With Yen Press announcing this summer that they’ve picked up the rights to release the Sword Art Online light novels and manga, with plans for early 2014, it’s still surprising to see them go from announcement of acquisition to formal street dates so quickly. But it’s also quite welcome as March and April 2014 look so far away, but so close. Details for the first volume of the light novel and the manga have surfaced on their distributors website and the pricing and details are below.
Light Novel:
- Price: $13.00 US/$14.00 CAN
- Pages: 200
- Physical Dimensions: 5-1/2″ x 8-1/4″
- ISBN-13: 9780316371247
- On Sale Date: 04/22/2014
Plot concept: In the year 2022, gamers rejoice as Sword Art Online-a VRMMORPG (Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) like no other-opens its virtual doors, allowing players to take full advantage of the ultimate in gaming technology: NerveGear, a system that allows users to completely immerse themselves in the game world by manipulating their brain waves to create a wholly realistic gaming experience. But when the game goes live, the elation of the players quickly turns to horror as they discover that, for all its amazing features, SAO is missing one of the most basic functions of any MMORPG-a log-out button. Now trapped in the virtual world of Aincrad, their bodies held captive by NerveGear in the real world, users are issued a chilling ultimatum: conquer all one hundred floors of Aincrad to regain your freedom. But in the warped world of SAO, “game over” means certain death-both virtual and real…
And the manga:
- Price: $20.00 US/$22.00 CAN
- Pages: 384
- Physical Dimensions: 5″ x 7-1/2″
- ISBN-13: 9780316371230
- On Sale Date: 03/25/2014
Plot concept: In the year 2022, gamers rejoice as Sword Art Online-a VRMMORPG (Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) like no other-opens its virtual doors, allowing players to take full advantage of the ultimate in gaming technology: NerveGear, a system that allows users to completely immerse themselves in the game world by manipulating their brain waves to create a wholly realistic gaming experience. But when the game goes live, the elation of the players quickly turns to horror as they discover that, for all its amazing features, SAO is missing one of the most basic functions of any MMORPG-a log-out button. Now trapped in the virtual world of Aincrad, their bodies held captive by NerveGear in the real world, users are issued a chilling ultimatum: conquer all one hundred floors of Aincrad to regain your freedom. But in the warped world of SAO, “game over” means certain death-both virtual and real…
[Source: Crunchyroll]