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[Harvest Sprite]

Marvelous entertainment has been a long time publisher in Japan, mostly for smaller and sometimes quirkier titles. In the past couple years, they intended to try breaking out around the world. They purchased a fifty percent share stake in European publisher "Rising Star Games" as well as made deals with "XSEED". Today they announced the end of quest of global domination. Marvelous has sold their shares in "Rising Star Games" and has announced reverting back to their original licensing model where publishers outside Japan can bid for titles to publish themselves.

A couple of reasons for their reversal in plans is difficult market conditions, and lower then expected sales. Which translates to, great job nice person consumers, you didn't buy interesting third party Wii games so now were screwed financially.

Via Zentendo.

What do ya'll think about this? Will it directly effect the Harvest Moon series?

[Darth-Paper-Boy]

I doubt it. It mostly probably means that we'll be getting mostly HM from Marvelous from now on, as other companies may not be keen on localizing their other titles elsewhere. Unless XSeed and Rising Star feel like doing it anyway. Certainly hope so as far as Rune Factory's console future is concerned.

[Lindstrom]

Can't blame the customers, it's their own fault for either not marketing the games right or not making the games better in the first place. As the world's pickiest man, I still loved RFF and I think the problem there was marketing. I've only heard any mention of Rune Factory on this site.

[Hasfusel]

I've seen each new HM title about once in shop. They never advertised and they never restocked. Like Lindstrom said, I've only heard of about half the HM titles on this site.

[Zen Clarke]

Yeah, that's kinda true. I'd never heard of Harvest Moon until my friend started playing some of hers again, and she was having so much fun that I decided to borrow one. Which eventually led me here, while searching for something. I've never seen one commercial for HM (though, I think there are less video game commercials these days...), and it's hard to find it in the store. After EAM came out, every time we went to Target, I'd go to the video game section to see if they had it so I could stare at the cover, wishing for Christmas. But it was never there. :(

[trinest]

Well PAL wise we have always had huge delays regardless if the publisher was affiliated with them or not, so nothing changes here.

Nintendo of Australia publishes Harvest Moon games for Nintendo devices in Australia- so there an even longer dealy there.