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Could 2002’s GameCube horror game Eternal Darkness be resurrected for a Nintendo Switch release? Judging by Nintendo of America’s recent extension of the Eternal Darkness trademark, it’s possible we might finally see it resurface on Nintendo’s upcoming console.
According to NicheGamer, Nintendo filed the trademark extension on December 20th with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It doesn’t mention any specific platforms by name, but does mention downloadable electronic game programs” and downloadable electronic game software”, suggesting Nintendo might be preparing it for a digital release on Switch in addition to a potential physical release.
It may all come to nothing, of course, as this isn’t the first time Nintendo has extended its trademark over the Eternal Darkness name. Previous extensions were granted in 2010, followed by another in 2013. Neither, of course, has resulted in a new Eternal Darkness game or indeed any new announcements concerning a Virtual Console launch or possible HD remake.
However, with recent reports suggesting the Switch’s Virtual Console will finally support GameCube games such as Luigi’s Mansion, Super Mario Sunshine and Super Smash Bros Melee, a Switch re-release may well be on the cards for Eternal Darkness.
Originally released in 2002 on GameCube, the game was developed by the now defunct Silicon Knights studio. While critically acclaimed and considered a cult classic by players, the game never quite broke half a million sales, garnering 0.34m sales in the US, 0.09m in the UK and 0.01m in the rest of the world according to data from VGChartz, giving it lifetime sales of just 0.44m.
Former Silicon Knights head Denis Dyack had previously expressed an interest in creating a sequel to Eternal Darkness back in 2006, but all hopes were dashed when Silicon Knights filed for bankruptcy in May 2013. Dyack then attempted to create an episodic spiritual successor to Eternal Darkness named Shadow of the Eternals under his new studio Precursor Games, but this too never came to fruition, with multiple crowd-funding campaigns all failing to reach their targets.
