XSEED has scored the localization rights to MavelousAQL’s most recent Nintendo 3DS Harvest Moon game, but thanks to some trademark issues, it’s going to require new title.

Ever since the Super Nintendo release of the first game back in 1997, Natsume has been using the Harvest Moon title to distribute Bokujō Monogatari, or Farm Story as it is called in Japan, and it is a title and a trademark that the company still owns.

Now that XSEED will take over publishing, it has been redubbed in the West as Story of Seasons. Producer Yoshifumi Hashimoto, character designer Igusa Matsuyama, and pretty much the entire production team has kept the traditions of farming, dating, and socializing fully intact, just under a different name. So please don’t be confused when you go about shopping for this new title.

“Story of Seasons represents a new chapter in our amazing tale,” says Yoshifumi Hashimoto, Head of Development at MarvelousAQL. “We are creating a new experience that will carry on the spirit of Bokujo Monogatari, and in doing so, will fulfill our loyal fans’ expectations and desires while ushering in a new generation of games to come.”

XSEED promises more on Story of Seasons at E3 next month. I wonder if it going to tell the story of how is scored the rights. I wonder if Natsume just passed up on it, or if XSEED simply gave MarvelousAQL an offer it couldn’t refuse.

The Godfather