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Multiple Ecco the Dolphin games in development

BennyBlanco

aka IMurRIVAL69
"Several new Ecco the Dolphin products and games" are officially in development, developer A&R Atelier announced. A&R Atelier is a studio founded in Half Moon Bay, California by veteran game developers, including the original creators of Ecco the Dolphin.

Ecco the Dolphin series creator Ed Annunziata, the chief creative officer of A&R Atelier, previously announced plans to release remastered versions of the Genesis games Ecco the Dolphin and Ecco: The Tides of Time, as well as develop a third Ecco the Dolphin game.

"It has been years in the making and we're honored to bring Ecco back," said Annunziata in a press release. "Ecco has always been more than a game about a dolphin—he's a bridge between worlds."


https://www.eccothedolphin.com/

Literally the only thing I remember about these games is doing little back flips at the surface.
 
1000% guarantee these games will be laden with on the nose moralising about global warming, overfishing, ocean pollution, rising sea levels and sea temps etc.

Not a bad thing if done well but it won't be.

I'd rather they go the other way and say "fuck it", leaning into the "game" and doing a ton of Dave the Diver cameos.
 
I guess Sega is just licencing the IP out to this studio, so at least this doesn't cost Sega a lot of money. 'Casue I was about to be real confused as to why they would waste money on Ecco before reviving Jet Set Radio or Phantasy Star.
 
Was it the first or 2nd game on the Mega Drive, that if you didn't touch your controller for X amount of time (30 minutes maybe) the game played itself? I remember seeing that "cheat" on Gamesmaster or something similar.

Not sure what multiple games would be, unless they are remaking all of them or something. Will keep an nostalgic eye out for this.
 
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For Christmas 1992 my cousin got me Sonic 2. He said he asked someone at the store (he's not a gamer himself) and they told him Sonic 2 and Ecco the Dolphin were the two big games that season. I'm forever grateful that he made the right choice.

Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like if he chose Ecco instead. Probably I'd be a homeless drug addict.
 
The Genesis games were interesting, and of course remembered mostly for their creepy / surreal vibe and chill music. They were also pretty dang confusing and not very fun to play from a more modern perspective where you could easily be playing all the S-tier games on the system instead. I'm sure it was different back in the day when that was what you got for Christmas or that was what you could rent from Blockbuster for the week.

What's weird is that despite that, Sega really seems to resist letting Ecco 100% die off.

So many IPs got left behind on Genesis, but Ecco got a Dreamcast game. They've kept adding it to collections and re-releasing it on digital platforms: Steam, VC, XBLA.... They even went to court with Ed Annunziata over the IP.

Now this, 25 years after the last game.

It just doesn't seem to merit that kind of attention.
 
Life is a never ending string of disappointments when you're a retro Sega fan. No Shining Force, no Thunder Force, no Out Run. Instead we get multiple new games in a franchise that was grossly overrated (to me anyway).
 
I remember really enjoying the first Ecco game quite a lot. Without any online help like we get nowadays, it took some beating too. Even the first 5 minutes had a bit that I got past by pure chance. It certainly wasn't for everyone, but I loved it. It was the atmosphere that grabbed me by the balls because the deeper ocean felt like an alien world.
 
Life is a never ending string of disappointments when you're a retro Sega fan. No Shining Force, no Thunder Force, no Out Run. Instead we get multiple new games in a franchise that was grossly overrated (to me anyway).
No new single player Phantasy Star games. No AAA Shinobi.
 
If there is one franchise that I don't understand having fans or even wishing for new games, it's that. It's like if Bubsy had an fanbase. Next thing I know we'll see someone that have Ecco as his favorite character ever.
 
Life is a never ending string of disappointments when you're a retro Sega fan. No Shining Force, no Thunder Force, no Out Run. Instead we get multiple new games in a franchise that was grossly overrated (to me anyway).
Maybe, but I feel like Sega is at least putting more of these IPs out there for devs to scoop up. So, I wouldn't lose hope just yet. I would've never thought a new Streets of Rage would come out, and then 4 blew my balls off. Same goes for Shinobi. Didn't have the same impact, but was still a great game in its own right.

As a major fan of Ecco, I welcome this and hope Sega does this with even more of its IPs in the future.
 
The fact that "ecco" means "there it is" in Italian always lent itself to a lot of practical jokes about this game.

For Christmas 1992 my cousin got me Sonic 2. He said he asked someone at the store (he's not a gamer himself) and they told him Sonic 2 and Ecco the Dolphin were the two big games that season. I'm forever grateful that he made the right choice.

Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like if he chose Ecco instead. Probably I'd be a homeless drug addict.
Dude, if you became a Sonic fan, I wouldn't be exactly grateful towards your cousin.


My joke didn't land 😔
No, but it did make a splash.


Anyway… curious IP to resurrect from Sega's past. It did have some fantastic music, I often fall asleep listening to it. I tried the first game on the 3DS and it was quite hard. No clue what to do, just explore with this limited view and an air limit.
 
Can't say I loved these games way back then, but they were different and always had a place in my memory and heart. The sea setting always is a great way to give off a mysterious vibe as well.

...but the location of the developer does worry me. 😑
 
This is probably the IP I least expected to see in the news today.

Honestly, if it's cool, I'm in. Good games are good.
It's shocking to me it's coming back plus made by the same people, after 30 years

Love the aliens and atmosphere and music, and dolphins vs aliens really unique setting
 
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1000% guarantee these games will be laden with on the nose moralising about global warming, overfishing, ocean pollution, rising sea levels and sea temps etc.

Not a bad thing if done well but it won't be.

I'd rather they go the other way and say "fuck it", leaning into the "game" and doing a ton of Dave the Diver cameos.

Hopefully someone will inform them all of that shit is just nonsense.

Either way, as a person who rented ecco the dolphin on genesis I don't give a single fuck about this type of trash IP
 
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1000% guarantee these games will be laden with on the nose moralising about global warming, overfishing, ocean pollution, rising sea levels and sea temps etc.

Not a bad thing if done well but it won't be.

I'd rather they go the other way and say "fuck it", leaning into the "game" and doing a ton of Dave the Diver cameos.

Yes, how dare they care about our shared environment.
 
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