Demand for a sequel to NiGHTS Into Dreams has been strong for many years. A game with the working title "Air NiGHTS" was intended to use a tilt sensor in the Saturn analog pad, and development later moved to the Sega Dreamcast for a time, but eventually the project was discontinued.[5] Aside from a handheld electronic game released by Tiger Electronics[6] and small minigames featured in several Sega titles, no full NiGHTS sequel was released. Yuji Naka expressed his reluctance to develop a sequel,[5] but also noted that he was interested in using NiGHTS as a licence "to reinforce Sega's identity".[7]
In March 2007, Official Nintendo Magazine (UK) featured a teaser image which suggested that a new NiGHTS game would be featured in its next issue,[8] and Swedish publication Game Reactor will feature the game on the cover of its 10 April issue.[9] Portuguese magazine Maxi Consolas published a feature on the game,[10][11][12] for which no name has yet been announced. It will be a Wii exclusive, making use of a motion sensing controller, as was initially planned for Air NiGHTS. Characters Claris Sinclair and Elliot Edwards will return. It will feature a multiplayer mode for two players in addition to unannounced online functions. Takashi Iizuka, one of the designers of the original game, is the director of the game.