Rising Star Games, TOYBOX and Natsume Inc. are happy to announce a new, inspired IP

Tuesday 12 March, 2013 – Following the teaser announcement of ‘Project Happiness’ at E3 last year, Rising Star Games, European publisher of family-oriented video games, today revealed the official name, Hometown Story. This kicks off with a promise made to bring a new type of game to a global audience, which Rising Star Games will be bringing to Europe to a dedicated fan base. Natsume will publish the title in North America. Check out the new trailer now.

Developed by Yasuhiro Wada, the "Father of Harvest Moon," and his studio, TOYBOX in Tokyo, Japan, Hometown Story is a joyful tale which takes players to a fantastic new world full of colour and fun. With characters designed by Atsuko Nishida, the artist behind Pokemon and music composed by Nobu Uematsu of Final Fantasy fame, the collective talent bringing this game alive on 3DS and other mobile platforms guarantees that it will delight gamers.

“We are very excited to be able to announce the game’s official name and to launch a brand new global IP alongside our friends at TOYBOX and Natsume,” said Martin Defries, Managing Director & COO of Rising Star Games. “Hometown Story will thrill and inspire our customers and it is wonderful to start a new journey with them and gain a generation of new customers through the launch of Hometown Story.”

"Hometown Story is the perfect name for a game with such a heartwarming feeling, and we’re excited to begin revealing more about the game, alongside TOYBOX and Rising Star Games," said Hiro Maekawa, President and CEO of Natsume.

It's an experience that will fill you with motivation and magical memories! “Hometown Story is a game and a story that’s dear to my heart – and I hope will become dear to the player’s heart as well,” said Yasuhiro Wada, CEO of TOYBOX. “Our partnership with Rising Star Games and Natsume, who share our values on a quality gaming experience, is going to remain strong as we reveal more about Hometown Story throughout the year.”

With an exciting mix of adventure, discovery, and wonder, Hometown Story will fill the hearts of gamers both young and old with an experience paralleled by only a few other games, such as the critically acclaimed Harvest Moon series.
More information about this exciting new title from Yasuhiro Wada will be revealed up to and during E3 2013.

Players can check out a full-length trailer at http://bit.ly/13PsiRk, as well as additional teaser information via Rising Star Games at www.youtube.com/risingstargames andwww.facebook.com/risingstargames

For further information, screenshots and press samples (when available), please contact:

Tyrone Walcott (Rising Star Games) for press enquiries

Tyrone.Walcott@risingstargames.com

Exactly what it says on the tin...

Somebody once said that if you put a million monkeys in a room, each with a typewriter for an infinite amount of time, eventually by chance, they will produce an exact copy of the complete works of Shakespeare. Armed only with my dog and an old netbook from Tesco, I went about the creation of my next blog. I knew to begin with the odds were stacked against me, but it's been over a month now and still nothing of value has been taken from the creativity kennel. I guess I'm just going to have to write it myself.

It has been a busy time for everyone in the industry leading up to the annual climax of International Games Giving Day (or Christmas as some like to call it) and with so much going on you'd think we would all be locked up in the Rising Star Games towers bound to our computers being fed motivational speeches and a vision of days when we can go home and see our families again. You'll be delighted to know that isn't the case and if anything we've been enticed out the office regularly by the likes of the GMA Awards, MCM Expo and various rendezvous with the wonderful specie that populates the video games scene.

Being an MCM virgin, nothing could have prepared me for the shear intensity of the weekend. I had been mentally prepped by the RSG team that it was going to be a tremendously busy event, hard work and blah blah blah about this and that. I didn't care about all that stuff; I was there to meet people, share our games and spread the good word of Rising Star Games to MCM goers like a Japanese Jesus. How hard can it be, right?

Come Sunday evening I was conked-out, sleeping in Yen's (the marketing manager) car on the way home and it was only 7 o'clock. I am the type of person that feeds off surrounding energy and it was relentlessly abundant that weekend. I don't know where my body was finding the energy but the buzzing atmosphere and vibrant crowds commanded a constant surge of liveliness. I was having the time of my life meeting tons of fans, guiding people through our games and talking about everything we hold dear in our nerdalicious existence. I knew all too well that as soon as the event closed each day and the stimulation was cut off, I would feel the harsh realisation of the vacuum in my energy stores. And that I did.

Despite the crushing exhaustion that followed, MCM was an amazing experience and I wouldn't change it for the world. MCM is an absolute wonderland for anyone with a nerdy bone in their body. It's just too much to even try to sum up. Games, comics, film, cosplayers, souvenirs and wares, fun, atmosphere, great people. Fat thumbs up all round. Can't wait for next year.

As always, if you'd like to follow a Japanese Jesus, find me on twitter at @RSG_Spoonparty.

