Danganronpa writer isn’t interested in creating bite-sized mobile experiences

Though it took awhile to ramp up, the Danganronpa game series has been a runaway success for Japanese developer Spike Chunsoft. The Battle Royale-style high school horror role-playing series went from a quiet 2010 PlayStation Portable release to a large franchise, now with more than a half-dozen games across multiple platforms out as well as book, comic, and animation adaptations.

Though U.S. publisher NIS America won’t talk numbers, it seems that the franchise has been successful in the West, too. By the time first game in the series came to Sony’s PlayStation Vita in the U.S. in early 2014 (a remake of a 2013 Japanese PSP release), NIS America’s initial runs had already sold out on its website. The unique presentation, unusual characters, (a crazed, murderous bear name Monokuma is a fan-favorite) and dark tone struck a chord with players, giving the franchise a big boost on social networks — and that buzz has yet to die down. This all had NIS America announcing a localized release of its sequel, Dangaonronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, only a few months after the original release. And it followed last month with the announcement of a third game, an action-based spin-off, Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls.

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