Developer and publisher Spike Chunsoft has announced that it is opening up a North American subsidiary to handle its global publishing and localization strategy. 

Specifically, the Long Beach-based Spike Chunsoft, Inc. will act as a global publisher for all of Spike Chinsoft's own releases in addition to handling projects developed by the Japanese company Mages Inc.

In a press release, the company notes that the decision to open the new office was driven, in part, by the rising popularity of Japanese games worldwide and those games' subsequent elevation beyond the status of just niche titles.

"Even as information is more easily shared, the world still holds a wealth of undiscovered entertainment. As Spike Chunsoft, it is our goal to cultivate this potential into something new and memorable that transcends time, genre, and nationality," said Spike Chunsoft CEO Mitsutoshi Sakurai in a statement. 

"Until now, our titles were produced in Japan and distributed worldwide by our business partners. But given how the instantaneous speed of information has become the norm, we believe that communicating with our overseas audience directly is a new avenue for us to create joy."