Natsume (known for its Harvest Moon series) has announced its plans to publish the photography sim Afrika in the US. Afrika will arrive on North American shelves for the PS3 in early fall 2009.

Afrika sees players stepping into the role of a freelance photographer and exploring a new conservation area. Players will document wildlife and photograph scenes including “a titanic clash between hippopotamuses, a pride of lions watching over its playful cubs, and a cheetah’s lightning-fast chase as it runs down its prey.”

The game’s animals and environments are said to be rendered in “photorealistic detail with animals that move, behave, and interact with each other just like their real-world counterparts.” After learning from the game’s photo-grading system, players will be able to compose their photographs to earn money which can be used to purchase new licensed lenses, cameras and safari equipment.

The game has been produced in co-operation with National Geographic and features lots of information about each animal including footage and photographs from the magazine.

Sony first unveiled Afrika at E3 2006 but only released a Japanese teaser site for the game in May 2008 and finally released the game in Japan in August last year. Check out our previous coverage to see Afrika’s journey to North America.

“We are very excited to be releasing AFRIKA in North America, and thrilled to be working with Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios,” said Hiro Maekawa, President and CEO of Natsume. “The team has put an incredible amount of work into replicating the African safari experience, and the results are simply breathtaking.”