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The Heartbreak of Canceled Games
Gamespot has a piece running today revisiting some of the late and lamented game titles that never made it out of the development phase. Though the article covers all genres, there are a depressing number of canceled Massive titles on the list. From the article: "You'd be hard pressed to find a game whose cancellation caused Xbox owners to shout "D'oh!" louder than True Fantasy Live Online. The ambitious game was slated to be the system's first MMO and it was being crafted by seasoned Japanese developer Level 5, whose resume includes such gems as Dark Cloud 2 and Dragon Quest VIII. The game had all the signs of being one of those special landmark titles for a platform--more than just a seminal moment in the console's software library. The game's ambitious use of Xbox Live, which would have been the most extensive use of the service in a game ever, was more in line with the level of sophistication seen in a PC game. Unfortunately, it appears that Level 5's ambition was what led to TFLO being shelved. The game's scope and rich experience presented a sizable challenge for both the developer and Microsoft within the given time frame."
Exactly why isn't this considered late?
What article like this is complete without:
Sam and Max 2 I feel cheated looking through that article without seeing S&M there.
/^[A-Z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Z0-9.-]+\.[A-Z]{2,4}$/i
I remember the videos and previews, hell I still have the preview videos. I suspect that any sequel to UO won't stand a chance until the population numbers of UO drop below 30k or so.
Their comment about UFO:Aftermath was unwarranted. It actually is very much turn based, like the original and TFTD. In fact it is the closest to TFTD of the UFO games proposed or released.
I can tell you one thing though, I lament over the fact of what doesn't get cancelled. Some of the crap that does get released makes you wonder why we even play these games.
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
The sequel to the classic Last Ninja series from the 80s was first supposed to be released in 2000. The releasedate has since been pushed about 6 months at a time and been shifted from "cancelled" to "not cancelled" several times... Only time will tell if we'll ever see this game on the shelves. I've been waiting forever...
Info and beta screenshots at the unofficial Last Ninja 4 page
My other account has a 3-digit UID.
This list is missing a lot of in-progress-then-cancelled games for the PC. Where is Sam and Max: Freelance Police from that list? It was one of the most anticipated games in LucasArts' "Coming Soon" line-up with an estimated completion of 85-90% (based on statements by its developers) when LucasArts suddenly pulled it citing market reasons.
How about Full Throttle 2?
(Does Duke Nuke 'Em Forever count or is that "still" in development?)
The Overrated mod is for reversing inappropriate, positive mods, not for voicing disagreement with a post.
Star Trek: Secret of Vulcan Fury.
Written by D.C. Fontana, whom true fans will recognize as the author of many episodes, most of them good. Voiced by the original actors, minus the late DeForest Kelley.
One can only wonder what it could have been. It's my biggest "could'a been", and that includes myself as both an Ultima and Fallout fan. (Fallout3 would probably have been at least OK, hopefully outstanding, but after Ultima 9, I'm not sure we needed a 10...)
I refuse to accept that steaming pile they released as an actual game. Biggest. Dissapointment. Ever.
Oh, well. I inadvertently duplicated your sentiments in my own post. Looks like we were both typing at the same time.
A lot of the Sam and Max: FP developers created their own company, Telltale Games - www.telltalegames.com. Although they have not expressly said that they're negotiating with Steve Purcell, they have not ruled it out. Apparently, Steve Purcell was very upset with LucasArt's decision and TTG has the benefit of being the team that worked on Sam and Max: FP.
So, maybe after they're finished with their first major project Bone, based on the comic book of the same name, they'll be able to enter talks with Purcell.
At least we can hope.
The Overrated mod is for reversing inappropriate, positive mods, not for voicing disagreement with a post.
What kind of stupid list is this? On a slightly related note, maybe it should include some home brew games too - Chrono Trigger 3D, Zelda: Ocarina 2D...though I'm not sure if those would count or not.
I'm not scared of anonymous cowards.
- Star Fox 2 for SNES
- No Sonic 3d game for Sega Saturn
Sadly, Freespace3 was one of the many casualties of Interplay's death.
Somebody had better check their facts on this one...
"Think you can take me? Go ahead on. It's your move." --Joe Don Baker in Final Justice
One word: :'(
"Quoting yourself is stupid." -Me
FALLOUT 3.... I wanted it so bad.... *sheds tear*
I was eagerly awaiting the release of X-COM Alliance back in '99-2000. It was a FPS with some squad controls set in the X-COM universe and running on the original Unreal engine. Several friends and I were really excited about this game, being both FPS and X-COM fans.
