EARTHWORM JIM ON XBOX LIVE ARCADE A PRELUDE TO EARTHWORM JIM 4 DETAILS?

“You want some of this?”

I have been dreaming for the day Earthworm Jim would come to Xbox Live Arcade for a few years now. In my article, Top Games the should be on Xbox Live Arcade, that I wrote back in March ’09, the top game of them all, hands down was Earthworm Jim. There really was no competition. Originally developed by Shiny Entertainment (now merged with The Collective to form Double Helix who just released the highly acclaimed GI Joe game*sarcasm*) and released in 1994, a re-release of this instant classic is way overdue. 15 years of waiting to play this wonderful, masterpiece of a game again? Now is the time my friends, and there is a new Genesis Poll online to find out if you feel the same.

If you head on over to the SEGA Genisis Poll, you can be part of the solution to bring Earthworm Jim to the Xbox Live Arcade. Finally! You have a few titles to choose from but, really… there is only one choice in the bunch and it is quite clear. As of this posting, the majority of gamers favorite earthworm is leading the poll by a wide margin.

The whole reason why I wanted to talk about Earthworm Jim in the first place was because in April of 2008 many of the top game sites reported there was an announcement from Interplay that Earthworm Jim 4 would become a reality. But when? How? On what platforms? Interplay mentioned they would support the Wii for Earthworm Jim and other games, but could a next gen Earthworm Jim ever see the light on the 360 and PS3? It’s interesting that this poll would be released now and I’m wondering if Interplay is testing the waters to see if Earthworm Jim is something gamers definitely want. It would make total sense to tease gamers with Earthworm Jim on XBLA in anticipation of hyping up the Earthworm Jim 4 release. That seems like common sense to me if that is indeed what is planned. I could be wrong, but I sure as hell hope I am right. I was right when I said Bubble Bobble should be on Xbox Live Arcade, and I got my wish. (Except it’s still only available in Japan! WTF Microsoft? Such a tease.)

If Interplay, Doug TenNapel or whoever is behind this, needs any indication that their desire to pursue the reemergence of the Earthworm Jim franchise as a game, or cartoon series is a smart decision and fully backed by their loyal fans, I have no doubts that the answer is yes. Bring it! That would totally be Groovy!

What say you? It’s been well over a year since we’ve heard any details on Earthworm Jim 4. Is it still being developed? Is it dead? When will TenNapel give us some details on the long awaited sequel? I’ll keep an eye on his blog for now and keep guessing until more details are announced.