Bandai Namco is about the release Namcot Collection in Japan, which is available either as a complete physical release or as downloadable content, with players given the option to pick and choose which titles they want to buy at 300 yen apiece.
As a bonus for downloading all 10 games digitally, an eleventh title is being made available, and it's a Famicom demake of the critically-acclaimed 2007 outing Pac-Man Championship Edition.
M2 is handling porting duties on this package, and director Naoki Horii has been explaining how this game came to be, and as revealed that it was actually intended to appear on the 3DS:
Now then… Our company is allowed to do everything we want. Regarding the extra Championship Edition game, it’s becoming something big to the point that I don’t want to call it an extra game.
Originally, this should be sold alone, right? So that as many people would play it as possible? That’s exactly the case, so we originally negotiated to port the game to Nintendo 3DS, and afterwards, we’ve been working on this for around nearly five years. When it was still just a 3DS port, we had already put a lot of effort into completely replacing the soundtrack, but for this game we’ve basically further replaced and remade many things even beyond just the soundtrack…! We worked hard to make this a Famicom game on Nintendo Switch where you can move to the rhythm of the music and the graphics.
While there are some people who knew about this project beforehand, I bet even they will still be surprised at the finished game! I really wanted to release this game no matter what, so I’m glad that we managed to do so even five years later!
Microsoft has revealed that Bandai Namco is publishing two new Namco Museum entries on the same day that Namcot Collection hits Japan – June 18th – and the first volume features the de-made Pac-Man Championship Edition. There's no word on a western Switch release as yet.
Please note that some external links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.
[source siliconera.com, via gonintendo.com]
Comments 19
@Seananigans Because it’s a demake, not a demaster. 😉
@Seananigans They probably didn't work on it full time for five years. First on the 3DS and then a few years later now for Switch.
Hang on so is it the same "demake"on the Namcot Collection as on the Name Museum collection??
What the Puck (-man) is a "demake"???
@Zequio It's the process of taking a 'modern' game and recreating it for 'older' hardware.
@BaronCorvo Yep, it's on the upcoming Namco Museum Collection Vol 1.
Meanwhile, the original Championship Edition and DX are M.I.A. on Switch.
@SSJW just making a joke about how this game took 5 years to release, it's just strange to think that this took as much time to RELEASE as the Breath of the Wild.
But it's funnier to think it took 5 years so I'll pretend it took that long to make lol.
@SSJW also, nobody would take all their time and energy for a game that is not only a demake, a demake that might not have even sold well on the 3DS, which 5 years ago they probably had the development kit for what's now the switch, which was 2 years from release, so yeah there was no point in releasing the game for a console that at that point was about to get (mostly) replaced by the switch.
If they put as much time and effort as other games, it probably would have taken not even a year to release, but they saw as much value in it as Nintendo does Chibi-Robo (😔), so they didn't focus on it as much.
The Pac-Man game I've been really wanting to play for some reason is Ms. Pac-Man 64, and PacMan world 2.
I don't know why the random urge, but if they remake the games or just port them to the switch... I'll be definitely buying them.
I wonder if they are available on other systems?
@Seananigans
It probably didn't really take five years. They probably didn't know who to sell it to.
Of course in 2015 if it were an 8-bit version of Pac-Man Championship it would of sold well.
It may have led to other 8-bit demakes for Tekken or Ridge Racer.
Only interesting if it is a demake with the features of the DX version. The normal version is boring.
Hoping for a physical Switch release for these, otherwise I'll just buy them on Steam later.
Would love to see Ms Pac Man Maze Madness resurface on today’s consoles!
This has reminded me to download the CE mini on my Vita.
Do Banco realise the original CE game isn't on switch yet?
CE1 DX+ is THE BEST pacman game ever made and it's not available on switch. When there's like 15 other pacman games available. They're bringing a downgrade demake gimmick but not the ACTUAL game it's based on
@Skeletor1979 Yep. DX is wayyyyyyy better.
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...