It’s Spinal!Â
There are many retro games that have been burned into the collective memories of most gamers regardless of age. This might include games like the original Mario, Donkey Kong, and of course, Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out. Originally launching in 1987 this title for the NES has easily become one of gaming’s most recognizable of all time. There have been attempts to revive the long-dead franchise, but it appears as though Mike Tyson himself has not given up hope. Tyson has shown considerable interest in launching another Punch-Out game.
Tyson said in an interview with Shacknews that he was in the process of bringing the game back. The details of how he is going to do this are still hazy. According to Tyson, he and the other people who involved are going to launch the new game through his cannabis brand Tyson Ranch. As it stands right now, Nintendo currently owns the rights to the Punch-Out franchise.
“Hey listen, we’re going to start our Punch-Out!! game and our own Tyson Ranch computer game and bring it back to life, man,” said Tyson. There are some obvious problems with this as not a lot of large game companies are going to be comfortable with aligning themselves next to a marijuana distributor. Not to mention that Nintendo has shown almost zero interest in making another game. The last Punch-Out game to release was in 2009 and it was largely considered a flop.
Mike Tyson has soared in popularity over the past decade or so with younger audiences thanks to appearances in movies, tv, and the astounding success of his own podcast. It might seem hard to believe, but there is an entire generation of kids who don’t really remember Mike Tyson as a boxer. Perhaps now would be a great time to refresh everyone’s memory.