kaio-king-of-pirates-delayed-to-2014. 
  15. ↑ Maiberg, Emanuel (March 14, 2015). "Mega Man Creator's Other 3DS Game Cancelled". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/articles/mega-man-creator-s-other-3ds-game-cancelled/1100-6425918/. 
  16. ↑ "Kaio: King of Pirates, Keiji Inafune's 3DS Title, Has Been Cancelled - Siliconera" (in en-US). Siliconera. 2015-03-13. http://www.siliconera.com/2015/03/13/kaio-king-pirates-keiji-inafunes-3ds-title-cancelled/. 
  17. ↑ McWhertor, Michael (September 9, 2013). "Soul Sacrifice Delta coming to PlayStation Vita in 2014". Polygon. http://www.polygon.com/2013/9/9/4709956/soul-sacrifice-delta-coming-to-playstation-vita-in-2014. 
  18. ↑ Goldfarb, Andrew (August 31, 2013). "PAX: Mega Man Creator Announces Mighty No. 9". IGN. http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/09/01/pax-mega-man-creator-announces-mighty-no-9. 
  19. ↑ Nunneley, Stephany (April 28, 2015). "Mighty No. 9 release delayed into early September, extra subtitle languages added". VG247. http://www.vg247.com/2015/04/28/mighty-no-9-release-delayed-into-early-september-extra-subtitle-languages-added/. 
  20. ↑ "Video Game Raised $148 Million From Fans. Now It's Raising Concerns." (in en). https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/10/technology/personaltech/video-game-raised-148-million-from-fans-now-its-raising-issues.html. 
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Yin-Poole, Wesley (2016-06-22). "Sonic sticks the boot in to Mighty No. 9 as Inafune admits: "I own all the problems"" (in en-UK). http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-06-22-sonic-sticks-the-boot-into-mighty-no-9-as-inafune-admits-i-own-all-the-problems-that-came-with-this-game. 
  22. ↑ Orland, Kyle (June 22, 2016). "Amid Mighty No. 9's launch troubles, a lesson for us all". Ars Technica. https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/06/what-can-we-learn-from-mighty-no-9s-troubled-launch/. 
  23. ↑ "Mighty No. 9 pre-launch livestream: 'It's better than nothing' [Updated"]. http://www.pcgamer.com/mighty-no-9-creator-says-its-better-than-nothing/. 
  24. ↑ "Mighty Gunvolt Burst for Switch launches June 15, for 3DS on June 29 - Gematsu" (in en-US). Gematsu. 2017-05-19. http://gematsu.com/2017/05/mighty-gunvolt-burst-switch-launches-june-15-3ds-june-29. 
  25. ↑ Porter, Matt (2015-07-30). "Red Ash: The KalKanon Incident Fully Funded by Fuze" (in en-US). http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/07/30/red-ash-the-kalkanon-incident-fully-funded-by-fuze?%20hub%20page%20(front%20page). 
  26. ↑ "Red Ash Kickstarter seems desperate, lets you vote for Mayor". 19 July 2015. http://www.destructoid.com/red-ash-kickstarter-seems-desperate-lets-you-vote-for-mayor-296296.phtml. 
  27. ↑ "Play the Red Ash prototype in your browser, though it is not fun". 28 July 2015. http://www.destructoid.com/play-the-red-ash-prototype-in-your-browser-though-it-is-not-fun-296800.phtml. 
  28. ↑ "Red Ash -Magicicada- Undergoes a Name Change and More // The Mega Man Network". http://www.themmnetwork.com/blog/2017/1/5/red-ash-magicicada-undergoes-a-name-change-and-more. 
  29. ↑ "Red Ash -Magicicada- by STUDIO4°C". Kickstarter. 2015-07-05. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mightyno9/red-ash-magicicada-by-studio4c. 
  30. ↑ "First Footage of Red Ash: Gearworld OVA". http://www.rockman-corner.com/2017/02/first-footage-of-red-ash-gearworld-ova.html#more. 
  31. ↑ "Anime Tamago 2017 Shorts Previewed in Long 2nd Promo Video". http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2017-02-27/anime-tamago-2017-shorts-previewed-in-long-2nd-promo-video/.112733. 
  32. ↑ Inafune, Keiji (2016-06-06). "本作は，稲船敬二氏がCCOを務めるLEVEL5comcept". https://www.level5.co.jp/level5comcept/message/index.html. 
  33. ↑ "Level-5 acquires Comcept, now Level-5 Comcept" (in en-US). Gematsu. 2017-06-13. http://gematsu.com/2017/06/level-5-acquires-comcept-now-level-5-comcept. 
  34. ↑ Inc, Aetas. "「ドラゴン＆コロニーズ」のサービスが2020年2月17日14：00をもってサービス終了" (in ja). https://www.4gamer.net/games/384/G038491/20191219075/. 
  35. ↑ Romano, Sal. "FANTASY LIFE i: The Girl Who Steals Time announced for Switch". https://www.gematsu.com/2023/02/fantasy-life-i-the-girl-who-steals-time-announced-for-switch. 
  36. ↑ Romano, Sal. "FANTASY LIFE i: The Girl Who Steals Time announced for Switch". https://www.gematsu.com/2023/02/fantasy-life-i-the-girl-who-steals-time-announced-for-switch. 

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