Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls Set to Hit PSN This Spring (Huzzah!, But It's Time To Start A Retail Release Petition, I Say!)

Well alrighty, then! I guess my little commentary from a few months back made the rounds at Xseed's offices or something, as the news that the publisher is in the process of localizing Acquire's PSN role-playing game for a US release over the PlayStation Network. While that Spring 2011 download-only release is in the works, I'm hoping that Xseed just does the right thing and gives us BOTH games on a disc as Wizardry Double pack (the same way they were released in Japan after their PSN debuts).

Is it nicely-written and well thought out online petition time? We shall see... in the meantime, I'm a damn happy camper with his fingers crossed. Press release below the jump - more screens, too!

Next Gen Iteration of Popular Wizardry Dungeon Crawler Series to Arrive on PlayStation®Network this Spring

Hey RPG lovers,

We are pleased to announce today our upcoming PlayStation®3 system title Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls, to be released in North America and Europe in partnership with Japanese developer ACQUIRE.

The latest iteration of the long-standing Wizardry series and the first available for Next-Gen consoles, Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls will be exclusively available for download via PlayStation®Network in spring 2011.

About Wizardry

One of the premiere RPG experiences since 1981, the original Wizardry has a storied history and is credited as "The Granddaddy of RPGs," having been among the first to utilize grid-based dungeon crawling gameplay when it was originally conceived for early PC platforms.

Wizardry - the original and its successors - established a basic and classic command-driven battle system with still images of monsters to fight, which would be emulated in later games for years to come. Wizardry was the first to formally introduce an innovative first-person perspective, the fundamental stepping stone leading to one of today's most popular gaming genres. What's more, RPG fans also owe the concept of prestige classes to Wizardry, an important element and basic building block of the modern-day RPG class system.

Following in the grand tradition of the Wizardry series is the very first version available for today's Next-Gen gamers; Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls features a deceptively simple game system complementing deep and involving dungeon designs. Hardcore RPG fans will find an extensive and grueling 1st-person 3D grid-based dungeon crawl experience rendered in high-definition with hand-drawn characters and sprites by famous commercial artist Yuki Hayabusa. Players will develop a party of up to six members culled from a rich mix of five races and eight classes, and prepare to encounter over 120 different monsters.

Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls, developed by ACQUIRE and to be published by XSEED Games, will be available for download via PlayStation Network this spring. The game is currently in production and XSEED Games will share more information in the coming weeks.