14 DAY TRIAL // Natsume, the developer and publisher of the popular farm simulation role-playing series Harvest Moon, has announced that the next game in the franchise, Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley, will become available for the Nintendo 3DS handheld later this year.
For the first time in the series, Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley will features a fully customizable 3D world where players can sow their own fields, adding different water structures and vegetation at their leisure.
"Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley is truly evolving the franchise. Hardcore fans will love it, players who haven't played a Harvest Moon game in a while will want to try it out, and new players will be introduced to the unique and charming world that is Harvest Moon." Natsume president and CEO Hiro Maekawa reveals in a press statement.
"The incredibly exciting thing that really elevates the game is that while it does get back to what everyone loves about the early games, it also innovates in a way that no Harvest Moon game ever has," he adds.
Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley will be officially unveiled during this year's edition of the E3 conference, taking place next week in Los Angeles, California.
Natsume admitted a while back that it would be announcing three new games that were heading for Nintendo's platforms sometime around E3, so there are two more to go. Natsume is also behind the Reel Fishing franchise, but that leaves one title completely surrounded in mystery.
"We're saving a few secrets for closer to the show, but expect not one, not two, but THREE new Nintendo titles we'll be announcing leading up to and at the show. This doesn't include any classic eShop titles (and we'll have some news on those as well). Will they be 3DS, Wii U, or a mix of the two, you ask? You'll have to tune in from now until June 10th to find out," the company informs.
In more good news for Harvest Moon fans, publisher Xseed has also announced that the Story of Seasons game that was released in Japan earlier this year will make the jump to North America sometime this winter, on the Nintendo 3DS handheld.
Nintendo isn't planning to hold a traditional press conference at this year's E3 but will instead broadcast a Nintendo Digital Event on June 10, as well as sponsoring a massive Smash Bros. for Wii U tournament, where gamers will take advantage of Nintendo GameCube controllers using the newly released adapter from Nintendo.