The company behind Bonk’s Adventure has tossed many of their titles into the tar pits. Find out which games get the axe inside.
As the 3DS nears its official release in every region of the world, it can be safe to say that the excitement for the revolutionary handheld has begun to die down a bit. This isn’t a knock against the system itself, but a simple indication that all hype inevitably subsides overtime. Simply put, folks are beginning to accept the 3DS as a viable piece of hardware and not some futuristic space-age toy.
With that in mind, expectations have scaled back, both for fans and developers. For the latter group, it also means scaling back certain ambitious projects, if not cancel them outright. In the case of Hudsonsoft, the company has announced the cancellation of most, if not all, of their first wave of 3DS titles. This includes the 3D debut of two of their more popular franchises, Bonk and Bomberman, in addition to the portable version of XBLA shooter Omega Five.
No specific reason was given for the sudden cancellations. The recent tsunami crisis in Japan may have played a role in forcing the company to cut back on their funding, although some suspect this has more to do with Konami’s recent acquisition of the company back on January; with the house behind Metal Gear calling the shots now, Konami has stated their plans for Hudson to focus more on social network-type games like the ilk that continues to infest Facebook.
It’s unknown if this means that Konami has done away with all of Hudson’s projects, but the massacre doesn’t seem exclusive to 3DS, as it’s also been rumored that some of their console releases (such as Bonk for the PS3 and Deka Sporta for the Wii) has also been canned, in addition to an untitled action game for the DS. All in all, not a good news day for fans of the bumblebee company.