Natsume (company)

Natsume Company Ltd.
Private
Industry Video game developer and publisher
Founded October 20, 1987
Headquarters Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
Burlingame, California, United States[1]
Key people
 Takashi Matsumoto (CEO)
Products Harvest Moon series
Lufia
Pocky and Rocky
Rune Factory
Reel Fishing
River King series
Revenue ¥717.0 million
Number of employees
 70
Subsidiaries Natsume Inc.
Atari Inc.
Slogan Serious Fun
Website www.natsume-game.com (Japanese)
www.natsume.com (International)

Natsume Company Ltd. (ナツメ株式会社 Natsume Kabushiki kaisha) is a Japanese video game developer and publisher in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan founded on October 20, 1987. Its American branch, Natsume Inc., is located in Burlingame, California.[1] It is best known for publishing unique, family-oriented niche games, such as the Harvest Moon and Rune Factory outside Japan.

History

During the NES and SNES era, they published several action titles such as S.C.A.T., Wild Guns and Shadow of the Ninja. Natsume also released the SNES game Pocky & Rocky as well as Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals and Power Rangers. Natsume has also developed the Medabot games.

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 they 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 their own US branch, XSEED Games, ending the relationship they had with Natsume. Since then, Natsume has begun releasing their own games under the Harvest Moon name, starting with Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley, which was released in the North America on November 4, 2014.

Natsume 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.[2]

Corporate divisions

The company originally had a publishing branch in the United States named Natsume Inc. located in Burlingame, California, founded in October 1988. By 1995 Natsume Inc had broken away into its own company and is separately owned and operated.[3]

In October 2002, Natsume Co Ltd founded Atari Inc. (not to be confused with the American game company) in Osaka, specialized on developing slot and pinball machines.

On May 6, 2005, Natsume Solution began operation in Shinjuku, Osaka. This division specializes on web site development, providing mobile solutions/services and developing web systems. On March 1, 2006, Natsume Solution was merged with Evolve co.,ltd.

The company is now known as Natsume-Atari, and is not directly connected to Natsume Inc USA or its subsidiary Natsume Inc Japan.[4]

Works

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Natsume". Natsume. Retrieved 2009-05-21.
  2. ↑ "Classic game publisher cleans out its closet, makes thousands on eBay". Ars Technica. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  3. ↑ http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=130336&cmd=tc
  4. ↑ http://ceecee-natsume.tumblr.com/post/114896253427/wikipedia-bad-source-of-info
  5. ↑ http://tcrf.net/Touhou_Kenbun_Roku
  6. 1 2 "Natsume Announce Next Two Harvest Moons, DS and Wii". Gaming Union. 2009-05-21. Retrieved 2009-05-25. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  7. ↑ "RETURN TO THE WORLD OF LUFIA THIS FALL WITH NATSUME’S LUFIA: CURSE OF THE SINISTRALS FOR NINTENDO DS" (PDF). natsume.com. Retrieved 2010-05-31.
  8. ↑ Natsume Aren't Done With Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove Yet. Siliconera (2013-05-23). Retrieved on 2013-08-23.
  9. 1 2 "IGN: Natsume Reveals E3 Lineup". IGN. 2009-05-28. Retrieved 2009-05-28.

External links

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