Say "Nippon Ichi Software" turned-based strategy games come to mind that have made the Japanese developer. NIS created an American arm (NIS America) to help localize games like Disgaea. But what else does the subsidiary do? Next February, it's bringing over Jaleco puzzle game Puchi Puchi Virus. Says NIS America president Haru Akenaga:

Our core audience will remain the same, but we will also appeal to the information rich yet time poor casual gamers with unique and distinctive titles.

Santa Ana, CA - NIS America announces its first puzzle game, Puchi Puchi Virus™ for the Nintendo DS™. Puchi Puchi Virus™ will be localized by a new team within NIS America to fulfill an emerging group of gamers. "Our core audience will remain the same, but we will also appeal to the information rich yet time poor casual gamers with unique and distinctive titles." says Haru Akenaga, president of NIS America.

About Puchi Puchi Virus™

Puchi Puchi Virus™ does not resemble the ordinary puzzle game. The usual "object drop" style was replaced with a more intuitive system of "object linkage". Its simple design and surprisingly in-depth game play can addict even the most demanding puzzle game enthusiasts. The object is to form at least a single triangle formation by linking viruses together and erasing them from the screen. Victory conditions vary from mission to mission, but erasing all of the viruses will be the fundamental rule of this game. Erase all the viruses and you win, but if the screen gets filled with the emerging viruses you lose. Note: there is a twist to this
system that gives depth to the game play. Viruses turn to stone if left alone for a while, which cannot be selected to form a triangle. However, these stones can be erased if they are within a triangle that you create. With a little luck and practice players can rake in massive points by letting viruses turn to stone and erasing them all at once.

RELEASE DATE: February 2008
PLATFORM: Nintendo DS™
GENRE: Puzzle
PLAYER(S): 2

NIS America Game [Go Nintendo]

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