Fans of the Scott Pilgrim series far and wide have been begging the series creator, Bryan Lee O'Malley, Ubisoft, Oni Press, and physical game publishers like Limited Run Games to release a physical edition of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game ever since it was delisted from online storefronts back in 2014. Thankfully Ubisoft announced late last year that a new Complete Edition of the game would be coming back digitally for the game's 10th anniversary, but it wasn't until recently that a physical edition was also revealed for Nintendo Switch.
This reveal was a huge moment for the community as, for most, there really was no way to play the game unless it they still had it downloaded on their system. This may go down as an important moment in game preservation history, a prime example as to why physical games are still so important today.
So, to learn a little more about how it all happened we had a quick email chat with Josh Fairhurst, co-founder of Limited Run Games.
Nintendo Life: Can you remember the first time anyone asked you about releasing a physical version of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game?
Josh: In October 2015, mere hours after we'd gained our 100th follower on Twitter, someone asked us if we could release Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game on the PlayStation 3. Since then, it has been requested on an almost daily basis, which just really speaks to the passion of Scott Pilgrim fans.
Scott Pilgrim The Game has been on the minds of fans and just gamers in general since it was delisted in 2014, so how does it feel to have guaranteed that fans can play this game for years to come?
Josh: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game – Complete Edition is really an important game on a lot of different levels. Along with Double Dragon Neon, it helped usher back in the “beat 'em up” genre, which we're obviously huge fans of (Scott Pilgrim will join the ranks of Streets of Rage 4, River City Girls, Double Dragon IV, and many other genre classics in our lineup). It feels extremely good to be able to release this game physically for fans to put on the shelves.
With the KO! Edition of the game you're releasing, it seems like you thought of everything! (Figurines, physical music, a strategy guide!) Was there anything left on the drawing board you wish you could have included?
Josh: When we were coming up with the initial idea for the K.O. Edition, we asked everyone in the company what ideas they had for a Scott Pilgrim Collector's Edition. I think the shared idea document grew to about ten-to-twelve pages!
When we come up with collector editions, the first thing that I personally like to come up with is the box and then I try and theme the other contents around that. For instance, with Outlast 1 & 2 we came up with the idea to do a leather briefcase-style box and all the contents were themed as items that a psychologist in the game might own.
After discussing a lot of possibilities, we landed on a hard instrument case (or "roadie case") that would include a pop-up scene of “Sex Bob-omb” and working lights and sound. From there, we combed through the employee suggestions and chose all the contents that fit the theme of “Sex Bob-omb” - guitar picks, drumsticks, soundtrack, etc. Plenty of other ideas were left on the table, but I think we landed on something that really fits the game and makes for a cool, unique, and game-specific package.
We've been in serious discussion to release this game for a while now - so it's really been a long road no matter how you look at it.
How long has this been in the making for your team?
Josh: We've been chasing Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game since 2015. While we were too small of a company to be directly talking to anyone related to the IP back then, we were definitely making whatever in-roads we could to move towards this release. We've been in serious discussion to release this game for a while now - so it's really been a long road no matter how you look at it.
Do you think you'll ever release an original PS3 physical edition down the road as you did with the Oddworld series?
Josh: I don't think so, unfortunately. The PlayStation 3 requires a lot more work to support discs - most digital games at the time were just not formatted properly to be able to be installed from disc. This means that most games on the PS3 would require a full rebuild and certification process to come out physically on the platform, which just isn't feasible for most companies given that most PS3 games have codebases over a decade old!
The official vinyl soundtrack was released in extremely limited supply years ago and is highly sought after these days. Considering you deal in vinyl records now, is there a chance you'll release a repressing of that too?
Josh: We announced one the other day!
[We asked Josh the question prior to that very welcome announcement, of course! - Ed]
Will Scott Pilgrim be getting a physical release at Best Buy with a unique cover?
Josh: We hope so. You’ll just have to wait and see!
Besides Scott Pilgrim, what's your next most requested game to gain a physical release or something you'd love to someday release?
Josh: P.T. from Konami. It's requested probably once a week — so not nearly as frequently as Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game — but it's definitely the second most requested release. Personally, I'd love to work with Square Enix since they have TONS of digital games that lack physical releases.
