Firstly, sorry about the slight delay in posting this, as I have been away for the weekend. Here is an interview with Nomura discussing the minor details about the future Kingdom Hearts side-project game. As well as discussing details of the game, I believe we might have a little unofficial confirmation that there will be a Kingdom Hearts 3, which I will discuss after the interview. Here is the interview:

About the new Kingdom Hearts title that will be announced after summer this year (2007), will that be a direct sequel?
Tetsuya Nomura: “Hmm…I’m not sure how much I can say. I’ll start of by saying that it’s not Kingdom Hearts 3.”

So this game will be a side story?
Tetsuya Nomura: “That’s right. My own feelings are that I would like to give Sora a break from large adventures for a little while. So I’m thinking of making the next game’s story focus on other characters.”

So by a little while, do you mean that Sora’s journey from Kingdom Hearts 2 hasn’t finished?
Tetsuya Nomura: “Yes. If you’re talking about the mysteries that started from Kingdom Hearts 1, then those were all revealed. In the ending of Kingdom Hearts II, there was a scene where Sora received a letter from the King; for Sora, I would like you to consider this as a new beginning. The truth is, until the very end, I was considering whether or not to include a scene showing them setting off on a journey after reading the letter.”

So, let’s talk about this new story, which doesn’t have Sora as the main character. What sort of story will it be?
Tetsuya Nomura: “Well, I need to start with the story depicted in a Birth by Sleep. Aside from that, there’s the story of how the King found his keyblade in the world of darkness and other things like that. Myself, one of the things I most want to do is to give Roxas more of a role to play. I think it would be interesting to flesh out more of the year he spent between his birth and disappearance. Or making Riku the main character, and writing about his desperate fight while Sora was asleep, and things like that. You get the impression that Riku summoned Roxas to a place of shadows, and that Riku is a master of shadows, so I would like to give him more exploration in the game.”

Will there be anything different in the game system?
Tetsuya Nomura: “I’d like to try something a little different to the previous games in the KH series. I’m not just talking about the next game, more about the next project, so I can’t say that it will just be one game (laughs). For the Kingdom Hearts series, being made with our company and Disney, both companies have things in mind that we would like to make reality, so there’s always at least two things we want to do.”

What platform does it look like the next game will be released on?
Tetsuya Nomura: “Hmm… Probably a hand-held platform. Right now we’re working on titles for the PSP (FFVII Crisis Core), Nintendo DS (This Wonderful World) and for mobile phones (MONOTONE), so I wouldn’t be surprised if it were on any of those platforms.”

Is there any chance that this game may be released on multiple platforms?
Tetsuya Nomura: “We haven’t considered that in the development. If possible, I would like to make a system that suits the platform. But in contrast, in terms of ideas, I would want ideas that could be released on any platform.”

The more I hear about the next game, the more exciting it sounds, but for the fans the first thing to do is to see KH2 Final Mix’s secret movie isn’t it?
Tetsuya Nomura: “Yes. I’m worried that we made the conditions for getting the secret movie too hard, but through reading this guide, I hope the readers will be able to see the secret movie. Finding a way to defeat (the new boss) is tough, but I’ve seen it done, so I know it’s not impossible (laughs). If you’re able to see the new secret movie and turn your thoughts to the next Kingdom Hearts, I’d be very happy.”

END OF INTERVIEW

So, perhaps not too much new information, but I think we can take Nomura’s comment that I have highlighted above where he says he would like Sora to have a break from large adventures can be taken to indicate that there will be a Kingdom Hearts III at some point in the future. He doesn’t say he wants to change the format forever, simply that Sora should have a break. I may be foolish, but I take this as a bit of a slip, and that there will more likely than ever, be a Kingdom Hearts 3.

If you don’t mind and find this useful, please digg this article!

Well, the second day of the Square-Enix Party this year was based mostly around Dragon Quest, and therefore no new Kingdom Hearts news has arisen. Famitsu believes that the surprise and “New Project” were something to do with the short trailer seen at the party yesterday, which means we can look forward to the Tokyo Game Show 2007 (at Chiba City near Tokyo in Japan, 20th-23rd September) for more Kingdom Hearts related news!

Japanese Yahoo Blog member gemaga1985 has put a lot of different information about the various projects and exhibitions announced and seen at the Square-Enix Party. The pictures above show the queues at 11am, in which he had to wait 100 minutes to get in, and then how packed it was when he got inside. He found out from different people that the waiting times for some of the events were up to 3 hours! Feel free to look at the gemaga1985 blog for more screenshots of the day, and of some of the announced projects including the many Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy related ones.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find a picture of Yoko Shimomura on the Saturday yet, but she was there signing CDs and shaking hands. I haven’t been able to find a video of the short Kingdom Hearts trailer either, but it probably won’t be shown to the public for a few months officially.

