An e-book service is headed to the Nintendo 3DS, according to a report by Japanese publication, Nikkei. The service will be be launched by Librica, which is a company formed by shadow-developer, TOSE, and publishers Kodansha, Kadokawa Shoten, Shueisha, and Shogakukan.
Other Librica shareholders aside from the aforementioned include Square Enix, Marvelous AQL, Enterbrain, ASCII Media Works and more. Librica was formed in 2008 to bring a manga service to the Wii.
Librica will launch the 3DS e-book service on October 20th, according to Nikkei’s report. The service will be called “Bookstore Anywhere”. It will be a free download through the Nintendo eShop, and you’ll be able to choose the books through a purchase screen.
When the service kicks off, there will be over 100 manga series to begin with, that are currently being serialized in Japanese manga magazines. 3DS users will also be able to occasionally receive free magazines through the 3DS’ Wi-Fi capabilities.
Nikkei say that Librica will also add light novels and other non-manga magazines to the service at some later point. The Bookstore Anywhere service is scheduled to launch on October 20th in Japan.
Published: Sep 21, 2012 08:55 am