ToeJam & Earl 4 DS Can't Find Publisher
The ToeJam & Earl franchise is pretty near and dear to me, I grew up playing it and was more than a little obsessed with the characters and universe. I actually wrote fan fiction on my DOS computer about the denizens of Funkatron, before I even knew what fan fiction was or had ever used the Internet. I never managed to beat either game but they would always be the go-to co-op game when friends were over. Everyone loved them! But now that I'm an adult with an Internet connection it saddens me to find out that the ToeJam & Earl franchise was apparently never actually that successful and that the only reason it's not still around today is because no publisher will dare back it.
Joystiq recently talked with Greg Johnson, the creator and sole rights-holder of the ToeJam & Earl franchise. Johnson talks about multiple instances of Sega mistakenly claiming the rights to TJ&E, realizing they don't own the rights, and then offering him a tiny amount of money (and a painful exclusivity contract) to use the characters. After ToeJam & Earl III: Mission to Earth released to mediocre sales and reviews in 2002, Johnson had been pursuing making a fourth TJ&E game for the DS. So far he has been unable to find a publisher, and half-jokingly asks if any private investors want to help fund the project. So go forth GayGamer.net readers/millionaires, you know what you have to do.
Check out Joystiq's original article for a gallery of concept art for TJ&E4.
Bradamantium
Posted to Video Games on 10 November 2009
· Comments (2)
Other stuff like this: DS, Greg Johnson, Joystiq, publishers, Toejam and Earl, Xbox
I'd love to help but I'm currently unemployed. :/ They should try teaming up with Wayforward or something. Maybe Sega? I dunno...
I would be so happy if there were a Toejam & Earl for the DS! The games hold such a special place in my heart. They're fantastic co-op. Although I have to agree, the third one wasn't so great, sadly. Fingers crossed that someone somewhere will publish it!