I also remember reading a little about X-COM: Genesis before it was cancelled. It was a remake of the original X-COM: UFO Defense that was being worked on at the same time Alliance was. And then Hasbro decided X-COM wasn't a brand worth reviving and quitely cancelled both projects. What a burn.
And what did we get out of the deal? UFO Aftermath. Weeeeeak.
--Reverend Raven
Desperate days demand dire deeds.
Don't get me wrong, Halo was a great game, but way back in the day when Bungie was first talking about Halo, it was going to be this massive multi-genre game, having elements of an FPS, RTS, space sim, and possibly even RPG (though that was probably just hype admitedly). I can remember Battlecruiser3000-esqe usenet threads (minus Derek Smart of course) talking about how this game was going to revolutionize gaming as we know it, immerse you in a fully realized game world, make you toast in the morning and walk the dog.
Then all of the sudden, it was just another FPS. Well that turned out to not be quite true as Halo was anything but run of the mill, but you can't help but wonder what kind of game Halo would have been had the Bungie guys not got bored of Starcraft.
for Dreamcast, and you will have fanboys crying in seconds.
"Wow, Golgotha looks great", thought I so many years back. "I bet I'll be getting one of those Bitboys graphics cards when this comes out." Yes, those were my actual thoughts from that era. My belief in hype and far-off vaporware has been shaken greatly since. =)
Golgotha seemed like a really good concept. Sad to see that it never got released...
Not all was lost though, Battlezone had the same idea but more refined execution. Also, the game source and assets were released to PD. I couldn't help but grin when I installed an open-source mmorpg called Daimonin last week and as I started it up... "dah dah, da-da-da-dah..." familiar Golgotha menu theme =)
Hmm, speaking of Crack dot Com, I think it's soon time for my biyearly Abuse session...
This is the number one biggest disappointment for me. They even had articles about their amazing parametric animation system in GD mag! And then poof, no game :( Where are my dinos?
I awaited that game with bated breath. Sierra Online had done a feature article about it while it was in development in their user magazine. I wasn't alone; quite a few people got excited, only to find out the game was later cancelled. If Sierra hadn't been so stupid and had actually gone ahead and made the game, they would have released it right before the huge LotR craze that hit the US. It could have been big bucks for Sierra and good times for LotR fans like myself.
"We speculate that when you put the game on hard difficulty, you just get cancer and die." Or something to that effect.
I'm not scared of anonymous cowards.
You'll find the talent involved in UO2 has largely moved on to form the Tabula Rasa team under Richard Garriott (now part of NCSoft). I assume any of the feasible ideas from UO2 got carried along with them.
http://www.playtr.com/
I can't say I really miss Propeller Arena for the Dreamcast - I have a copy, it was leaked a long time ago (try those "backup" sellers or bittorrents). But still, it's sad that such an awesome game, even completed, was canned.
For more info, check my Propeller Arena Fan Site.
Circumcision is child abuse.
This article covers quite a few games - and these are just on one platform! (the ZX spectrum, in case it means something to you). Admittedly, some were ports of games that were released on other platforms, but still.
The worst has to be when a game ends on a cliffhanger but the sequel is never released. This isn't a problem that's unique to interactive media - this page lists many TV shows that were cancelled before a cliffhanger could be resolved.
Steve Purcell is not giving up hope, so we definitely shouldn't! It's a month-old link, but I noticed it a few minutes ago on TTG's site.
t ory=6021
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?s
Here are the last two paragraphs, bold emphases mine for those who don't want to read through the whole article.
Regarding the recent kerfuffle over a new Sam & Max title in development at LucasArts but subsequently cancelled, Purcell is relatively sanguine: "While at Pixar I was consulting on Sam & Max 2 after hours. I got word that it was cancelled from the team but the subsequent fan backlash was an unexpected side effect. Thirty thousand people signed the online petition protesting the decision. I had no idea there had been that level of anticipation for the game."
That would seem to bode well. I'm sure that if he had gotten no response he would have just assumed "Well, I guess no one is interested." (I hope that that I didn't just do a TripMaster Monkey, inane summarization there. Immense apologies if I did.)
Finally, Steve concludes his comments with equivocation about whether his involvement in the game industry is completely behind him: "Would I get back into games? Sure. The [Sam & Max] license is back in in my hands now so we'll see what happens in the near future."
Oh, sweetness!
The Overrated mod is for reversing inappropriate, positive mods, not for voicing disagreement with a post.
