Psychonauts Message Board

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Posted by Kotaku Aug 31 2013 20:30 GMT
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If you're at PAX and you're a fan of Tim Schafer's funny platforming classic Psychonauts, you're going to want to stop by the Double Fine booth and pick up a few of these figurines.Read more...

Posted by Joystiq Feb 25 2013 02:00 GMT
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If Brütal Legend takes off on Steam after its launch on February 26, Double Fine founder Tim Schafer would love to add more modes, tweaks and multiplayer content to the game, he told RPS.

"It's actually been fun to continue work on it," Schafer said. "I mean, we have a wishlist from when we made this version. But since we are a small developer publishing it ourselves, we have to go with the best version we can make and then hope it's successful so we can add more."

Schafer mentioned a few specifics he would like to see in Brütal Legend, such as alternate game modes in multiplayer, new playable factions, updates to the current unit feedback system and an advanced mode featuring traditional RTS-style controls. He didn't see any singleplayer updates or sequels in Brütal Legend's future, since those tended to be more expensive and expansive.

A sequel to Psychonauts, for example, would probably be cheaper than one for Brütal Legend, considering the cost of music licensing, Schafer said.

"I mean, it's been longer since Psychonauts and we wouldn't have to do any music licensing," he said. "So we could probably afford to do it more if we got some funding. I feel like a Brütal sequel would cost twice as much as Psychonauts. It's easier to imagine Double Fine doing a sequel to Psychonauts. But for creative reasons, there's no preference of one over the other."

Posted by IGN Feb 06 2013 18:35 GMT
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The possibility of a Psychonauts sequel isn't off the table yet, however.

Posted by Joystiq Aug 24 2012 04:00 GMT
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In this post-Double Fine Kickstarter world, there's nothing more nostalgic than buying a game for a set price and then playing it immediately - unless that game is itself nostalgic, like, say, Psychonauts.

Next Tuesday, you'll have the opportunity to experience Raz's mental adventure in a new venue, when it is released on PS3 in North America as a PS2 Classic. This miracle of digital distribution is possible thanks to Double Fine's acquisition of the Psychonauts publishing rights last year.

Posted by PlayStation Blog Aug 23 2012 20:50 GMT
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First things first: Psychonauts is coming to PlayStation 2 Classics.

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…Okay, that’s only one thing. But it’s super important.

Psychonauts was Double Fine‘s first game, and it came out for the PlayStation 2 way back in 2005. We love it a lot. It’s the story of a gifted young psychic cadet who must delve deep into dangerous minds and put a stop to a sinister conspiracy. And on August 28th, you will be able to download it to your PlayStation 3 as a PlayStation 2 Classic.

If you never played Psychonauts, you’re in for a treat! If you played it before, why not buy it again, just for old time’s sake? Ha ha! Tell a friend or two or a hundred.

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“So, what took so long?” you may ask. Well, you’d be in fine company for asking. As internet user @smushums66 requested, “Psychonauts PSN title or PS2 classic PLEASE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Fellow netizen Lemming inquired only last month, “RELEASE PSYCHONAUTS ON PSN…DO YOU LIKE FREE MONEY???”

These are just a few of the seemingly infinite requests for Psychonauts PS3 we receive on a daily basis. And as it turns out, we do love free money! (Preferably in cash-stuffed envelopes slid under the office door.) But to truly become a PlayStation 2 Classic, we wanted to ensure Psychonauts had all the time it needed to grow into its status as a classic, like a fine artisanal Tuscan cheese. But less smelly.

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Now, nearly seven years after its original release, that time has come. In five days, I mean. So get ready. Prepare yourself. Warm up your console. Recharge your controller. Do some thumb exercises (is that a thing??). Fortify your funnybone. Tune up your heartstrings. Clean off your credit card. Brace yourself for Psychonauts.


