Yoot Saito teases 3DS Seaman

[crackdude]

Developer responds to fan request for updated online version of virtual life sim, responds that something along those lines can be expected.

When Yoot Saito's voice-recognizing life sim Seaman debuted on the Dreamcast 10 years ago, a microphone was such an unusual peripheral that Sega had to make one specifically for the game and bundle it with every copy. Now that microphones are standard features on handheld hardware, it appears that Saito's virtual life sim might be venturing into new environs.

The last time Seaman was spotted in the wild was in his Japan-only 2007 PS2 sequel.

Last night, the developer answered a fan's question on his Twitter account and teased a new Seaman-like project in the process. A follower of Saito's expressed a desire to see Seaman swimming on Nintendo's 3DS, with some online functionality along the lines of Nintendo's Flipnote Studio built in. (Flipnote allows users to create their own digital flipbook animations and share them online.) In his reply, Saito said he couldn't go into detail but added that it would be good for people to expect something along those lines.

The original Seaman release didn't overly impress critics when it debuted, but it managed to sell more than 550,000 copies in its first six months on sale. It was later ported to the PlayStation 2, and a full-fledged sequel was made for Sony's system in 2007. Neither PS2 game saw release outside of Japan.

For more on Seaman, check out GameSpot's review of the original Dreamcast edition.

~gamespot.com

[SOUP]

I actually "beat" the first Seaman, and would absolutely buy this if it came out.

It was kinda weird brushing off plansto play a game twice a day for an extended period of time.  Especially near the end there, where I'd be damned if that thing was going to die on me after all the effort I'd put into raising it.

[crackdude]

I've yet to play it. Seems perfect for a portable system.

[Sharky]

i hope they improve voice recognition and add a lot more ... just STUFF. It was an awesome idea but needed more substance.

[SOUP]

I've yet to play it. Seems perfect for a portable system.

Being able to take it anywhere would be a definite plus.

[Nathan]

How do you beat Seaman? Mine died when he seemed to be pretty old, he had the antennae thing and was full size.

[SOUP]

When he evolves into his final form, there's a bit of a twist as far as the story goes, and you no longer have to take care of him. You can just visit whenever you want.