Cing: When great developers fall under hard times…

This entry is obviously a reaction to the recent news that developer of Another Code/Trace Memory, Hotel Dusk and Little King’s Story, Cing, Inc. has filed for bankruptcy… It’s sad when good developers go through tough times.

Hotel Dusk: Room 215 is one of my favourite games on the Nintendo DS, it’s up there with the entire Ace Attorney series by Capcom which I also hold in extremely high respect. However, unlike Capcom, Cing is a developer with very few games under its belt. A PS2 game, a few Japan-only mobile phone games, a few DS games and a couple of Wii games. Quality over quantity is the way Cing operates, and their recent games on the DS and Wii were all very well made, quality games.

Of course, even if the games are brilliant, it’s not necessarily going to ensure that a developer will find success. As gamers, we all know very well how there are some games that seem to catch on and others that, while excellent, seem to be swept under the rug by most. I feel that this has happened to practically every game Cing has ever released, but at the same time it’s not surprising at all.

Despite Nintendo’s on and off support over the last few years, Cing hasn’t really seen much exposure for their games. The first game I ever played from them was Another Code: Two Memories (known as Trace Memory in North America). Cing was one of the first developers to release anything significant on the DS with Another Code. Its use of the touch screen, built-in microphone and even (and brilliantly) the clam shell design of the Nintendo DS itself were used in the various puzzles found in the game. It may have been a very short game, but Another Code left a great impression with me with the level of ingenuity Cing used to make the game. It’s very lucky for Cing that Nintendo promoted Another Code at E3, otherwise I probably wouldn’t have been aware of the game at all.

When Hotel Dusk was announced, I immediately paid attention to it because of Another Code. I knew that it was something I shouldn’t ignore and when it was finally released, I bought it on day 1 and played it all the way through in one go, forsaking all other games I may have been playing at the time. As I said before, I love Hotel Dusk… and I made it my mission to tell people all about the game. I told anyone I knew who owned a DS about Hotel Dusk and even convinced a couple of people to buy the game even though they had heard nothing of it before I came along.

Nintendo always made sure to mention Cing’s games at various conferences, most prominently at E3 when showing off upcoming DS and Wii games. Another Code: R – A Journey into Lost Memories was another title that Nintendo had shown off as one of the key titles being released on Wii. Despite this show of support, Another Code: R was only released in Japan and Europe, with no release in North America, Australia or any other region… luckily for me though, it seems that UK games are actually playable on Australian Wii, so I’ve actually bought myself a copy of the game off of eBay which should be arriving this week. On the other hand, anyone in North America who was hoping to get their hands on the game will be sorely disappointed. I wrote an entry about this a few months back… it was one of the games that just wasn’t given a chance.

The sequel to Hotel Dusk, Last Window: Midnight Promise was recently released in Japan back in January and, at this point, is still set for a localisation and release in North America… I really hope that goes through because I know what Cing is capable of and from what I’ve heard and seen of the game in its Japanese form, it’s said to be just as well made as the first.

Cing is a very small developer and relies heavily on other companies to do all the big advertising. Unfortunately you don’t get much of that with their games. Most people out there don’t even know what Another Code, Hotel Dusk and Little King’s Story are or why they’re so damn good… hell, I don’t even know why Little King’s Story is good, but from what I’ve been hearing from people who have actually bought and played the game, it’s meant to be a gem that people aren’t taking notice of… kinda reminds me of how a lot of people ended up ignoring Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure by Capcom… but then Capcom is a pretty big and powerful company that can afford to have a few of their games sell poorly. Cing on the other hand depends on every game sold.

Whatever caused their downfall, be it lack of advertising, lack of general interest, piracy or ninjas… I salute you Cing. I hope that somehow, you guys pull through this and are able to continue on making great games.