History VideoGame / HarvestMoon

However, Natsume still owned the rights to the ''Harvest Moon'' brand and logo. So they decided to make a new series of farm sim games on their own with the Harvest Moon brand. The Natsume games are [[NoExportForYou not available in Japan]] due to copyright reasons, but are adapted for Europe by Rising Star Games.

In Japan, the series that started in 1996 has ''never'' changed names and has always been known as ''Bokujou Monogatari''. They are designed by the company now known as Creator/{{Marvelous}} (prior companies involved and company names include Amccus, Victor Interactive Software, and Marvelous Entertainment; there were many merges and name changes). From 1996 until 2013, the series was published and localized in the US by Creator/{{Natsume}}, who created the ''Harvest Moon'' name and often didn't put the Marvelous name (or other company names) on the game packaging.

In Japan, the series that started in 1996 has ''never'' changed names and has always been known as ''Bokujou Monogatari''. They are designed by the company now known as Creator/{{Marvelous}} (prior companies involved and company names include Amccus, Victor Interactive Software, and Marvelous Entertainment; there were many merges and name changes). From 1996 until 2013, the series was published and localized in the US and Europe by Creator/{{Natsume}}, who created the ''Harvest Moon'' name and often didn't put the Marvelous name (or other company names) on the game packaging.

In Japan, the series that started in 1996 has ''never'' changed names and has always been known as ''Bokujou Monogatari''. They are designed by the company now known as Creator/MarvelousAQL (prior companies involved and company names include Pack-in-Video, Victor Interactive Software, and Marvelous Entertainment; there were many merges and name changes). From 1996 until 2013, the series was published and localized in the US by Creator/{{Natsume}}, who created the ''Harvest Moon'' name and often didn't put the Marvelous name (or other older names) on the game packaging.

In early 2014, Marvelous AQL dropped Natsume as the publishing and localization company for the series and switched to Creator/XSEEDGames, their acquired Western division who were already localizing the spinoff ''Rune Factory'' series. XSEED Games then created a new name for the game series in the West, ''Story of Seasons'' (and the European localization company, Rising Star Games, also was dropped; they no longer do the adaptions, which are now done by Marvelous Europe).

However, Natsume still owned the rights to the ''Harvest Moon'' brand and logo. So they decided to make a new series of farm sim games on their own with the Harvest Moon brand and logos they owned. The Natsume games are [[NoExportForYou not available in Japan]] due to copyright reasons, but are adapted for Europe by Rising Star Games.

* ''VideoGame/StoryOfSeasons'', is the current name of the series that first released in 1996 starting with ''VideoGame/HarvestMoon1''; this series is known as ''Bokujō Monogatari'' (Ranch Story) in Japan and changed names in 2014 with the release of ''{{VideoGame/Story of Seasons|2014}}''. Old series with a new name.

In early 2014, Marvelous AQL dropped Natsume as the publishing and localization company for the series and switched to Creator/XSEEDGames, their acquired Western division who were already localizing the spinoff ''Rune Factory'' series. XSEED Games then created a new name for the game series in the West, ''Story of Seasons'' (and the European localization company, Rising Star Games, took on the same name as well).

However, Natsume still owned the rights to the ''Harvest Moon'' brand and logo. So they decided to make a new series of farm sim games on their own with the Harvest Moon brand and logos they owned. The Natsume games are [[NoExportForYou not available in Japan]] due to copyright reasons.

How things went down on Natsume's side is explained in [[http://www.siliconera.com/2015/03/18/harvest-moon-beyond-whats-next-natsume/ this interview]], and a neutral discussion on The Gamer [[https://www.thegamer.com/harvest-moon-vs-story-of-seasons-differences/ can be read here]]. Even several years on, the name split have caused no small amount of confusion for fans and retailers alike--especially as it seems that new ''Harvest Moon'' games come out awfully close to the release of new ''Story of Seasons'' games.

'''To summarize:''' The ''Bokujō Monogatari'' series that started in 1996 was titled ''Harvest Moon'' in the west until 2014. The continuation of that series is now called ''Story of Seasons''. This includes any {{Video Game Remake}}s of older titles (e.g. ''VideoGame/StoryOfSeasonsAWonderfulLife'' is the remake of ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonAWonderfulLife''). If you're looking for the continuation of those games from the late 1990s and 2000s, you want ''Story of Seasons''.

Any games ''after'' 2014 titled ''Harvest Moon'' are done by Natsume. The series started in 2014 and is [[InNameOnly not related to the older games at all]].

In Japan, the series that started in 1996 has ''never'' changed names and has always been known as ''Bokujou Monogatari''. They were--and still are--designed by the company now known as Creator/MarvelousAQL. From 1996 until 2013, the series was published and localized in the US by Creator/{{Natsume}}, who created the ''Harvest Moon'' name and often didn't put the Marvelous name (or other older names) on the game packaging.

'''To summarize:''' The ''Bokujō Monogatari'' series that started in 1996 was titled ''Harvest Moon'' in the west until 2014. The continuation of that series is now called ''Story of Seasons''. This includes any {{Video Game Remake}}s of older titles, e.g. ''VideoGame/StoryOfSeasonsAWonderfulLife'' is the remake of ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonAWonderfulLife''). If you're looking for the continuation of those games from the late 1990s and 2000s, you want ''Story of Seasons''.

In Japan, the series that started in 1996 has ''never'' changed names and has always been known as ''Bokujou Monogatari''. They were--and still are--designed by the company now known as Creator/MarvelousAQL. From 1996 until 2013, the series was published and localized in the US by Creator/{{Natsume}}, who created the ''Harvest Moon'' name and often didn't put the Marvelous name on the game packaging.

* ''VideoGame/StoryOfSeasons'', is the current name of the series that first released in 1996 starting with ''VideoGame/HarvestMoon1''; this series is known as ''Bokujō Monogatari'' (Ranch Story) in Japan and changed names in 2014 with the release of ''{{VideoGame/Story of Seasons|2014}}'' Old series with a new name.