Nintendo re-releasing Electroplankton in downloadable DSiWare form
Toshio Iwai's Electroplankton was one of the Nintendo DSs first, best surprises: a collection of sentient, interactive musical creatures that were, in effect, a reductive retrospective of the past decade plus of Iwai's gallery art explorations (who had, there, too, focused on the interplay of light/music/touch) made mass-market accessible.
Though it never quite got the attention it truly deserved -- nor was it ever really fully understood by consumers, who (having never actually heard of Iwai himself) came in expecting a music tracker and came out befuddled and frustrated by the 'plankton's wily wanderings -- Nintendo are planning a round-two comeback.
Nintendo has announced that it will be re-releasing the 'plankton in downloadable DSiWare form over the coming weeks, in three 200 Point (~$2) packs each -- but only, for now, in Japan. It would surprise me if they didn't make their way over soon (after the current backlog of ArtStyle games is cleared out), and six dollars is an unmissable way to collect the package, even if you do miss out on Iwai's brilliantly hand-illustrated full-color manual. [via andriasang]
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3 Comments • Add a comment
This is very likely to cause me to buy a DS (assuming it does come to the US).
This is a real gem on the DS, I hope it'll get more exposure as a downloadable re-release.
Maybe Toshio Iwai will make more music toys for the DS if it does well!
I already own the cartridge, but I'd definitely get the downloadable version. That way, I can run the Korg DS-10 and Electroplankton w/o having to change cartridges: quite handy for playing live!
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