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Dementium series developer obtains sequel rights
Developer Renegade Kid has reacquired control of its Dementium series, a horror-focused intellectual property that birthed two frightening games on the Nintendo DS. Renegade Kid co-founder Jools Watsham took to Twitter to announce the deal: I am ecstatic to announce that Renegade Kid now has the rights to create Dementium sequels! EXCITE!! - Jools Watsham (@JoolsWatsham) September 16, 2014 The first game in the series, Dementium: The Ward, was distributed by publisher GameCock, which has since shuttered. Its sequel and the IP was then handled by SouthPeak Interactive, which had published the first game in Europe. Developer Renegade Kid has since gone on to create the Mutant Mudd series and the episodic 3DS game Moon Chronicles. "We have always retained ownership of the Dementium IP," Watsham told me. "SouthPeak used to have first right of refusal on sequels, but that is no longer the case."
New Dementium 2 trailer packs small screen with big creeps
It's become rather common for DS game commercials to show the game via an onscreen DS console. Understandable, considering most titles wouldn't look too hot all stretched out for today's modern high resmolution screens. But then, the usual presentation -- tiny DS screens embedded within a larger screen -- is a bit bland. SouthPeak has come up with an interesting solution for the marketing behind Renegade Kid's upcoming horror FPS Dementium 2. The solution is simple: Rather than overlaying the screens on a DS mockup image, simply embed the screens in human flesh. Granted, it probably wouldn't work for, say, the Imagine series, but it's damned effective here. Give it a watch.
Dementium 2 jumps out at you in February
Jools Watsham's prediction of a "February-ish" release for Dementium II seems to have been right on target -- though Nintendo's release schedule wasn't. Rather than the February 2 date listed on that schedule, The company announced that the DS horror FPS will ship in North America on February 16 of next year. Europe will be subject to the horror two weeks later on March 5. SouthPeak reports that some Dementium II posters are still available to those who pre-order and send pictures of their receipts. Presumably more people will take advantage of the offer now that they now when the game they're pre-ordering will be released. %Gallery-80518%
Pre-order bonus: Put a touch of Dementium II on your wall
Would you like this on your wall? The first 1,000 people in the US and Canada to pre-order Dementium II at an "authorized retailer" (including Amazon and GameStop) and send their mailing addresses and scans of their receipts to: "dementiumii [at] southpeakgames [dot] com," will receive this poster, signed by Renegade Kid's Jools Watsham and Gregg Hargrove. Surely, there's room on your wall between the Muramasa scroll and the shelf you nailed up to rest your Mario lunchpail upon on its days off. The Dementium II poster was previously given away in a Halloween promotion, but was apparently popular enough among hand-from-face fans to warrant a return engagement. Speaking of Dementium II and creepy imagery, SouthPeak opened a teaser site for the horror sequel. You can visit it here ... if you dare! Which you probably do. %Gallery-78630%
Hands-on: Dementium 2 (DS)
Having not played Renegade Kid's first survival/horror-FPS on the Nintendo DS back in 2007, Dementium: The Ward, I had few expectations going into my recent hands-on with the game's sequel, the aptly titled Dementium 2. I knew that the first game enjoyed critical acclaim for more than adequately bringing survival/horror tropes to Nintendo's handheld, and ultimately scored pretty well with reviewers, but ever since Metroid Prime Hunters I've been wary of first-person mechanics on the DS. Thankfully, when first faced with manipulating Dementium 2's main character, it became quickly obvious that the game's slow pace helps to account for any discomfort issues that might arise from the control scheme. Over the course of 45 minutes, I put together puzzles, traveled between two dimensions multiple times, and even fought a boss who tried to throw up on me from the ceiling (what a jerk!). Though its content and storytelling seems to be a carefully crafted amalgam of games from the three or so genres it mashes up (fps, adventure, survival/horror) – a handheld Half-Life meets Silent Hill on Monkey Island, almost – the time I spent with a preview build of Dementium 2 earlier today felt like the beginning of what could be a very interesting game. %Gallery-78630%
SouthPeak doubles game sales in 2009 amid dropping profits
Though SouthPeak is keen to point out that its net revenues rose from last year by $7.2 million, the company's profits for the year remain firmly in the red, with a $12.1 million posted loss for the 2009 fiscal year ending June 30. SouthPeak's loss report comes confusingly paired with a 100% increase in units sold from fiscal year 2008 (from 1.2 to 2.4 million units) -- 2009's posted $12.1 net loss gets explained away by "approximately $12.5 million invested in game development and intellectual property for future title releases," among other things. The report also allows "$1.6 million of expenses relating to the Gamecock acquisition," hopefully some of which went to paying Gamecock debt now owed by SouthPeak -- this on top of another $4.6 million or so for "charges relating to write-downs on software values and sequel right values to certain titles." Unsurprisingly, the publisher hopes that upcoming titles Two Worlds 2 and My Baby: First Steps, as well as a "highly-anticipated sequel to Dementium," will bolster its next fiscal year. We're just hoping the games the company does sell will actually garner some profit this time around.
