Ignition Picks Up Muramasa Rights For North America

Almost immediately following reports that XSeed was no longer distributing Vanillaware's anticipated Wii exclusive Muramasa: The Demon Blade in North America, Ignition Entertainment has stepped forward to reveal that it's got it in hand. Ignition says it secured the exclusive North American publishing rights to the title, which will now launch in September 2009. It had previously been slated to be published under XSeed's co-publishing agreement with Marvelous, but XSeed recently announced it was "no longer involved." "Ignition Entertainment is immensely proud for the opportunity to bring Muramasa: The Demon Blade to the legions of North American gamers yearning for top-quality, original action games on Wii," says Ignition new business development director Shane Bettenhausen. The title released in Japan as Oboro Muramasa on April 9th, and was widely reported to have received a decent 34/40 rating from magazine Famitsu. It features a casual Wii Remote-controlled scheme as well as a more detailed traditional option for more experienced players. Incorporating themes of traditional Japan, it employs the same art style that popularized Odin Sphere on PlayStation 2. "We developed Muramasa: The Demon Blade in the same way as we did Odin Sphere, so there are bound to be a lot of similarities," says game director and Vanillaware president George Kamitani. "I want it to be a very fun game for everyone who picks it up."