While there has been so many good tidbits of news coming out of the Japanese video game industry in the past few months, some sad news has today been announved by Neverland, the developer of the Rune Factory and Shining Force franchises. The company confirmed that they have ceased operations and will be filing for bankruptcy according to a statement issued on their official website.
Their latest release (and first 3DS) Rune Factory IV launched in mid-2012 within Japan saw the strongest sales the Rune Factory series had seen, and recently saw a successful release in North America by XSEED Games.
There is currently no word on the fate of the Rune Factory franchise, or others worked on by the studio over the years. Their 2007 JRPG release Shining Force EXA walked away with my “Games From Consoles Past of the Year 2012 – Playstation 2 Game” award.
[Source: Siliconera]
