Atlus’ fighting game series Power Instinct will have its 30th anniversary in 2023. However, there will be no ports or re-releases during the timeframe. Keiko “Chuuko” Ijuu, the former representative director of Noise Factory and producer of the series, made the announcement on Twitter.
The first tweet revealed that Chuuko had sent petitions to the series’ rights holder since November 2021. However, the holder rejected it because one of the series characters would have a high risk of triggering litigation related to political correctness.
After the first refusal, Chuuko suggested releasing the Power Instinct title by excluding the controversial character. The rights holder still refused the proposal, citing a change in trends of the era and the difficulty in re-releasing past games.
With game ports out of the question, Chuuko is now sending proposals for republications of non-game content, such as soundtrack and character background documents. She also expressed her intent to set up a one-person company to publish content related to Power Instinct.
The series’ developer company Noise Factory went defunct in 2017. Although the website is no longer available, Chuuko is still actively managing the Twitter account. In early January 2022, she asked Power Instinct fans whether they would like to see ports of previous games ahead of the series’ 30th anniversary in 2023.
Power Instinct is known in Japan as Gouketsuji Ichizoku (The Gouketsuji Clan). Atlus has been publishing the fighting game series since the first title was released in 1993. Only the first two titles received English releases. The company released further sequels exclusively in Japan.
The latest title in the Power Instinct series is Gouketsuji Ichizoku: Senzo Kuyou, available on arcades in Japan since 2009.
