Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 Release Date Confirmed

On Wednesday we saw the first gameplay footage revealed for Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3, which showed an epic boss battle between the Third Hokage and the Nine Tails.

Now, Namco Bandai Games has confirmed the game’s release date via an official press release, which reveals that it will be released on PS3 and Xbox 360 in Europe in Spring 2013, which is somewhere between March and June. Considering that Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations released in March this year, it seems like Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 is arriving just one year later.

It hasn’t been confirmed yet how far Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 will go in the Naruto story, or what exactly it will include. All we know is that the Nine Tails fight is in. Check out the official press release below.

NAMCO BANDAI Games are taking the lid off European NARUTO fans’ very own Pandora’s box today with an exclusive first public playable demo of the next blistering chapter in the irrepressible NARUTO saga at Japan Expo 2012 in Paris. The publisher today announced that NARUTO Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 is coming to Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system in spring 2013. The title will be the first Naruto game for home consoles to offer visuals in glorious 3D for ultimate Ninja immersion.

To mark the announcement, the development team at CyberConnect2 have pulled out all the stops to deliver a first playable 2D version especially for fans attending the 13th Japan Expo, taking place from today until July 8th at Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Center, France.

NARUTO Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 will feature the most extensive character roster of any game so far in the series, letting fans engage with a huge number of their favourite personalities from the NARUTO universe, be they friend or foe. In story mode, players will be thrown into a series of thrilling adventures set in the village of Konoha, while the game’s electrifying fights will be punctuated with massive scale boss battles, including a fearsome confrontation with the gargantuan Nine-Tails.

“Even though there are of course many, many fans in Japan, the Naruto games are also incredibly popular with European gamers, so we’re honoured and very pleased to be debuting the title at Japan Expo today,” said Olivier Comte, Senior VP Marketing, Sales & Publishing at NAMCO BANDAI Games Europe. “Every one of CyberConnect2’s Naruto titles is fantastic and we can’t wait for fans to see this one.”

“After I tried my hardest to finish the Paris Marathon in April but just couldn’t make it, I feel like I owe something back to this amazing city,” said Hiroshi Matsuyama, President of CyberConnect2. “So I’m very excited to be presenting the first ever hands-on of our newest Naruto game at Japan Expo today. It’s the perfect way to say thank you to the people of Paris and Europe for all their support!”

The 13th Japan Expo event takes place this 5-8th July at Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Center, France. NAMCO BANDAI Games is there at Booth CE14, Hall 6, with a load of playable titles from its line up and special stage events for fans. To launch the playable demo of NARUTO Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3, a special event will take place today at 5pm on the booth. Get there if you can!