Natsume’s pretty proud of how its Harvest Moon games are doing on the Wii. See, Nintendo Channel users’ play data is collected by the system, to let people know what some of the most played games are, keep track of what games they play most and issue recommendations. It turns out that Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility, the first Wii Harvest Moon game, is a pretty much permanent fixture among the top 10 most played Wii games.

Natsume put together the stats to back this information up in a press release you can read on Gamasutra. It turns out over 1 million hours of play time have been logged by all Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility players. 1,726,252 and counting, if you want to get specific. Each player averages around 49 hours each, but then that number may have grown to 50 by now.

Apparently, Harvest Moon: Animal Parade could catch up to it’s big brother Tree of Tranquility. Natsume didn’t mention how many hours so far have been logged by Nintendo Channel users, but did mention that every Animal Parade user has played around 39 hours.

I admit it. I’m one of the reasons Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility is among the top ten most played Wii games.

The Harvest Moon games are something special. They’ve developed a devoted cult following, which people who have never experienced the games may not understand. Especially since, on the surface, each game seems to be pretty much the same. Natsume obviously gets it, as the series is probably it’s best known property.

It’s only when you take a closer look at the Harvest Moon series that you appreciate what the games allow players to achieve. I recently had the opportunity to rent the Wii entry, Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility, and fell in love with the series again because of it.

So if you’ve never played the games and are wondering why people are drawn to them, here’s a brief overview of Harvest Moon‘s many charms…

Today (July 14, 2008) is the first day of E3, and Natsume is bringing it. It had previously announced that, in honor of the Harvest Moon‘s 10th anniversary, it would be releasing Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness (DS), Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility (Wii), accessory kits, strategy guides and toys. Now, at E3, it has released more information on both games, plus character art, screenshots and a new trailer for the DS entry.

Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness is due out August 26, 2008. The character designs are similar to Animal Crossing for the DS, and the story starts out familiar. Players choose to be a boy or girl, and are then shipwrecked on an island. They, along with other shipwreck survivors, decide to stay there and make the island their home. Every action is executed with the touch screen, crops now each have specific care and weather needs and a better farm means more island inhabitants.