Жапондық Level 5 ойын компаниясы тарихы

Japanese video game company

Level 5 Inc. (株式会社レベルファイブ, Kabushiki gaisha Reberu Faibu) is a Japanese video game developer and publisher based in Fukuoka. The company was founded in October 1998 by Akihiro Hino after he departed from Riverhillsoft. Early in its history, the company enjoyed a close relationship with Sony Computer Entertainment, with many of its games then funded by and produced in conjunction with them. Level 5 began self publishing its games in Japan by the late 2000s, with other companies such as Nintendo handling publishing worldwide. The company is best known for their Dark Cloud, Professor Layton, Inazuma Eleven, Ni no Kuni, Yo kai Watch, and Snack World franchises.

Level 5 was established in October 1998 by Akihiro Hino and his development team at Riverhillsoft, following the release of OverBlood 2. Since Hino did not originally believe that his team could become an independent developer, he formed a partnership with Sony Computer Entertainment, who would allow him to develop for their upcoming PlayStation 2 under the condition that he set up his own company. Yasumi Matsuno, director of Vagrant Story, Final Fantasy Tactics, and the Ogre Battle series, briefly joined Level 5 in June 2011, and left the company after completing work on Crimson Shroud for the Nintendo 3DS. By the early 2010s, Level 5 was one of the ten largest video game companies in Japan, holding a market share of 3.2%. In October 2015, Level 5 founded a spin off company in Santa Monica, in cooperation with Dentsu, called Level 5 Abby. In October 2020, it was reported that the company's North American operations, including Level 5 Abby, were shutting down due to low sales. The same month, Level 5 launched a manga publishing platform called "Manga 5".