Shiki-Tei will be available to Japanese gamers later this month when it goes on sale for 1500 yen on the PlayStation Store. The gardening game features both Japanese and Western style gardens, photo sharing, over 150 plants, two dozens animals, and a chance for salarymen and their wives to flex their green thumbs virtually. It may look like an odd addition to the relatively scant PSN line-up, but perhaps Sony is hoping for a slice of the casual set with this off-beat (and quite pretty) title.

Sony announced yesterday the impending release of Shiki-Tei, a new downloadable title for the the PlayStation 3. Basic gist? You get a garden. You grow plants in the garden. Animals hang out in your garden. You can take pictures of your garden. Sort of like Viva Pinata, sans the Pinatas. And that's about it. Won't pull the Unreal Tournament III crowd away from their murderous pastime, but it should prove a nice, relaxing option for the more sedate users amongst the PS3's userbase. At least in Japan, since that's the only place it's being released at the moment. It's due on June 26 for ¥1600, which is around $15.