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Posted by Kotaku May 31 2012 18:00 GMT
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#humbleindiebundle Even by Humble Bundle standards, the Humble Bundle V contains some fantastic-ass games. Lookit that! Wow. They're all so great, in fact, that I'd be surprised if you haven't played pretty much all of them. More »

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Posted by Kotaku Mar 23 2012 14:00 GMT
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#timschafer Tim Schafer addressed a packed crowd at the NYU Game Center Thursday night, sharing his thoughts on the current state of the gaming industry and discussing the nature of adventure games, his personal favorite titles, and the importance of doing the one thing that many developers fail to do—make people laugh. More »

Posted by Rock, Paper, Shotgun Feb 28 2012 13:06 GMT
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In the second part of our interview with Double Fine‘s Tim Schafer (the first part is here), we get to talking about the nature of the adventure game, and reflect on some of Schafer’s defining classics from the 90s, Day Of The Tentacle, Full Throttle and Grim Fandango, to consider what lessons they offer for today, the reasons for avoiding 3D altogether, and I almost trick him into making a sequel to Day Of The Tentacle.

(more…)


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Posted by Rock, Paper, Shotgun Feb 27 2012 13:12 GMT
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Industry legend Tim “Industry Legend” Schafer has been at the front of gaming news for the last couple of weeks. After the twitterstorm that followed Notch’s somewhat speculative offer to fund Psychonauts 2 came the record-breaking Kickstarter project, that saw Schafer’s company, Double Fine, raise over $2 million in a fortnight. I spoke to him over the weekend to find out how the process has been, what the intentions are for a new 2D adventure, to reflect on the classic adventures of the 90s, and to see if there were any other dream projects he has left. In the first part of this two-part interview we discuss the reactions to the Kickstarter, the role dads play in playing adventures, and where things are with Psychonauts 2. Tomorrow we’ll go into the lessons learned from Schafer’s previous adventures, memories of Day Of The Tentacle, Full Throttle and Grim Fandango, and how that will affect design today.

(more…)


Posted by Kotaku Feb 17 2012 00:15 GMT
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#listenhere Look, no one really knows what's going on with this whole Notch-Tim-Schafer-Psychonauts 2 thing.. But that doesn't mean we can't sit back and listen to what might be my single favorite piece of music from the original Psychonauts! More »

Posted by Kotaku Feb 16 2012 00:30 GMT
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#psychonauts A Tweeted offer to back a sequel to Tim Schafer's cult favorite Psychonauts was "a semi-joke," said Markus "Notch" Persson, the creator of Minecraft and a guy who's not hard up for cash in light of that game's success. Notch rattled off a host of reasons why we shouldn't get our hopes up, especially the cost of the project. More »

Posted by Rock, Paper, Shotgun Feb 14 2012 13:14 GMT
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With all the recent brouhaha over Tim Schafer, from his raising $1.75m in four days, to the suggestion that Notch might fund a Psychonauts sequel, it was unavoidable that I’d replay Psychonauts. The astonishing game is in my all-time top 10, and makes me want to hug the planet and have them see. When I’m done with the play through I’ll not be able to stop myself writing about it, but at this convenient midpoint I thought I’d pause to share the joy with you in the form of 38 screenshots. I implore you to buy Psychonauts. If you’ve never played it, it’s so much more than you could be expecting. It’s on Steam for £6 and Good Old Games for $10. Just look.

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Posted by Kotaku Feb 13 2012 21:00 GMT
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#psychonauts You want to know how Tim Schafer and Double Fine managed to generate more than a million dollars in Kickstarter cash? Look no further than this hilarious exchange from twisted platforming classic Psychonauts. Sometimes you just gotta make out. More »

Posted by Rock, Paper, Shotgun Feb 10 2012 14:16 GMT
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We don’t usually allow RPS headlines to run onto a second line, but this is a very special case indeed. During idle Twitter discussions about the whys and wherefores of a possible Mojang-funded Psychonauts sequel, I heard that the first game had cost $15 million to develop and that Tim Schafer was estimating a $20m cost for a sequel.

