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Former Dragon Quest Producer Ryūtarō Ichimura, China's NetEase Games Establish PinCool Company

posted on by Alex Mateo
PinCool to develop large-scale/smaller games for players worldwide

Former Dragon Quest producer Ryūtarō Ichimura and China's NetEase Games established the new PinCool company on Monday. The entertainment production company aims to deliver original works from Japan to people worldwide, with a focus on game development. The name PinCool comes from the Japanese phrase "Pin to Kuru," which refers to being able to understand someone's emotions through observation. The name is meant to invoke the idea of enjoying the world through the power of imagination. The English name uses the word "Cool" as a stylistic choice.

pincool-logo
Image via PinCool's Twitter account

Takashi Ogura (Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai) will be a board member of PinCool. Experienced professionals in the entertainment field will work at the company.

PinCool will develop large-scale titles as well as smaller games in-between releases.

pincool
Image via Ryūtarō Ichimura's Twitter account

Ichimura left Square Enix on March 31. He had worked at Enix, then Square Enix, for 22 years. He has produced multiple games, including those in the Dragon Quest series, such as Dragon Quest VIII, Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies, and Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies.

NetEase Games is the online games subsidiary of NetEase, Inc. NetEase Games formed Nagoshi Studio Inc. in January 2022. The creator of Sega's Yakuza (Ryū ga Gotoku) game series Toshihiro Nagoshi serves as the Representative Director and CEO of the company while former Yakuza series producer Daisuke Satō serves as a producer. While NetEase Games is located in Guangzhou, China, Nagoshi Studio Inc. is located in Tokyo.

NetEase Games acquired Gōichi Suda's (SUDA51's) game developing studio Grasshopper Manufacture Inc. in 2021. Game developer and Devil May Cry 5 designer Ryosuke Yoshida left his job at CAPCOM in July 2020 to work as a senior game designer at NetEase Games' Sakura Studio. Game producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi (Resident Evil, Dragon's Dogma, Sengoku Basara, Devil May Cry) left CAPCOM in March 2022 after 27 years to join NetEase Games as a producer.

NetEase Games established Nici Co. Ltd. in Tokyo in June 2020 to "support the anime industry," delivering a variety of animation together with various partners. NetEase Games recently launched the Anici (pronounced ah-nee-shee) anime brand as part of Nici Co. Ltd. The brand aims to provide content with respect to content creation and the spirit of challenge under the theme of "that passion, even 10 years later."

Sources: Press release, PinCool's Twitter account, Ryūtarō Ichimura's Twitter account (link 2) via Hachima Kikо̄


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