Digimon MMO Coming to North America

It may have been a few years since you heard the catchy theme to the Digimon television show. You may not even accurately recall this Pokemon-esque animation/manga/toy/game empire. But the digi-pets are still out there, and soon they'll be returning to the shores of North America in the form of a pair of Massively Multiplayer Online Games. It's worth noting a few things about the publisher for these games. CDC games is one of an increasing number of companies bridging the online worlds of the East and West. They've brought several popular games from China and Korea here to the states, and are the Eastern publisher for games like Turbine's Lord of the Rings Online.

The games, Digimon RPG and Digimon RPG2, are pretty much exactly what you'd expect. You take on the role of a Digimon trainer, starting out with a low-level unevolved critter. Your task throughout the game is to tame, train, and evolve your digital pets through combat and conflict. It's a turn-based title, and from the sounds of things still has a fairly active community some five years after the title's release. The wikipedia article (take with a grain of salt) also notes that there is already an active English-playing community on the Korean servers. One would assume, then, that perhaps there's an audience ready for this here in the states? The games are slated for launch in North America later this year.

[Via Kotaku]