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

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 :)

Hello and welcome back to the blog. For those of you who weren’t online yesterday my name is Samuel and I’m new to the Rising Star Games family as of this week and it’s great to be here! My role is about getting RSG more involved with you guys and creating a more vibrant place for us to hang out and talk about the games we love. I’m going to be making use of this space for a number of things. Firstly I’ll be using it to make personal blogs about my journey with Rising Star Games to give you an interesting insight into this awesome company with video blogs and diary-like entries. I think it would be cool to touch on some big topics in the game industry and have some discussion on them too. I also want to make the blog somewhere you can come to get the most up-to-date info and announcements about what’s happening at Rising Star Games, so stay tuned!

Anyway I’ll start things off with a bit of background about myself. Like many of you I have had a passion for games ever since I was little. I think the first game I played was Super Mario Land on my stickered covered Gameboy, what felt like the size of a small car. I played every game I could get my hands on, from Pokemon to game compilation cartridges. I even had one of those Gameboy Camera things which made me one of the coolest 10 year olds on the block. After which I got an N64, I praise Nintendo for strengthening my lungs as a child from having to blow into their cartridges so much. Since then I’ve either owned or played most consoles on the market and enjoy elements of them all. I am also into my PC games and have played a ton of MMOs, MOBAs and RTS games over the years.

My ambition to work in the games industry begun was when I was about 15 and it was a strange moment when my brain twigged and I realised there may be more to games than playing them. There is actually a games industry out there and I could be working with games everyday! It was like telling a child they could have candy for dinner for the rest of their life! I made my decision and adjusted my A-Level choices to fit. Having left school I went to university to study Games Design and Production; the years flew by. Whilst studying, I also made a pact to play whatever I could and be as open minded as possible and it’s led to lots of discovery and pleasure. So far I’ve played a bunch of Rising Star Games titles and thoroughly enjoyed them.

Now I want to ask you guys what you think the ‘best of the best’ RSG titles are and what I need to play right now! The best way to do that is to send your recommendations directly to my twitter @RSG_Spoonparty to guide me as the comments below are not currently working. Remember to also follow me for updates on what I'm playing.

More from me next time about my first week working at Rising Star Games.

And don’t forget you can find Rising Star Games at:

Website: http://www.risingstargames.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/RisingStarGames
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RisingStarGames
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/RisingStarGames
And all good video game shops :D

-Samuel

Rising Star Games today announced the third episode, "Perimeter Breach," of Carrier Command: Recruits, a prelude to Carrier Command: Gaea Mission. The series, which is spread over four chapters, follows players as they become Technical Analysts and unravel a mysterious plot by completing a diverse set of challenges.

After responding to the intel gathered in the previous Carrier Commands: Recruits episodes, "Perimeter Breach" requires players to remotely operate an APA droid to infiltrate the enemy base. The main mission in the episode is to locate the deadly discovery from Episode 2, "More Than A Thousand Words."

Players who successfully complete their struggle against the APA and share their progress on Facebook and Twitter before August 20, will have a chance to win one out of five digital copies (Windows PC) of Carrier Command: Gaea Mission, and are guaranteed access to the beta.

The third episode of Carrier Command: Recruits is now available at www.carriercommand.com/recruits.

LOS ANGELES - July 26, 2012 - Rising Star Games, Inc. today announced the availability of the first episode of Carrier Command: Recruits, a four-part episodic series of free mini-games that prelude to Carrier Command: Gaea Mission. Connected by an overarching storyline, Recruits challenges players to overcome puzzles and unlock secrets within the Carrier Command universe. Carrier Command: Recruits will also give players a chance to win a digital copy of Carrier Command: Gaea Mission.

Carrier Command: Recruits has players take on the role of a Technical Analyst for the United Earth Coalition (UEC) -- the protagonist's faction. The story takes place right before the events of Carrier Command: Gaea Mission and requires players to unravel a mysterious plot by completing a diverse set of challenges. The first episode, Head Hunting, takes players through a UEC recruitment session.

"This mini-games-series jumps in as an entertaining and free initiative to give people an early taste of Carrier Command: Gaea Mission's atmosphere," said Korneel van 't Land, brand and PR manager at Bohemia Interactive, developer of Carrier Command: Gaea Mission. "This mini-game-series will help build excitement leading up to Carrier Command: Gaea Mission's launch, and we can't wait for fans to check it out."

Players who complete an episode and share their progress on Facebook or Twitter before August 20 will have a chance to win one out of five digital copies (Windows PC) of Carrier Command: Gaea Mission, and are guaranteed access to the beta.

The first episode of Carrier Command: Recruits is now available at www.carriercommand.com/recruits. The remaining three episodes will be released over the next few weeks with the final episode being available on August 9.

About Carrier Command: Gaea Mission

Based on a groundbreaking 80s classic, Carrier Command: Gaea Mission takes place on the breathtaking planetoid Taurus and revolves around the conflict between the Asian Pacific Alliance and the United Earth Coalition. The game floats a refreshing combination of 1st/3rd-person action - letting players take instant and direct control of any unit at any time - with real-time strategy elements, like commanding units, managing resources and customizing equipment. In command of an armed vehicle carrier, players will traverse the seas to engage in free-roaming combat and establish a strategic network of island bases for mining, manufacturing and defense. The game is scheduled for a Windows PC and Xbox 360® release in Q3 2012.