Fantasy Life Success Leads to Nintendo 3DS Series

Following the news of the Brownie Brown-developed / Level-5-published Fantasy Life selling out in Japan on Nintendo 3DS after demand was far higher than expected, it has now come to light that there are now plans to make the game into a series. After starting off as a 2D title on Nintendo DS, it has now landed in Japan with re-styled 3D characters and has become an instant hit with fans of similar games on the market right now, such as Animal Crossing: New Leaf from Nintendo and Konami's Magician's Quest: Magical Town.

For those wondering just how popular these open-ended simulation type games are, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, inclusive of Famitsu-tracked download card purchases, has sold 2,422,948 copies since launch a few weeks ago, as of 6th January. Fantasy Life is pretty much sold out of its retail stock, so will be relying on 3DS eShop sales to keep it going until Level-5 gets more out to stores. After two weeks it is sitting at just shy of 170,000 sales, and Konami's attempt to cash-in on the craze shot up by a 1/3 over the previous week, bringing its lifetime total to a little under 100,000 units.

Japanese magazine Famitsu spoke with Level-5 about plans for the year ahead and the success of Fantasy Life led to the company specifically mentioning the surprise hit, stating that it would not be the last we see of it, with it becoming the first release in a larger series.

The Inazuma Eleven is proving that particular franchise is still going strong, with three games in the current Japanese charts (Inazuma Eleven Go 2: Chrono Stone - Neppuu / Raimei nearly at 360,000 on 3DS, the 3DS collection of Inazuma Eleven 1-2-3!! Endou Mamoru Densetsu at about 35,000 units after two weeks, and the third Wii Inazuma Eleven Strikers steady at over 55,000 units after three weeks on sale), and Professor Layton can still pull in good numbers (spin-off Professor Layton Vs. Ace Attorney is around 260,000 at the moment - a far cry from Layton's peak, but not awful by any means). However, having another string to its bow would certainly not hurt, and if Fantasy Life can tap into the casual market that loves social elements in its games then success can only be around the corner.

What sort of social aspects do readers like to see in games to make them more interesting?