Below are the final visitor numbers for the two days announced by Famitsu. 38,632 people turned up on Saturday and 36,602 people turned up on Sunday giving a total of 75,234 people over the course of the weekend - A great improvement on the 46,981 people who attended the 2005 Party.

Big news! At the Square-Enix Party 2007, a very short video was shown of an Armored Knight fighting in a 3D battle arena, shortly followed by the words “New information is scheduled to be announced in the Tokyo Game Show 2007”!

Update: GameWatch: “The Movie had a scene of facing an eruption of smoke that becomes the heart shape logo that symbolizes the series. A short notification that the Movie was ending was with a scene of Sora and his two companions seen walking. The information “A new project was to be announced at the Tokyo Game Show 2007” was announced at the end of the Movie.”

Update: Famitsu: “In addition, the new information on the surprise continues. The image of a new project of “Kingdom Hearts” was thrown onto the screen. The scene where the armored soldier who fights in the arena of warfare in 3-D graphics, which felt beautiful. Then the words appeared in English, “New information was scheduled to be announced in Tokyo Game Show 2007” was displayed at the end, although, it was a short image.” - (You’d think that if it was in English, magazines would report the same quote, wouldn’t you?)

Forum member Aerith and I may hopefully be attending the Tokyo Game Show 2007 in September (20th to the 23rd), and I’ll get the most vital information to you guys! See the Tokyo Game Show 2007 News Post for more information.

Update: A screenshot of a Kingdom Hearts merchandise has appeared:

Update 2: “The Third Birthday” is apparently a sequel to Parasite Eve. Never mind about that lol.

Update 3: Although it’s not Kingdom Hearts related, there are some of the first videos from the Square-Enix Party 2007, including one of the short promotional video of Final Fantasy Versus XIII:

The TOKYO GAME SHOW was first held in 1996, and since that time has grown along with the game industry to become the world’s premier computer entertainment show. This year’s TOKYO GAME SHOW will be the 17th held to date. The ten-year anniversary show held last year in 2006 broke records in every category, including number of visitors (192,411), exhibitors (148), titles (around 650), and media registrants (4,264), reflecting the attention to the world leaders in the Industry.

The 2007 event will be the first four-day TOKYO GAME SHOW, offering a fuller exhibition program and stronger trade show attractions than ever before, with the purpose of making this one more step forward for the world’s foremost computer entertainment show.

Three Visions for TOKYO GAME SHOW 2007

Stronger Business Day
In order to comply with the request of visitors attending for business discussion or media information gathering purposes, Business Day will be expanded to two full days. Space will be provided for business consultations, and a range of new facilities and services will be in place, and the Developer Tools and Middleware Area will be re-envisioned as Business Solutions Area.

Increased Internationalization
In recognition of the increasing number of overseas exhibitors and visitors, the event website and signage will be provided in multi-language format, and a program book will be created for the convenience of foreign attendees. During the Show, an International Party will be hosted to provide an opportunity for foreign exhibitors and visitors to meet each other and select representatives from the Japanese industry.

More Users, Greater Satisfaction
We plan to provide a Kids’ Area and increase and improve the content aimed at parents and children. A Game Science Museum will be added to the Video Games Museum that was launched last year.

[Exhibition Outline]

Name: TOKYO GAME SHOW 2007
Organizer: Computer Entertainment Supplier’s Association (CESA)
Co-organizer: Nikkei Business Publications, Inc. (Nikkei BP)
Supporter: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry（planned）
Dates:
- September 20th (Thursday), Business Day (10:00 - 17:00)
- September 21st (Friday), Business Day (10:00 - 17:00)
- September 22nd (Saturday), General Admission (10:00 - 17:00)
- September 23rd (Sunday), General Admission (10:00 - 17:00)
Venue: Makuhari Messe (Mihama-ku, Chiba City)
Expected Attendance: 180,000
Expected Booth units: 1,550
Expected Exhibitors: 160
Exhibits (planned):
- General Area
- Mobile Contents Area
- Game School Area
- Kids’ Area
- Sales Area
- Business Solutions Area* (new)

*The Business Solutions Area will be dedicated to game industry B to B exhibitors. In addition to makers of development tools and middleware, the corner will introduce a number of other services such as firms specializing in game character licensing, supporting system for ventures and financing method for game business.

Admission Fee:
Advance Ticket: 1,000 yen (tax incl.)
Day Ticket: 1,200 yen (tax incl.)
Children (elementary school and under): Free of charge