Disgaea: Hour of Darkness is a tactical role-playing video game developed by Nippon Ichi Software and published by Nippon Ichi Software in Japan, Atlus USA, Inc. in North America, and Koei in Europe for the Sony PlayStation 2 video game console. It was first released in Japan on January 30, 2003, and was later released in North America on August 27, 2003, and in Europe on May 28, 2004. Nippon Ichi has also licensed or produced a wide variety of Disgaea merchandise, including a manga. In 2006, Nippon Ichi released a sequel called Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories for the PlayStation 2, as well as a 12 episode long anime titled Makai Senki Disgaea. A North American version of Disgaea for the PlayStation Portable was released on October 30, 2007 dubbed Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness. The handheld version of game was released on November 30, 2006 in Japan. A second sequel, Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice, was released for the PlayStation 3 on August 26, 2008.