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AOKANA: Four Rhythm Across the Blue Extra 2 Visual Novel Begins Production

Game maker sprite confirmed on Tuesday that it is developing the Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm Extra 2 (AOKANA: Four Rhythm Across the Blue Extra 2) visual novel. The developer said that it has finalized a contract with a distribution company for the game, and it will announce a release date in the future.

The announcement revealed the results of a fan poll that sprite conducted from January 24 to February 9. Among the 5,153 respondents, 5,044 said that they want sprite to keep the game's planned story and CG increases even if that raises that price of the game. Only 108 respondents said that they would prefer for sprite to decrease the story and CG content rather than raise the price. The developer had explained that it is planning to increase the content in Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm Extra 2 by 60%, and it would not be possible to release the game for the same price as Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm Extra 1, which shipped for PC in June 2017. The company will reveal the price for the new visual novel when the pre-order period opens.

Sprite announced in November that it has resumed operations, after it had halted operations in March 2019. The company stated in November that it would like to work on Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm Extra 2. The game maker listed fan requests and a desire for former members to produce more works as the reasons for the "revival." S-Works is sprite's parent company.

Sprite had announced its planned halt of operations in June 2018 after the release of the AOKANA: Four Rhythm Across the Blue (Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm) Perfect Edition / 4th Anniversary Box in November 2018. Following the announcement of cessation of operations, sprite indefinitely halted development on Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm Extra 2 and Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm Zwei.

The company announced in May 2018 that it was dissolving the fairys brand, so AOKANA: Four Rhythm Across the Blue, which had been listed under the copyright of sprite/fairys, would be listed under sprite only.

The company released Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm (AOKANA: Four Rhythm Across the Blue) for PC in November 2014, for PlayStation Vita in February 2016, for PlayStation 4 in January 2017, and for Nintendo Switch in March 2018. The game received a television anime adaptation by GONZO that premiered in January 2016.

Video game localization company NekoNyan launched a Kickstarter campaign and met its goal for the physical release of its English and Chinese release (pictured above right) of sprite's Aokana visual novel. The company will release the game for PS4 and Switch in the West on August 21.

Source: sprite via Hachima Kikō