How Natsume picked up Afrika (bonus: trophies confirmed!)

by JC Fletcher { Jun 17th 2009 at 2:45PM }

When Sony first revealed Afrika, it was a marquee first-party PS3 title used to show off the power of the system. Three years later, it's finally being released in North America, by tiny third-party publisher Natsume, who is more familiar with Harvest Moon and handheld games than anything shown off at a press conference. How did this happen?

According to Graham Markay, Vice President of Operations for Natsume, Finny the Fish was instrumental in the deal. No, really. Sony's Uo: Nanatsu no Mizu to Densetsu no Nushi was localized on the PS2 by Natsume as Finny the Fish & the Seven Waters.

"We have a relationship with Sony Japan," Markay explained. "You might remember Finny the Fish? That game was done by Sony Japan. So we licensed that game from them. We have a little bit of a history with their licensing department in Japan." Because of this relationship, Natsume was one of the companies contacted by Sony Japan about the game. Markay said that Afrika "really fits with the Natsume theme" because it's non-violent and nature-oriented. We might add that it fits with the Natsume theme so well that the company is simultaneously releasing a different safari photography game on the Wii.

In case you need an extra incentive to buy Afrika, Markay confirmed that "there is going to be a trophy system, which wasn't in the Asian release or Japanese release."

Gallery: Afrika

Tags: afrika, natsume, safari, trophies

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Marty @ Jun 17th 2009 2:48PM

If the quality is anything like the most recent Harvest Moon games, I feel sorry for PS3 owners.

Longhorn of Myon [PSN: MariusElijah] @ Jun 17th 2009 2:49PM

mmmk? we are not forced to buy this you know

shrikedoa @ Jun 17th 2009 2:51PM

It's not made by Natsume. They're just publishing it.

Doombot (zuburi) @ Jun 17th 2009 3:15PM

I'm so sick of the "we are not forced to buy this" defense. It is hackneyed and irrelevant, and essentially means nobody is allow to criticize anything, ever.

I could just as easily say to you "why are you commenting on his post? Nobody forced you to read it."

I am sorry he made you sad or whatever, but that knee-jerk reaction, no matter who is doing it, always makes the bile in my stomach rise just a little.

U U D D L R L R B A SELECT START @ Jun 17th 2009 3:20PM

The defense was pretty justified as a response to the post...if it was a console changing patch or something that would universally effect all PS3 owners then the OP would make sense...as a piece of software that is being released that PS3 owners have the option to research and then buy if they choose to do so, I think the response that we have the option not to buy the software in question is pretty legitimate....

DarkNessBear @ Jun 17th 2009 3:25PM

He said, "sorry for you PS3 owners". Like Afrika is the only game we are allowed to own when it releases.

Alistair Azimuth PSN: johnnynumber5 @ Jun 17th 2009 3:27PM

Especially coming from someone like Martysoft who came into the thread for the sole purpose of trolling. Even if we reject that notion and take the comment at face value the statement of having the option to buy it or not is completely relevant to the original post.

Doombot (zuburi) @ Jun 17th 2009 3:33PM

Shit, I have more than a passing interest in the game. It's just a ridiculous defense used in place of an argument about why this game could be interesting, or why Harvest Moon went off the rails.

InFaMoUs1- @ Jun 17th 2009 2:49PM

is this a PSN title or retail?

Young_Nastyman @ Jun 17th 2009 2:54PM

PSN

Young_Nastyman @ Jun 17th 2009 2:57PM

nvm retail,
I could have sworn it was psn

InFaMoUs1- @ Jun 17th 2009 2:58PM

sweet I hope it's $9.99

InFaMoUs1- @ Jun 17th 2009 3:01PM

aww what!? I was actually excited.. but I guess i'll rent it now

I am a machineee @ Jun 17th 2009 3:52PM

Sometimes I feel you are a troll because you have Haley as your icon as well as hAvIng yOuR scReEnName liKe thIs.

I am a machineee @ Jun 17th 2009 3:58PM

LOL, I was just curious for some insight, you didn't have to change your icon.

InFaMoUs1- @ Jun 17th 2009 4:00PM

uhm i like Paramore and "InFaMoUs1-" is my former PSN ID and my avatar changes between a sackboy and Hayley

I am a machineee @ Jun 17th 2009 4:04PM

Sorry, I just was making sure you weren't luring unsuspecting guys into embarrassing themselves by flirting with the girl they thought was posting in the picture.

InFaMoUs1- @ Jun 17th 2009 4:05PM

damnit for the last time everyone I'M NOT a GIRL!!!!

grover96 @ Jun 17th 2009 4:39PM

Yes, you are.

Sly [PSN SniperChameleon] @ Jun 17th 2009 5:29PM

just change your name to InFaMoUs1- (I'M NOT A GIRL)

shrikedoa @ Jun 17th 2009 2:50PM

I've been looking forward to this for awhile. Glad to see it may finally arrive here.

Shagittarius @ Jun 17th 2009 2:50PM

Trophies do not a game make.

No game...No sale.

mgsrocks1 @ Jun 17th 2009 3:03PM

"Trophies do not a game make. "

Yes master Yoda. Shouldn't you instead say, "Trophies make a game they do not"?

Chad Vanderbilt (Moptimus in Disguise) @ Jun 17th 2009 3:09PM

which is why Natsume is releasing a game to go with the trophies

eNrique @ Jun 17th 2009 4:49PM

Trophies = Bonus
Game = GAME = FUN
Game =/= Trophies

Enduros @ Jun 17th 2009 2:52PM

So a game about nature with no violence?

