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Rune Factory, Lufia developer Neverland Co. to file for bankruptcy
Rune Factory and Lufia series developer Neverland Co. has ceased operations and will file for bankruptcy soon, the studio revealed on its website. Siliconera reports that Neverland's statement cites recent "changes in the business environment" as one of the studio's difficulties. Attempts to secure funding for Neverland's future development have been unsuccessful. The news follows a statement in August from Yoshifumi Hashimoto, a producer with Rune Factory 4's publisher, Marvelous AQL. Weeks after its release, Hashimoto stated that RF4 had performed well enough to "greenlight a sequel." Hashimoto also posted on Marvelous AQL's blog for RF4 after Neverland announced its closure, teasing that while the publisher's next title will "remain a secret," the staff members are doing well.
Valhalla Knights 3 to hang with the wrong crowd in October on NA Vitas
Valhalla Knights 3 will host a fight for a treasure capable of granting any wish between a bunch of awful, irredeemable characters in October on the Vita in North America. The party-based action RPG will let players choose between guiding a Human, Elf, Halfling, Dwarf, Beast, Nightmare or Machine. Publisher XSEED's announcement states that each race will have "its own set of strengths which make them predisposed to certain jobs." Twenty job classes will also be available, such as Archer, Prisoner or Akatoki, but players can equip two additional "sub-jobs" in addition to their day job to keep things complicated. Winning fights while pursuing a certain career will diminish your character's ineptitude in that field, ultimately turning them into a professional killing machine. VH3's North American release will add a Wi-Fi online option in addition to the established local ad hoc mode. If you'd rather keep the treasure to yourself, however, you can still go it alone and undoubtedly use your wish for good.
Trails in the Sky coming to Steam, Carpe Fulgur translating sequel for PSP and PC
Indie localization studio Carpe Fulgur (Recettear, Fortune Summoners) is heading up an English translation of Falcom's JRPG Trails in the Sky SC for a PSP and Steam release in 2014, the team announced today. The project is developed in collaboration with XSEED Games, who previously published a localized version of The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky for the PSP in North America in 2011. "This marks many things for us: our largest and perhaps most 'important' game to date, the proper realization of the other half of our business model, and the end of our long silence," Carpe Fulgur founder Andrew Dice explains. Dice notes that the commercial success of the Ys series on Steam paved the way for Trails in the Sky SC's localization. "Though [Carpe Fulgur] did not participate directly in the localization of [Ys: The Oath In Felghana], I, myself, did have a small hand in making that release happen," he writes. "Getting Felghana, and its siblings, onto Steam to help prove a market even existed for a product like SC was pivotal to the project moving forward. There were so many pitfalls that the project could have faced that announcing it would have been, until very recently, premature." The series will launch on Steam as "two separate, back-to-back installments," publisher XSEED notes. A port of the first entry in the Trails in the Sky series will hit PC platforms this winter.
Killer is Dead hits US retail August 27
Killer is Dead, the latest mind-bending action game from Killer7 director Suda 51 and Grasshopper Manufacture, will hit store shelves in North America on August 27 with a bevy of bonus goodies in tow. Publisher Xseed Games notes that all launch copies of Killer is Dead will include an 80-page hardcover art book, a soundtrack disc featuring 25 tracks by Silent Hill series composer Akira Yamaoka, and a download code for the "Smooth Operator" DLC pack, which adds extra in-game missions and other bonus content. Deep Silver will publish an identical deluxe version of Killer is Dead in Europe on August 30.
Wii's 'The Last Story' coming to North America in 2012 [update: summer!]
The final surprise at the end of this morning's Nintendo Direct: The Last Story! The long-awaited action-RPG for Wii by Mistwalker will be out in North America this year, thanks to the stalwart RPG localizing staff of publisher XSEED Games.Update: A press release from XSEED specifies summer 2012. You can read it after the break.
