Press release

Breaking a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title

Clockwork Aquario celebrating its global release with a brand new record

Stuttgart, December 9th, 2021: ININ Games and Strictly Limited Games proudly celebrated the release of a treasure from the arcades - Clockwork Aquario last week. Along with the successful launch of this colorful retro gem, Clockwork Aquario is now being celebrated as a new holder of the Guinness World Records™ title for the longest time between a videogame project start and final release!


With the development initially started in 1991 and completed 2021, Clockwork Aquario takes over the mantle from Duke Nukem Forever that held the Guinness World Record title until now. 


A story of true video game archeology


The initial development of Clockwork Aquario started in 1991. It was the last arcade game ever developed by the legendary company Westone. With the advent of 3D gaming and other genres vying for dominance, Clockwork Aquario’s development was canceled. Nearly 30 years later, ININ Games and Strictly Limited Games - two labels dedicated to preserving popular but also forgotten or never-released retro gems - joined forces to unearth this video game treasure.


A development team including members of the original Westone team such as Ryuichi Nishizawa - co-founder of Westone and creator of legendary Wonder Boy - was put together with the aim to bring Clockwork Aquario to life. With a motivated team of passionate retro game fans and the original creators of Clockwork Aquario, it was ensured that the lost arcade title gets its well deserved release, losing none of its charm, but staying true to its roots. 


“[...] I would like to express my heartfelt respect and gratitude to those who have worked so hard to restore Clockwork Aquario. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that this work is a great piece of 2D art, where the pixel artists of that time put their hearts and souls into. I’d be happy if people would appreciate and enjoy it.” - Ryuichi Nishizawa


About the Game


Clockwork Aquario is an exciting, colorful gem of an arcade game for PS4 and Nintendo Switch. It has already achieved some notable reviews that include a 9/10 from NintendoLife, along with many other great reviews and love from enthusiastic fans of the retro genre.


Dynamic movement, fun gameplay, colorful animations – Clockwork Aquario is an awesome experience for all retro and arcade game fans from back then and new players alike - now available for Nintendo Switch and PS4!


For more information, visit https://www.iningames.com/games/clockwork-aquario/ 


And for all the dedicated collectors, Strictly Limited Games offers two very special Editions of Clockwork Aquario including amazing physical collectibles. For more information, or potential interview opportunities, please contact derek@prhound.co.uk  


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About ININ Games



ININ Games focuses on the digital and physical publishing of high-quality, feel-good retro and arcade games. ININ Games brings retro games to life and creates the classics of the future.They are best known for “Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World”, “CrossCode”, “Cotton Reboot”, “Slaps and Beans” and as the publishing partner for the TAITO titles “Bubble Bobble 4 Friends: The Baron is Back” and “The Ninja Saviors – Return of the Warriors” in North America and Europe. Numerous other milestones of classic gaming culture are in the planning and will be announced in the coming months.


ININ Games is part of United Games Entertainment GmbH. For more information, visit
www.iningames.com   


About Strictly Limited Games 



Strictly Limited Games is a German publisher based near Stuttgart, specialized in releasing a curated selection of digital download-only games in exclusive collectible physical editions for PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita and Nintendo Switch. The company was founded in 2017 by Dennis Mendel, a former scholar for game studies and advisor at Fraunhofer Institute, and Benedict Braitsch. Both passionate collectors with a combined collection of over 7.000 digital and physical games for all console generations, their intention is to form an opposite pole to the current trend of digital-only releases. All collectors’ editions are available exclusively at Strictly Limited Games online store www.strictlylimitedgames.com.



About Westone Bit Entertainment


With Wonder Boy, Westone created one of the most popular video game series of all time. It became synonymous with SEGA, until SEGA created their own mascot character with the famous Sonic the Hedgehog in the early 1990s.


Some of their best-known titles include Wonder Boy (1986), Wonder Boy in Monsterland (1987) or Wonder Boy III - The Dragon’s Trap (1989).


 *  Guinness World Records™ is a worldwide reference book published annually, listing world records both of human achievements and the extremes of the natural world. Topping the charts in over 100 countries it is a book that nearly everyone around the world has owned at least one copy of with many excitedly looking forward to every new edition.