No Man’s Sky was both Sean Murray’s and Hello Games’ biggest controversy and greatest success. However, it wasn’t where the company got its start. In fact, they didn’t even start in the sci-fi genre. Joe Danger, the side-scrolling and platformer racing game released on June 9th, 2010 for the PlayStation 3. Since then the title has made its way to other platforms such as the Xbox 360 and varying mobile devices. Joe Danger was even nominated for Best Independent Game at the VGX Awards in 2010. While the game is dramatically different from what fans of No Man’s Sky might expect Sean Murray announced that Joe Danger is now free for everyone to play in their browsers right now.
Joe Danger‘s release online is also a huge win for videogame preservation as the title was getting increasingly difficult to track down and play because while it was released on iOS back in 2013 the game had since become unplayable until last January. This remaster of Joe Danger back in January 2022 only came about as well after the developer received an email from a parent with an autistic child that adored the game. The game’s recent release on browsers is intended to preserve the title that otherwise would have gone into unplayable hell.
Videogame preservation has become more of a hot-button issue in the last few years with varying developers and console manufacturers failing to adequately preserve the titles they create and the titles that are on their platforms. Microsoft and Xbox’s backward compatibility was certainly a huge step when announced and continues to be so but a lot of the responsibility is on the developers themselves to ensure these titles don’t get lost due to poor maintenance. Actions like the ones Sean Murray has taken to preserve titles like Joe Danger should be applauded as without this level of vision and forward thinking from others in the industry a lot of titles that once garnered large audiences could at one point in the future be lost. Titles like Assassin’s Creed, Mirrors Edge, and many more are not free from being shut down at the drop of a hat or when they become financially burdensome.
If you’re looking to give Joe Danger a go you can, as mentioned, do so right now through your browser right here. If you’re a fan of racing titles why not check out our list of the 15 BEST Racing Games of 2022?
