Bright idea, Idea Factory starts making visual novels for the DS

In North America, Idea Factory is probably known for Generation of Chaos and Spectral Souls. The truth is only a portion of their revenue comes from SRPGs, visual novels and adventure games are another prime source of their income. Despite the prolonged success of the PlayStation 2, Idea Factory has to begin brainstorming about where to bring their comparatively low budget adventure games. I imagined three potential futures: releasing them as downloadable games for the PS3/Xbox 360, taking advantage of the Wii’s large install base or shifting development to the Nintendo DS.

Starting with Hiiro no Kakera DS, Idea Factory is testing the waters with the third scenario. The Hiiro no Kakera series is a good place to start considering there are two other Hiiro no Kakera games on the PlayStation 2. At this point it is unclear if Hiiro no Kakera DS will be a port of either of them or a brand new installment and if Idea Factory plans to make the DS their console of choice for future otome games. (Note: Otome games are a genre of dating games aimed for girls where they can pick several male characters to virtually date.)