Idea Factory International seems to be right on schedule with its launch of Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution in the West. The game was first released in Japan during August 2023, and at that time we already knew that the title was set for a Western launch in 2024. Earlier this month, the date was whittled down from an entire year (2024) to a single month: May. Today it was confirmed that the Neptunia series spin-off would be launched mid-May for PlayStation and Nintendo Switch. The limited edition contents were also announced, rounding out a good amount of version options.
Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution is like a classic Neptunia game mashed together with a game development sim. Older Nep (let me tell you, if someone called me Older Lindsay there would be a problem) will have to manage and rebuild a game company, building it to become a large corporation.
Older Nep’s company will need solid developers, cutting-edge video games, and market expansion to succeed. In the Game Maker world, the Makers themselves have started a battle for supremacy – basically they want to acquire Shares. This is the world that Older Nep steps into.
The Neptunia series battle system has been expanded to allow for a four-person party, dungeons that are explorable by motorcycle, chained attacks, and transformative specials. Create games and choose creators to work on them to boost the party’s stats, then sell off those games through the dungeons. Older Nep, since she’s all wise and stuff now, can challenge enemies for special rewards; she can also test her motorcycle skills through time trials.
Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution will be released digitally and physically. As Idea Factory International likes to do, there are a variety of options to choose from. (Wow, I sound like a commercial.) I’m going to focus on the physical editions here. In both North America and Europe, the Limited Edition (shown below) includes the game with a reversible cover sleeve, an official soundtrack CD, two cloth posters, a steel game case, a collector’s box, and an exclusive trading card. Europeans will have two other options available with the Day One Edition or Day One Edition Dual Pack Plus. The Day One Edition includes the game with a reversible cover sleeve, a cloth poster, a set of four stickers, an acrylic standee, and a collector’s box. The Day One Edition Dual Pack Plus includes everything from the Day One Edition, plus Neptunia: Sisters VS Sisters Day One Edition and an acrylic Shikishi.
Developed by Idea Factory and Compile Heart, and published by Idea Factory International, Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution will be released for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch on May 14. The Limited Edition pre-order will be available through the IFI Online Stores beginning April 2. Pre-order details for the Day One Edition and the Day One Edition Dual Pack Plus aren’t available at this time.
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Ehhh, at this point what’s the point of putting the PC release off anyway? Even if they’re small devs, by now they should already know that they have a big market there.
It can be surprisingly difficult to support multiple platforms, even if you’re familiar with them (which I’m rapidly discovering on a personal level). There is a question why PC isn’t the lead platform for them, but who knows? I assume they make their decisions based on sales projections.
I can now only assume that for some reason they STILL don’t see foreign markets as being as important as their home market, and with that it’s also likely that PC still isn’t seen as a big enough audience compared to PS and Switch in Japan. Sooooooo…………time to shove more PC (and PC-adjacent) handhelds down their throats 😀
(By PC-adjacent I mean ARM-based systems that you would usually associate with running Android or some basic Linux distro, but nowadays have access to x86 emulators like Box86/64 and thus Proton/WINE or also WindowsARM.)