Natsume Inc.
Natsume Inc. is an American video game publisher. Originally established as an American division of Natsume Co., Ltd. in 1988, it split from its parent company in 1995 to become an independent publisher.
 | |
| Type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video game |
| Founded | 1988 |
| Headquarters | Burlingame, California, United States[1] |
Key people | Hiro Maekawa (President) Taka Maekawa (President, Natsume Inc Japan) |
| Products | Harvest Moon Reel Fishing River King |
| Website | www |
Natsume Inc. is located in Burlingame, California.[1] It is best known for publishing unique, family-oriented niche games, such as Harvest Moon and Reel Fishing. In 2013, Natsume Inc. inaugurated a Japanese division called Natsume Inc. Japan with no connection to its former parent company, Natsume Atari.[2]
Products
From the end of the Super NES era up until late 2014, Natsume Inc. was known for publishing a series of Story of Seasons games in North America. The last game in the series it published was Harvest Moon: A New Beginning for the Nintendo 3DS. In 2015, the developer of the series, Marvelous AQL, brought the next game in the series, Story of Seasons, to North America with its own US branch, Xseed Games, ending the relationship it had with Natsume. Since then, Natsume Inc. has released its own games under the Harvest Moon name, starting with Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley,[3] continuing with Harvest Moon: Seeds of Memories and Harvest Moon: Skytree Village.
Natsume Inc. has also operated an eBay shop, selling copies of older games sealed in their original packaging, collected from storage at its offices. At auction, the company sold a sealed copy of Pocky & Rocky for over $1,600.[4]
Works
These are games published by Natsume Inc. and/or developed by its subsidiary in Japan after becoming independent from Natsume Co., Ltd.
Most of these games were only published by Natsume in North America, although some reached Europe under the Natsume name through distribution deals with European companies, and some digital releases were self-published by Natsume in Europe.
Super NES
| Year | Title | Developer | Additional note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals | Neverland | North America only |
| 1996 | Casper | Imagineering | |
| Harvest Moon | Amccus | North America only |
Sega Saturn
| Year | Title | Developer | Additional note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Highway 2000 | Genki | |
| Virtual Casino | Digital Factory |
Nintendo 64
| Year | Title | Developer | Additional note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Harvest Moon 64 | Victor Interactive Software |
PlayStation
| Year | Title | Developer | Additional note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Reel Fishing | Victor Interactive Software | |
| 1998 | Lode Runner | Presage Software | |
| Puzzle Bobble 4 | Taito | North America only | |
| 1999 | Harvest Moon: Back to Nature | Victor Interactive Software | North America and Europe |
| 2000 | Reel Fishing II | ||
| Turnabout | Artdink | North America only | |
| 2001 | Skydiving Extreme | Metro Corporation | |
| BursTrick: Wake Boarding!! | |||
| 2002 | Gekioh Shooting King | Warashi | |
| 2003 | Blockids | Athena |
PlayStation 2
| Year | Title | Developer | Additional note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Metropolismania | Indi | North America and Europe |
| Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland | Victor Interactive Software | North America only | |
| 2002 | Chulip | Punchline | |
| 2003 | Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life | Marvelous Entertainment | |
| Reel Fishing III | Victor Interactive Software | North America and Europe | |
| 2004 | Finny the Fish & the Seven Waters | SCEI | North America only |
| 2005 | River King: A Wonderful Journey | Marvelous Entertainment | |
| 2006 | Ruff Trigger: The Vanocore Conspiracy | Playstos Entertainment | |
| Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon | ArtePiazza | North America only; Special Edition launched in 2007 | |
| Metropolismania 2 | Indi | North America and Europe | |
| Captain Tsubasa | Namco Bandai Games |
Game Boy
| Year | Title | Developer | Additional note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Casper | Bonsai Entertainment | |
| 1997 | Harvest Moon GB | Victor Interactive Software | North America only |
| Legend of the River King | North America and Europe |
Game Boy Color
| Year | Title | Developer | Additional note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Hole in One Golf | Natsume | |
| Legend of the River King | Victor Interactive Software | North America and Europe | |
| Legend of the River King 2 | |||
| Harvest Moon 2 GBC | North America and Europe | ||
| 2000 | Harvest Moon 3 GBC | North America only | |
| 2001 | Lufia: The Legend Returns | Neveland/Natsume |
Game Boy Advance
| Year | Title | Developer | Additional note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Car Battler Joe | Ancient | North America only |
| Pocky & Rocky with Becky | Altron | ||
| 2002 | Medabots | Natsume | |
| Medabots AX: Metabee/Rokusho Version | |||
| 2003 | CIMA: The Enemy | Neverland | North America |
| Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town | Marvelous Entertainment | North America and Europe | |
| Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town | |||
