Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, the gorgeous RPG from Level-5 and Studio Ghibli, isn't releasing in the West this year. We may have to twiddle our thumbs until early 2013, but it's going to be worth the wait. Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino has confirmed that the North American and European versions are going to include content not found in the Japanese version, such as extra creatures. For a game that's already 50-80 hours long according to Namco Bandai's localization specialist Katherine Schilling, adding anything sounds like an even better deal.

Hino also confirmed that, whatever downloadable content they make, whether it's free or paid, will also be brought to the States. I'm not surprised, since Namco Bandai is publishing the game, so they wouldn't pass on the opportunity to make some additional cash.

Hopefully the news of possible money-grubbing DLC doesn't turn you off, because Hino has plans for the IP. If Ni no Kuni does well enough in the West, it will give them enough of a boost to create a sequel. He's noted that other Level-5 games have done better outside of Japan, such as Dark Cloud, Dark Chronicle, and Professor Layton. You know what this means, right? It's time to go preorder a copy, and while you're at it, get all of your friends to preorder too!

[Via Siliconera and Andriasang]