Mike Tyson Leaks New Punch-Out Game?

Being an active software developer and hardware manufacturer for as long as it has means that Nintendo has a massive stable of intellectual properties to draw from when creating new games. Besidessmall representation in theSmash Brosgames, one Nintendo franchise that hasn’t seen much action in a decade has been the boxing-centric series,Punch-Out. That reason alone is a big reason why a recent Tweet made by former boxing champion and classic end boss in the NESPunch-Outso odd and intriguing.

Yesterday afternoon, Mike Tyson took to Twitter where he not only revealed that he heardNintendowas working on a newPunch-Outgame, but that he was also disappointed that the company didn’t contact him about it first. From Tyson’s viewpoint, a new game won’t be the same without him in it as he believes that his knockouts made the original game what it was. While his viewpoint is certainly debatable, there’s little doubt that having Mike Tyson’s name and likeness included in a game was a big deal back then.

Even then, Mike Tyson hasn’t been included in the games since the very first one on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Tyson signed a three-year contract forhis likeness to be used in the original game, although it wouldn’t be renewed and saw him eventually replaced by a fictional character called Mr. Dream. Following various sequels, Nintendo has been fairly quiet on thePunch-Outseries, with the last mainline game in the franchise coming out back in 2009 for the Wii. Since then, the franchise has largely been kept alive over the years by its protagonist Little Mac, who has most recently appeared in Nintendo’s wildly popular fighting game,Super Smash Bros Ultimate.

Still, fans shouldn’t dismiss Mike Tyson’s Tweet entirely as Nintendo hasn’t revealed much of its plans beyond the summer months. Outside of that, Nintendo does have a few big-name titles confirmed for later this year withAnimal Crossing, theLegend of Zelda: Link’s Awakeningremake, and thenewPokemon Sword/ShieldSwitch games, though there’s certainly plenty of room left open for more exclusives. If there is a newPunch-Outgame in development, it’s likely going to release in the next year or less as Nintendo is typically a company that doesn’t like to reveal games too far in advance.