[Macstorm]

Sunsoft, a division of SUNCORPORATION, has today announced their return to active console game publishing for the North American market, aided by startup GAIJINWORKS. Kiharu Yoshida, CEO of SUNCORPORATION (JASDAQ: 6736) initiated a meeting to discuss the possibility of reinvigorating the Sunsoft console gaming brand in the USA. At that meeting, it was quickly obvious that the relationship was a great fit. GAIJINWORKS President, Victor Ireland states, “My relationship with Sunsoft and Yoshida-san goes back more than 15 years, and when this opportunity presented itself to help Sunsoft return to the US console market, it was a natural fit for both our companies.” This month, the Sunsoft website is being re-launched at sunsoftgames.com, where users will be able to get the latest information about current releases, upcoming games, and special promotions, as well as interact in the forum. Kiharu Yoshida wanted gamers to know that Sunsoft plans to launch a number of special promotions where big prizes can be won, and exclusive, limited edition premiums would be up for grabs as well. Ireland added that some of the swag being made would only be available through these promotions – and is sure to please Sunsoft fans, new and old. The first title out of the gate for Sunsoft USA will be the Wii Virtual Console release of the Nintendo Entertainment System classic Blaster Master, due in December 2009. Originally titled Meta Fight in Japan, this groundbreaking game was given a story makeover and released in 1988 as Blaster Master™ here in the United States. It received strong critical acclaim and fan raves almost from the moment it hit these shores. Blaster Master™ is still often listed on magazine and online charts as one of the top 25 NES games ever created. The sublime blend of side-scrolling shooting/platforming mixed with overhead perspective action/shooting areas is just as addictive now as it was then. It will be available for 500 Wii points. In the coming weeks, additional titles coming to the US market will be announced, many of which will surprise and delight gaming fans. Ireland added, “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. “ About SUNCORPORATION. Located in Aichi prefecture in Japan, SUN CORPORATION has been innovating electronic equipment and software for almost forty years. Their corporate slogan, “Dream, Challenge, and Creation” perfectly summarizes the spirit that gave birth to their software company Sunsoft. Worldwide, Sunsoft has developed or published almost 100 games for both consoles and arcades. They also publish for iPhone and Windows mobile platforms. About GAIJINWORKS. GAIJINWORKS was founded by Victor Ireland after spending more than 15 years as President of Working Designs, where he innovated deluxe packaging, special premiums, pack-in soundtracks and game documentaries for their RPG product. Many of the practices he innovated have become standard in the RPG segment, and console video games in general. GAIJINWORKS is focused on continuing a tradition of fanservice for game fans.

Interesting. On the official forums Victor says, "The next press release should definitely make some gamers very, very happy - especially old-school Working Designs fans."

[FateBreaker]

Well, that is kick-ass news. Kind of wish Blaster Master would be available for all consoles -- I would LOVE to show mis amigos how awesome Blaster Master is on Xbox Live.

[DimmuBurgerKing]

Next press release: Alundra, Arc the Lad, and other WD-localized PSone games soon to be available on PSN! Can I dream?

[Whimsical Phil]

Interesting. On the official forums Victor says, "The next press release should definitely make some gamers very, very happy - especially old-school Working Designs fans."

Working Designs, Schmirking Designs. Blaster Master is coming to Virtual Console this month!

[radcliff]

Blaster Master is coming to Virtual Console this month!

That should really be in the thread title.

[BobbyRobby]

Maybe it will be Albert Odyssey related, which was a Sunsoft title.

[Azure Dream]

Sweet, it's honestly nice to have them back. Blaster Master is a good start, too.

[Nemo]

is this the sunsoft that made some of the best platformers ever on SNES?

[Tiktaalik]

Here's a list of games produced by Sunsoft. I'm not sure which games we'll see out of this. New versions of some old IPs or maybe just virtual console releases?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...sed_by_Sunsoft

That wikipedia page says they've continue to make RPGs in Japan, but offers none up for example, so maybe there's some new IPs that I'm not aware of.

[BMX Bandit]

Here's a list of games produced by Sunsoft. I'm not sure which games we'll see out of this. New versions of some old IPs or maybe just virtual console releases? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...sed_by_Sunsoft That wikipedia page says they've continue to make RPGs in Japan, but offers none up for example, so maybe there's some new IPs that I'm not aware of.

