Team Ninja considering Vita Ninja Gaiden release

Team Ninja would "of course" like to expand the Ninja Gaiden series onto other platforms if possible.

"We've received a PlayStation Vita system and are thinking about it," studio lead Yosuke Hayashi told PlayStation UK in a fan Q&A session.

"Right now we're focused on Ninja Gaiden 3 for PS3, and after that's complete we'll start to look at ideas such as bringing out Ninja Gaiden on PS Vita because of course we'd like to expand the series."

Hayashi also touched on the troubling question of Ninja Gaiden 3's difficulty; the series is notorious for its inaccessibility, and talk of a more casual friendly iteration has distrurbed the hardcore.

"We didn't want to disappoint all the Ninja Gaiden fans, so the game is still kind of difficult," Hayashi reassured fans.

"Having said that, the concept of the Japanese dark hero means that you can choose the difficulty and the style of gameplay you want to use.

"So you can play as a hardcore Ninja Gaiden player and fight a lot, or you can focus on the storyline - of course you still have to fight, it's just that in this case the game is a bit easier."

In a similar vein, Hayashi acknowledged that longterm fans of the hard-as-nails action hero will want to use traditional controls, while PlayStation Move support is there for "the casual player", so they can "do the full action movements and have fun in another way."

Ninja Gaiden 3 is expected on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in early 2012, with a Wii U version planned.

Thanks, Joystiq.