We'd like to thank Josh and Limited Run Games for taking the time to chat! The physical edition of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game - Complete Edition on Nintendo Switch is currently available for pre-order through Limited Run Games until February 28th.
Be sure to let us know if you're one of the many who's happy to see this release become a reality and check out our review if you're curious.
Comments 36
Up next, Doom Eternal.
Lets go LRG!
this thing is insanely popular
Still no, and overpriced
I never even heard of Scott Pilgrim before like a week or two ago.
My biggest issue with Limited Run now after a glance at their marketplace is, frankly, the limited nature of their supply. Next to every single product listed for sale in their Switch section is entirely sold out. I understand "limited" is in the name and that supply costs money to spec, produce, warehouse, ship, etc., but it seems quite clear demand more than outpaces the supply here. Are follow-up production runs for long-since sold-out games not considered? There really is no reason to have every Switch product in their marketplace going back four years unavailable to potentially interested consumers, kind of growth-limiting, which seems to partly explain the slow pace users appear to be complaining about here regarding missed release dates with no communication, slow shipping, etc. Perhaps it's time to lighten up on the "limited" aspect and focus on increasing production, marketing (ultimately sales), and fulfilling existing orders for a year or so before expanding out to new clients for new projects. In short: work with what projects you already have and expand their production to meet demand.
I’ll be amazed if they ship it this year
@Menardi It's an open pre-order system now so not as big of an issue as it used to be
@Menardi This is a tough one, because halting production usually means halting income, eventually they may overextend themselves to the point where the company collapses (like kickstarter fufillment) which would suck
One really big thing against this physical edition is the fact how you still need to log in with a separate Ubisoft account to unlock all of the features included, specifically online play and Knives as a playable character. It's bad enough that online play has its natural course when it comes to availability, but having content that requires an online service unlock that's already present in the game requires anyone who wishes to get access to said content to open up the game, make the account and do the required proceedings to get access to all the content.
Just in case someone would want to keep it sealed and think that they got the whole game safe and sound, for some reason.
@HammerKirby They have improved in recent times, certainly. It seems there is room to grow, however.
@pixelpatch I am suggesting they do the opposite, they should focus on games they are already producing and increase production to meet demand (as opposed to apparently missing deadlines for existing projects already committed to because a new project is already in the works).
I keep seeing so many articles about this game, it seems to get a lot of attention. Is this one of those hidden gems or something?
PENDING NINJA APPROVAL
@BloodNinja Not very hidden, but un-purcheaseable for the past 6 years
@pixelpatch Interesting, why is that?
I would love to see Alien Isolation, Valkyria Chronicles, Crisis and Doom Eternal get a physical release. They probably aren't indie enough (and there are plenty of those I would like to see haha)
@BloodNinja licensing issues basically
@HamatoYoshi Ah, I see. Is the game any good?
@Magician Up next, Doom Eternal.
Lets go LRG!
Right on....but for moi it's late since I bought to get the DLC Bonus. I was one of those waiting for the Physical BigBox and paid and was shafted in the end.
I sincerely hope that someone at UbiSoft got fired for not having the foresight to keep Scott Pilgrim to themselves.
@Menardi
LRG have lightened up on the "limited" aspect of their business. When LRG began they would only produce a few thousand copies of each game. These days they have open preorders for four to six weeks (for the standard edition of their Switch releases). With LRG there's no FOMO or concerns about bots buying all the available stock.
@Magician Right, my point is that this can be taken further. Demand clearly exceeds the supply generated during these four to six week preorder periods. I am suggesting this be supplemented with additional production so product can continue to be available to consumers via their store front.
@Menardi
That's not an unreasonable hope. But I imagine the business of supply and demand isn't that cut and dry. There is a minimum count (3k I believe?) for cartridge orders from Nintendo. And no business wants thousands of dollars of inventory just sitting in a warehouse.
@BloodNinja If you like side scrolling beat em ups yet. If youre buying it digitally wait for it to drop down to 10 bucks, its only about 4 - 5 hours long
@pixelpatch Ok! thank you
Still waiting on corpse killer for E’shop!