Clearly, these eyewatering figures cast some doubt on Mojang being able to successfully (or at least wholly) fund the game. So much so that VG247 editor, friend of RPS and entertainingly relentless cynic Pat Garratt has pledged to me – and now to the public – that he will eat his own trousers, on camera, in the event that a Mojang-funded Psychonauts 2 comes to pass.(more…)


Posted by Joystiq Feb 07 2012 22:45 GMT
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Double Fine's Tim Schafer would love to make Psychonauts 2, he told Digital Spy -- he's pitched it to publishers a few times, but no one has ponied up for the project, and Schafer still needs a few million dollars to back it up. Enter: Notch.

After learning of Schafer's problem, Markus "Notch" Persson, creator of Minecraft and resident indie millionaire, tweeted at Schafer, "Let's make Psychonauts 2 happen," followed by ";D Also, I'm serious." This afternoon, the official word from Double Fine is, "Tim and Markus are talking. Who knows what might happen?"

Notch has followed up candidly, tweeting that he and Schafer are talking via email, hinting that they may talk more at GDC, and finishing with a warning: "Anyway, please don't get your hopes too high yet. Everything is extremely vague!"

There it is, ladies and gentlemen. The potential multi-million-dollar business deal to create Psychonauts 2, started on Twitter and including a winky, open-mouthed-smiling emoticon. Ah, technology.

Posted by Rock, Paper, Shotgun Feb 07 2012 11:41 GMT
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We mentioned earlier that Tim Schafer would love to make a Pyschonauts 2, but can’t get the funding. Well, Minecraft creator Markus “Notch” Persson spotted our story and suggested to Schafer that they should work together to make it happen. Multimillionaire Persson clearly has the funds to do this, and everyone in the world with their brain in the right place wants to see a sequel to one of the most joyful games of all time, so this is a thing that might actually happen.

Clearly at the moment this is a tweeted offer, not a signed contract, but it’s a massively exciting one. Tim, say yes!

Viddd
if this actually goes through, all forgiven notch
Super-Claus
hell yes

Posted by Giant Bomb Feb 07 2012 19:18 GMT
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Tim Schafer wants to make a sequel to Psychonauts. That’s not news. Schafer has talked about this many times in the past, and mentioning interest during a Digital Spy interview isn't crazy.

The news was Markus “Notch” Persson, better known as the creator of Minecraft, offered to pony up the cash to help make Psychonauts 2 on Twitter. Persson claims he’s serious about it.

“Let's make Psychonauts 2 happen,” he said.

“I’m serious,” he said in a follow-up.

This all happened hours ago, long before Schafer had even woke up in San Francisco. He awoke to texts asking him to check Twitter.

“Man, so many tweets,” he said. “I assume this is all people asking for codes to Happy Action Theater and Rise of the Martian Bear?”

And then came this one:

“Oh wait,” he said. “Hm. This is interesting.”

This wouldn’t be the first time Double Fine Productions has accepted money from a Twitter backer, with Costume Quest for the PC and Psychonauts for the Mac having been funded by fan and XE.com founder Steven Dengler.

Dengler actually chimed in today, too.

“Let's move this discussion offline,” said Dengler.

So far, Double Fine has not issued an official response, but all eyes will remain on Twitter.


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Posted by Giant Bomb Dec 29 2011 17:00 GMT
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Erik Wolpaw has written or co-written ten games including Psychonauts, the Left 4 Deads, Team Fortress 2, Alien vs. Child Predator, Portal, and Portal 2. He has been recognized by the North Carolina Sex Offender Registry as someone who made a game about an alien who killed registered sex offenders from North Carolina, and he is currently employed at Valve.

