The Legendary Takashi Nishiyama And His Dimps Team Are Partnering With The Ring For A New Boxing Game

by William Hernandez May 5, 2025

Takashi Nishiyama, head of Dimps, and Turki Alalshikh, head of The Ring Magazine, signing off on their partnership for a new, original boxing video game.

The Ring Magazine has just announced a surprising partnership with Dimps to create a brand-new, original boxing game. The Ring has shown increased interest in the video game industry as of late, having also recently collaborated with Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves for promotional work. Now the magazine is taking things one step further by actually helping in the production of a new fighting game.

Takashi Nishiyama, the founder and current head of Dimps, is a big player in this partnership. Known as the creator of both Fatal Fury and Street Fighter, among many other things, Nishiyama is a legend in the industry. The Ring clearly values his expertise in game design, which is why the two companies have decided to work together. Development of Dimps' new boxing game hasn't quite started yet, but it sounds like work on the game will start soon.

Dimps' History With Fighting Games

Dimps may not have the storied history of Capcom or SNK, but the company has helped develop numerous fighting games over the years. The Dragon Ball Z: Budokai series, Street Fighter IV and V, and Soulcalibur VI are just a few names worth mentioning. Even in games where they were only co-developers, Dimps has always generally handled the technical side of development. The company knows how to make games. There's no doubt about that.

Dimps even has its own unique fighting game IP, The Rumble Fish. Initially released on the Atomiswave arcade system, The Rumble Fish and its sequel, The Rumble Fish 2, are traditional 2D fighting games. What made the series particularly unique at the time was its graphics engine, which gave the developers the ability to animate their characters in more complex ways. Individual limbs are animated separately, and clothes can also rip over the course of a fight.

The Rumble Fish doesn't exactly have a great legacy, but that has more to do with how inaccessible the series has been up until the last few years. When it comes to the actual quality of the series, it's a good experience. Dimps can be trusted with full creative freedom, and it'll be fun to see what they can come up with their upcoming boxing game. Will it go for a realistic or anime-like artstyle? 2D or 3D? Single or multiplayer focus? No details are available just yet, but time will tell.

The Rumble Fish 2 is the second of two games in The Rumble Fish series. They were unique 2D fighting games at their time of release, known mostly for their distinct graphics engine.