Demented new Dementium 2 screens
Renegade Kid has released screens of Dementium II. We've already had a gander at the game's super freaky box art, but this is the first glimpse we've had of the actual game. The screens look very promising for a DS game, especially the lighting. Granted, it's hard to be as freaked out by such tiny screen shots, but we're missing the sound effects and music that properly set off the atmosphere. Based solely on the images, we're eager to see some more. Preferably in motion. Check out the first screens in the gallery below. %Gallery-70510%
Renegade Kid: Dementium II arrives 'February-ish'
Speaking on his personal YouTube video blog, Renegade Kid's Jools Watsham has given some clarification to the early 2010 release date of Dementium II. Watsham notes that Renegade Kid is due to finish the master by the end of July, saying that the release is slated for "February-ish." He elaborates that the company will hopefully spend the next month focusing on "editing and polishing and tweaking." After that its time for the alpha and beta phases of development, and then the game will be sent to Nintendo.Watsham also mentions the Renegade Kid's other project Maximillian and the Rise of the Mutant Mudds, saying that the company has been talking to publishers and will hopefully have something to announce "in the next couple of weeks." Check out the video after the break.[Via GoNintendo]
This Week on the Nintendo Channel: Dementium II teaser
This week on the Nintendo Channel, there's a variety of new videos for Wii games, but our favorite piece of video content has to be the teaser for DS sequel Dementium II above. It combines two of our most favorite things: mono-toned speech and quick cuts to scary faces. Seriously, this thing has a quease factor of about 8, which, we're told, is quite high. You've been warned!%Gallery-4929%
Renegade Kid working on platformer for DS
Renegade Kid is apparently working on a kid-friendly platformer for the DS while it develops a sequel to Dementium. The developer showed IGN that its other new project is Maximillian and the Rise of the Mutant Mudds. Players will use a water pack (think Mario Sunshine) to double-jump chasms of doom and squirt the baddies to death.Renegade Kid plans to push its already impressive technical knowledge with the DS even further with Mudds. The developer doesn't know if it'll go the retail route or check out DSIware, and there isn't so much as an inkling of a release window. Check out a video of the game after the break.
Renegade Kid returning to the hospital in Dementium II
Developer Renegade Kid apparently stumbled across some leftover brown paint, and is currently working up a sequel to Dementium: The Ward. The game is set to continue the story of the first game, which had players stumbling through the darkened grimy halls of an abandoned hospital trying to discover a way out. Or at least some morphine to dull the pain.Notes Renegade Kid's Jools Watsham, "We were extremely satisfied with what we accomplished with the original Dementium, but knew we could do even more given the chance to develop a sequel." Little is known about the return trip into portable madness, though publisher SouthPeak promises even more hospital scares when Dementium II ships for the DS in the first part of 2010.
Dementium: The Ward releasing in April ... in poor, forgotten Europe
At last, forgotten souls in Europe will be able to wander Dementium: The Ward's grainy, dimly lit halls. After scaring up modest reviews in the US and sending Japanese hospitals screaming, Southpeak announced that it will publish Renegade Kid's spook-tastic freshman effort in Europe on April 17.The Nintendo DS survival horror title was first released in the US in 2007, and casts players in the role of an amnesiac stuck in a grimy hospital full of puzzles and the occasional not-so-friendly monster. Finally, survival horror fans in Europe will have something to keep them busy on the commuter train besides the latest Jamie Oliver, though honestly both are probably just as frightening.
