Yes, I saw this over at GAF.  Sue me.

Basically, after today's announcement that ex-Disgaea team members are working with Idea Factory to make a new Vita RPG:

http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/thread.php?id=169484

Someone dug up an old 2ch post about a mass-staff-exodus at NIS:

"Mr.Y (Masahiro Yamamoto) who was in charge of D (Disgaea) and KP (KamiPara), along with almost all the development staff including the main programmer have resigned. The Executive Mr.K and the North American Corporate Head Mr.A, along with their subordinates have also left the company. The above mentioned are making something similar for Company I (Idea Factory).

Mr.K who worked on the D (Disgaea) spinoff D2 has also left the company with a subordinate who was working on the recently announced project A (Arcadias). They have joined Company M.

About half of the development team currently developing a game for the eternal next game protagonist A (Asagi) have also left the company. The project is at a stand still."

This seems to slot in perfectly with the news about the new Idea Factory game, so there may be an element of truth to it.

You can read more stuff about it here: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=688013

I just thought it was interesting/disappointing.  I've not played a great number of NIS' games, but the ones I have played were pretty good.  I wonder how this will affect their operations in the USA, too.

Jack Niida and a bunch of others left NISA not too long ago, too. Sounds kind of grim.

Doesn't say why they left though.

Noooo !
They became the european publishing arm of Atlus in the last months (Etrian Odyssey4, Devil Summoner and Millenium Girl is on the way)


...the video game god giveth ....and taketh away :(

We are really losing our niche Japanese publishers. I hope Majesco doesn't go down either

Their last game is in a developpement hell, plus it will be hard to find its demographics (action/beat them all, as their style felt more right with the turn based players)

But this could mean fresh blood in both NIS and IF, wich is never a bad thing. J-RPG industry needs fresh blood and new ideas !

I blame WiiFitU.

But it's good for U!

There was another 2ch rumour in that NeoGAF thread:

"He said that the various subsidiaries formed by Nippon Ichi in 2011 (Studio ToOefuf, Counter Stop, and Nora) were actually meant to be measures taken against paying overtime owed to employees, but because of various problems with the management of the subsidiaries, all the employees were absorbed back into the main company eventually. But when the staff were absorbed back, they were told that because they are considered "new" employees, they will get the same basic pay as new hires, so they all left."

Sounds grim, but I'm not sure I believe it.

not officially yet, but the australian rating board leaked a listing recently (with NISA as the publisher etc.)

...it is all but confirmed (I don´t have a link, you have to trust me on this one)