In today's installment of the "Release This!" column, Gamasutra Assistant Editor Frank Cifaldi reveals the lineup of video games set for release around the world this week, and occasionally stops to smell the roses with a handful of highlighted games.
In this excerpt, Cifaldi describes the difficult journey of Double Fine's
Psychonauts' European release:
"Double Fine's first title - an action/adventure game designed by Grim Fandango and Day of the Tentacle creator Tim Schafer - has jumped quite a few hurdles to get to this point. Originally funded by Microsoft as a first-party title for the Xbox, the game was dropped in March of 2004, forcing Double Fine to struggle without funding for a short period. Months later, publisher Majesco picked up the bill, and brought the game to the American market in April of last year.
Despite practically unanimous critical praise, the game failed to perform well in the marketplace, and is often blamed for the financial difficulties the publisher now faces. A European release looked increasingly unlikely, until August, when THQ announced a deal to exclusively distribute a number of Majesco titles in the region, Psychonauts included. And now, ten months after the game's American release, and half a year since its European release was announced, Psychonauts - Eurogamer's Game of the Year for 2005 - has finally made it to PAL territories. We wish it well."
You can now
read the full Gamasutra column, including highlights for Electronic Arts'
Command & Conquer compilation and Sony's
Siren 2, which hits Japan this week (no registration required, please feel free to link to the article from external websites).
