Today we have some sad news to share. If you're a fan of the Harvest Moon series, or the Rune Factory series, I am sorry to announce that the latest entry, Rune Factory 4, has been canceled in the EU region. This news comes just shortly after Neverland Co, the developers of the series, announced that they filed for bankruptcy. Despite the great success of Rune Factory 4 in Japan, which sold well enough for Rune Factory 5 to go into development just weeks after its release, the company still struggled, and ultimately had to shut down.
Although Neverland Co went under, the producer of the series Yoshifumi Hashimoto (who is with Marvelous AQL) did release a statement which gave hope to reviving the series. According to him, a new secret project was underway, and that the staff members were "still doing great." Not much more was said on the matter, and still to this day we are unsure of the series' future.
As for the EU release of Rune Factory 4, it was going to be handled by Zen United. While the game was never given an official release date in the EU, most expected to see the game either during 2014, or during 2015. Typically Rune Factory games are released in the EU region a little over a year after the US release, and up until now everything seemed to be on track. Even when Neverland Co went under, Zen United still had plans on bringing the game to the EU region, but them plans have since changed.
Today, Marvelous released the following official statement:
"We regret to inform you that the European release of Rune Factory 4 for Nintendo 3DS has been cancelled.While Marvelous AQL has made every effort to secure the title’s release for this territory, it is, unfortunately, not possible to do so at this time.MAQL and MAQL Europe would like to thank everyone for their support and enthusiasm for their European releases. Please look forward to announcements on new MAQL titles over the coming months."
While the statement states that releasing the game in the EU is not possible "at this time," the future of the game seems bleak. At some point in time the game may be released in the EU after all, but as it stands, the chances seem slim to none.
Really it is too bad that Rune Factory 4 won't see a release in the rest of the world. It was easily one of the best entries in the series to date, and a lot of people were really looking forward to it; especially a few of our writers here at NGR. Sorry guys...
read more
Although Neverland Co went under, the producer of the series Yoshifumi Hashimoto (who is with Marvelous AQL) did release a statement which gave hope to reviving the series. According to him, a new secret project was underway, and that the staff members were "still doing great." Not much more was said on the matter, and still to this day we are unsure of the series' future.
Today, Marvelous released the following official statement:
"We regret to inform you that the European release of Rune Factory 4 for Nintendo 3DS has been cancelled.While Marvelous AQL has made every effort to secure the title’s release for this territory, it is, unfortunately, not possible to do so at this time.MAQL and MAQL Europe would like to thank everyone for their support and enthusiasm for their European releases. Please look forward to announcements on new MAQL titles over the coming months."
While the statement states that releasing the game in the EU is not possible "at this time," the future of the game seems bleak. At some point in time the game may be released in the EU after all, but as it stands, the chances seem slim to none.
Really it is too bad that Rune Factory 4 won't see a release in the rest of the world. It was easily one of the best entries in the series to date, and a lot of people were really looking forward to it; especially a few of our writers here at NGR. Sorry guys...