Natsume announced that it will publish Afrika – a PlayStation 3 exclusive that was only available in Japan. The game will be available at retail early fall 2009.

Hiro Maekawa, President and CEO of Natsume:

“We are very excited to be releasing “AFRIKA” in North America, and thrilled to be working with Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios. The team has put an incredible amount of work into replicating the African safari experience, and the results are simply breathtaking.”

In Afrika, players will play the role of a freelance photographer – document the wildlife and photograph sights such as a clash between hippopotamuses, a pride of lions watching over its playful cubs, and a cheetah’s lightning-fast chase as it runs down its prey. All of the game’s animals and environments are rendered in photorealistic detail with animals that move, behave, and interact with each other just like their real-world counterparts.

Players will need to learn from the game’s photo-grading system and compose their photographs with the eye of a professional photographer if they want to earn top dollar. The money they earn can be used to purchase new licensed lenses, cameras, and safari equipment. If players are good enough, they just might find their photograph on the cover of National Geographic.

Afrika was produced in cooperation with National Geographic and features a wealth of information about each of its animals, including footage and photographs from the magazine.