Staying dead?

Although it's not something that is likely to impact the production of a new Killer Instinct title for Nintendo consoles - the IP is owned by Rare (and, by extension, Microsoft) so that's not going to happen any time soon, sadly - but interesting news has filtered through about a possible new entry in the series which began life under the Nintendo banner.

A few months back, Microsoft announced that it was applying for the Killer Instinct trademark, a move which predictably got fans excited. However, The United States Patent and Trademark Office has just confirmed that the application has been denied on the grounds that it would be confused with a defunct TV show from 2005, which has the same name.

The original Killer Instinct was an arcade brawler which was supposed to use Nintendo's Ultra 64 hardware, but in fact used a custom system co-developed by Rare and arcade giant Midway. It was a massive success and was ported to the SNES and Game Boy, and eventually saw release on the N64 under the guise Killer Instinct Gold.

Microsoft hasn't revealed what it's working on - it could be a port of the arcade original, or perhaps an all-new edition for Xbox Live Arcade. The company has the chance to appeal the United States Patent and Trademark Office decision, or it can re-title the game - something which will be a little pointless when you consider that it's intended to cash-in on the built-in popularity of Rare's fighter.

Would you be willing to pick up an Xbox 360 if it meant playing an all-new instalment in the franchise? Or perhaps you already have one and are expectantly awaiting further news? Let us know by leaving a comment.

[source eurogamer.net, via tsdr.uspto.gov]