Clock Tower 3 is on that list...man I would love a new Clock Tower game in the vein of the first PSX game...probably never happen though :(.

[radcliff]

Well, if its for Wii VC and from Working Designs, here are WD's Turbo 16-CD games:

Cadash
Cosmic Fantasy 2
Exile
Exile: Wicked Phenomenon
Parasol Stars
Vasteel

Their Sega CD games include the Lunar series but that system isn't supported by VC.

[Stumpokapow]

Boy, Gaijinworks is... different than I expected it to turn out.

[Chemo]

Sweet, it's honestly nice to have them back. Blaster Master is a good start, too.

A good start? It's practically this team-up's coup de grâce. Blaster Master is one of the greatest games of all time, easily Sunsoft's greatest accomplishment by a significant margin. They have nothing left of note after this.

[Shig]

Working Designs, Schmirking Designs. Blaster Master is coming to Virtual Console this month!

"Whoops, we accidentally dumped the Anticipation rom instead!"

A good start? It's practically this team-up's coup de grâce. Blaster Master is one of the greatest games of all time, easily Sunsoft's greatest accomplishment by a significant margin. They have nothing left of note after this.

I dunno, Batman NES, Road Runner's Death Valley Rally, and Journey to Silius are all pretty rad.

[I AM JOHN!]

Aero the Acrobat RPG.

Believe.

[donkey show]

Blaster Master to the VC this month?!?!?!

[IMG]http://i38.************/2nqxs2r.gif[/IMG]

[Drkirby]

Blaster Master is coming to Virtual Console this month!

With some luck, we will also get the Geniuses game, Blaster Master 2!

[HyperZone<3]

an official English translation and release for Clock Tower-SNES would be too damn awesome.

won't happen, but man, that'd be AWESOME.

[Whimsical Phil]

"Whoops, we accidentally dumped the Anticipation rom instead!"

Curse you, Anticipatioooooooooooooooooooooooooon!

Seriously, though, I would be endlessly delighted if Anticipation came out on VC on the same day as Blaster Master.

[GhostSeed]

Waku Waku 7 on VC please!

[thomaser]

I'll buy most of their NES-games on the VC (even if I own them all on the NES itself) just to listen to the music. They used a technique that gave their games a very meaty sound, with lots of cool bass and percussion. Great tunes as well. Batman, Journey to Silius, Ufouria, Mr. Gimmick, Gremlins II, Blaster Master, Fester's Quest... they all had some of the best music on the platform.

Oh, and a tip for the Americans: if Mr. Gimmick or Ufouria get a release on your VC, buy them. Two of the best platformers on the NES, never released in America. Mr. Gimmick is a super-hard platformer with tons of variety, an innovative and cool "weapon" and incredible graphics for the NES. Ufouria is a great Metroid-like game where you have four different characters you can choose between on the fly, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.

[Kiriku]

Waku Waku 7 on VC please!

THIS!

[hikarutilmitt]

With some luck, we will also get the Geniuses game, Blaster Master 2!

Oh god I hope not.

[Chemo]

I dunno, Batman NES, Road Runner's Death Valley Rally, and Journey to Silius are all pretty rad.

Err... two of those are licensed games which means huge legal hurdles, and I wouldn't particularly call any of them very good.

[Tamanon]

Boy, Gaijinworks is... different than I expected it to turn out.

There's just a dearth of quality niche Japanese games that can sell here, at least ones that haven't already been swooped up by Atlus/NISA/XSeed. Gaijinworks got back in the game too late.

[Ranger X]

BRING UFOURIA ON US VC PRONTO.

.

[DustoMan]

My cousin worked for Sunsoft as a secretary and she would bring pre-release NES games home for my other cousins to play... lucky bastards.

[allegate]

Next up: Tradewest!

Battletoads.

[vireland]

Well, that is kick-ass news. Kind of wish Blaster Master would be available for all consoles -- I would LOVE to show mis amigos how awesome Blaster Master is on Xbox Live.

