Whatever happened to “Fresh Games”?

Five years ago Eidos Interactive announced their “Fresh Games” label which was supposed to take risks on “Japan-only” games and bring them to North America. They picked up Mr. Mosquito (aka Ka or simply Mosquito), Mad Maestro (Bravo Music) and Legaia 2: Duel Saga. Even though all three of these games sold enough copies to become part of value priced “Best” selection in Japan, none of these games sold well in the USA. After taking a break with Fresh Games, Eidos took another chance and brought out R-Type Final, which is an underrated shoot ‘em up. Then the label quietly faded from existence. Since Sony’s main focus is the PS3, this is the perfect time for a “Fresh Games” rebirth whether it’s Eidos or another publisher. Sony is going to start relaxing their standards on what is allowed on the PS2 (they let Easter Bunny’s Big Day slip out for the PS1 when the PS2 was in full swing) and development costs have gone down. There are some awesome shoot ‘em ups like Espgaulda that are easy to translate and some quirky D3 Publisher titles like “Origin of Man” that are ripe for localization.