ININ is a rising publishing label for stunning retro, arcade, and indie games. In Japanese, ININ means ‘mandate’— as in, we hold the responsibility to preserve timeless gems of the past and to publish charming present-day games. We have a small and dedicated team with a huge passion for feel-good games— a love for bringing classic titles back to life while also creating future gaming gems. The XBOX ININvasion was birthed out of our desire to make sure our catalogue is available to fans across all platforms. Choosing these 6 for the initial XBOX invasion was a no-brainer— the Cotton series (Panorama Cotton and Cotton 100%), Ultracore, IREM Collection, and Clockwork Aquario are some of our favorite retro gems, each one with specific lovable nostalgic qualities.
The primary factor driving any business decision is market demand, and despite the dedicated fan base and beloved communities that retro and classic games have, they still belong to a niche section of the market. Moreover, to restore and re-release an old gem, you often need to deal with strict intellectual property ownership and licensing issues. So, it’s a difficult market niche to get into and sustain, which is why we don’t see many other publishers in this part of the industry. Despite the challenges, what brings ININ to restore and re-release many iconic gems from the past is expertise in the development department, long-lasting relationships with iconic partners and licensors, and a lot, a lot of passion!
There aren't many publishers out there who focus on keeping the old games alive like ININ Games has been. Why do you think that is the case?
What would you say are the most challenging aspects of developing and releasing games that adhere to the limitations of older hardware?
One of the biggest challenges in developing and releasing games that adhere to the limitations of older hardware is maintaining a game’s original feel and experiences. Older games were designed with the hardware’s limitations in mind, such as limited memory, lower-resolution graphics, and unique audio chips. These constraints often influenced the design choices for gameplay mechanics. Replicating the various nuances of old systems on modern hardware can prove to be difficult. For instance, a notable example is Turrican and the complex Amiga Emulation. This involves tasks like replacing Kickstart, remapping keyboard input to controllers and navigating the intricacies of emulating older hardware setups. Additionally, it's worth considering Nolan Bushnell's famous quote, "easy to learn, difficult to master," in the context of older games. The "old" games often adhered to this principle, offering leaner gameplay and mechanics. Many of them introduced new genres, and there are valid reasons why genre definitions persisted until the early 2000s, when genres started to blend more and more. This evolution brought about new challenges in preserving the distinct characteristics of older games while adapting them to modern gaming expectations.
Indeed, the landscape of outdated technologies and hardware constraints is diverse and navigating them presents unique challenges during the development process. While many older technologies may seem outdated by modern standards, they aren't necessarily excessively challenging to work with. Platforms like SNES and Mega Drive can offer a smoother experience, but it's important to delve deeper into what "smoother experience" entails. For example, when dealing with 32-bit and above platforms, troubleshooting becomes more complex. This complexity is particularly evident with certain hardware add-ons, such as the CD-ROM for the PC Engine or peripherals like the 32x. It's worth noting that even platforms that generally provide a smoother experience may present complications when things don't function seamlessly out of the box, demanding meticulous troubleshooting.
Are there particular outdated technologies or hardware constraints that present significant obstacles during the development process?
During the ININvasion announcement, it was mentioned that 'it's just the beginning.' Could you tell us a bit more about what we can expect?
ININ Games is a young publisher but has a huge portfolio overall. The Xbox ININvasion is not a one-shot – there are already several additional titles in development that we will announce at a later point.
People often think it’s just old games, so it cannot be that much work, but unfortunately, it’s not that easy. The biggest hurdles when it comes to reviving retro titles are the costs and licensing difficulties. We have quite a long list of names (which we cannot reveal for various reasons) that we would love to bring back, but it sometimes takes months or even years unless you find the right person who is able to make a decision. You first need to build up trust and create a detailed business case before you can even think of the development challenges that come afterward. Usually, there’s no source code available which means that any change needs to be done in the closed binary data. That makes things much more complex as you are more or less working with a black box since you do not have the source data that gives you insights into the inner workings of the game.