Renegade Kid teases new project
Before even getting its upcoming sci-fi action-adventure Moon out of the airlock, Dementium: The Ward developer Renegade Kid has announced that it is already at work on its next project. And now you know everything we know about the game, which Renegade Kid's Jools Watsham describes as "the game that I'm most excited about ever in my career."The studio's owner and game director teased the project in a video posted on his personal blog, noting only his enthusiasm and that the game has nothing to do with Dracula, the rumored subject of an upcoming Wii project from the company. More information about the mysterious project is expected to be released at a later date, though Watsham concedes that it's likely "going to be a while." Until then, we await Renegade Kid to set off on its slightly delayed trip to the Moon on January 13.[Via DSF]
Japanese hospitals want Dementium off store shelves
Dementium: The Ward hit Japan this year (along with a colorful launch event for the game), yet is now enduring its first public outcry in the country. According to Yahoo! News (and Google's translation tools), the Japanese Association of Psychiatric Hospitals has requested that the title be removed from shops instantly, arguing that the game could instigate "discrimination and prejudice" against sufferers of psychiatric disorders. Interchannel distributes the game in Japan, and has yet to comment, but Mike Wilson of [U.S. publisher] Gamecock did proffer a view to MTV Multiplayer, stating that the criticism is down to a "lack of understanding or appreciation (and therefore fear of) games outside our little sub-culture." He also confessed to being "thrilled" by the extra attention the game has enjoyed as a result; as the game failed to penetrate the Japanese top 30, we know what he means.%Gallery-4929%[Via MTV Multiplayer]
Asylums, nurses, and gore: Dementium's awesome Japanese launch event
Dementium: The Ward launches in Japan today, and Japanese publisher Interchannel-Holon could not have found a more perfect venue to promote Renegade Kid's horror title*. "Alcatraz E.R." is a novelty restaurant in Tokyo's Shibuya ward with a mental asylum theme where patrons must announce their blood type before entering. They are then handcuffed by girls dressed as nurses who serve up food in surgical trays and drinks in hospital drips.In other words, it's a totally amazing and ideal place for a Dementium promotion. Hit the break for more gory pics of the press-only event (our invites must have got lost in the mail). * Admittedly, they could have used an actual abandoned psychiatric asylum, but that probably comes with its own issues.%Gallery-4929%
Dementium gets under Japanese skin
Renegade Kid's Dementium: The Ward is something you know we enjoyed. It was a very unique title on the DS, striving to provide a moody atmosphere full of scares. We think it succeeded, overall, and apparently so did Gamecock, as the title was chosen to release in Japan.Now, the game's Japanese site has launched and it's an incredibly effective platform for advertising the title. Just checking out the site makes you think J-horror, in the likes of Silent Hill and Fatal Frame. It's a great way to market the title, we believe, so be sure to hit up the site for the goods.[Via Insert Credit]
Japan gets demented this summer
Fans of Dementium (see: uh, DS Fanboy), you should pay attention. The game is headed to Japan in a few months, as it will see a release to the region on June 26th. It will retail for a price of 5,040 Yen. Other than that, Japanese gamers should pretty much know what they're in for. The game was, in our eyes, an under-appreciated gem and a very competent FPS on a system lacking them. We can't wait to see what Renegade Kid has in store for us with their next game.%Gallery-4929%
Renegade Kid says Moon will rock harder than Dementium
You all know we dug Dementiunm. It was a fine title and a decent FPS on a handheld that is seriously lacking in that department. Now, Renegade Kid is preparing their second FPS for Nintendo's handheld in Moon. What should we expect?Well, Renegade Kid's owner and creative director, Jools Watsham, spoke with Joystiq about the new project and reassured us it's going to be something we'll want to play. It's a pretty interesting read, if we may say so. Head on over and check it out already!%Gallery-20245%
Joystiq interview: Renegade Kid versus the Moon
When independent developer Renegade Kid first announced its follow up title to last year's Dementium: the Ward, few details were offered as to what it was exactly that the studio was up to. Titled simply Moon, the game was said to again be played from the first-person, but beyond the vantage and supposed setting, we were left wondering. It didn't take us long to tire of the guessing game however, so we arranged to speak with Renegade Kid's owner and creative director Jools Watsham to find out more about the company's latest offspring, how it differs from Dementium, and why the studio opted to go with a different publisher, in this case Mastiff, rather than Dementium publisher Gamecock. Read on to see what he had to say.%Gallery-20326%
Renegade Kid calls Moon 'more ambitious' than Dementium
Dementium: The Ward, developer Renegade Kid's debut release for the Nintendo DS, certainly pushed the frontier of what we expect from handheld gaming, but it was far from perfect. Company co-owner Jools Watsham conceded as much to us during a recent interview, but added that Renegade Kid's next project, the recently announced DS title Moon, will be even "more ambitious" than the studio's freshman effort."We're being much more ambitious with the environments, particle effects, enemies and cinematic cut-scenes," commented Watsham. "Even though we pushed the DS with Demenitum, we were still being slightly cautious due to our time frame and growing experience with the platform. This time around with Moon, we are being a little less cautious while still be expressive and ambitious."He also took a moment to reflect back on Dementium, noting that the survival horror title's save system was a particular sticking point among those who played the game. "Most people hated the save system in Dementium... Moon is structured very differently than Dementium. The game is presented in episodes, and within each episode there are checkpoints that save your progress."For more from Renegade Kid's Watsham on Moon, including Moon's possible future for the Wii and why the company's decision to go with publisher Mastiff instead of Dementium pub Gamecock is really much ado about nothing, check out our full interview on Monday and the first screens from the game below.%Gallery-20326%
