The team behind Professor Layton, Inazuma Eleven and Ni No Kuni speak about their games, localisation and much more.

In just over ten years Level-5 has grown to become one of the most beloved developers within the video game industry. They are responsible for the hugely popular Professor Layton series and have worked on a number of titles that are still only available in Japan.

While at E3 1UP spoke to Level-5's president Akihiro Hino and asked all about their games, the localisation process and how they went from an RPG developer to the company behind the first ever game co-developed by Studio Ghibli, the animation studio behind Spirited Away, Ponyo and My Neighbour Totoro.

Mr. Hino has needed to quickly become the company's marketing manager but the extra responsibility is one he enjoys. He likens marketing video games to making a video game itself:"It's really fun to think of ways to sell a game, then seeing it be successful. I think it's just as creative a process as game development itself."

Their newest franchise, Inazuma Eleven, is focused on a younger demographic and this is why they decided to make an anime and manga series to go along with it. Ironically it has resulted in the DS game getting delayed in the UK with Nintendo waiting for it to be shown before they release the game. Discussing the need to ensure the different mediums work together, rather than seeming like a marketing ploy, Mr. Hino stated:

"One of our main goals with Inazuma was to keep the anime and the game close together. If the anime staff comes up with a great idea, then we rewrite the game story to go along with that. We have both creative teams playing against each other during development."

More information, including details about Ni No Kuni, future titles and their upcoming Famitsu articles, can be found by clicking the link below.