Stella Glow is coming to the United States and Canada during the holiday season (probably the latter half of November to anywhere in December.) The prices are as follows: $49.99 for the US, and $59.99 for Canada.

The pricing is a point of contention for many gamers. Generally speaking, Nintendo 3DS games are sold at $39.99 for standard editions in the United States. That the price is being marked above this convention is drawing claims of what’s colloquially called the “Atlus Tax” – a pattern of pricing games higher than the general prices of non-Atlus titles on similar platforms. Most recently, this can be seen with Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth.

Stella Glow has just released in Japan, as of June 4. Games in Japan have been offered at price points that vary quite noticeably within platforms. That said, it’s hard not to think of Atlus’ pricing in North America as conspicuous, compared to most other games.

In a Gematsu article announcing this information, Atlus also details additional features from a press release. Notably, a Free Time system allots players a limited amount of time per story segment with which they can grind out battles, shop for and upgrade weapons, explore dungeons, and form bonds with party members. Some bonds, when pushed to high enough levels, will yield more combat abilities or special story events. The game boasts 40-60 hours of play, main story and sidequests combined, with 50+ maps, a New Game+ mode, and multiple endings. Odds are the endings will be tied to the bonds formed in game, alongside other choices made with Free Time.

Seeing as this is a recurring topic, be sure to let us know what you think of the pricing for Stella Glow!

Featured image found at this Gematsu article.