Burlingame, CA. - October 3, 2013 - Natsume Inc., a worldwide developer and publisher of family-oriented video games, today announced that its upcoming title, Hometown Story, has gone gold and will be available on October 22nd. Developed by Harvest Moon series creator Yasuhiro Wada, Hometown Story is set to launch on the Nintendo 3DS, both at retail and digitally on eShop, with a suggested retail price of $39.99 USD.

“Over the past few months, we have given our fans a glimpse into the world of Hometown Story, and we know they are excited to finally get the chance to start running their own shop!” said Hiro Maekawa, President and CEO at Natsume Inc. “Whether you’re a veteran of titles like Harvest Moon, or a newcomer to the Natsume family of games, we know Hometown Story will provide a unique and enjoyable experience!”

Players who pre-order the game before its October 22nd launch date can receive one of the following exclusive pre-order offers from either Gamestop, Amazon, or Natsume’s own online store. Eachretailer has its own exclusive colored Ember the dragon plushie. The Emerald GreenEmber can be had at GameStop stores and Gamestop.com, the Ruby Red Ember is
available at Amazon.com , and the Sunny Yellow exclusive is available NOW at the Natsume Online Store at http://natsume.com/store/! In addition, a Premium Edition of the game featuring an 11" long Pochica plush, the adorable sprite that helps you run your shop, will be available for pre-order on the Natsume Online Store very soon!

Hometown Story takes players to a lush, green village tucked away in the countryside. The storyline follows the recent passing of your grandmother, and the shop you inherited that has brought you back to your hometown. However, the shop has become run down, and no one wants to even window shop there anymore. Can you turn the shop around and even expand it, or is it destined to stay in the red forever? The more items you sell, the more customers will come to your shop, and as you manage your shop better, you can expand and the village will prosper!

You won't have to go it alone, though. You'll get help from a magical sprite named Pochica, who will help you get the store back up and running, and introduce you to all of the unique characters who reside in the town. The villagers will all change and grow throughout the game, and that person who you thought might be up to no good when you first met them just might have a heart of gold! Your experiences will be completely different from anyone else's. You'll never know what to expect in Hometown Story!

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