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Harvest Rune Factory 4 in Europe, Australia next week
Dedicated Rune Factory 4 fans living in Europe and Australia, your patience will soon be rewarded: XSEED and Marvelous Europe will release the 3DS JRPG in both territories on December 11 for £24.99 (€29.99 or $49.95 AUD), according to a related press release. Rune Factory 4 was released in North America on October 1, 2013, but Marvelous Europe eventually called off its regional release, explaining that it was "not possible to do" at that time. The cancellation followed RF4 developer Neverland's filing for bankruptcy and closure within two months of the game's US release. Hope for a European release was revived in October 2014 however, when Vice President of XSEED Ken Berry confirmed the publisher's work to secure a European launch for RF4. To those that have waited this long for RF4: Enjoy the feast. [Image: XSEED]
Rune Factory 4 may tend European fields after all
Rune Factory 4's European release was canceled following the closure of developer Neverland, leaving only North American and Japanese fans to tend its crops. Maybe 2014 was just a bad planting season across the pond though – a report from Siliconera suggests Rune Factory 4 will launch in Europe after all, eventually arriving as a digital piece of produce on the 3DS eShop. After noticing a content rating for the RPG simulator on USK (Germany's equivalent of the ESRB) which lists both Marvelous and XSEED as publishers, Siliconera contacted XSEED Executive VP Ken Berry to learn more. Berry explained that an unnamed group has been working in place of the original development team to secure a European launch "for months," and that XSEED hopes to start the master submission process with Nintendo of Europe "within the next couple weeks." Berry added that the effort was meant to be kept under wraps until the game actually passed Nintendo of Europe's certification, just to ensure European fans wouldn't face another letdown. Content rating boards always spoil all the fun, huh? [Image: Marvelous AQL]
XSEED restocking copies of Rune Factory 4 for North America
If you've recently had some difficulty tracking down the part dungeon raider, part agricultural simulator Rune Factory 4, publisher XSEED Entertainment has some good news for you: The shortage is temporary. A post on XSEED's Facebook page explains that RF4 is selling "well beyond our expectations, so we're working as quickly as possible to restock physical copies." The post also thanks fans for making the game a "major success." While waiting on a restock might be annoying, at least North American fans were spared from getting their hopes up for nothing. In Europe, Rune Factory 4 was planned to be published by MarvelousAQL, but the release was canceled in January. At the time, Marvelous stated that securing RF4's release for Europe was "not possible to do."
Rune Factory 4 isn't coming to Europe after all
The European production line for Rune Factory 4 churned to a stop this morning, after publisher MarvelousAQL canceled the game for the continent. The first 3DS entry in the Harvest Moon spin-off series was due in Europe this spring, having already been released in Japan and North America. Of course, that announcement came before the bankruptcy and closure of RF4 developer Neverland. "We regret to inform you that the European release of Rune Factory 4 for Nintendo 3DS has been canceled," reads a MAQL Europe statement on distributor Zen United's Rice Digital site. "While MarvelousAQL has made every effort to secure the title's release for this territory, it is, unfortunately, not possible to do so at this time. MAQL and MAQL Europe would like to thank everyone for their support and enthusiasm for their European releases. Please look forward to announcements on new MAQL titles over the coming months." We've reached out to MAQL Europe for more info. As for the Rune Factory series, there's been no news since Neverland's closure in November. Beforehand, MAQL series producer Yoshifumi Hashimoto exclaimed RF4 performed well enough to greenlight RF5. After the closure, Hashimoto said (via Siliconera), "As of now, it'll still remain a secret as to what kind of title we'll be releasing next, but I can say that the staff members are still doing great."
Rune Factory 4 clocks in next month
Rune Factory 4 will arrive in a week's time, having come through a protracted quality assurance check. Publisher XSEED made sure everything was up to scratch before dating the 3DS game for October 1, when it will be available at retail and on the eShop for $40. The game received a warm reception in Japan, shifting 150,000 copies within a few months to become the series' best seller. Developer Neverland will hope to build on that when the farming-adventuring hybrid comes North America and Europe.
Rune Factory 4 is coming to Europe
Rune Factory 4 will start up a European production line thanks to Zen United, the same distributor that handled the continental carriage of Harvest Moon: A New Beginning and Persona 4 Arena. Zen director Geraint Evans didn't disclose any details in an interview with JPGames.de, but an official announcement in the "very near future" may produce more info. As for North America, the 3DS agricultural sim/RPG is due sometime this fall. In August publisher XSeed said it "could be looking at a late September or October release," although late September is nearly upon us and a release date hasn't cropped up yet.
Rune Factory 4 delayed, but 'will definitely be worth the wait'
XSeed's Rune Factory 4 won't make its summer launch and has been pushed to the fall. A Facebook posting by the publisher acknowledged the quality assurance process for the English version was taking longer than expected. "Right now we could be looking at a late September or October release, but it will definitely be worth the wait," wrote the publisher in the update. Retailers are hedging their bets with the release window; GameStop points towards a September 9 launch, while Amazon has an October 8 release date. The truth is somewhere in-between.
XSEED also releasing Ys: Memories of Celceta, Rune Factory 4, more this year
Killer is Dead isn't the only new game announcement out of XSEED. The company randomly decided to reveal a bunch of 2013 releases at once, including the welcome localization of Ys: Memories of Celceta, the first Vita iteration of the long-lived action RPG series. That's coming this fall.The Vita will also see Valhalla Knights 3 sometime this fall, an action RPG with twenty different job classes for players to equip as they take their parties of seven out on quests.XSEED is following the successful Steam release of its Ys games with a PC version of Ys I & II Chronicles + in February, a remake of the very first two Ys games. Finally, Rune Factory 4 is due on 3DS this summer, allowing players to choose a male or female protagonist for the first time.All this is in addition to Pandora's Tower, which was just announced for Wii. XSEED is an industrious little company!
