Idea Factory has announced three new brands, called IF Neverland, IF Friend and IF Mate. Those three company-internal brands were established to promote Idea Factory's diverse line-up of games and give fans a clearer orientation. The company's flagship series, Generation of Chaos and all other Neverland-related titles will be released under the IF Neverland label.

Onf of the first titles to be published under this label will be Generation of Chaos IV for PlayStation 2. In the newest installment of the series, the Empire, which currently owns about 50% of the land, is wrestling for control of the remaining territory with rival states and rebel armies. The battles will see up to 100 soldiers fight against each other, under the commands of a military commander. The game's two versions will be available in late April 2004. The standard edition will retail for 6,800 yen ($63.41 US), while the limited edition will cost 8,800 yen ($82.06 US).

IF Friend will be handling easily understandable character-focused contents such Mamimu - Mogacho, which Idea Factory is developing in cooperation with TV Tokyo. IF Mate on the other hand, is targetting a male audience with love adventures such as Steady and Study for PlayStation 2. The game, which takes place in a high school environment, will feature Makoto Nakane as the main character. When the player reaches a certain location, he is free to walk around for three to five minutes and explore the area on his own. Katsuyuki Hirano of Spectral Souls and Gakuen Toshi Varanour, is serving as character designer, while Kenichi Oonuki, who is known for his work on Gundam SEED, is acting as director of photography.

Just like Generation of Chaos IV, Steady and Study will be available in Japan sometime in late April 2004. The standard version will carry a price tag of 6,800 yen ($63.41 US), whereas the limited edition will retail for 8,800 yen ($82.06 US).

• GameWatch