10. Elijah

You know how at Passover Seder you leave an empty seat for Elijah? This is just like that, except replace Passover with this list and the prophet Elijah with the dark knight Batman. In other words, this position is reserved for my huge backlog. There’s a whole bunch of stuff that’d have a decent shot of making this list if I’d actually managed to play it in 2011. Stuff like Arkham City, Dead Space 2, Uncharted 3, Trenched, The Gunstringer, and Rayman: Origins. This is also where I’m putting games I played for 30 great minutes and then my DS broke, although only Ghost Trick falls into that category.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Number nine through number two are basically interchangeable. I’m listing them more or less as they occurred to me. So if you’re angry that "Gavel" is three spots ahead of "Upholstery Hammer", just pretend you pled your swear-filled case in the forum and I was like, yup, that makes a lot of sense, I’m reordering the list and I should probably go *crag* myself. So that I don’t ruin the surprise, I took that example from a list I made for a magazine about hammering things. Also, number one is number one. So if you’re mad about that, I can’t help you.

9. Serious Sam 3: BFE

I love Serious Sam games, and this is a spectacular return to form for Croteam after the pretty lackluster Serious Sam II. I never get why people call Serious Sam "mindless". Other than once a year when I nominate myself for a million dollar MacArthur Genius Grant, I don’t consider myself a genius. So maybe I’m an idiot, but I’m thinking all the time when I play Serious Sam. About weapon selection, ammo supplies, enemy wave management. And I’m doing all of that thinking under serious time pressure as huge packs of monsters sprint towards me. You know what? Screw it. Serious Sam 3 is the thinking man’s first-person shooter.

8. God Hand

It’s the best game of all time and it got re-released on the PSN store this year and so it qualifies for this list. Don’t like that? Maybe you should take it up with the International Criminal Court. Also, if it’s the best game ever, why isn’t it #1 on the list? Maybe you could ask the warden of International Criminal Jail, where you’re probably spending the rest of your life after lodging your earlier frivolous complaint that made the International Criminal Court so mad.

7. Sonic Generations

Other than last year’s amazing list of the Top 10 Hottest Female Sonic Characters, it’s been a long dry stretch for this franchise. But, man, Generations is the perfect blend of nostalgia and sensible updates. A great, great gamey game.

6. Bastion

It’s on everybody’s list because holy crap it’s good. Supergiant crafted a game that feels totally complete, as if no corners were cut. It’s a really spectacular example of designing around the constraints of a small team. Great writing, acting, and a stirring soundtrack as well.

5. (tie): Zettai Hero Project: Unlosing Ranger vs. Darkdeath Evilman/Cladun X2

Technically, ZHP came out in late 2010, but bear with me here. For the first four months of this year, I spent a ton of time travelling all over the place promoting Portal 2. It was a tiring, lonely, and generally all around anxiety-producing experience. These two PSP games saw me through a lot of long plane flights, train rides, and hotel stays. NIS America is famous for publishing high-personality grind fests like the amazing Disgaea series, and these are both great examples of that tradition. For some reason, I can only play these types of games on portable systems, which is why the new Disgaea didn’t rank. Anyway, these two are inextricably linked in my head to the craziness surrounding the release of Portal 2, and so, bam, there you go. They’re on the list.

4. Driver: San Francisco

If this was a “Heroes of Game Writing” list, Driver: SF would be number one. It’s a game writer’s nightmare scenario: We need you to revive a basically dead franchise and also we need you to explain why the main character can suddenly fly and also he can possess people and also it still needs to be a serious police procedural and also you can’t get out of the car. The writers not only managed to deal with these constraints, they thrived under them. Driver’s writing is clever and funny while still taking its absurd core premise seriously enough to carry you through a ten hour story. Plus, the game is really fun. I expected nothing from Driver and was blown away.

3. (tie) Dungeons of Dredmor/The Binding of Isaac

Another tie! Only this time it’s because these two polished, excellent, accessible, funny rogue-likes have kind of fused in my memory. That means it’s possible one of them is carrying the other, but I’m pretty sure they were both great. Look, some of my fondest life memories are much, much hazier than the vague, pleasant impression of gathering loot and dying a lot that these games left me with.

