Summary
33 years after the original game launched and 25 since the last game in the series,Segahas filed a new trademark for its cult-classic franchise, Ecco the Dolphin.
Originally spotted byGematsu, Sega filed trademarks for both Ecco the Dolphin and Ecco.
Ecco The Dolphin Could Be Getting a Revival
The two trademarks, Ecco and Ecco The Dolphin, were filed by Sega in December last year and is the first rumbling from anything in the series in 25 years.
The first Ecco game was released in December 1992 for the Sega Genesis, with three sequels, The Tides of Time, Ecco Jr, and Ecco Jr. and the Great Ocean Treasure Hunt coming in the years that followed. Sega then attempted to bring the franchise to a modern audience when Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future released for the Sega Dreamcast and PlayStation 2 in 2000. Since then, though, the franchise has been dormant.
While it’s not clear what these trademarks are for just yet, a revival of the series isn’t out of the realm of possibility. Over the last 12 months, Sega confirmed it isbringing back a range of its classic franchises, including open-world, online versions ofCrazy Taxiand Jet Set Radio.
Shinobi, Golden Axe, and Streets of Rage are also getting revivals, and, late last year, after previous rumors, it was confirmed Sega isworking on a brand new Virtua Fighter game, the first in around 18 years.
Sega is arguably one of the most prolific developers/publishers in the gaming space right now, with multiple from its massive franchises released over the last year. It is also seeminglyworking on an unannounced “Super Game"which it describes as being a “large-scale, open-world, mass multiplayer game.”
