MercurySteam tackling Contra… it’s an interesting idea, because you know it will be 3D. They took Castlevania away from 3D because the Japanese couldn’t do it, and I wager they’ll do the same thing here.

Now, what strikes me is HOW they could do it. Gears of War it up? It would probably sell decent numbers, but it may just be creative suicide. Contra was always about speed and two dudes leaping around blasting away with wild abandon. To diminish that into a cover-shooter would be such a sad admission of utter creative bankruptcy that it might rupture the space-time continuum. It would have to be a game where you run and shoot on motorbikes, climb up walls, blast apart giant turtles AND surf huge missiles, and how to do all that in 3D and keep it fast-paced… well, I have to admit I’d be interested in seeing if it CAN be done.

As for Sega…
http://www.siliconera.com/2012/06/18/anarchy-reigns-delayed-to-q1-2013/#comment-564719942
In this thread on the site Siliconera, someone comes up and shows that Sega has been filing a trademark for something called Orbis. According to this person this will be a new console, and the reason SEGA is cutting down so much on their studios is because they plan on diverting money into production of new hardware. This is also why they’ve pushed the release dates of games they publish- apparently all resources are being pooled towards this project.

Now- this is pure speculation and the guy saying these things, “Patrick Lawson”, comes across a little bit like a fanboy who wants to hope that Sega’s got something big coming along. But the trademark is apparently legit, and if nothing else… it sure is the kind of story you’d WANT to believe, isn’t it? Treating it with all kinds of skepticism right now, but I am keeping an eye out for this “Orbis” thing. Besides, I’ll take any reason for Anarchy Reigns western release-date getting pushed back from Summer to early 2013 that isn’t just “SEGA are utter morons” that I can get.