Legendarily bad 3DO FMV experience Plumbers Don’t Wear Ties is now owned by Limited Run Games and coming to PlayStation 5, PC and Nintendo Switch.
Surreal fever dream disguised as a video game Plumbers don’t wear ties somehow finds a new home on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC courtesy of physical games publisher Limited Run Games. For those unaware of what is easily one of the worst games to ever grace a store shelf, Plumbers don’t wear ties was originally released in very limited quantities on PC in 1993 before seeing a port to the ill-fated Panasonic 3DO in September 1994. Despite being advertised as an FMV game, the experience is more like a spoken slideshow with DVD menu style narrative choices serving as the only interactive element.
The game itself can best be described as a visual novel, telling a basic romantic plot, interspersed with outlandish humor and mature situations that occasionally border on softcore porn. Plumbers don’t wear ties was ravaged by critics and generally ignored by the general population until the rise of the internet gaming community. Popular content creators reacted violently to the game’s abject madness and reintroduced it to the masses. Since then it has been right next to EN, crazy bus, and Ride to Hell: Retaliation on the must-see list for YouTubers, Twitch streamers, and retro enthusiasts interested in the more bizarre parts of gaming history.
To close the E3 2021 presentation, Limited Run Games unveiled a new edition of Plumbers don’t wear ties for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC. After a suitably short video intro from game star Jeanne Basone, viewers saw stills of the game alongside harsh quotes from media from the time. The Limited Run release seems to take shots of the PC release, which is of a slightly higher quality than the 3DO version.
Finally, the most requested and anticipated game of all time. We’re bringing Plumbers Don’t Wear Ties physically and digitally to PS4, PS5, PC and Switch! Follow us for more info. #LRG3 pic.twitter.com/zNNcvfLf5i
— Limited Run Games (@LimitedRunGames) June 14, 2021
So yes, the cat is out of the bag. Limited Run Games officially owns the rights to Plumbers Don’t Wear Ties and a remaster is coming to various platforms. Along the way, everyone doubted my sanity, haha.
— Josh Fairhurst (@LimitedRunJosh) June 14, 2021
On his Twitter, owner of Limited Run Games Josh Fairhurst confirmed that the company will not only release the new edition of Plumbers don’t wear ties, but it bought the rights to the game outright after teasing an IP acquisition last November. The game is touted as Limited Run’s most requested release, which may be true given that Plumbers is an all-encompassing joke reply that was ironically mentioned countless times on social media. The company’s E3 show also unveiled an official UK Turbo CD release of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, unveiling the sequel and prequel to River City Girls, and a collector’s edition of the 1980s side-scroller Track down that is now available.
It is fair to say that no one is serious about a new version of Plumbers don’t wear ties show up in 2021, and certainly not on modern hardware. The game is so representative of the harsh realities of FMV in the 90s, the ultimate expression of grabbing a few cameras and putting together a production for some quick cash. The game’s surreal presentation and nonsensical story have to be seen to be believed, and now a whole new generation of players can experience it on the latest game console technology.
Source: Limited Games/YouTube, Limited Edition Games/Twitter, Josh Fairhurst/Twitter
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