Natsume announced a new Harvest Moon game today, coming to PC and Nintendo’s home console. But wait, didn’t the same thing happen in 2015? Yes…and Natsume never delivered.
What about Seeds of Memories?
In late 2015, Natsume announced a new Harvest Moon game, subtitled Seeds of Memories. Four platforms were confirmed for a winter 2015/16 release: Wii U, PC, iOS, and Android.
#HarvestMoon: Seeds of Memories arrives this Winter on Wii U, PC, iOS, & Android! 4th Developer Diary coming soon~ pic.twitter.com/hW3sTgcnBu
— Natsume Inc. (@Natsume_Inc) November 10, 2015
As winter approached, they clarified that the mobile versions would be released first, and said they would discuss the Wii U and PC versions after the mobile versions have launched.
@AviatorGaming We'll be talking about the Wii U and PC versions after the launch of the mobile versions. https://t.co/vzahY5JAbH
— Natsume Inc. (@Natsume_Inc) December 11, 2015
The iOS version was released in January 2016, and the Android version followed in April. But even though they said they would discuss the other versions once the mobile versions were out, that didn’t happen. They simply stopped talking about the other versions, as if they never announced them in the first place.
At E3 2016, there was no news on Seeds of Memories for Wii U or PC. And yet they announced Harvest Moon: Skytree Village for Nintendo 3DS for a fall release. Meanwhile, they ignored all questions about the Wii U and PC versions of Seeds of Memories on Twitter, on Facebook, on their own forum, everywhere. Skytree Village released in November.
Déjà Vu
On May 16, 2017, Natsume announced yet another Harvest Moon game, Light of Hope.
Revive the Lighthouse, save the town in #HarvestMoon: Light of Hope, a new adventure coming to PC, PS4, & Switch! Playable at #E32017 pic.twitter.com/I3Uj8TnDai
— Natsume Inc. (@Natsume_Inc) May 16, 2017
Considering two of the announced platforms are PC and a Nintendo console (even though it’s Switch instead of the dying Wii U), it seems that the PC and Wii U versions of Seeds of Memories are almost definitely cancelled. Just not officially.
So why won’t they officially let us know SoM has been cancelled? Is a bit of honesty too much to ask? Is this how they treat their fans, customers, and potential customers? Apparently so. Their customer support leaves much to be desired, and it’s left a sour taste in my mouth. I do not plan on buying the upcoming game…if they even end up releasing it.
Fortunately, Nintendo fans still have Marvelous (makers of Story of Seasons) on board, along with ConcernedApe, who is bringing Stardew Valley to Nintendo Switch this year. I plan on blogging my experiences with Stardew Valley once it is released.
But this Seeds of Memories Blog, just like Seeds of Memories itself, seems to be dead before it ever got off the ground.
I hate that so many companies are delaying games so much because of the failure of the Wii U. At least let us know.
I don’t think that was the issue, since the PC version never showed up either.
True. I wonder if it triggered them to never develop the game, though?