The next Harvest Moon title has been announced for the Nintendo 3DS in North America, though it technically will not be an entry into the long-running franchise.
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Instead called Story of Seasons, the publishing rights for North America were picked up by Xseed Games, who cannot use the Harvest Moon name as that trademark is still held by Natsume in the region. The title will be developed by much of the same team, though, making Story of Seasons fall somewhere between spiritual successor and direct sequel.
The game was published in Japan already earlier this year with the title Bokujou Monogatari: Tsunagaru Shin Tenchi (Harvest Moon: Connect to a New World). It will still have the main mechanics that made the series popular--planting and growing crops, taking care of livestock, relationships--and will add some multiplayer and StreetPass features. Friends will be able to visit each other's homes like in Animal Crossing and work the fields together, as well as exchange items.
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"Story of Seasons represents a new chapter in our amazing tale," said Hashimoto in a press release. "We are creating a new experience that will carry on the spirit of Bokujo Monogatari, and in doing so, will fulfill our loyal fans' expectations and desires while ushering in a new generation of games to come."
Story of Seasons will give players a chance to create a character and settle the town of Oak Tree, where they will begin growing and expanding their farms. It will also make its debut appearance at this year's E3 in two weeks, so we will be seeing a lot more of it (and hopefully a release date) soon.
