Video Games
Sierra’s ‘Phantasmagoria’ Was the Result of Being Turned Down by Stephen King?
Piggybacking off of the news yesterday regarding a set of VHS tapes containing the FMV scenes from Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh, it turns out that the previous game, the original Phantasmagoria, was the result of a failed collaboration with Stephen King and Sierra Entertainment.
Per PC Gamer, in a recent interview during the Game Developer’s Conference regarding their return to PC gaming, Sierra On-Line founders Roberta & Ken Williams revealed several interesting tidbits about the company’s history. Among them were the repeated attempts to try and strike a deal with Stephen King for a video game.
“We tried to work with Stephen King because I wanted to do a horror game,” recalls Roberta Williams. Sadly, despite coming to King “many, many times” according to Ken Williams, King passed on the idea.
Roberta’s reasoning for King’s declining of the offers was that King “didn’t know who we were, what we were”. As a result of Stephen King passing on the offer, Roberta went ahead with her own game, which turned out to be Phantasmagoria. Phantasmagoria ended up being a smash hit for Sierra, selling 500,000 copies within its first five months, and eventually selling 1 million copies a year after its release.
This isn’t the first time that Stephen King’s name has been floated around for a video game collaboration. On the heels of its Ringu DLC for Dead by Daylight, developer Behaviour Interactive mentioned that they’d love to work with King on a potential crossover with one of his characters for the hit title. As for whether that will transpire is up to the man himself.
Meanwhile, if you’ve never experienced Phantasmagoria, you can always hit up Steam or GOG to get the game.
Video Games
‘Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered’ Announced for Consoles and Steam [Trailer]
Atari is reaching back for fans of the classic GameCube and Xbox fighter Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee with a remastered edition that’s coming November 3 to PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and the Nintendo Switch 2. The PS5 and Switch 2 will also be receiving physical versions that you can pre-order now.
“There is a real sense of responsibility that comes with working on Godzilla, especially with a fan-favorite title like Destroy All Monsters Melee,” explains Atari chief creative officer Mike Mika. “It is only natural that Atari, as the original publisher in 2002, would partner with Pipeworks, the original developer and kaiju experts to bring their creation back to center stage—bigger, better and more destructive than ever.”
The ultimate kaiju arena brawler is back, completely remastered. From Atari and original developer, Pipeworks, Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered updates the 2002 fighter with enhanced visuals and quality of life improvements. Choose from one of twelve monsters, and battle it out with a range of brutal attacks through 8 locations, each with day and night variations. Battle through real-world cities, Monster Island, and the alien Mothership. Face off against your friends in local co-op or new online multiplayer.
Along with the updated visuals, Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered also features gameplay updates, as well as an improved unlock system, so you can unlock monsters, locations, and gallery items in any order you choose.