So long.
-Samuel

ps. Comments should be working now, but I'll need to log in and approve before they're view-able :)

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One man and his journey into the unknown... (epic cinema voice)

Beginning work with Rising Star Games was truly a new stage of my life, my first proper big boy pants job in the industry and it appears I have really struck gold with finding a great company to work with.

My story starts like all good stories with writing the dreaded CV and sending them to anyone on the planet with an email address and then of course ringing them just to confirm they currently are not recruiting. Of course you would always return from the phone call safe in the knowledge that they now have your details and it’s surely only a matter of time before they contact you with perfectly fitting roles coming up in the future! It is a path well trodden these days, slogged by those looking for employment all year round.

Rising Star Games stood out from the crowd offering for me to come in and talk to them speculatively about somewhere I may fit into their business. They had a role in mind and amazingly this role was starting to look like a dream job for me. A couple of months later and a series of excruciatingly friendly interviews I was ready to be initiated into the Rising Star Games family. Having been here for two weeks I find ‘family’ is the perfect word to describe the working environment and office atmosphere. As much as I’d like to refrain from stuffing my blog with endless praise it has to be said that Rising Star Games graciously welcomed me into the team and continue to support me as I settle in. Gold star for them!

So what have I been up to the first couple of weeks? As any job usually starts there has been a tremendous deal of getting to grips with systems, procedures and schedules. As most jobs do not usually start however, I’ve been meeting the people behind renown gaming organisations Gamespot and IGN, been welcomed to a variety of exceptional communities and I’ve been encouraged to play as many video games as possible donated from the wonderful RSG themselves. It’s definitely been something worth writing home about. My daily duties revolved around the online social media side of the business and have also been dipping into other areas of the company such as marketing and sales just to keep me out of mischief.

My most prominent challenge having started work with Rising Star Games has been the anxiety that comes with representing a company especially being new to both the industry and the role. The fear of doing or saying something that may jeopardize the company in the very slightest of ways looms behind me when I write the most insignificant of posts (even this blog). Its presence is far more exaggerated by my aspiration to succeed in my role and give back to Rising Star Games for the opportunity they have given me. This very apprehension encourages over sensitivity on what is acceptable to say which ironically produces a flat and corporate tone which no one wants to hear. I’m very aware that in this day and age people love to see the character in a business and want to know that behind the logos and official statements, contrary to belief, there is a squishy little human, just like you and me, plinking away on a keyboard. The machines have not taken over yet. It’s great to see gaming behemoths casually tweeting what they’re playing and their opinions on this, that and the other. This is something I imagine will come to me more naturally as I become more established in Rising Star Games and accustomed to finding the balance between company image and sociable banter.

Anyway, I’m rambling now! I will be trying to keep these shorter and more frequent so watch this space. Unfortunately we are experiencing technical difficulties (I’ve always wanted to say that) regarding the comments section below so please please please forward all your hellos, suggestions, and pictures of fiery unicorns to my twitter @RSG_Spoonparty. I look forward to meeting you!

Until next time,

-Samuel

Ps. While on the topic of representing a company I’ve sudenly found myself under inormous pressure to maintain impeccable spelling. When putting so much extra effort into making sure everthing is just perfect befour it goes live somehow you become infinety more prone to overlooking the simplist of errors. It’s madness. The idea of someone bringing a company to its knees over a spelling mistake still haunts me.

THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIII heads to Xbox Games on Demand and the PSN store.

The fight goes on as THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIII goes digital, heading to Xbox 360 Games on Demand on 7th August and the PlayStation Network (PSN) Store on 8th August.

The King of Fighters is the flagship series of acclaimed 2D fighting game developer and publisher SNK Playmore. THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIII (KOFXIII) includes a huge roster of 30+ characters, featuring all your favourite characters (such as Mai Shiranui) from the series. KOFXIII hosts a newly improved global online play mode with an optimised netcode, encouraging players to aim for the top of the global leaderboards or play friendly matches. There are new NEO MAX super special moves to use in combat, faster gameplay and refined visuals and in-game camera perspective.

Discover the final chapter in the Ash Saga storyline and unlock multiple endings for specific characters and team combinations. KOFXIII is one of the most expansive fighting games to hit the Xbox 360 and PS3 with 10 game modes to play through, such as Arcade, Story, Versus, Mission, Online and many more. There are also unlockable customisation options, so that each player can personalise their favourite fighter, with over 20 colour types, parts and icons. The story mode features the signature KOF series 2D artwork and impressive animated movie scenes. The stories for each character put the player in the driving seat by offering multiple choices of action and therefore many different ways to enjoy each narrative.

Don't miss this chance to grab KOFXIII and become the true King of Fighters!