Natsume is the U.S. publisher of the Marvelous Entertainment-created
Harvest Moon series, and Natsume U.S. president and CEO Yasuhiro Maekawa has revealed to Gamasutra that the company will be bringing a new version of the venerable franchise to the DSi. This also indicates that the new title is currently under development in Japan.
“I would like to grow steady, but surely. Right now we’re expanding our package business to the download contents as well,” Maekawa noted. The company has already announced
Harvest Moon: My Little Shop,
Reel Fishing Challenge, and the Natsume Japan-developed
Moki Moki for WiiWare, and
Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming for mobile and iPhone.
“We will keep our packaged business, of course, but we will expand our downloadable offerings, including cellphone and iPhone business,” He said. “I think that (the DSi) will do well. I don’t know how well, but we have big expectations for the platform.”
When asked if the company will be bringing
Harvest Moon to the DSi in North America, Maekawa answered in the affirmative, adding that “That will be probably sometime in summer of next year. We just have to wait and see how well DSi will go in America.”
