Mike Tyson is no longer the face of Punch-Out!!, but he wants to star in his own video games in the same vein as the Punch-Out!! franchise.
Nintendo might be done with the Punch-Out!! franchise for the time being, but Mike Tyson wants to bring the series back on his own terms. The Punch-Out!! series started out as an arcade game, before transitioning to the Nintendo Entertainment System with a famous endorsement, as it became Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! and featured the boxer as the game's end boss.
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! became one of the most popular games on the NES and many people still fondly remember it for its rhythmic, skill-based gameplay, as well as its brutal difficulty. The game was later released as Punch-Out!! and Mike Tyson was replaced as the end boss by a new character called Mr. Dream. Contrary to popular belief, Tyson wasn't removed from Punch-Out!! due to his criminal history. The reason Tyson was dropped from the game was that he lost to Buster Douglas and Nintendo didn't want to pay to use his likeness anymore.
The last Punch-Out!! game was released for the Nintendo Wii in 2009, but it seems that Tyson wants to create his own version of the series. Tyson was interviewed by the Shacknews YouTube channel and he talked about he wanted to make his own Punch-Out!! game that is connected to his Tyson Ranch brand.
“We’re going to start our own Punch Out game and our own Tyson Ranch Punch Out computer game and we’re going to bring it back to life, man.”
The Punch-Out!! franchise is owned by Nintendo, but this wouldn't be the first time that Tyson was confused about the game. It's possible to play Punch-Out!! on the Switch, as it's one of the NES games given away to Switch Online subscribers. It's also possible to play its sequel on the Super Nintendo by subscribing to the same service. Punch-Out!! is also available on the Nintendo 3DS/Wii U Virtual Console and as one of the titles on the NES Classic Edition. Tyson has blasted Nintendo for not including him Punch-Out!! on the Switch, as he was unaware that it was the NES game and not a new title.
Mike Tyson is no stranger to video games, as he has been the frontman of boxing titles in the past. He has also appeared in WWE video games, as Tyson was a DLC character in WWE' 13. He wouldn't be able to bring back the Punch-Out!! franchise without Nintendo's blessing, but there is nothing stopping him being involved in a different boxing video game that uses wacky characters as enemies. The only question now is whether such a game would be different enough from the original Punch-Out!! to avoid legal action from Nintendo?
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Source: Shacknews/YouTube
