I sure wasn’t expecting any delisted news to come out of E3, especially not the return of one of our most often-lamented losses: the 1989 arcade brawler Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Of course, it isn’t coming back in the most affordable package ever but later this year you will technically and legally be able to buy the fan-favorite beat ’em up from Arcade1Up.
The tiny cabinet makers announced two new offerings at E3; their first-ever four-player cabinet featuring both Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1989) and TMNT: Turtles in Time for $349, and a Marvel X Capcom triple-pack with Marvel Super Heroes, X-Men: Children of the Atom, and The Punisher for $299.
Keen eyes will notice that the Konami logo on the TMNT cabinet has been replaced by Nickelodeon’s. While the artwork may not be final and there’s a chance Konami is credited somewhere in the game, it might suggest that more affordable home versions of these titles are on the way from Nickelodeon. Say, in collaboration with a publisher who is also bringing their past Nickelodeon titles back from the dead?
Hopefully these arcade cabinets are just the beginning. We’ll be back with more from E3 if details surface.