Digital Eclipse is a developer that specializes in premium re-releases of retro games on modern platforms. Their previous work includes Disney game re-releases (Disney Afternoon Collection, Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and The Lion King), Mega Man Legacy Collection, Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, SNK 40th Anniversary Collection, and many other games. Now, after a successful round of investment crowdfunding, studio head Mike J Mika has taken to Twitter to ask players what they want to see from the studio going forward.
Digital Eclipse recently opened a campaign on republic.co, a crowdfunding investment platform with a particular emphasis on technology and gaming. So far, the campaign has been a massive success for the developer, raking in around $3 million in investments on its first day and currently sitting at about $6 million raised with 60 days left to go. Overwhelmed by the response, Mika thanked supporters on Twitter and posted a public call for suggestions as to what retro projects Digital Eclipse should tackle next.
Founded in 1992, Digital Eclipse was among the first companies to re-create the experience of classic arcade games on then-modern platforms through emulation with their releases of Joust, Robotron 2084, and Defender on MacOS in 1994. Since then, Digital Eclipse has made porting classic games one of their development specialties, releasing ports of classic arcade and console games to platforms like Windows, the Super NES, Sega Saturn, PlayStation, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance. After several years of being part of the former Backbone Entertainment, Digital Eclipse was re-formed in 2015 with several original staff members for the purpose of video game preservation and re-releases. Using custom technology called the Eclipse Engine, their aim is to make it easy to release high-quality collections of classic games across multiple modern platforms, while supplementing them with bonus material like development documents and making-of features.
Interestingly, Mika's tweet doesn't just ask for input on what classic games Digital Eclipse should re-release, but also floats the possibility of full-on revivals and sequels of classic franchises in the vein of Ghosts 'N Goblins Resurrection. Digital Eclipse does produce original games alongside their classic re-releases: one of their recent titles is a 2D pixel-art beat-em-up based on the film Space Jam: A New Legacy on Xbox Gamepass. With titles like Streets of Rage 4 and River City Girls seeing warm reception from fans, the door's open for some classic, dormant IP to see new installments.
If there's a classic game you'd love to see revived in some way, it certainly can't hurt to tweet your idea out at Mika. Other folks liking and RT'ing a suggestion is a good indication that interest is there. It won't guarantee that a re-release or follow-up will happen--there are various issues like licensing to overcome--but it can certainly help get the ball rolling.