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Boku no Natsuyasumi

A nostalgic open-ended simulation of a Japanese summer vacation.

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Boku no Natsuyasumi

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Boku no Natsuyasumi is an open-ended simulation game set in August 1975, following a nine-year-old boy sent to stay with extended family in the countryside.[1][2] The story is presented as a memory from an older Boku, who provides occasional narration.[1] Although it was never sold outside Japan, the game has developed a dedicated international fanbase.[3]

Making and release

Ayabe established Millennium Kitchen in 1997 after leaving the planning company K-Idea.[4] He drew inspiration from his own childhood summer vacations at his extended family's countryside home.[4] Ayabe initially pitched the game to Sony Computer Entertainment as targeting adults in their 30s.[5] Millennium Kitchen handled development, with Kaz Ayabe serving as director, writer, and designer.[4]

Illustrator Mineko Ueda was interested in the project, and Ayabe told her that Sony was interested before Sony had actually agreed.[5] On June 22, 2000, Boku no Natsuyasumi launched for the PlayStation in Japan, coming out after the PlayStation 2 had already been released.[6] A PlayStation Portable enhanced version, Boku no Natsuyasumi Portable, came out on June 29, 2006.[7]

What the cited sources add

Thapliyal describes the game's plot as following a kid named Boku who visits family in the countryside and fills his days with swimming, hiking, and chatting with locals.[8] Thapliyal reports that the game does not impose any progression on the player, and Boku could theoretically spend the whole month indoors.[8] Barnholt notes that the game uses tropes of Japanese summer vacation media such as cicada chirps, bug catching, and sunflowers.[9]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Boku no Natsuyasumi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Barnholt 2013a, p. 10 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Boku no Natsuyasumi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Barnholt, "Childhood on a Disc", Unwinnable, June 29, 2012; "『ぼくのなつやすみポータブル』作者の綾部氏に直撃！", June 30, 2006; Thapliyal, "The beloved, bucolic My Summer Vacation series breaks free from Japan", Polygon, August 13, 2022; Sugaya, "PS『ぼくのなつやすみ』が発売された日。小学3年生の"ボク"くんの夏休みを描いた、ノスタルジックなアドベンチャー【今日は何の日？】", June 22, 2022; Thapliyal, "The beloved, bucolic My Summer Vacation series breaks free from Japan", Polygon, August 13, 2022; Sugaya, "PS『ぼくのなつやすみ』が発売された日。小学3年生の"ボク"くんの夏休みを描いた、ノスタルジックなアドベンチャー【今日は何の日？】", June 22, 2022; "ぼくのなつやすみ", Dengeki PlayStatio en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Boku no Natsuyasumi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Thapliyal, "The beloved, bucolic My Summer Vacation series breaks free from Japan", Polygon, August 13, 2022; Plunkett, "It's A Bummer The West's First My Summer Vacation Game Had To Be This One", Kotaku, September 7, 2022; Barnholt, "Childhood on a Disc", Unwinnable, June 29, 2012; Kalata, "Hardcore Gaming 101 Presents: Japanese Video Game Obscurities", Unbound, 2020, p. 85–86 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Boku no Natsuyasumi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "『ぼくのなつやすみポータブル』作者の綾部氏に直撃！", June 30, 2006; "『ぼくのなつやすみポータブル』作者の綾部氏に直撃！", June 30, 2006; Barnholt 2013b, p. 43; Barnholt 2013c (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Boku no Natsuyasumi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Barnholt 2013a, p. 10; Barnholt 2013c; Barnholt 2013c (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Boku no Natsuyasumi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sugaya, "PS『ぼくのなつやすみ』が発売された日。小学3年生の"ボク"くんの夏休みを描いた、ノスタルジックなアドベンチャー【今日は何の日？】", June 22, 2022; Barnholt 2013b, p. 43; Kalata, "Hardcore Gaming 101 Presents: Japanese Video Game Obscurities", Unbound, 2020, p. 85–86 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Boku no Natsuyasumi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sugaya, "PS『ぼくのなつやすみ』が発売された日。小学3年生の"ボク"くんの夏休みを描いた、ノスタルジックなアドベンチャー【今日は何の日？】", June 22, 2022; "『ぼくのなつやすみポータブル』作者の綾部氏に直撃！", June 30, 2006; "『ぼくのなつやすみポータブル』作者の綾部氏に直撃！", June 30, 2006 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Thapliyal, "The beloved, bucolic My Summer Vacation series breaks free from Japan", Polygon, August 13, 2022. facts only, no text reused. polygon.com
  9. Barnholt, "Childhood on a Disc", Unwinnable, June 29, 2012. facts only, no text reused. unwinnable.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Boku no Natsuyasumi (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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