Harvest Moon: Magical Melody was released on the GameCube in 2006 in the US. Rising Star Games, Marvelous's European branch, then ported it to the Wii with new motion controls, releasing that version in March of this year. This makes sense for Europe, since the Wii was out by the time the GameCube version would have been released. According to a Siliconera interview with Natsume president Yasuhiro Maekawa, the company is considering an American release of that ported Magical Melody. "If we were to release the Wii version of Magical Melody", Maekawa said, "we would most likely be looking at a limited release aimed at our hardcore and loyal fans. We have had quite a few requests to release this game and are looking into it." Limited-edition releases have the power both to tempt fence-sitters and to save money for publishers, so this approach is a smart one.
The rest of the interview discusses the history of the series and of Natsume's involvement, and is an excellent read for anyone with an interest in fake farming.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-20-2008 @ 8:41PM
SoshiKitai said...
But... we're already getting a large amount of Harvest Moon games for the Wii (well... 2)!
...I... I guess this is ok?
Love the HM series, but this is kinda'... redundant?
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8-20-2008 @ 11:06PM
Suichimo said...
I haven't played any since A Wonderful Life on the Gamecube so I might not be completely up to date on the series.
But Natsume. Please give us a Harvest Moon that could rival HM64!
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8-20-2008 @ 11:15PM
SoshiKitai said...
I'm not sure that you could really be "not up to date" with HM. Every HM (except for things like Rune Factory) is simple enough to "be up to date with" the instant you pick up the controller.
8-21-2008 @ 3:45AM
Backslash said...
Well, he does have a slight disadvantage in that A Wonderful World was a lot different from pretty much the entire Harvest Moon series leading up to it. Magical Melody returned Harvest Moon to its roots, I like to think. Better roots.
8-21-2008 @ 1:55PM
SoshiKitai said...
... :( A lot of people didn't enjoy A Wonderful Life's style...
I loved it. It seemed more peaceful compared to the others.
8-21-2008 @ 3:07AM
Drahken said...
Is that a screenshot of Magical Melody? Cuz it looks an AWFUL lot like Animal Crossing. I wonder if they were trying to play off AC's success?
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8-21-2008 @ 1:50PM
SoshiKitai said...
It was more of a mix of the usual HM cuteness (when they make 'em all cute) + 3D...
But yeah... the resemblance is uncanny. Who knows, you may be right.
8-21-2008 @ 7:03PM
Jon said...
No...surely thats Animal Crossing.
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