In video games, we know the Arlésiennes. Between the titles announced without having passed the stage of pre-production or the departure of key figures in full development, the examples are not lacking. A record has just fallen.
Many names come to mind when it comes to the all-round champion of the games that saw the most time elapsing between their announcement and their release, but according to the highly pinted Guinness Book of World Records, the title went – quite logically – to Duke Nukem Forever. Announced during E3 1998, the return of the Duke will not finally take place until 2011, with the failure that we know. Today, the Duke has just been dethroned hands down with the release of Clockwork Aquario.
It’s a neeeeeew record!
It is an understatement to say that the new record may have difficulty falling: the Guinness Book of World Records has indeed crowned a new winner in the category of “the longest period between the start of the project and the release of a video game “.
Started in 1991 and ended only a few days ago, Clockwork Aquario will therefore have taken the trifle of 28 years and 81 days to go out on the market. The arcade game worn by Ryuichi Nishizawa, creator of the Wonder Boy series, had seen its development come to a standstill at the time of the first test rentals in 1993, while the mode of action / platform declined in favor of the versus fighting.
Resuscitated by the good care of the publisher ININ Games in 2020, the Clockwork Aquario project will have required to fill a few remaining gaps, but has therefore been available for a few days on the online stores of the Switch and the PS4, and even in physical version at Strictly Limited.
As is customary, Ryuichi Nishizawa received the diploma attesting to his intestable record:
And good luck to the studio which will try to bring it down!
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