Hunt down Solatorobo: Red the Hunter starting September 27
The Nintendo DS will get at least one more grand adventure, in CyberConnect2's Solatorobo: Red the Hunter. The action-adventure game about a treasure-hunting dog man and his hulking robot vehicle will be released in North America on September 27, eleven months after its Japanese release. The first print run will include a soundtrack. On CD, we mean. Every copy will have sound. While you wait for September to just end already so you can check it out, take a minute to watch the new trailer. It's heavy on combat -- an aspect of the game that shows a lot of variety.
XSEED hosting a Corpse Party on PSP this fall
We didn't have to wait long for the suspense to end regarding XSEED's mystery game: it is, in fact, Corpse Party for PSP, and it will be released as a download this fall. Corpse Party, originally created in RPG maker before being remade for PSP by publisher 5pb, is the story of a group of high schoolers "trapped in a haunted elementary school filled with the decaying corpses and tormented souls of countless children who'd mysteriously vanished from the Japanese countryside years, months or sometimes only days prior." Even though the game is presented primarily in 16-bit sprite-based RPG style, the premise definitely has the potential to be very spooky, with XSEED promising "decidedly uncensored horrors." In addition, a "3D audio" gimmick adds atmospheric, directional sound. Check out a trailer above, but be warned: there is some disturbing imagery. Just in case you didn't figure that out from the game's title.%Gallery-132378%
XSEED creeps us the hell out, teases new game
XSEED Games is teasing a new release this fall with two videos that are mysterious, disturbing, and, occasionally, cute (thanks to some anime-style art). One teaser video features game artwork and a narrative about being forced into cannibalism to survive; the other features XSEED localization specialist Tom Lipschultz being creepy. The art seen in the first video is also found in the PSP game Corpse Party, a PSP adaptation of a game built in RPG Maker, suggesting that it is the game being teased. Lipschultz refused to confirm the identity of the game in a comment on Siliconera ... but he did go on to talk about how much he liked Corpse Party. [Thanks, Christian]
XSEED publishing Prope's 'Ivy the Kiwi?' this summer
click to see more screens?XSEED has acquired the North American publishing rights to Ivy the Kiwi? for Wii and DS, the latest game from Yuji Naka's post-Sega studio, Prope. The puzzle game, presented in a unique "storybook" art style, stars a baby kiwi trying to navigate her way back to her mother. The player uses the stylus or pointer to stretch vines to bounce Ivy through levels and around obstacles. Along the way, players can attempt to pick up optional orange feathers for extra challenge -- that is, if they don't mind keeping a baby bird separated from her mother even longer, the monsters. In Japan, the game was originally released on Windows Phone, with console releases published by Namco Bandai. XSEED is planning a "summer 2010" release -- there's still a question mark on the specific date. %Gallery-92221%%Gallery-92220%
ESA admits two companies we've kind of heard of
The ESA announced today that Trion World Networks and XSEED Games have become members of the trade association. Trion has accumulated $100 million in funding without launching a game, while XSEED has released quite a few "off the beaten path" titles, like Retro Game Challenge.Following the announcement, Activision Blizzard left a voicemail with the ESA, playing "Don't Cha" by The Pussycat Dolls on repeat.
New Valhalla Knights 2 class revealed
Normally, you know everything you need to about a game well before its release nowadays. Back when the internets were just a series of tubes in a cradle, we had to rely on magazines to feed us information only on select titles -- often after the games were released. So to hear that Marvelous waited until a month prior to their release of Valhalla Knights 2 to talk about one of their character classes (something that should be a major talking point) is a surprise.The new class is a martial arts sort of group who call themselves Akatoki. Apparently, neither the male nor female class really enjoys wearing a top. But of course, the latter has to for fairly obvious reasons. This game hasn't been picked up for localization outside of Japan yet, but the natural course of things dictates that sequels will normally come out, regardless how the first title sold. Do you hear us, Nippon Ichi and Namco-Bandai? We want Ar Tonelico 2. We won't forget. We also want this.