2. Saints Row: The Third

If Valve ever cans me, I’m going to show up at Volition begging for a job, because Saints Row seems like it’d be a huge amount of fun to work on. Instead of coming up with a brand new description, I’m gonna repurpose something I wrote about GTA in 2005:

“When I was a kid, I was fascinated by a really detailed fake ad in National Lampoon for a ghetto train set. I was too young to realize that it was a joke, so every Christmas I'd beg my parents to buy it for me. Eventually, my parents went broke and we moved to a real ghetto. Time passed, and a bunch of stuff happened, like I got a job selling hot dogs and a chronic illness. Just when my life seemed to be winding down to its painful, embarrassing conclusion, Rockstar actually released the detailed ghetto train set of my childhood dreams. It was a Christmas miracle. The end.”

Anyway, that all applies quadruple to Saints Row: The Third. Volition made the smart choice to embrace the violent absurdity inherent to the open world, clockwork-city crime genre. And they didn’t just embrace it, they penetrated it with a giant purple dildo etc etc. For me, the biggest sin a game can commit is to be bland, and whatever else you might say about Saints Row, it’s not bland.

1. Dark Souls

Number one. By a mile. I loved Demon’s Souls, and I love Dark Souls even more. It has a great, original sense of place, a spectacularly tense risk/reward structure, and the best melee combat of all time. No other game makes me feel like I’m actually smashing things with a 50-pound hammer. It also has a very scary giant bird and a uniquely weird vibe. It feels like anything could happen at any moment, and I love that feeling. One of my favorite games, period.

Special Achievement: Conduit 2

I didn’t actually play Conduit 2, but I did watch the incredible ending on youtube. If they follow through with the promise they make in that scene, Conduit 3 is my most anticipated game of the decade.


Posted by Kotaku Oct 25 2011 00:00 GMT
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#gdconline A couple of weeks ago, I attended GDC Online in Austin. I was covering the event, but I was also there as a speaker, giving a microtalk as part of a six-critic panel on great game storytelling. Joining me were N'Gai Croal (Hit Detection), Leigh Alexander (Gamasutra), John Davidson (CBS Interactive/Gamespot), and Ben Fritz (the L.A. Times). The talk was organized and led by Chris Dahlen, who is editor-in-chief at Kill Screen Magazine. More »

Posted by Valve Oct 14 2011 23:23 GMT
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Updates to Psychonauts have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:

- The Mac version now uses the language set by the Steam client in all situations

Posted by Valve Oct 11 2011 19:48 GMT
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Updates to Psychonauts have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:

- Made it so the game can play in incorrect language on non-English versions of Windows
- Fixed stump achievement doesn't unlock at night
- Fixed rank achievement sometimes not unlocking when ranking up multiple times
- Fixed game not launching on some strange Mac configurations
- Fixed installers sometimes not runinng on PC (actually fixed with an earlier config change)

Posted by Kotaku Oct 04 2011 21:40 GMT
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#psychonauts Psychonauts, arguably Double Fine Studios's best and most well-known game, is all about memories and how they shape our lives. The PS2-era game impacted Chris Machado so much that he wrote into the dev collective founded by Tim Schafer, which led to a visit to their San Francisco offices. More »

Posted by Rock, Paper, Shotgun Sep 30 2011 10:07 GMT
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Psychonauts unexpectedly updated itself on Steam today, adding achievements and cloud saves. For our Macintosh brethren, there’s super-exciting news in that the game is now available on OSX, so you too can neglect to buy it. To ensure that your portable iDevices won’t be jealous when they see the mindscapes you’re traversing, Doublefine have also released a Memory Vault Viewer app, which has all the memory slides with new commentary by Tim Schafer and Scott Campbell. Along with the other Steamy updates, there’s also a difficulty tweak to one area of the game. Guess which one? I’ll tell you, but only if you click for more.

