Sleeping Dogs trademark registered by Square Enix

The Kane & Lynch series may be coming back, as Square Enix has registered a trademark for "Sleeping Dogs."

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Internet sleuths on NeoGAF have uncovered yet another Square Enix trademark. "Sleeping Dogs" might not be as immediately evocative as Final Fantasy Dimensions, but many are theorizing that this could be the subtitle for a possible Kane & Lynch sequel.

The first Kane & Lynch game debuted in 2007 and was hampered by technical and mechanical shortcomings. It currently holds a 67 on Metacritic. The sequel, Dog Days, released in 2010 with an eye-catching, grittier look. The critics still tore it apart.

Given the canine reference, Sleeping Dogs could be the name for the next Kane & Lynch. In spite of the negative reviews, the franchise consistently sells well for Square Enix. Both the first and second game sold over a million copies each. It would be foolish not to expand the franchise, especially with a motion picture supposedly in the works.

The Kane & Lynch franchise has been developed by IO Interactive. The team is currently working on Hitman Absolution--a franchise it plans on handing off to Square Enix Montreal.

An argument against the return of Kane & Lynch is that Square Enix's past trademarks have featured the full game name: Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days, versus just "Dog Days." It could be entirely possible that this trademark is about a game where you put dogs to sleep. Or, perhaps a bubbly mobile game where you wake up dogs by poking them with sticks.

(via CVG)

Andrew Yoon was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    January 24, 2012 10:15 AM

    Andrew Yoon posted a new article, Sleeping Dogs trademark registered by Square Enix.

    The Kane & Lynch series may be coming back, as Square Enix has registered a trademark for "Sleeping Dogs."

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      January 24, 2012 11:01 AM

      It's gonna be a Final Fantasy 7 spin-off staring Red XIII as the main character, you heard it here first.

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      January 24, 2012 11:01 AM

      I liked the Kane & Lynch games. I really enjoyed the second one.

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      January 24, 2012 11:03 AM

      k&l2 was one of the worst pieces of trash i've played in years

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      January 24, 2012 11:04 AM

      Might be ok, I somehow like the series (my shame)(

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      January 24, 2012 11:14 AM

      I liked the first game for its story and the willingness to have protagonists that were such bad people. It really worked well all the way up to the end, which didn't satisfy me. The gameplay was pretty weak though.

      K&L2 wasn't anywhere near as interesting. The story wasn't told in any kind of particularly good or interesting way. It was just some random bat shit happening in Shanghai, there was really no point to any of it.

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      January 24, 2012 3:52 PM

      Shit! If this is Kane & Lynch 3 I am going to have a heart attack, I have been waiting for news on that game ever since I completed #2, loved it, dying to know what the crew does with 3?

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      January 24, 2012 4:05 PM

      While I never played the first, I actually liked the second.

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