Can it be 2013 yet?

Vanillaware's hotly anticipated Dragon's Crown for Vita and PS3 will reach the West in 2013.

The gorgeous hand-drawn action RPG has switched publishers from UTV Ignition to Atlus, which seems a better fit to us: Atlus published previous Vanillaware title Odin Sphere on PS2, and that turned out all right.

Last month we heard rumours that Dragon's Crown had been cancelled, but while they were quickly squashed the press release below specifies:

ATLUS['] acclaimed creative team will assist developer Vanillaware in resuming and completing work.

"Resuming" work sounds like the project was on hiatus for a while at least. Still, it's back in action now, so we just have to wait patiently until next year to play it. Curses.

ATLUS TO PUBLISH AND PRODUCE DRAGON'S CROWN, COOPERATIVE ACTION RPG FOR PLAYSTATION 3 AND PLAYSTATION VITA SYSTEMS, IN 2013

IRVINE, CALIFORNIA — APRIL 19, 2012 — ATLUS, a brand of Index Digital Media, Inc.,
today announced that it has acquired North American publishing rights for Dragon's Crown™, a cooperative action RPG for PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and PlayStation®Vita (PS Vita) handheld entertainment system. The transfer of licensing rights from UTV Ignition Entertainment to Index Digital Media, Inc. only affects the title's publishing and distribution; Dragon's Crown is still being developed by Vanillaware.

Originally to be published by UTV Ignition Entertainment, the game will now be produced, published, and distributed by ATLUS, whose acclaimed creative team will assist developer Vanillaware in resuming and completing work.

"We are exceedingly proud to become a part of producing and publishing Dragon's Crown," stated Shinichi Suzuki, President and CEO of Index Digital Media, Inc. "Vanillaware is a developer beloved for their tremendous visual talent and extraordinary attention to detail. Our previous collaboration with them, Odin Sphere™, went on to sell over 350,000 units worldwide, entering the prestigious PlayStation® Greatest Hits library. While much work remains, we believe this collaboration will be well worth the wait."

Dragon's Crown is scheduled to release for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita systems in North America in 2013. For more information, please visit www.dragons-crown.com.