Since it was announced for North America, and as new assets and details are rolled out to eager fans worldwide, excitement for Soul Sacrifice has only increased. No other title for PlayStation Vita combines the same frantic real-time combat, thrilling sense of scale, smartly interwoven cooperative multiplayer, or meaningful character customization… Not to mention the contributions of legends of gaming like designer Keiji Inafune or composer Yasunori Mitsuda and Wataru Hokoyama.

For weeks, fans have asked for more info about the game’s North American release, wanting a final date and box art, and details about possible pre-order extras. Finally, those questions can be answered!

Soul Sacrifice for PS Vita launches in stores and via PlayStation Network on April 30th, 2013. As for the box art, it is essentially the same as that which Japanese fans will proudly display on their shelves (or pedestals, if you’re a pedestal kind of person):

Fans who pre-order Soul Sacrifice will receive an exclusive pack of in-game content — it will not be sold anywhere else!

Two (2) Unique Costumes with which players can customize their character

Three (3) Magic Items to aid players in battle:

Spirits’ Flamepike – Shards of the spear provided by Fire spirits, unleashing a five hit combo attack with heat effects

Spirits’ Blightstone – Explosive stones with poison effects provided by the spirits

Spirits’ Fulgurwood – Root provided by the Thunder spirits. Tracks enemies on the ground and attacks with thunder spell

There’s more! Do you prefer to play with Japanese audio tracks whenever possible? You might want to pre-order…

Reserve Soul Sacrifice and, in addition to the in-game costume & item bundle, you’ll also receive the Japanese voice-over pack for free. This pack will be sold separately, but the only way to get it right at launch for no added cost is to pre-order!

Thrilled to finally be able to reveal a release date to his North American fans, Project Lead Keiji Inafune had this to say:

I’m excited that we are finally able to announce the release date of Soul Sacrifice. I have put all my passion and soul into the game’s concept and my talented team has made an incredible effort to create the best game it could ever be. I’m confident that we’ve created an extremely engaging game that you will enjoy playing. The game has become nothing like any other game with an original and deep world settings which could only be possible in a dark fantasy environment. I’m looking forward to you being able to experience the unique adventure of real heroism in Soul Sacrifice. Immerse yourself in the world of Soul Sacrifice and have fun playing it! Keiji Inafune, Conceptor and CEO – comcept, Inc.

There’s plenty left to share and reveal for Soul Sacrifice… Keep coming back to PS.Blog for more updates!