The long-awaited return of Earthworm Jim is finally upon us, with new titles in development for the Wii, PS3, Xbox 360, and cell phones. Xbox and cell phone versions will enjoy limited exclusivity, which is a sentence I never thought I'd have to write. While the press release is a bit light on details, it does give enough information to speculate that it's likely a new game, and not a remake or port. Even with that little information, the news is still totally awesome, right?

Sadly, there's a little issue. The return looks to be lead by Gameloft, the undisputed king of downloadable shovelware. You might remember seeing their orange logo of death on whatever cell phone game you were tricked into buying and ended up regretting. Or from WiiWare's Sexy Poker. This might get messy, people, you might want to bring a helmet.

The press release is below. If Gameloft doesn't want to be hated more than they ever thought possible I'd recommend they take good care of this franchise. Sure, it's about an earthworm with a mechanical suit that fights monsters and cows, but it's our earthworm with a mechanical suit that fights monsters and cows. He's near and dear to our hearts, 'loft, be careful with him.

Gameloft and Interplay to Bring Earthworm Jim to Mobile Platforms and Downloadable Consoles
PRNewswire, London, August 17. NEW YORK - Gameloft, leading international publisher and developer of video games for mobile phones and consoles. (PRNewsFoto/Gameloft)

NEW YORK, NY UNITED STATES

 
The Game Wiggles its Way on to Xbox Live Arcade, WiiWare(TM), PlayStation(R)Network and Mobile Devices

NEW YORK, August 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Gameloft, a leading developer and publisher of downloadable video games, today announced a multi-year licensing agreement with Interplay to develop, distribute and publish Earthworm Jim, a popular run and gun platform video game featuring an earthworm who dresses up in a Super Suit to fight evil. The game will make its way to mobile, WiiWare(TM), PlayStation Network, with an exclusive one month run on Xbox Live(R) Arcade.

"We are delighted to partner with Interplay to bring Earthworm Jim to multiple downloadable platforms," said Gonzague de Vallois, senior vice president, Gameloft. "The game, with its humorous and edgy style, is a great fit for today's gamer who craves a fully immersive experience that is fun and easily accessible. We look forward to delivering a fantastic game."

"Earthworm Jim resonates with millions of people worldwide and we are excited to have one of the best developers in the industry create this game for a new audience," said Herve Caen, CEO, Interplay. "Gameloft's creativity coupled with its innate knack for innovative games, makes us 100% confident that the result will be nothing short of stellar."

Initially released in 1994, Earthworm Jim's games garnered such a cult following that the character's popularity took him far beyond video games into an animated TV series, Toys and Comic books. Earthworm Jim centers around an ordinary earthworm who engages in normal worm activities- eating dirt, crawling and fleeing from hungry birds- that is until he comes across a high tech indestructible space suit. Jim takes refuge in the space suit while fleeing from hungry birds. The suit's powerful atomic particles cause him to grow and obtain newfound powers.

The game will be available in the last quarter of 2009. For the latest information on the game, follow Gameloft on our Twitter feed: http://www.twitter.com/Gameloft