Back when Nintendo ported its popular Punch-Out!! arcade title to the NES, it was savvy enough to realise that a celebrity endorsement could make all the difference – so it enlisted the assistance of Mike Tyson to promote the game, even going as far as to include the boxer as a character.
When Tyson's deal expired he was removed from the game and replaced by the generic Mr. Dream, and he hasn't been part of the Punch-Out!! franchise since – something that may also have something to do with the fact that at the start of the '90s his darker side began to appear in the mass media. Mike Tyson’s Intergalactic Power Punch – a different NES boxing title developed by Beam Software – was eventually released as Power Punch II following Tyson's prison sentence in 1991, with all references to the boxer removed.
If the former heavyweight champion gets his way, we could see him in a new Punch-Out!! installment. Tyson has been speaking to Shacknews and feels its time for his version of the game to make a return – and if you thought that was crazy, then you'll be pleased to learn that he plans to use the computer division within his cannabis licensing and branding company Tyson Ranch to make it happen:
Hey listen, we're going to start our own Punch-Out!! game and our own Tyson Ranch computer game and bring it back to life, man. Bring back Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!
Punch-Out!! has seen sequels on the SNES and Wii since the NES version, which proves it can survive without Tyson's involvement. Besides, we're pretty sure Nintendo would wish to distance itself from the troubled star, even in 2020. Of course, there's nothing stopping Tyson from creating a Punch-Out!!-style game without using the name, which we're assuming is what he's talking about.
There's also the small matter of Tyson actually beating the original game, something he admits in the interview that he still hasn't done – he finds it too difficult, apparently.
You're not the only one, Mike.
[source shacknews.com, via gonintendo.com]
Comments 61
NL headline of the week, and it's only Monday.
I heard that the licensing ran out and that's why Mike was dropped from subsequent releases. The unpleasant stuff came later.
"something he admits in the interview that is still hasn't done" nice grammar
How is that insufferable cad still relevant?
Blimey, looks like South Park scripts are just writing themselves these days.
I couldn't have cared less about this guy when he was relevant. I would never say i think I'll play mike tyson's punch out! To me it was always just punch out. Rocky was the only boxer i ever liked and he's not even real.
Started reading the quote, and my mind drifted into a famous Bender quote from Futurama.
"Hey listen, we're going to start our own Punch-Out!! game ... with blackjack, and hookers ... in fact, forget the game!"
I think he might be a little out of touch with reality.
Working title: Hotboxing
Get outta town,
A farming / boxing game??!
That's the genre-mix I've waited for my whole life!! XD
EDIT:
Seriously.. I'm pretty close to calling up a couple of friends and putting together a proposal for this idea. We could come to the farm and make it with him. The title Punch-Out!! obviously isn't up for grabs anymore, but we'll roll with "Hitting High", "Weedwackers", "Top Shoot" or something like that.
@NoNoseNosferatu The one, the only Mike Tyson is still relevant because he is and always has been one of the most famous and recognisable people on the planet. Running a succesful business and presenting his own podcast show also helps keep him in the limelight. Plus the fact that he's shown that if even The Baddest Man on the Planet can turn his life around from being a destructive force into a warm, likable, gentle giant then anyone can.
@Squiddles Nah it's a direct quite but Mr, Tyson has a lisp so 'It' sounded like 'is' and they left it in.
Funny he has yet to beat the game. If I recall, the trick was something about his sprite would blink the eye either ipsilateral or contralateral to the arm he is about to punch with to allow a dodge.
@OorWullie He also has is own cartoon show which is a spoof of the old 70's mystery team shows.
Anyone can make a game, doesn't mean it'll be good.
If his weed company can develop a game in the style of Punch-Out!! that's even half as good as Nintendo's installments, I would be impressed.
Why not enlist some hungry, talented indie developer that would give all their effort to make a quality game, in order to capitalize on the publicity?
No shortage of those.
@muscpt It also depends on the latency of the TV.
A lot of modern displays have too much input lag, making the game that much more difficult to beat.
It requires almost scientific precision. Lol
@C0NNERS Hahaha, massively underrated comment.
