Marvelous gives up on original titles

Japanese publisher Marvelous Entertainment has a strong track record of innovation, releasing such titles as the Harvest Moon series Killer7 and No More Heroes to Western audiences. But it seems this focus on originality hasn't helped the company grow, with news that the company has been forced to stop the production and release of new intellectual properties.

According to a Japanese report of the company's financial structure, Marvelous' slate of original games has landed the publisher in financial trouble, with recent titles like Little King's Story, Deadly Premonition, and the No More Heroes series failing to sell well in the publisher's home country. No More Heroes: Paradise--the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 port of the original game--sold just around 30,000 units combined in its first week in Japan, while Little King's Story developer Cing filed for bankruptcy in March this year.

As part of a financial restructuring, Marvelous will now focus exclusively on developing sequels to successful franchises like Harvest Moon and Rune Factory. The publisher also intends to try its hand at making Web games and software for the Nintendo 3DS sometime in the next financial year.

The original report also states Marvelous will sell off its European subsidiary and withdraw its titles from distribution outside Japan.