Sanuk Games is finally ready to release its PS3 port of Arkedo Studio’s Arkedo Series—consisting of three games, 01 – JUMP!, 02 – SWAP!, and 03 – PIXEL!—on the American PSN just a little over a year after its European debut. While each game is sold on the European PSN for €1.99 each, at Sony’s insistence, the American release will be a 3-in-1 bundle priced at US$5.99. The games will be released October 16, 2012.
Originally released late 2009 as Xbox Live Indie Games, JUMP! and PIXEL! (the latter co-developed with Pastagames) are 2D platformers with a modern retro look while SWAP! is a block-matching puzzle game. Together, the XBLIG versions cost 720 Microsoft Points, or $9.00 in the U.S. and $10.44 in Canada, making the PSN bundle the more affordable choice.
To learn more, view the trailer and press release below. (Note: The press release, though issued October 1, 2012, incorrectly states the year as 2011.)
October 1 st, 2011 – Arkedo and Sanuk Games are ecstatic to announce that the critically acclaimed ARKEDO SERIES will be available on PlayStation®3 in America on October 16 th, just 14 months after the initial announcement was made.
“Sony America demanded that the 3 games be grouped into one offering”, explains Sanuk Games’ Yan Marchal, “as opposed to being sold individually, like we did in Europe. This required a little bit of extra work, and at the time we didn’t have the bandwidth for it, therefore we postponed the release for a while.”
Then, a ‘difficult’ submission process delayed it further. “The approval took me by surprise”, Marchal adds, “I was almost not expecting it anymore. I would like to thank everybody at Sony America who supported us and argued in our favor throughout the twists and turns of the system. We’re glad we can finally bring these little jewels to America!”
The ARKEDO SERIES consists of 3 tightly crafted arcade games that will douse your console in a colorful world and challenge you with some serious old-school action.
First comes “01 – JUMP!” – A platformer where your 8-bit hero must collect bombs before they blow up, while avoiding nasty little bats, 2-way powered crabs, sharp stalactites, spikes from hell, and a bunch of other oddities. The game is so truthful to the old-school experience that it has no ‘continue’: once you’ve lost all your lives, you have to start it all over again – but in a good mood!
Then comes “02 – SWAP!” – A Match-4 game where you must clear blocks before they reach the top of the screen. Combos, bonus blocks, power blocks and time freezers will help you escape critical situations and dominate the five worlds contained in the game. And once you think you’re done, you’ll find out that there are still a number of things waiting for you in Challenge mode.
Last but not least comes “03 – PIXEL!” – The platformer that will have you finally understand why you bought such an expensive HDTV: the halo surrounding big fat pixels had never looked so good! You direct Pix the Cat (a character that also appears in the critically acclaimed PIX’N LOVE RUSH) through his nocturnal adventure in a pixilated world.
Initially published on XBox Live Indy Games as a “one game per month” experiment, the ARKEDO SERIES got scores of enthusiastic reviews. Jamie Davies from console-arcade.com called “01 – JUMP!” a “colorful and highly entertaining platformer that’s crammed with charm”, while Brandon Daiker of n-sider.com felt like he would best describe it as a “fistful of Altoids stuffed straight up your ass”. The two other games received similar praise, although not with the same eloquence.
The ARKEDO SERIES for PS3 will be available in the American PlayStation Store as one package of 3 games for only $5.99.
About Arkedo – www.arkedo.com
“01 – JUMP!” and “02 – SWAP!” have been created by Arkedo, a Paris-based studio comprised of eight game developers, and focused on making arcade games with a twist. Founded in early 2006, the studio’s award-winning DS titles ( Nervous Brickdown, Big Bang Mini) were well received by the public and the press. Arkedo’s secret plan to rule the world is a weird combination of trying to make cool games, cooking great food, and being generally nice to everyone – except SouthPeak. It is with genuine astonishment we can announce that this silly plan is currently working.
Arkedo’s latest release is HELL YEAH – WRATH OF THE DEAD RABBIT, published by Sega on the PlayStation Store, Xbox Live Arcade and Steam.
Learn more by visiting www.arkedo.com. New website soon, stay tuned! Honest!
About Pastagames – www.pastagames.net
“03 – PIXEL!” has been created by Pastagames, a French development studio based in Paris. “Pastagames is the leading worldwide developer from the South of the Loire in France, producing quality traditional videogames for the happy hour, all made from natural, untreated products” declares Fabien Delpiano, director of the company.
Pastagames’ latest release is RAYMAN JUNGLE RUN, published by Ubisoft on iOS.
About Sanuk Games – www.sanukgames.com
Games from ARKEDO SERIES are ported and published on PlayStation® 3 by Sanuk Games, a prolific casual game studio. From its Bangkok-based facility, Sanuk Games churned out over 50 games in the past couple of years. Among Sanuk Games’ recent releases on PlayStation® consoles are Spot The Differences, Hysteria Project, Actual Crimes: Jack The Ripper, Twin Blades, Pix’n Love Rush, 3D Twist & Match, Drums Challenge and Hysteria Project 2.