*yawns*

Now if I get to blow the shit out of an elephant and harvest it's tuskes, then color me interested.

mr nimblewick @ Jun 17th 2009 3:07PM

Hey, as long as it stops you from doing it in real life!

megapenguinx @ Jun 17th 2009 4:52PM

Hurray for giving Jackie T proof that we are a violent bunch

Cerpin Taxt @ Jun 17th 2009 2:55PM

Yeah. I never really cared about this game or Africa, especially now since there's a 'k' in it.

MystileArmor @ Jun 17th 2009 2:59PM

Afrika is the South African way of spelling it.

Bender Bending Rodriguez @ Jun 17th 2009 2:59PM

And yet you diligently took time out of your day to let us know this. Thank you Cerpin Taxt.

Nguyen @ Jun 17th 2009 2:56PM

"because it's non-violent and nature-oriented."

So there's no chance that I would get savagely eaten by a liger?

Young_Nastyman @ Jun 17th 2009 2:58PM

Of course not

Everyone knows Zoids are in Japan

Enduros @ Jun 17th 2009 3:01PM

How about a safari game where you hunt animals down, shoot them, skin them then bar-b-q the hell out of them? That would be cool on the wii. And your trophies would be mounting their heads on a wall in a study while sitting in a big leather chair in front of a fire place and smoking a pipe.

I'm an American. I demand violence damnit!!!!

mr nimblewick @ Jun 17th 2009 3:09PM

Cooking Mama 4: Afrikan Safari.

Dirty @ Jun 17th 2009 3:44PM

I thought that was what the Cabela games were about. Not that I ever played them.

kentuckyfried @ Jun 17th 2009 5:57PM

except that I haven't heard anything good about the Cabela games. Besides, a little tongue in cheek dark humor couldn't hurt such a franchise, lol.

It's too bad, but Afrika would be even better if it unlocked a hunting mode upon some sort of completion on the regular part of the game.

Longhorn of Myon [PSN: MariusElijah] @ Jun 17th 2009 3:01PM

When are they going to make a good hunting game, I want those hippos to come at me while I try to shoot them in the face

Marty @ Jun 17th 2009 3:09PM

When more than 5 people care about hunting games, probably.

Alistair Azimuth PSN: johnnynumber5 @ Jun 17th 2009 3:14PM

Ok there is already one that released and two more this year ... so, I guess more than 5 people do care about hunting games.

http://www.gamestop.com/browse/search.aspx?N=141&Ntk=TitleKeyword&Ntt=cabela&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial

Chad Vanderbilt (Moptimus in Disguise) @ Jun 17th 2009 3:05PM

looks like Endless Ocean on land. Which is great since Endless Ocean is a good game

Alistair Azimuth PSN: johnnynumber5 @ Jun 17th 2009 3:18PM

A little different but a similar concept. I'm not super familiar with endless ocean but I believe you can interact with the wildlife where as you can't in this game. Also, this game has all of the Sony Alpha cameras, lenses and settings to tinker with which is kind of neat. Not sure if Endless Ocean has something similar or if it's more of a generic type of camera system.

But, they are pretty much the same thing at their core with some subtle differences. They are both essentially tech demos meant to show what the hardware can do.

joe @ Jun 17th 2009 3:33PM

game consumers are in a sorry state if they only care about violence or trophies.

Vidikron @ Jun 17th 2009 3:09PM

Meh... I'll need to see some reviews and impressions once it is released over here. I just don't see where I'd get enough out of this game to warrant paying retail. I'd likely give it a shot if it were a PSN game... probably just a rental as is.

doreo @ Jun 17th 2009 3:18PM

I just bought the Korean version for $30, which I must say was a bargain considering the entire game is in english. The only thing is the manual, box, and currency are all in Korean. It's alright, sometimes your like wow this looks really great but sometimes it's downright boring. It's really detailed when it comes to tinkering with your camera and what not, but I'm enjoying it so far. The driving in this game has to be one of the worst experiences I've ever had with a game though.

Another thing that I found ridiculous/hilarious was that if you get too close to an animal and it attacks you, you black out and when you wake up all your photos have been deleted.. I was like lmao, a hippo deleted my photos after mauling me...

Vidikron @ Jun 17th 2009 3:22PM

"I was like lmao, a hippo deleted my photos after mauling me..."

LOL... that's hilarious. Anyway, that's the sort of impressions I want to see more of before deciding on the game. Thanks.

joeybeast @ Jun 17th 2009 3:15PM

Just get Far Cry 2 on PC and hit the Print Screen button every few seconds.

dark_inchworm (on Steam!) dark inchworm (on XBL!) @ Jun 17th 2009 3:21PM

And if you want your trophy fix, well, here you go:
http://images.wikia.com/uncyclopedia/images/1/1e/Yourewinner-38601.jpg

mahunoy @ Jun 17th 2009 3:17PM

Is that a picture of Demon King Koopa in the middle?

Alistair Azimuth PSN: johnnynumber5 @ Jun 17th 2009 3:23PM

I'm all about this game but at the end of the day it's going to come down to how much the asking price is at retail. I wouldn't have a problem paying $29.99 for something like this considering it does have an appeal to me (amateur photographer), my fiance (professional photographer) and our daughter who wants to take after her mother. The cool thing is that we have a Sony Alpha and it would be great for our daughter to be able to mess with the settings and learn the gear in a virtual environment before we let her run off with such a fragile yet expensive piece of gear.

At the end of the day this one comes down to price. I could care less about the trophies (though I imagine they wouldn't take long to unlock) and I can import it for fairly cheap from play-asia. I won't pay near or at full price for trophies and some added nature content when I could get the same core product much cheaper and without trophies. So, if it's priced right then I'll buy it for sure. The animations in the game are top notch thats for sure.

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