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[UPDATE] Sega might release Hatsune Miku Project DIVA F in the West

UPDATE: When asked by Siliconera if the Facebook banner was to gauge interest or for marketing purposes, Sega Associate Brand Manager Aaron Webber replied, “As we gauge interest for a Hatsune Miku game in the west, we have a rare opportunity to let the fans speak up and show their desire. If you like Hatsune Miku and want to see Project DIVA F on PS3, you can directly influence the future by liking and sharing the Facebook post!”

ORIGINAL: According to their Facebook page, Sega might be bringing Hatsune Miku Project DIVA F to PlayStation 3 consoles in North America and Europe. The company, which develops and publishes the Hatsune Miku games, has never before released an entry in the series outside of Japan.

Sega published a banner (pictured below) on their Facebook page less than a few hours ago. It features the boxart of the PS3 version of Project DIVA F with text saying, "Like & Share if you want Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F for PS3 in the West!"

While it obviously appears that Sega is at least gauging fan interest, I believe there is a high chance Project DIVA F will be released outside of Japan. With over 4,200 Likes and 3,500 Shares of the banner on Facebook at the time of this article, there will be thousands of fans like me who will be angry at Sega if they do not. It’s unlikely that the company would risk posting the banner unless serious consideration is going into bringing the game over.

Hatsune Miku Project DIVA is a rhythm game franchise that began in 2009 on the PlayStation Portable. Since then, games in the series have been released on the PS3, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation Vita, and in arcades. The majority of the Project DIVA games were released on a Sony platform. The PSP titles found great success in Japan and became a mild PSP system seller there.

As a rhythm game, there would not be much difficulty for Sega to release Project DIVA F in North America and Europe. There is no voice over work that needs to be recorded and just text of lyrics and menus to translate. I have found the games to be easily playable even without translated text. A straight digital release of either a translated or non-translated version would prove to be an easy way for Sega to distribute the game.

Sega featured the PS Vita version of Project DIVA f at Sony’s booth during last year’s E3, hinting at a possible Western release. Interest in the series was apparent, with plenty of Western gamers like myself lining up for the playable demo at E3 2012.

If you’re a Hatsune Miku fan, show your support by liking and sharing Sega’s banner post. As a longtime fan of both Miku and the Project DIVA games, I sincerely hope it isn’t a bluff. Stay tuned to PSU for breaking updates!