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Posted by Joystiq Sep 30 2011 01:00 GMT
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If your allegiance to the Mac platform was the only thing holding you back from playing Psychonauts, then today is your day: Double Fine has announced the game is available for Mac OSX. The Mac port is currently available on the Mac App store and Steam, along with other digital distribution channels. Accompanying it is a free iOS app that allows you to view all of the game's Memory Vaults right on your iDevice, along with new commentary from Tim Schafer and Scott Campbell.

The PC version of the game has also been updated to allow for achievements and cloud saves on Steam, plus it scales down the difficulty of the Meat Circus. Additionally, we'd like you to do a us a favor and not google "meat circus."

Posted by Giant Bomb Sep 29 2011 19:45 GMT
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The love for Double Fine's Psychonauts remains strong, even after all these years.

Hey, remember Psychonauts? Double Fine does, as the company announced a slew of Psychonauts-related news today. Don't get too excited, though, as none of them involve a sequel or an HD update.

Instead, since getting its hands on the enritety of the Psychonauts IP, Double Fine has partnered with another studio to produce a Mac version of its quirky action platformer. The existing Steam version has also been tweaked to include cloud saves and Steam achievements.

The studio also claims to have crafted a "slightly modified" version of the not-so-beloved Meat Circus stage that closes out the game.

“We are really excited,” said the elusive double agent known as Tim Schafer in the press release, “to finally be answering fans’ requests for a more difficult Meat Circus.”

Lovely.

There's also a way to bring your love of Psychonauts on-the-go with the Psychonauts Vault Viewer, an iOS app featuring all of the game's Memory Vaults with some brand-new audio commentary.


Posted by Joystiq Jun 15 2011 16:15 GMT
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Double Fine is in the process of receiving the publishing rights for Psychonauts, its cult 2005 game published by Majesco. The word came from Double Fine senior gameplay programmer Anna Kipnis, who tweeted that the developer was now the "sole publisher" of the game and that proceeds from any purchases would go to the studio. That last part wasn't exactly accurate -- not yet, anyway.

Double Fine head Tim Schafer told Gamasutra, "It's true the publishing rights have reverted to Double Fine, but there are some more deals that need to be worked out and contracts that need signing before that actually means anything, financially."

Schafer said that once that's all squared away the studio will have something fun to announce ... but "it's not Psychonauts 2." Double Fine has always retained the IP rights to Psychonauts, and Schafer has stated previously that a sequel is dependent on a publisher paying the way.

Posted by Kotaku Jun 15 2011 07:30 GMT
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#revert Having been the property of companies like THQ and Majesco, the publishing rights to cult platformer Psychonauts are now back where they belong: with Double Fine, the people who actually made the game. More »

Posted by Giant Bomb Jun 14 2011 23:05 GMT
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If you haven't played Psychonauts before, now's the perfect time to man up and fix that.

Double Fine has always had the right to produce sequels to Psychonauts, but whenever you purchased a copy of the original game on Xbox Live or Steam, the money went to Majesco, who published the game. That's changed, according to a tweet from Double Fine programmer Anna Kipnis.

"Double Fine is now the sole publisher of Psychonauts!! If you buy it now (on Steam, for instance), the proceeds go to us!" said Kipnis.

Maybe Double Fine can start a Kickstarter to get that Psychonauts sequel off the ground!

I wouldn't mind a Beyond Good & Evil HD style update to the game, either.

Basically, just Psychonauts anything.

Yeah.


Posted by Joystiq Feb 24 2011 00:15 GMT
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Criminally underappreciated action-adventure game Psychonauts is available on GOG.com for $2.49 until 10AM Eastern. If you already own it, send that cash to Double Fine to get Psychonauts 2 rolling.

For pieces of Double Fine work on consoles, check out the studio's cost-effective, bite-sized offerings with Stacking and Costume Quest.