| — | Wizardry Summoner | Media Rings Corporations | Unreleased |
GameCube
| Year | Title | Developer | Additional note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life | Marvelous Entertainment | |
| Medabots Infinity | Natsume | ||
| 2005 | Harvest Moon: Another Wonderful Life | Marvelous Entertainment | Updated version |
| Harvest Moon: Magical Melody |
Nintendo DS
| Year | Title | Developer | Additional note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Harvest Moon DS | Marvelous Entertainment | |
| Harvest Moon DS Cute | Updated version | ||
| 2006 | Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon | Neverland | North America only |
| Freedom Wings | Taito | ||
| 2007 | Hi Hamtaro! Little Hamsters Big Adventure | AlphaDream/Marvelous Entertainment | |
| Harvest Moon DS: Island of Happiness | Marvelous Entertainment | ||
| River King: Mystic Valley | |||
| Puzzle de Harvest Moon | Platinum-Egg Inc. | ||
| 2008 | Harvest Moon DS: Grand Bazaar | Marvelous Entertainment | North America only |
| Harvest Moon DS: Sunshine Islands | |||
| Princess Debut | Cave | ||
| Rune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon | Neverland | ||
| 2009 | Rune Factory 3: A Fantasy Harvest Moon | ||
| Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming | Platinum-Egg Inc. | ||
| 2010 | Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns | Marvelous Entertainment | |
| Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals | Neverland/Square Enix | ||
| Witch's Wish | Yuke's |
iPhone and iPod Touch
| Year | Title | Developer | Additional note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming | Platinum-Egg Inc. | |
| 2010 | Cheer we Go | Natsume | |
| 2012 | Gabrielle's Monster Match | Santa Entertainment | |
| 2013 | Reel Fishing Pocket | Natsume | |
| Gabrielle's Zombie Attack | |||
| 2014 | Gabrielle's Sweet Defense | Nikukyu Co Ltd | |
| 2019 | Ninja Climb | Lit A.F. Games |
PlayStation Portable
| Year | Title | Developer | Additional note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Reel Fishing: The Great Outdoors | Natsume | |
| Harvest Moon: Back to Nature | Victor Interactive Software | North America and Europe | |
| 2006 | Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon | ArtePiazza | North America only |
| 2008 | Adventures to Go[5] | Global A Entertainment | |
| 2009 | Harvest Moon: Hero of Leaf Valley | Marvelous Entertainment | North America only |
| 2010 | Carnage Heart EXA | Artdink | |
| 2012 | Mystic Chronicles | Kemco |
Wii
| Year | Title | Developer | Additional note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility | Marvelous Entertainment | North America only |
| 2008 | Harvest Moon: Animal Parade | ||
| 2009 | Reel Fishing Angler's Dream | Natsume | |
| Reel Fishing Challenge | |||
| Harvest Moon: My Little Shop | h.a.n.d. | ||
| Moki Moki[6] | Natsume | ||
| Animal Kingdom: Wildlife Expedition[7] | |||
| 2010 | Reel Fishing Challenge II | ||
| 2011 | Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove: Monster Mix[8] | ||
| 2012 | Reel Fishing: Ocean Challenge |
PlayStation 3
| Year | Title | Developer | Additional note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Afrika | Rhino Studios | North America only |
| 2011 | Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny | Neverland |
Nintendo 3DS
| Year | Title | Developer | Additional note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Reel Fishing Paradise 3D | Natsume | North America only |
| Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns | Marvelous Entertainment | ||
| Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove 3D[9] | Natsume | ||
| 2012 | Harvest Moon 3D: A New Beginning | Marvelous AQL | North America only |
| 2013 | Yumi's Odd Odyssey | Studio Sainenzen | |
| Hometown Story | Hyde Inc/Toybox Inc | ||
| 2014 | Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley | Tabot Inc. | |
| Gotcha Racing | Arc System Works | ||
| 2015 | Brave Tank Hero | ||
| 2016 | Harvest Moon: Skytree Village[10] | Natsume |
PlayStation 4
| Year | Title | Developer | Additional note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Reel Fishing: Road Trip Adventure | Natsume/Tachyon Inc | |
| Harvest Moon: Mad Dash | Appci Inc |
Nintendo Switch
| Year | Title | Developer | Additional note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Harvest Moon: Mad Dash | Appci Inc | |
| Reel Fishing: Road Trip Adventure | Natsume/Tachyon Inc | ||
| 2020 | Cosmic Defenders | Fiery Squirrel |
References
- "[ Natsume ]". Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved May 21, 2009.
- "NATSUME INC. ANNOUNCES NEW OFFICE OPENING IN JAPAN" (PDF). Natsume.com. Retrieved 2017-08-10.
- "Harvest Moon And Beyond, What's Next For Natsume?". March 18, 2015.
- "Classic game publisher cleans out its closet, makes thousands on eBay". Ars Technica. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
- "Adventures to Go". IGN. Retrieved 2022-09-25.
- "Moki Moki". IGN. Retrieved 2022-09-25.
- "Animal Kingdom: Wildlife Expedition". IGN. Retrieved 2022-09-25.
- "Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove: Monster Mix". IGN. Retrieved 2022-09-25.
- "Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove 3D for Nintendo 3DS – Nintendo Official Site". www.nintendo.com. Retrieved 2022-09-25.
- "Harvest Moon: Skytree Village for Nintendo 3DS – Nintendo Official Site". www.nintendo.com. Retrieved 2022-09-25.