Hello again, everyone. My name is Hideo Baba from Namco Bandai Studios Inc., and I’m the producer for the Tales series. As some of you know from previous posts, I like to step in from time to time and deliver great news to our fans on PlayStation.Blog. Today is one of those special days!

I’m very proud to announce that Tales of Zestiria, the newest installment and 20th Japanese anniversary commemorative title for the Tales franchise, will be launched in North America for PS3. This is a huge moment for Namco Bandai Games, and the Tales team in particular, as it’s the first time we’ve simultaneously announced the game for both Japan and the west.

There’s not much else to say about Tales of Zestiria right now, so please stay tuned for more information in the future. In the meantime, we do have two other great Tales games coming out in North America to keep fans excited throughout next year. Tales of Symphonia Chronicles will be available on February 25th, 2014 for PS3, and features both Tales of Symphonia and Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. Expect new HD graphics and content for North American fans, including new outfits, Mystic Arte cut-ins, titles, unison attacks, and techniques. It will also be the first time that a Tales game features both an English and Japanese audio track.

Tales of Xillia 2 will also be out across western territories next year for PS3 as well. It’s the sequel to this year’s Tales of Xillia, and focuses on two brand new characters: Ludger Kresnik and Elle Marta. One of the defining themes of the game is “choice,” and players will be able to speak through Ludger by the choices that they make throughout the game. And since this title takes place in the same world as Tales of Xillia, expect to see plenty of your favorite characters returning to help Ludger and Elle on their journey. We’ll have plenty more to talk about for this title in the coming months.

The Tales team has been working hard to strengthen our relationship with overseas fans over the past few years, and we’ve seen the fruits of our labor with the success of Tales of Xillia — which has sold over a million copies worldwide. The Tales team would like to thank all of the Tales fans around the world for their continued support, and extend a warm welcome to new fans to the series as well.