Only one more week until we close entries for the HMOtaku Summer Sweepstakes!

A copy of Harvest Moon: Grand Bazaar is on the line for two grand prize winners. And so far we've received over 1400 entries from you all, which is just amazing! Remember that you can enter once daily, up until we close entries next Friday night at midnight E.S.T. :)

While you wait for Grand Bazaar to be released though, you can check out a preview that IGN did for the game. It does a pretty nice job of highlighting Grand Bazaar's strengths and potential weaknesses. They especially praise the game's graphics, going so far as to say that it's "the best looking handheld version of Harvest Moon" they've seen. Click here for the preview!

-HMOtaku Summer Sweepstakes

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So it's official - Grand Bazaar has gone gold!

Earlier today Natsume announced that Harvest Moon: Grand Bazaar had gone gold. "Going gold" basically means that the game is finished and ready to be shipped off to the manufacturer to produce all the games. :)

Here's a snippet of the official press release:

"Burlingame, Calif., July 22, 2010 - Natsume, a worldwide developer and publisher of family-oriented video games, announced today that Harvest Moon: Grand Bazaar has gone gold and will be released for the Nintendo DST on August 17th. The game will retail at an MSRP of $29.99 and is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB.

[...]

As a bonus, players who pre-order the game at GameStop can still receive a limited edition collectible plush horse. Hurry and place your order before they're gone!

For more information on Harvest Moon: Grand Bazaar, please visit www.natsume.com. You can also follow all of the latest Natsume news at
www.natsume.com/facebook and www.twitter.com/natsume_inc."

Credit - Gonintendo.com


Also, don't forget about the HMOtaku Summer Sweepstakes - Over 300 different people have entered so far, and we've got a couple weeks left!


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If you've got some downtime this summer, why not take a trip to Moon Drop Valley!

Moon Drop Valley is a text-based role playing game that's on the HMOtaku forum. It gives you an opportunity to create your own character and cultivate a custom harvest moon experience through interaction with other members. To join, you'll just need to write up a character profile, based on the RPG guidelines, and submit it to us.

We've recently added some new features to Moon Drop Valley and there is a festival or two planned for next month. Be sure to submit your profile soon so you don't miss out on the fun. Happy RPing! :)

-Click here to get started-

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You can now listen to some of the music from Harvest Moon: Twin Villages, released last week in Japan!

Last month, we posted a music sampler for Grand Bazaar, and you guys seemed to like it so we decided to give Twin Villages the same treatment! We posted a video on the HMO Youtube channel showcasing some of the nice music from the game.

Click below to listen, and let us know what you think! :)



-Link to the video-


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Grand Bazaar's release date has been pushed back, so we've pushed back the sweepstakes cut-off as well.

So yes, unfortunately Harvest Moon: Grand Bazaar has been delayed until August 17th. Natsume had originally set the release date as July 27th, but for reasons unknown has moved it a few weeks back. This comes as no shock to many, since it seems to happen with just about every Harvest Moon game, but it's a little frustrating nonetheless.

And since Grand Bazaar is getting pushed back a few weeks, we will have to make a minor change to the HMOtaku Summer Sweepstakes!



We had originally set July 23rd as the cut-off date for accepting entries, but that is getting pushed back until August 7th. So now you have an extra couple weeks to enter your name - remember that you can enter daily! :)

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Today, Bokujou Monogatari: Futago no Mura (Harvest Moon: Twin Villages) was released in Japan! The game is on the Nintendo DS and is similar in style to Grand Bazaar which comes out soon in America. It was originally scheduled to come out this past February but got pushed back to the summer.

One of the main new features of the game is the two villages, Bluebell and Konohana. You can either choose to live in the Japanese/farming-themed Konohana or the European/animal-themed Bluebell. Another attraction is the addition of new animals like bees and alpacas!

There's been no word on when North America/Europe will see the game, but we'll definitely let you know as soon as an announcement has been made. Also, be on the lookout for songs from the game being posted on the HMOtaku Youtube page sometime soon! :)

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Have you ever wondered how great it would be to have an online Harvest Moon where you could interact with your friends' farms and towns?... Well we don't seem to be at that point quite yet, but Marvelous is making some moves in that direction!

Marvelous recently announced a new online browser-based Harvest Moon game titled Minna De Bokujou Monogatari (rough translation - "Let's Harvest Moon"). The game is in beta testing right now in Japan, and there's no information on when it might be released.


It is a browser game, so that probably means instead of playing the game off of a CD, you would play it directly on your internet browser. From the little information that has been posted on the official website it seems to be very similar in nature to the popular facebook game, Farmville.

You basically take care of your online farm, harvesting crops and raising animals with the help of harvest sprites. However, there is no town, so you have to buy all of your seeds and animals from a shop window. You can assign your harvest sprites to do different tasks, and online friends can help you out with gifts or farmwork.

We'll keep you updated as we learn more about the game! :)

Official Japanese website
HM: Online page on HMOtaku

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Congratulations to two of HMOtaku’s veteran members on their recent marriage!

Sarah (RoRo) and Sean (Shadowlord) tied the knot last week, on the 21st of June, 2010. They first met here on the HMOtaku forum around 2005, and have been close ever since. :)

And yes, if you look at the picture closely, you can even see the blue feather!

We wish the two of them a happy marriage and life together, and you can click here to leave your best wishes too!

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