@Magician True, I'm sure there are logistical reasons for what they're doing now. It would be nice to see down the road, though.
Happy they came through with this release. Hoping they will release the No More Heroes games, Moon, and maybe The Touryst.
@Menardi The way the current order process for LRG works is that they manufacture the majority of their standard edition games to the specific demand during the 4-6 week pre-order period. CEs are sometimes open pre-order or limited based on whatever contracts they have. While I understand that you believe they can just run a bunch of extra copies for long-term sale or do another print run whenever needed, their business model doesn't work like that.
In order to sell a copy of a game, they need to negotiate a contract with developers / any other parties attached to the game. My understanding is they have it written into their contract that they must put the sale up by a certain established time frame and once the sale period is over, they release the rights of the game back to the publisher. By their very setup, LRG does not do reprints. They also couldn't do reprints if they wanted to unless they entered into another contract with the publisher again, which would take a lot more time, effort, and cost on their end. A lot of people nag LRG to reprint games when that energy should be pushed onto the game developers who maintain their rights to reprint the game again with any other publisher. Many game developers have already done this for LRG printed games.
To your other point about ordering more stock to keep on their site for long-term, that would drastically increase the risk level of their business. With their current model, if they sell 10,500 copies during the pre-order period, they likely order 12,000 copies to cover damaged / lost orders that may occur, and eventually sell the small amount of extra stock during blowout sales, conventions, blind boxes, etc. Overall a minor risk. What you are asking is that they either do additional runs (which they can't by contract) or purchase extra stock up front for long-term sale, which may or may not ever sell-out for many games. If they order extra copies for games that don't sell out and this happens multiple times, they would likely be in the red and it could be game over for them. Their current model keeps them profitable while keeping their risk level low, even if some people miss out of their releases long-term. It is just smart business and it works.
Of note for Switch games, they need a minimum of 5,000 carts ordered to produce a run. They need to hope they get at least 5,000 orders in their open pre-order period or else they could be left with a bunch of extra stock. Most games exceed the 5,000 limit, but certainly not every game has as some games only get a 5,000 print run. That shouldn't matter in the long run since they are opening a retail outlet and sell stock at conventions, but extra inventory long-term adds to their risk-profile.
@DieNoMight
I don't believe 5k is the minimum for a cartridge order. Many boutique publishers have had 3k (and some fewer than 3k) Switch physical print runs. Red Art, Pix'N Love, Gamefairy, etc. Unless the minimum order varies from region to region?
@Magician : Only after the DLC expansions are available and the software is no longer being updated. So long as a physical release has been delayed, I see no point in LRG producing their own with only the base game on the cart. I am more than happy to wait and pay up for a complete physical edition.
Hell, if they decide to release DOOM (2016) and/or Wolfenstein II with all of the "update data" on the cartridge as well, I would double-dip without hesitation.
Even games I want physical I don’t want from LRG. Horrible company. They think they are rockstars and all their customers are their fans. When truth is most of us HATE the fact we have to deal with them.
@Yorumi you mean the most recent one? I got my copy.
@Stocksy I'm in the UK and tbh, I've not had any issues dealing with LRG in regard to the hand full of games I have so far purchased. In fact the first game I bought from LRG was Dust: An Elysian Tale. This never arrived. I waited the prerequisite 30 days, contacted LRG and they sent a replacement copy without hesitation. The games I've bought since have arrived without fail. That being said, Return of the Obra Dinn seems to be taking a long time to be produced and shipped. An update other Q1 2021 would be appreciated. Overall though, as a company, I cannot fault them.
They outdid themselves on the quality and variety of the SP physical releases. While the title is a stellar tribute to the golden age of 'walk to the right and kill things' genre, it stands on its own as a well-done, amusing and beautifully drawn title. Can't recommend this one highly enough for fans of the genre
@BloodNinja personally, I think Streets Of Rage 4, River City Girls and Fight ‘N’ Rage are loads better
@HamatoYoshi Ah, I liked none of those, so I probably won't like this LOL
I'LL STICK TO NINJA TURTLES IV
Limited Run has actually come a long way, especially since the launch of Switch. Yes they could improve their order to ship responsive times but they do eventually deliver...usually (lol)
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