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Xseed reaps record-breaking sales from Story of Seasons on 3DS

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Video game publisher and localization studio Xseed Games announced that its farming-themed Nintendo 3DS simulation RPG Story of Seasons has become the company’s fastest-selling game ever, moving over 100,000 copies since its North American launch on March 31.

Story of Seasons‘ success outpaces Xseed’s former record-holder Rune Factory 4, which has sold over 160,000 copies to date.

Xseed previously named Mistwalker’s Wii-exclusive RPG The Last Story as its “most successful title to date” in 2012. The studio has produced a number of localized Japanese games for consoles and portable platforms in recent years, including Pandora’s Tower, Senran Kagura Burst, Ys: Memories of Celceta, and Akiba’s Trip: Undead & Undressed.

Xseed has also been active on PC platforms, releasing English-language Steam versions of Falcom’s Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim and The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky. The company’s next PC project, The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC is due to launch in August.

Story of Seasons is the latest entry in Marvelous AQL’s long-running Harvest Moon series. Dating back to the 16-bit era, games in the Harvest Moon series challenge players to cultivate a thriving farm empire while maintaining friendships and finding love with villagers in nearby towns.

Due to a publisher conflict regarding the title “Harvest Moon,” the latest Japanese entry in the series was localized for North America under the title Story of Seasons. Publisher Natsume retains its North American rights to the series in name only, publishing unrelated games from internal studios under the Harvest Moon banner.

Natsume published its first internally developed Harvest Moon game, Harvest Moon 3D: The Lost Valley, for the Nintendo 3DS last year. Borrowing land-shaping gameplay features from Mojang’s Minecraft, The Lost Valley retained many of the elements that defined the Harvest Moon series while shifting its play mechanics in new directions.

The next Story of Seasons game, the cross-franchise spinoff Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale will premiere for the Nintendo 3DS in North America this winter.

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