The companies Koei Tecmo and Team Ninja officially unveil the 2017 launch date for the release of the forthcoming PlayStation 4 action-RPG known as Nioh.
As many gaming fans may recall, Nioh, the Dark Souls meets samurai culture title from developer Team Ninja, was originally announced way back in the year 2004 as a game for the PlayStation 3. Now, after being relegated to and surviving a long stint within the confines of development hell, it seems as if the release will finally see the light of day.As it happens, Koei Tecmo general producer Kou Shibusawa recently showed up during Sony’s Tokyo Game Show 2016 press conference to reveal Nioh‘s date of availability, confirming that Japanese audiences will receive the long-awaited title on February 9, 2017 for the PlayStation 4. However, it seems as if the publisher has intentions to make the game a global release, as Shibusawa also stated plans on giving it a simultaneous launch worldwide.
For those unfamiliar with Nioh and the eager anticipation surrounding it, the game focuses on William, who is a samurai of mixed heritage that battles against supernatural enemies and fellow warriors alike by using lots of different weapons and styles of fighting. Such a description may bring to mind notions of the game being something of an Onimusha reboot, but Nioh actually can be considered more of a title containing action combined with strategic elements, as a lot of people have gone on to explain it as a mixture of both Dynasty Warriors and Dark Souls.
Although Nioh encountered several stumbles on its way to finally being completed, Koei Tecmo and Team Ninja had been able to make a demo available that accentuated a gameplay style that was also reminiscent of Ninja Gaiden. The trial featured two different areas to be included in the final version of the title, while also offering the free “Mark of the Conquerer” DLC to any fan who was able to complete it and planned to buy the full game upon its release. However, the alpha demo ended on May 5 of this year, so those who missed out will have to rely on the possibility of another trial being put out before Nioh‘s launch.
At any rate, with Nioh now finally having received what seems to be concrete release date, fans who had taken part in the demo and have been following its development since its announcement a decade ago will surely rejoice to know of its impending launch. However, one can only hope that Nioh doesn’t miss its current deadline and perpetuate its status among the many oft-delayed games.
Are you excited about Nioh‘s release date? If so, are you planning on making it a day one purchase next year? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Nioh is set to launch on February 9, 2017 for PlayStation 4.