Feature: Limited Run Games On The Process of Bringing Scott Pilgrim To Physical Shelves
© UbisoftFans of the Scott Pilgrim series far and wide have been begging the series creator, Bryan Lee O’Malley, Ubisoft, Oni Press, and physical game publishers like Limited Run Games to release a physical edition of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game ever since it was delisted from online storefronts back in 2014. Thankfully Ubisoft announced late last year that a new Complete Edition of the game would be coming back digitally for the game’s 10th anniversary, but it wasn’t until recently that a physical edition was also revealed for Nintendo Switch.
This reveal was a huge moment for the community as, for most, there really was no way to play the game unless it they still had it downloaded on their system. This may go down as an important moment in game preservation history, a prime example as to why physical games are still so important today.
So, to learn a little more about how it all happened we had a quick email chat with Josh Fairhurst, co-founder of Limited Run Games.
Nintendo Life: Can you remember the first time anyone asked you about releasing a physical version of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game?
Josh: In October 2015, mere hours after we’d gained our 100th follower on Twitter, someone asked us if we could release Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game on the PlayStation 3. Since then, it has been requested on an almost daily basis, which just really speaks to the passion of Scott Pilgrim fans.
Scott Pilgrim The Game has been on the minds of fans and just gamers in general since it was delisted in 2014, so how does it feel to have guaranteed that fans can play this game for years to come?
Josh: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game – Complete Edition is really an important game on a lot of different levels. Along with Double Dragon Neon, it helped usher back in the “beat ’em up” genre, which we’re obviously huge fans of (Scott Pilgrim will join the ranks of Streets of Rage 4, River City Girls, Double Dragon IV, and many other genre classics in our lineup). It feels extremely good to be able to release this game physically for fans to put on the shelves.
@LimitedRunGamesWith the KO! Edition of the game you’re releasing, it seems like you thought of everything! (Figurines, physical music, a strategy guide!) Was there anything left on the drawing board you wish you could have included?
Josh: When we were coming up with the initial idea for the K.O. Edition, we asked everyone in the company what ideas they had for a Scott Pilgrim Collector’s Edition. I think the shared idea document grew to about ten-to-twelve pages!
When we come up with collector editions, the first thing that I personally like to come up with is the box and then I try and theme the other contents around that. For instance, with Outlast 1 & 2 we came up with the idea to do a leather briefcase-style box and all the contents were themed as items that a psychologist in the game might own.
After discussing a lot of possibilities, we landed on a hard instrument case (or “roadie case”) that would include a pop-up scene of “Sex Bob-omb” and working lights and sound. From there, we combed through the employee suggestions and chose all the contents that fit the theme of “Sex Bob-omb” – guitar picks, drumsticks, soundtrack, etc. Plenty of other ideas were left on the table, but I think we landed on something that really fits the game and makes for a cool, unique, and game-specific package.
We’ve been in serious discussion to release this game for a while now – so it’s really been a long road no matter how you look at it.
How long has this been in the making for your team?
Josh: We’ve been chasing Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game since 2015. While we were too small of a company to be directly talking to anyone related to the IP back then, we were definitely making whatever in-roads we could to move towards this release. We’ve been in serious discussion to release this game for a while now – so it’s really been a long road no matter how you look at it.
Do you think you’ll ever release an original PS3 physical edition down the road as you did with the Oddworld series?
Josh: I don’t think so, unfortunately. The PlayStation 3 requires a lot more work to support discs – most digital games at the time were just not formatted properly to be able to be installed from disc. This means that most games on the PS3 would require a full rebuild and certification process to come out physically on the platform, which just isn’t feasible for most companies given that most PS3 games have codebases over a decade old!
The official vinyl soundtrack was released in extremely limited supply years ago and is highly sought after these days. Considering you deal in vinyl records now, is there a chance you’ll release a repressing of that too?
Josh: We announced one the other day!
[We asked Josh the question prior to that very welcome announcement, of course! – Ed]
Will Scott Pilgrim be getting a physical release at Best Buy with a unique cover?
Josh: We hope so. You’ll just have to wait and see!
Besides Scott Pilgrim, what’s your next most requested game to gain a physical release or something you’d love to someday release?
Josh: P.T. from Konami. It’s requested probably once a week — so not nearly as frequently as Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game — but it’s definitely the second most requested release. Personally, I’d love to work with Square Enix since they have TONS of digital games that lack physical releases.
We’d like to thank Josh and Limited Run Games for taking the time to chat! The physical edition of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game – Complete Edition on Nintendo Switch is currently available for pre-order through Limited Run Games until February 28th.
Be sure to let us know if you’re one of the many who’s happy to see this release become a reality and check out our review if you’re curious.