Intellivision Entertainment CEO, Tommy Tallarico, announced that the original team is being revived to work on a new Earthworm Jim game made exclusively for the upcoming Intellivision Amico. The team includes Doug TenNapel, David Perry, Nick Bruty, Mike Dietz, Tom

Tanaka and Joey Kuras. The announcement came as part of a 25th anniversary celebration for the popular game series from back in the mid 1990s. However, not everyone wants the old team coming back together for the nostalgic revival of a classic gaming brand.

The announcement came via a Facebook post on May 1st, 2019 over on Tommy Tallarico’s page. However, not everyone was happy about the original team from Shiny Entertainment reuniting. Specifically, Chris Scullion – a game journalist who has written for CVG, the official Nintendo Magazine UK, Vice, Polygon, and Nintendo Life – pitched a fit in the comment section of the Facebook announcement.

When Scullion attempted to create division in the comment section, Tallarico popped in to soothe things a bit, writing…

“I totally respect everyone’s right to decide whatever the heck they want. No worries. The reality is if we do the game with Doug, some people may get upset. If we did the game without Doug, other people would be upset. So it’s a no win situation no matter what as it’s absolutely impossible in this day and age to please everyone. But it’s very important to know that although Doug was the creator of the actual character, it was the entire team of 10 of us who created the experience that everyone knows and loves. A complete team effort with no one having more important opinions or visions over anyone else. Making the game with the original team is the only true way to keep it 100% authentic.”

Scullion responded by saying that he had a lot of respect for the team, but if Doug TenNapel was involved with the project, he would have a hard time reviewing the Intellivision Amico and the new Earthworm Jim game, writing…

“I totally respect and appreciate that Tommy. As a journalist I’m 100% keen to cover the Amico in general and review as many of its games as possible, but I hope you appreciate that it may be trickier for me to review this one if Doug is involved. I don’t mean any hard feelings man and wish you every success with the Amico in general.”

Some people questioned how Scullion could be a reviewer when their biases would prevent them from doing an objective job covering a game made by someone they didn’t like. Scullion retorted that after reviewing games professionally for 13 years it’s never been an issue.

This leads to Scullion being questioned what the issue is, and Scullion then explains that it’s because TenNapel holds views that they consider to be “transphobic”.

If you’re curious what Scullion is referring to, it’s from an exchange that TenNapel had with Kotaku writer Heather Alexander way back in August of 2017, where TenNapel acknowledged the irrefutable, scientific fact of Alexander’s biological sex.

Of course, in the world of games journalism (or journalism in general), anyone who isn’t kowtowing to the Regressive Left’s ideological hegemony ends up being castigated by the clique that controls the media. This is what happened to TenNapel, who stood his ground and refused to bend the knee to the corrupt journalists that have ruined my hobby and helped destroy the quality standards of the entertainment medium.

TenNapel is a rare unicorn in today’s society who actually has the balls to be honest and stand up for principles that aren’t dictated by the Intersectional Inquisition.

Tallarico attempts to find a common ground with Scullion, asking if he would be okay if he would be assuaged if TenNapel consulted on the project but wasn’t paid for it? This solution didn’t sit well with some gamers, who preferred that if game journalists couldn’t separate the art from the artist, perhaps they shouldn’t be covering the game in the first place.

Scullion then decides to resign himself from further debate with Tallarico by suggesting they take the conversation private via e-mail, likely where he could attempt to cajole Tallarico into removing TenNapel from the project, writing the following.

Gamers were quick to warn Doug TenNapel on Twitter about Social Justice Warriors attempting to get him deplatformed or removed from the project because he refuses to bend the knee to the Regressive Left’s regime of ideological terror.

However, TenNapel responded by stating that Tallarico and the crew “know what they’re doing”.

Not these guys. They know what they’re doing. https://t.co/S9Utfpq9u3 — Doug TenNapel (@DougTenNapel) May 2, 2019

Hopefully the original crew can work on the game without having to worry about being bombarded from game journalists and their SJW minions attempting to get the project derailed, deplatformed, or defunded in some way.

The Intellivision Amico is scheduled to launch October 10th, 2020 next year.

(Thanks for the news tip American Dream)