Classic Publisher Sunsoft Returns To North America With Virtual Console Blaster Master
The last time the name Sunsoft really meant anything to North American audiences, we were blowing into NES cartridges and getting all of our game tips from Nintendo Power. Now, with the help of Gaijingames, a US startup publishing company, Sunsoft is looking to resume activities here, starting with a virtual console release for the NES classic Blaster Master. According to Victor Ireland, founder of Gaijinworks, the release will be accompanied by "some cool (as in unique...) promotional things" to be revealed when the game is released on the Nintendo Wii's classic game service sometime this month.
In addition, Ireland teased another announcement for next week regarding the two companies.
This first Wii release is a great start, but there is one upcoming announcement in particular that will demonstrate just how serious Yoshida-san is about rebuilding the Sunsoft console gaming brand here. Game fans are going to be pretty happy when they hear about it - I know I was.
He later hinted that "old school Working Designs" fans may have a particular interest in the announcement, although few other clues have been dropped. Working Designs was Ireland's prior company, and was best known for somewhat controversial but fan-service filled localizations of niche Japanese games, and was in many ways a precursor to what companies like Atlas USA, XSEED, and Aksys are doing today.
Sunsoft never got much of a foothold in the post 8-bit game industry, although they did publish a few cult classics, mostly in Japan. Could one of these games, or series, be the mysterious announcement teased for next Friday? Hopefully it will be just as exciting as Mr. Ireland seems to think it is.
Sunsoft and Gaijinworks Team Up in the Console Segment [Sunsoft Games]
[via: NeoGAF Forum]
Dawdle
Posted to Video Games on 5 December 2009
· Comments (3)
Other stuff like this: classic game, gaijinworks, master blaster, nintendo wii, sunsoft, victor ireland, virtual console, working designs
oh Working Designs, a company I did not feel too bad about going under. sure, we all have warm fuzzy feelings about Lunar, and a handful of Sega CD games, but your decisions to change/water down releases never really sat well with me. which reminds me, I still need to get an import of Silhouette Mirage....
Blaster Master! Yay but boo as well, I don't have wifi. I love Blaster Master & wish it would get a proper, worthy sequel already. 2d, 3d, I don't care.
Also loved Working Designs.
bill, wifi access points can be had for $20