Not an impossible dream. :)

[vireland]

A good start? It's practically this team-up's coup de grâce. Blaster Master is one of the greatest games of all time, easily Sunsoft's greatest accomplishment by a significant margin. They have nothing left of note after this.

Wait until next week. You have NO idea.

[I AM JOHN!]

There's just a dearth of quality niche Japanese games that can sell here, at least ones that haven't already been swooped up by Atlus/NISA/XSeed. Gaijinworks got back in the game too late.

Pretty much. Those three have the reputation and fanfare, while Ignition has the financial backing and delusions of grandeur. Gaijinworks just doesn't fit into the equation unless they want to try something really out there. Unless Vic's got something planned that he's not telling us.

[Vamphuntr]

Maybe it will be Albert Odyssey related, which was a Sunsoft title.

I just replayed the US saturn version recently. It's extremly old school alright. It's a very fun simple game simple except the last dungeon . There is a total of 2 'sidequests' if you're generous. By today standards I don't think *new* RPG fans would like it very much tough. If it's Wii related I don't think it could be this. Probably because of the size limit and tricky saturn emulation unless they recode the game a la PS2 Sega Ages collection. There are also two Albert Odyssey SNES games but I never played these though. Since they are in Japanese and were never translated I doubt it would be these (the source code are probably lost anyway). I would kill for Alundra on PSN though since I lost my copy :(.

[Lost Fragment]

stuff

Intrigue level is over 9000.

[nathkenn]

2.5D xbla Blaster Master, Please

[Macstorm]

There is also two Albert Odyssey SNES games but I never played these though. Since they are in Japanese and were never translated I doubt it would be these (the source code are probably lost anyway).

I'd love to try out the SNES Albert Odyssey games, mostly because they were tactical RPGs, not turn-based traditional ones.

[Zhengi]

Awesome. Great to see Sunsoft back in the game.

Blaster Master! Oh man, I loved that game. I'm definitely getting the rerelease.

[Macstorm]

Wait until next week. You have NO idea.

Next week, eh? I hope it's an RPG. And I hope it's not downloadable... though I could forgive downloadable.

[Freyjadour]

[IMG]http://i47.************/12313k9.jpg[/IMG]

[lyre]

Working Designs, Schmirking Designs. Blaster Master is coming to Virtual Console this month!

OMFG OMFG OMFG OMFG OMFGOMFG
[img]http://i46.************/2hgbiqe.jpg[/img]
I'm not buying it, but one of the best games of all time is getting a second chance for exposure!

[Ranger X]

I'm curious to see if this all means there will be a sequel from some Working Design game announced. That'd be great and I sure have no idea wich game it would be...

.

[upandaway]

So this is only in NA? Poopers. I heard Blaster Master is really cool.

[vireland]

So this is only in NA? Poopers. I heard Blaster Master is really cool.

Europe is in the works. Don't fret.

[Joseph Merrick]

Europe is in the works. Don't fret.

LOVE IT

[Jiguryo]

Waku Waku 7 on VC please!

qftt. Waku Waku 7 still is one of my fave 2D fighting games, hahah :lol

[AZ Greg]

Albert Odyssey on XBLA/PSN with reduced load times would be awesome.

[K.Jack]

I'm curious to see if this all means there will be a sequel from some Working Design game announced. That'd be great and I sure have no idea wich game it would be... .

Vanguard Bandits 2. Make it so Vic.

[Dragona Akehi]

Waku Waku 7 on VC please! THIS!

YES! YES! YES!

BALLS! BALLS! BALLS!

[JeFfRey]

Well, if its for Wii VC and from Working Designs, here are WD's Turbo 16-CD games: Cadash Cosmic Fantasy 2 Exile Exile: Wicked Phenomenon Parasol Stars Vasteel Their Sega CD games include the Lunar series but that system isn't supported by VC.

Hey, nothing prevents these titles for being on PSN also! Japan has gotten many PC Engine tiles for their PSN.

[bryehn]

I love Blaster Master. Would buy a 2D remake/update in a heartbeat and will play the VC with a huge grin on my face. My cart was stolen many moon ago.

[Vamphuntr]

Vanguard Bandits 2. Make it so Vic.

That's not even Sunsoft :D . It's clearly gonna be T.R.A.G 2.