Tales of Xillia Heads West

English-speaking gamers will soon be able to play Namco Bandai’s latest Tales game.

Fans at Namco Bandai’s slice of Japan Expo in France got some exciting news today: the company’s latest entry in the RPG Tales series – Namco Tales Studios’ swan song game – is officially coming to western shores. Tales of Xillia, for PS3 only, will be released in the US, Europe, and Australia sometime in 2013.

The 13th flagship title in the expansive Tales series, Xillia was the last game developed by dedicated Tales developer Namco Tales Studios before it merged into publisher Namco Bandai Games. The studio, originally known as Wolfteam, had been the primary developer of Tales games since the series’ inception. Despite the studio’s dissolution, Tales of Xillia was received well in Japan and a direct sequel has already been announced for later this year.

Since Tales of Destiny first hit US shores on the PS1 over a decade ago, the Tales franchise has captured English-speaking fans worldwide. But Western localization of the games has never been a guarantee – for example, although Tales of Destiny made it to the US, its true sequel, Tales of Destiny 2, (which is not Tales of Destiny II) did not follow despite being one of the best-selling in the series worldwide. So, while not entirely unexpected, the announcement is solidly good news to fans of the Tales series. The specific release date and other details, such as language options, are currently under wraps, but will hopefully be revealed soon.

Source: Tales Bandai UK, Kotaku