Grasshopper Manufacture are probably best known for their output of hugely distinctive titles, infused with humour and oozing with stylistic nuances, from killer7 to No More Heroes and No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle. Headed by Goichi Suda (you might now him as Suda 51), Grasshopper have just revealed their partnership with Digital Reality to co-develop a number of games, in which Suda 51 states “we can strongly benefit from having an ally such as Digital Reality in the digital publishing realm, who can provide long term online publishing services to its partners, and to gamers.”
The move perhaps shows where Grasshopper‘s future lies, in the downloadable markets of XBLA, PSN and Steam, away from many of the stressors that come from full retail releases, where Suda 51′s games especially are often misinterpreted by the mainstream. CEO of Digital Reality, Andras Peller, highlighted “ this collaboration with a Japanese top-tier developer pursues the development of our publishing line-up, whilst offering creative freedom to developers who want to make high value titles for online distribution”.
There’s been no wait in revealing the first title to be backed by both companies, coming in the form of side-scrolling shooter Sine Mora that is accompanied by “a unique twist on time manipulation”.
Sine Mora is in development for PSN and XBLA.