@chewytapeworm 😉
He should make this a launch exclusive for the SouljaGame Console.
Tyson hasn't been "troubled" in decades. He's actually celebrated pretty highly these days. Nintendo would not have a problem with Mike, they may have a problem with him making a Punch-out game but not with the man himself.
I hope they do this spiritual sequel in a 2D 8-bit art-style. I’d definitely enjoy a new Punch-Out!! with a host of crazy new opponents with bizarre tells that telegraph their next move.
Lots of really bad uneducated Boxing takes in here.Mom’s basement dwellers are out in full force.
As gamers we get a wrap that all we do is game and have no idea about sports, y’all proving that to be true here in the comments section.
This could be awesome. I sparred with Mike back in 90', but could never beat him.
This will go over about as well as the Shaq-Fu reboot, I'd wager. However, I do feel that Tyson has reformed his image considerably since the 90s and seems to have it pretty well together these days so maybe Nintendo should give him a call...
I so read his comment hearing his annoying whinny voice lol.
@OorWullie I don’t see anything likable about the man; he bit a person’s ear off and acts like a complete loon it would seem.
Nah, the game never needed him and now anything with him in it is a cheap novelty.
@NoNoseNosferatu That was then, this is now. I think when someone makes an enormous effort to become a better person, is remorseful about their past sins and goes out of their way to apologise face to face with some of those he hurt along the way, then they deserve massive respect. Mike Tyson has led a life like no other and while I'm not making excuses for some of the stuff he done, I've read his story and there are many reasons that led to him being the way he was. Living on the streets at 11 year old and being bullied into selling and taking drugs, being hypnotised from 13 year old to be a destroyer without ever being taught how to switch off, losing the one person that did care about him before becoming the most famous person on the planet at 20 year old, a wicked woman who stole much of his fortune before the evil Don King took the rest, losing a child..... I could go on.
The guy’s troubled, to say the least, and his overwhelming support for the human wotsit is a little cloying but I find it very hard to blame him given his Bipolar diagnosis. The fact his daughter died as well probably accounts for some of the less admirable choices he made in his life. It’s important to look at context in these situations. Still think this game is a terrible idea though, if it happens.
It's amazing what happens to your brain when you become a superstar for getting punched in the head a lot.
@OorWullie hypnotized? That’s a fat load of rubbish...
Sorry but not sorry- the man has done some crap and that will never change or go away.
He may be doing better than he did when he was younger but sometimes a crap person is a crap person and I don’t see anything about him or his interactions that would change my opinion of him.
@NoNoseNosferatu No it is not a load of rubbish. It happened and can easily be searched for online.
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2816476-mike-tyson-trainer-cus-damato-used-to-have-me-hypnotized-as-teenage-fighter
If you don't want to take Tyson's word for it, you can look up what others, such as boxing trainers Kevin Rooney and Teddy Atlus have to say about it. As for the ear biting, again I'm not condoning it, but it was in retaliation to several illegal headbutts from his opponent. Holyfield was fighting dirty so Tyson fought dirty back.
And for such a crap person, he seems to be doing a pretty good job of raising his kids.
@Creature Douglas got lucky
@nessisonett it's a great idea if he does it. Nothing is preventing him from it and we need a new (good) boxing game. It cannot be any worse than the crap we've seen the last ten years.
@TheLightSpirit Perhaps people should educate themselves before taking shots. Shame people in here bashing Mike personally. Guy has turned himself into a lucrative business man, with multiple income sources. His legal troubles are well documented, but most of that stuff was in the mid to early 90s.. I’d call him a success story > some of the cheap shots being thrown his way in the comments here.
@NoNoseNosferatu - That's a little disingenuous, though.
I knocked out another kid when I was 15, broke in his nose. But since then I never fought anyone, but that shouldn't be grounds of putting me on record that I "assaulted a 14 year old," henceforth.
The context of his scenario writes much more of what he has gone through. Cannot condone what he has done, but if he is forever an ear-biter, then why ever bother changing?
@TheLightSpirit Well said 🤟🏾
Upon reading the headline and article, I thought to myself, "Nah. Too easy."
