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Karateka remake is coming to PSN and XBLA this year

It’s about damn time! Karateka, Jordan Mechner’s influential, side-scrolling fighting game from the 1980s, has been confirmed to be in development for the current generation of consoles.

Jordan Mechner has confirmed that he will be heading up the Karateka remake, thankfully,and it is currently scheduled for a 2012 release on PSN and Xbox Live Arcade.

Today, via his personal website jordanmechner.com, celebrated game designer Jordan Mechner confirmed that he will revisit feudal Japan with a remake of his 80s blockbuster Karateka, downloadable later this year on XBOX 360 and Playstation3.

Mechner developed Karateka in his dorm room at Yale. Published by Broderbund in 1984 for the Apple II, Karateka was one of the gaming world’s first blockbusters. As home computing was just taking form, Karateka hooked gamers with simple, addictive 2D fighting mechanics that incorporated cinematic storytelling through fluid, lifelike animation.

For the first time since the making of Ubisoft’s bestseller Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Mechner is taking an active role in the day-to-day game development process as Karateka’s Creative Director. Like Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, the new Karateka is a remake that reinvents Mechner’s classic gameplay for this generation.

“Making the original Karateka was a labor of love. To have so many people embrace it and share the impact that game had on them has been incredibly fulfilling,” Mechner said. “In remaking Karateka, I want to honor the original with a compact, pick-up-and-play game that is fluid, atmospheric and beautiful.”

Karateka will be available for PSN and XBLA in 2012.