It’s been nearly four months since the release of another title in the series, and Namco Bandai Games has already gone on to announce Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 which will be coming out for the PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2013. Announced yesterday at the Japan Expo 2012 in Paris, this title will be the first installment from the series to proffer gamers with 3D compatibility.
CyberConnect2 will of course be developing it, and the studio has even created a playable 2D version for visitors of the Japan Expo which will be running till July 8. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 will apparently feature the ‘most extensive character roster’ of any game in the series till date. Its story mode will ask players to jump into various adventures set in the village of Konoha, where they will even be confronted by the massive Nine-Tails.
“Even though there are of course many, many fans in Japan, the Naruto games are also incredibly popular with European gamers, so we’re honoured and very pleased to be debuting the title at Japan Expo today. Every one of CyberConnect2’s Naruto titles is fantastic and we can’t wait for fans to see this one,” revealed Olivier Comte, Senior VP Marketing, Sales & Publishing at Namco Bandai Games Europe.
The previous game in the series – Naruto Shippuden: UNSG which was launched for the PS3 and Xbox 360 in March this year was also developed by CybercConnect2. Featuring single-player as well as multiplayer content, this title introduced a new system under which real-world collectible cards were made available for players to be able to unlock corresponding artwork for their in-game profile cards.
A definite release date for Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 hasn’t been revealed as yet, but Namco Bandai Games has confirmed that it will be coming out for the PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2013.
Update: Spring 2013 has been announced to be the launch window for the game.