But this comment section surprised me. Well done, commentariat!
@NoNoseNosferatu Because he's not insufferable anymore...he's hilarious! His one-man show is highly recommended.
@bluedogrulez What’s the program called? Is it available to watch online?
@OorWullie hypnotism is rubbish and sensationalist gobbledegook. Seeing you believe in such tripe makes me question your sanity.
@NoNoseNosferatu That's not what the science says.
https://time.com/5380312/is-hypnosis-real-science/
https://www.healthline.com/health/is-hypnosis-real
@OorWullie you’re posting complete nonsense, next you’re gonna tell me the easter bunny and Santa Claus are real. Get over yourself.
@OorWullie funny how you never post legitimate sources, only pop magazines and tabloid trash.
You are so very sad.
@OorWullie My take is that if he was such a problematic figure, we'd have gotten more terrible stories about him. He's been squeaky clean for two decades. Not a lot of prominent athletes can say the same.
@NoNoseNosferatu I'm not even going to waste my time chatting further with you. If I'm being honest, I find you to be an insufferable fool.
@OorWullie That’s a laugh coming from you, a person that believes in complete utter BS. Maybe you should examine your own life and nonsensical beliefs before projecting your own shortcomings on others.
NoNoseNosferatu: I don’t believe in God, Santa, Easter Bunny, or the Giant Spaghetti Monster. But I do believe hypnotism. Educate yourself man!
@NoNoseNosferatu Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth. It used to be on HBO. I saw it live at the end of its run. His life...wow...just wow.
@NoNoseNosferatu - I am not sure what you tagged me in, but it brings me to your dismissal of hypnosis and what impacts it has. As much a sceptic I am, just did a brief skim of legit sources.
https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2013/06/24/the-science-of-hypnosis/
https://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/extrasensory-perceptions/hypnosis.htm
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/think-well/201301/the-truth-about-hypnosis
And a few studies apparently made breakthroughs;
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27720948
https://bmcpediatr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2431-6-23
https://ascopubs.org/doi/full/10.1200/JCO.2008.16.6389?rfr_dat=cr_pub%3Dpubmed&url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org
So from what I gather, there is a significant response for the Mind-Over-Body practice hypnosis functions in. Similar to how psychologists handle the mental stimulus to control the pain of trauma, hypnosis has a similar function. So it is not out of the realm of possibility that Tyson has had been effected by hypnosis.
@Muddy_4_Ever Yep exactly. When someone can admit to their flaws, confront them and then move forward in life without repeating them, they deserve respect. I have nothing but admiration for the guy, his life story is extraordinary. Most of the people that criticise him only know of the controversy from the past.
@RPGamer I don't know if I wanna fight Donkey Kong again... He's carried me off the arena so many times!
@Paraka I never tagged you in anything.
@Paraka and no, hypnosis is BS purported by superstitious fools.
@bluedogrulez I’ll torrent it; thanks for the info.
@ShadowSniper7 I will never believe in unfounded nonsense.
Still the best Punch Out is Mike Tyson’s Punch Out. I wish Nintendo would just rework a deal with him, put the classic game out on the Nintendo Online game and make a brand new one with him. I love how tough they made him in the game- back in the day when games were hard to beat ( nowadays anyone can beat any modern game, it’s just a matter of time). It’s time for Nintendo to stop only releasing sports games with Mario headlining. I want a new Punch Out, a new Pro Wrestling and a new Wii Sports
@NoNoseNosferatu - Bud, I had an alert from this very site, and not sure if you deleted it or not, it took me to your comment about how your personal stance is absolute on the topic.
Yet there is governmental links showing significant results, even as a sceptic I can not personally say government research is outright lies too.
For me I think there is some truth to it, as weak willed people can be manipulated easily. And if you have trance like practices in the mix, it's not too out of reality to consider Tyson as partly influenced by this.
Also; Learn what an edit button does, it will be a boon to your responses.
Well, hell, I would play it.
@NoNoseNosferatu: Same here!
I actually saw it done to some people in person. I would say that is pretty “founded” lol. Have you actually looked into it at all?
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