Marvelous, Xseed Partner For Wii-Exclusive Little King's Story

Following its May co-publishing agreement, publisher Xseed Games and developer Marvelous have announced that Wii exclusive adventure Little King's Story will be the second game to be released under the new agreement, due for a holiday 2008 release. The first game to be released under the deal, which was signed to "help to establish a U.S. publishing presence for Marvelous Entertainment and provide XSeed Games an opportunity to access and bring to market titles from Marvelous’ portfolio," will be the fall launch of PSP RPG Valhalla Knights 2. The companies describe Little King's Story as combining elements of "life-simulation, real-time strategy, and adventure genres," as players take the role of a young king named Corobo to "manage and involve their townspeople in the goals of creating this new territory; enlist them to dig for treasure, build new buildings and otherwise better their community." Players will also "try to conquer rival nations to create a single unified kingdom, as well as grant the requests of townspeople at whim," using the Wii Remote as a "royal scepter." Gamasutra recently talked with project lead Yoshiro Kimura -- best known as the lead behind developer Punchline's cult PS2 kissing-adventure game Chulip, who said the 'between the lines' irony of classic children's book The Little Prince influenced his design of the game. Said Xseed president Jun Iwasaki, "Little King's Story is a game we felt very strongly about offering to the United States. The game truly reflects the high quality gaming experience, uniqueness, and game design creativity that we look for, with the ability to appeal to a wide audience while providing enough depth for seasoned gamers."