Ecco The Dolphin is back, baby! Well…will be back. Is coming back. Look, you’re going to have to wait basically a full calendar year before you can play remastered versions of the first two games and learn more about a new sequel from the original creator of the series.
Released in 1992 on the Sega Genesis, Ecco the Dolphin was a famously difficult and strange 2D action-adventure game starring a dolphin who must travel the ocean and time to stop evil aliens from destroying the world while saving his pod of fellow bottlenose dolphins. Yeah, weird stuff. The game got a sequel in 1994, which (spoilers) ended with Ecco getting access to a time machine and leaving for some unknown point in history. While the games were odd, they had a lot of fans and now the creator behind them, Ed Annunziata, has shared that remasters of those games are on the way, along with a new sequel.
In a May 5 interview with Xbox, Annunziata talked about his inspiration for creating Ecco and then gave a small tease for the future of the franchise, telling fans to “stay tuned” and further explaining: “Me and the entire original team are going to remaster the original Ecco the Dolphin and Tides of Time games. Then we will make a new, third game with contemporary play and GPU sensibilities.”
In the interview, Annunziata encouraged fans of the franchise to visit EccoTheDolphin.com. You might be expecting a teaser or perhaps a bit more info about these upcoming remasters and the next game in the Ecco series. Well, there’s nothing like that on the site. Instead, if you head over there you’ll be greeted by a countdown clock that won’t hit 0 for another 8,528 hours or about 355 days, also known as basically a full year.
I’ve seen video game marketing countdown clocks before, but usually they’re for a week or two at the most. More often it’s just for a few days. The idea of doing a one-year countdown clock for remasters of Ecco the Dolphin is wild. I mean, I guess it worked because you’re reading a blog about the countdown clock and the remasters right now. But I’m not sure this fanbase has the energy to be excited for a year. Anyway, hopefully I’ll be back in 350 days or so to share a cool trailer for Ecco The Dolphin Remastered. See you then!
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