Are there titles you wanted to bring back but couldn't due to some issue? Whether it be licensing issues with a publisher or simply the lack of original source.
Knowing that more and more games are being sold only digitally since (the very costly) physical releases are becoming less feasible, we are really getting worried about how the industry (which we are part of) treats their own works. Even though we have already been taught so many lessons by other media as books or films, with many important pieces already being lost, we see no joint efforts within the industry to properly preserve games. In many cases, they seem closer to a “throw-away product” with a short lifespan than to a piece of art, which is a shame!
Different research has been conducted to highlight the dire situation of video games 'disappearing' due to lack of preservation. As someone who has contributed to the preservation of titles, what is your take on the situation?
The challenge with canceled and unfinished titles is that the lack of source code (like it was the case with Ultracore) or missing graphic and sound files (as with Clockwork Aquario) makes it very difficult to finalize and polish them. And as they are games of historical value, we need to make sure not to alter them too much: Every artist has her/his own style, so if we, for example, would have finished the missing enemy sprites and animations of Clockwork Aquario with a different artist, we run the risk of producing a game which does not represent the vision of the original team back then. Fortunately, we always managed to get the original people involved, so we can proudly say that the end result really is as authentic as it can be (with the exception of some quality-of-life features like a rewind of the quick save and things like that).
Speaking of Ultracore, it was canceled in the 1990s and was rescued recently by ININ Games. What are the challenges behind salvaging a decades-old canceled title? And how does it compare to releasing a “complete” game like Panorama Cotton?
There are indeed. Not so easy to find, but our game scouts have eagle eyes – surely, we will soon start another rescue project like with Ultracore and the iconic Clockwork Aquario!
Is there another cancelled game, similar to Ultracore, that you would like to rescue?
The perception that some big publishers don't adequately preserve or support their classic games is not uncommon - too often publishers end up prioritizing genres and styles that align with current market trends and player preferences, forgetting the classic releases that got them there in the first place - it’s just how the market is. But we’ve been experiencing an increasing demand for long-lost titles and classic games recently, so hopefully, we’ll see more and more restoration projects in the future, and many gems of the gaming industry will be made available for the modern generation of consoles and gamers.
Many fans have qualms with big publishers who, they believe, don't take care of their own classic games and let them become victims of time. Do you share the same opinion, or do you believe there is a reason why it has become so common?
There are several legal and advocacy steps to contribute, especially when it comes to classic and older games: fans can support organizations and initiatives that focus on the preservation of video game history, or support open-source projects that aim to create emulators, tools, or platforms for preserving and playing older games - these initiatives often rely on community support and involvement. But what helps the most is being vocal about it: contributing to efforts to document gaming history; sharing your experiences, memories, and insights about classic games on forums, blogs, or dedicated platforms. Your contributions can become part of the historical record and influence business decisions!
Is there something that fans can do in the legal sphere to help preserve titles?
Well, first of all, we definitely wish to bring more and more games to the Xbox platform. The current Xbox ININvasion is only the beginning! Another project that we’ve been proudly working on is the re-release of the steampunk shoot-'em-up Steel Empire, both as an HD remaster and as its classic Game Boy Advance experience, but bundled with his spiritual successor, Over Horizon! I’m sure you’ll soon hear more about it! Lastly, we’ve been working on yet another legendary Japanese release, which is gearing up for a stunning makeover, transitioning from 8-bit nostalgia to the realm of 16-bit magic... Can’t say more. You have to stay tuned for this one!
Since 2024 is right around the corner, what are some of your big plans that you can tease here?
During the Xbox ININvasion initiative, we’ve been receiving a lot of engagement and support from the communities – sharing with us their favorite memories of these classic gems and thanking us for bringing them to the Microsoft family... So we would like to thank you all back – we wouldn’t be able to do what we do if so many of you didn’t share this passion with us.
Anything else you would like to share with the audience? Something we haven't touched upon yet.