Burlingame, CA. – August 28, 2012 – Natsume Inc., a worldwide developer and publisher of family-oriented video games, is proud to announce that Harvest Moon: A New Beginning will be hitting store shelves on November 6th, 2012. This also marks the 15th anniversary for the series in North America, and, to celebrate, Natsume also unveiled a special Anniversary Edition!

“Fans have been anticipating an official release date for Harvest Moon: A New Beginning since it was announced in May,” said Hiro Maekawa, President and CEO at Natsume. “As a treat to our fans, new and old, we have a remarkable 15th Anniversary Edition with a never-before-seen plushie to go with it!”

Fans can already pre-order Harvest Moon: A New Beginning via GameStop and soon via the Natsume Online Store to receive the new coveted plushie: an adorable yak! Longtime series enthusiasts will also be excited to see the limited quantity Anniversary Edition, featuring the biggest plush yet: a delightfully cuddly twelve inch Harvest Moon cow. The coveted Anniversary Edition will be available exclusively on the Natsume Online Store at http://natsume.com/store/index.html Pre-orders for this special edition begin on September 24th. Fans can watch the Natsume Facebook, Twitter, and forums for updates on this Moo-tastic package!

Echo Village has seen better days… Just as you’ve moved in, everyone else has moved away to greener pastures. It’s your job to bring villagers back by making the town appealing again, and giving Echo Village a new beginning!

Customization is King

For the first time in series history, you can completely customize your character’s appearance! Choose your character’s gender, skin color, facial expression, hairstyle, and much, much more! You can even go to the tailor and have them make new outfits for you! Don’t like where your crops and barn are on your farm? Easy! Just pick them up and move them! Yes, it’s really that easy to customize your farm in Harvest Moon: A New Beginning!

In addition to the ability to customize your character’s and farm’s appearance, you can also create tons of new additions for your farm, house, and Echo Village! Build park benches and topiary for the local citizens, a pet house for your farm, and exotic wallpaper and furniture for your house! A New Beginning features new animals like llamas and yaks, new crops to harvest, and new characters to meet and woo!

Players can follow all the news for all of the beloved Natsume franchises via www.natsume.com, or by scooping all of the latest Natsume news at www.natsume.com/facebook and www.twitter.com/natsume_inc