Submitted via IRC for AzumaHazuki
The Earthworm Jim franchise is coming back from the dead. Four games starring the cartoonish earthworm were released in the 1990s, but if you don’t count HD remakes, it’s been two decades since a new title was added.
Now the original team behind Earthworm Jim is back together and working on a new title.
The only catch? You won’t be able to play it on a PC, PlayStation, Xbox, or Switch. It’ll be an Intellivision Amico exclusive.
Wait… a what?
The Intellivision Amico is a new game console expected to hit the streets in late 2020 for a price somewhere between $150 and $180.
First unannounced last year, the new console is an unusual take on the retro gaming craze. While Nintendo, Sony, Sega, and SNK are all releasing cheap, tiny replicas of their classic game systems with a bundle of games pre-loaded, the Amico comes from a startup that now owns the rights to the Intellivision name. And while you’ll be able to play some classic games on the system, the developers have also promised to offer new titles and updated versions of classics.
We knew that there would be new versions of Lode Runner, Pong, and ToeJam and Earl. Now it looks like we can add a brand new Earthworm Jim game to the list.
Games are expected to sell for between $3 and $8, be family-friendly, and… lack 3D graphics. The Intellivision Amico is a 2D-only console, which makes platformers like Earthworm Jim a good fit.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 10 2019, @01:41PM (7 children)
Buying consoles in this age is kinda…
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 10 2019, @02:10PM (1 child)
We've had revivals of the Atari VCS and now the Intellivision. How long are we going to have to wait for a ColecoVision reboot? I never owned one back in the day, but I hear they were better than the Atari and Intellivision.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 10 2019, @04:05PM
Oh man, did you miss out. [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 10 2019, @02:29PM (1 child)
You must have missed the huhar and the big rush for retro consoles. They were going like hotcakes.
I still play Secret of Mana on my miniSnes.
(Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday May 11 2019, @01:31AM
Those Amico fuckers want like $180 bucks for one of those sonsabitches. Not only are they late to the party, but way overpriced. Shit, a cutting-edge SNES Super Set was $200 when it was released.
If there is retro gaming to be had, then Nintendo and Atari and the like should release newly manufactured consoles based on the original specs. Part of the NES experience was repeatedly engaging and releasing that comfortable springloaded elevator in the hopes of getting the game to work, blowing in the game, cleaning the contacts with only the approved cleaning kit (or else void your warranty).
The original chips would hopefully still be available as NOS (New-Old Stock) or replaced by faithfully similar components. All integrated circuit chips, none of this FPGA or CPLD shit, with RF modulation and a 75-ohm coax output for old-skool CRT fags.
If I wanted to relive classic gaming then I'd run NESticle or other emulation on my PC before running some x86 or FPGA-based ugly little paperweight shit.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by takyon on Friday May 10 2019, @02:41PM (2 children)
Like AC said, there has been a trend of releasing $50-100 retro consoles that consist of an emulator running on an ARM chip, bundled with various games preinstalled on the device. HDMI output to connect to modern TVs, and maybe higher resolution fixes included.
I'm skeptical that the Intellivision Amico has the name recognition needed to generate a lot of sales, especially at that higher price point. But the development of actual new games instead of repackaging old ones is interesting.
A Year Ago, the NES Classic Flew Off the Shelves—Now It's Coming Back [soylentnews.org]
Cryptography Failure Leads to Easy Hacking for PlayStation Classic [soylentnews.org]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 3, Insightful) by JNCF on Friday May 10 2019, @05:05PM
If they made another Archon reboot I could see buying this thing just for that one game. Otherwise, I'm out.
(Score: 2) by JNCF on Friday May 10 2019, @05:14PM
Also, here's the trailer for the console. [youtube.com] The other systems you're bringing up don't have online play, AFAIK (not that I care unless there's another Archon reboot).
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 10 2019, @04:19PM (7 children)
Once the usual suspects do a search on Doug TenNapel and the usual histrionics are deployed in a show of faux outrage, that'll change..
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday May 10 2019, @06:31PM (5 children)
The team and Intellivision blew off the usual suspects, because they realize those kinds of people don't actually spend money:
https://boundingintocomics.com/2019/05/03/journalist-chris-scullion-doesnt-want-doug-tennapel-involved-in-upcoming-earthworm-jim-game/ [boundingintocomics.com]
Actually, given the low awareness of Intellivision Amigo, a controversy would probably boost sales.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 10 2019, @07:19PM (1 child)
Thanks for that one, I thought it might take them a bit longer to crawl out of the woodwork..
(never heard of this Chris Scullion thing..oh look, it has a patreon page begging for monies to allow it to buy games so it can review them...)
This article was the first I'd heard of the beastie, had a look at various sites after this article appeared, sorry, even an EWJ game wouldn't tempt me into parting with the cash for one, though it looks like there'll be a future source for a lot of cheap interesting looking Bluetooth controllers etc. for faffing around with when they start hitting the remaindered/second-hand markets.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday May 10 2019, @07:36PM
Oh yeah, I forgot that the controllers had little touchscreens. Could be some hacking potential there.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday May 10 2019, @07:23PM (2 children)
Aaaaaargh...I was hoping TenNapel's, er, weirder views wouldn't become an issue. This is kind of conflicting, because they don't have any bearing on the game itself. I remember the second one fondly, the first one not so much because holy *frick* was it way too hard for little 8 year old me. Let's see where this all goes :/
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 11 2019, @10:57AM (1 child)
Agreed, but when has that ever stopped anything?
Hard for the 8 year old you?, you might have been amused then to have seen a computer lab full of a motley crew of (usually slightly inebriated) undergrads, postdocs and technicians laughing and cursing as they attempted their way through the Win 95 version of the game (which mysteriously wormed its way on to the server which only appeared on the network after hours).
No one finished it, not even close..
I've just dug out my portable HD full of ROMs and various emulators...oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, I can see I'm going to have a bit of a wasted fun, nay, groovy afternoon here...(once the backup of my main desktop's system disk has finished, that is.)
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Saturday May 11 2019, @03:38PM
It was fine until the underwater section, you know, the fishbowl powered by retro rockets where you had limited air, no way to know where you were going, and only a few bumps into the terrain allowed before the glass shattered? Though I have to admit the trashcan...motorcycle...tuba-spewing...thing (WTF) in the first stage gave me a lot more trouble than it should have.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Friday May 10 2019, @08:50PM
Well, at least you can still enjoy the cartoon's majestic opening theme [youtube.com].
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 10 2019, @07:09PM
And the only appeal was the quirky humor with that one. By the second it transformed into an inconsistent minigame compilation and we better not talk about the third one at all. Unmitigated garbage probably inbound.