What is 'Kien,' the Game Boy Advance software that took 22 years to release?
Canadian game publisher Incube8 Games has released the Game Boy Advance game ' Kien .' It took 22 years to release, breaking the previous record for the longest game release in history.
Kien, the most-delayed video game in history, released after 22 years | Games | The Guardian
Kien, which began development in 2002 by Italian game developer
Kien - Official Game Boy Advance Trailer #2 (2024) - YouTube
However, due to issues such as development costs, several publishers notified PMStudios to stop sales. Although the game was completed, it did not see the light of day for a long time. Fabio Belsanti, CEO of PMStudios, said, 'Even if we released Kien, the chances of it being commercially successful were low, and there were daunting hurdles to sales.'
After that, the original five members of PM Studios gradually left the group, leaving only Belsanti.
Still, Belsanti held out hope for Kien's sale, and founded the game studio
In recent years, the retro gaming market has been booming, with users showing great interest in old hardware and rare software. Belsanti said, 'I think the retro gaming market is at a similar stage to the resurgence in popularity of music records and cassette tapes. It's driven by nostalgia from users who lived through those times and the curiosity of new users.'
Belsanti sent a prototype of Kien to Zach Murphy, CEO of Incube8 Games, a game publisher for classic consoles, and this sparked the Kien sales project to restart.
In response to the popularity of the retro game market, the manufacturing costs of Game Boy Advance cartridges have become cheaper in recent years, and as a result of various tailwinds, AgeOfGames has teamed up with Incube8 Games and finally managed to release Kien.
It took 22 years for Kien to be released, significantly breaking the previous record for the longest video game release ever, which was previously held by
'It's a dream come true to see Kien come to life on the Game Boy Advance as originally intended,' said Belsanti. Belsanti also revealed that he is developing a spiritual sequel to Kien called 'Kien: Astral Equilibrium,' and said, 'Even older games made with limited graphics and technical resources can have a very powerful video game experience for people.'
Kien can be purchased from the official Incube8 Games website for $59.99 (about 9600 yen).
Kien (GBA) – Incube8 Games
https://incube8games.com/products/kien-gba
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