Long after Sony dropped its own support for the system, a boutique publisher in North America is preparing a slate of new, physical edition releases for the long-dormant PlayStation Portable.
Summon Night 5 and Class of Heroes 3 are the next games to launch for Sony’s first-ever portable video game console, with localization studio Gaijinworks heading up the initiative.
Gaijinworks is dedicated to localizing and releasing previously-untranslated Japanese RPGs for western markets. The company released an English-language version of Acquire’s dungeon-crawling RPG Class of Heroes 2 for the PSP in 2013. An upgraded PS3 version, Class of Heroes 2G, premiered last year.
Gaijinworks adopts a unique strategy for its physical edition releases, skipping retail channels entirely. Instead, future releases are available via online pre-orders, and the company ships out entire manufactured allotments once sales meet a predetermined threshold.
Games that Gaijinworks produces are also available digitally via the PlayStation Store. The digital version of Class of Heroes 2 is playable on both the PlayStation Portable and its successor, the PS Vita. Physical edition copies are only playable using original PlayStation Portable hardware.
The company’s next project is Summon Night 5, the latest entry in developer Flight-Plan’s series of strategy-RPGs that incorporate elements from dating sims and visual novels. While franchise spin-offs like Summon Night: Twin Age and Swordcraft Story have previously launched in North America, Summon Night 5 is the first entry in the core Summon Night series to see a localized release in western territories.
Copies of Summon Night 5 include a PSP UMD case, disc, and manual, along with a poster, a serial numbered holographic seal, and a soundtrack CD. Pre-order buyers will also receive a code redeemable for the digital version of Summon Night 5 once it hits the PlayStation Store.
As with Gaijinworks’ previous releases, no more copies of Summon Night 5 will be produced after the company ships its first and only allotment of boxed games. Pre-orders are priced at $42 plus shipping, and will remain open until all copies are claimed.
