It appears that Ecco the Dolphin creator Ed Annunziata was unsuccessful with convincing SEGA to back his next project, so he has done what many developers are now doing – he has turned to Kickstarter to crowd fund the game. Annunziata, as well as Spencer Nilsen (Ecco the Dolphin, Sonic CD) and Bear McCreary (Walking Dead, Battlestar Galactica) are all onboard for a title called The Big Blue, which Annunziata says “isn’t based on the original Ecco the Dolphin series” but it “is the next evolutionary step in underwater adventure games”.
Despite not being based on Ecco, the game does very much look like it is based on the old SEGA series, complete with undersea creatures, dolphins, Spencer Nilsen music, and even a game title that shares the name with an Ecco the Dolphin character. Of course, not being SEGA developed, it makes sense that Annunziata wouldn’t proclaim that this is the next Ecco game. Sort of like how Child of Eden and Crimson Dragon aren’t sequels to Rez and Panzer Dragoon. To learn more about the project, check out the video above and check out the Kickstarter page. The project goal is $665,000, and with 34 days to go they have raised $1,171.
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Getting a lot of reasons to hate Sega this month.
It’s unfortunate that Sega won’t fund the project. I think a new Ecco game would do very well and attract a lot of attention.
You know, the good kind, not the kind they’re getting for Colonial Marines.
It’s a shame that SEGA doesn’t want a new ECCO. But still it looks like a great game to fund, i hope it will come on Wii-u
I want Ecco on the PS3 and the 360… I WANT IT AS A GAME TOO!
Having it on the iPad only is a cheap way of developing such a AMAZING series of Ecco and his history. The game must be Ecco the Dolphin, thee one and only ECCO the Dolphin. I feel like this game if ya can call it that is like endless ocean crap. We want a game, not some encyclopedia of the ocean brought to a tablet.
Oh….this is a tablet game?
Eh, a lot of my interest is now gone. Hopefully it happens though for people who are into this type of thing.
No, It is for PC, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android! This is because it is being made with unity which can directly compile to these platforms. AFTER This initial release they will be pushing Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo to get it on consoles. Learn To Read!
from the kickstarter
“Platforms: Where you can play the Big Blue?
The Big Blue is being developed in Unity. A huge benefit of using Unity is that we can compile to different platforms. The Big Blue will run on Mac, Windows, Linux, and iOS and Android platforms.
Once we are done with the first version of the game I will convince Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo to embrace the game. We want the Big Blue everywhere.”
It should also be noted that when they approached SEGA, it was a mobile title. So nobody should be thinking that SEGA saying “no” to the project means a shift in platform. The Big Blue was always aiming for PC, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android, with consoles coming second (if at all).