In the almost twenty years since it was originally released, Shaq Fu — the fantasy themed fighting game that stars real-life basketball superstar Shaquille O’Neal — has become the poster child for ill-thought out, poorly developed licensed games. Nowadays the only time you hear about Shaq Fu is when people use it as the punchline in a joke about bad video games, but some recent trademark filings hint that we might be… uh, lucky enough to experience another Shaq themed fighting game very soon.
Siliconera has discovered that Mine O’Mine, the company that handles the licensing of Shaq-related merchandise and that operates the official Shaquille O’Neal website, recently registered new trademarks for “Shaqfighter” and “Shaq Fu.” The trademark specifically covers video games, computer software, and video game characters.
Now, I’m not sure why somebody would want to create a Shaq Fu sequel now, especially when you consider that 1. Shaquille O’Neal is retired, and 2. Shaq Fu is one of the biggest pieces of crap in video game history, but perhaps there’s some developer out there who thinks they can cash in on the game’s ironic appeal. With that said, I have to admit that I would totally buy a new Shaq Fu game just for the novelty value.
Hopefully this means we can expect a follow-up to Michael Jordan’s Chaos in the Windy City as well.