Half-Life for the Mac, goddamit. Sierra had the thing finished--but didn't go forward to releasing it, purportedly for marketing reasons. So I guess they prefer to lose their entire effort of porting it than spend another 10% to try to sell the thing.
Which meant no Counter-Strike for the Mac, either, naturally.
There are still many a Mac gamer that has a bitter, bitter hatred of Sierra for just this reason.
--
$tar -xvf
The cancellations that I was most surprised to not see mentioned in the article, were: - Babylon 5: Into the Fire - Fear Effect 3 - Star Trek: Secret of Vulcan Fury (mentioned above)
Duck Hunt 2- This time you can shoot the giggling dog.
Avoid the Noid 2- How did Dominoe's Pizza allow this franchise to die?
Superman 64 part 2- Substitute "purple haze" for "green kryptonite fog", and suddenly the sequel would make sense.
Catch-22: The Videogame- It would have been the best WWII-themed game ever. The best part is that it was to contain no action gameplay (except perhaps drunk driving in Jeeps and other mischief). Had it been completed it would have been part economic simulation and part non-linear, non-goal oriented RPG with lots of hilarious dialogue branches.
Forget True Fantasy Live Online. I'm sure that more RPG gamers have cried 'round the world over the lack of an Earthbound 64 (Mother 3).
On a bright note, there's rumor the game is back in the works for GBA (with the 2D style), but GBA is started to fade out in favor of DS. Maybe it will be a DS title? The DS is capable of N64 graphics, so maybe the DS will get the actual Earthbound 64.
Runner up on biggest RPG heartbreak was probably the move of Final Fantasy 64 to FF7 for PSone.
I was working on NHL 2K2 for the Dreamcast when Sega decided, "let's not make consoles anymore." Despite the fact that the actual game was completed, it didn't help my career any - I haven't been able to get a salaried job since. Needless to say, I'm a bit disappointed, here in my cardboard box.
Don't trust any concentration of power.
Then Sierra moved the team. Then they dropped the project.
Then when the developers raised the money to buy the IP, Sierra refused to sell at any price.
[sigh]
I still remember being shocked at the wonderful sound of my character walking across snow.
Outcast 2 cancelled. Truly a bad day for PC games.
I guess it has all ready been made. Check this out:
:)
http://www.gamershood.com/game.php?id=324
It even includes the "dog" feature!
Crusader: No Remorse and Crusader: No Regret were some of my favorite DOS games. A third was planned, but became one of the first casualties after EA took over Origin Systems.
Nintendo has a great puzzle set with Panel de Pon (Yoshi-rebranded as Tetris Attack here), Dr. Mario, and Yoshi's Cookie. For gamecube, with four player modes for each. Which THEY AREN'T SELLING HERE. Seems like they could pretty easily recoup any translation costs, even if they had to redo the exceedingly fairy Panel de Pon as Tetris Attack.
Jerks. I still gotta drag my SNES around to my friends so we can play the old 2 player version.
SO YOU'RE GOING TO DIE: The Comic for Dealing with Death
Duck Hunt 2- This time you can shoot the giggling dog.
Actually, in the arcade version of duck hunt if you made it far enough, the dog would start to jump up at the ducks from the brush. You could actually shoot him (would cost you the round) and then it show him hobbling along with a bunch of bandages on him. I think he would also wave his fist at you too. I was pretty disappointed that the home version didn't have that 'feature'.
DEAD DEAD DEAD DELETE ME
I was on the dev team for The Red Star - it was a really good game. I think it was fortunate enough to keep a low profile during its development, flying under the radar of the marketing and upper management types who love to add their touches to games. Either that, or the project manager did an excellent job of keeping them at bay. Whichever, we got the chance to put together a good fun game without too much interference.
The game was pretty much complete. Release candidates had been sent to Sony and MS, but I'm not sure exactly what the result was, as Acclaim collapsed just as the verdict came back. I believe some may have passed, but I know some failed (bugs found or failure to comply with standards), but they were really, really close.
One regret about the game was that Acclaim couldn't afford to pay for the movie sequences, so couldn't use the ones that were already done. This was a shame because they were very well done and did a great job of setting the atmosphere for the game. I hope that if another publisher does pick up this game, they'll spend a little money and effort to complete and reinsert the movies.
I feel cheated too when I don't get to see S&M.
volpone
I was looking at the game True Fantasy Live Online over the internet; I was looking at videos and screenshots and I got really interested in the game. Is there a game similar to this one out already? I mean, the game looks fantastic. It's not too serious, and not too childish. The videos on this page in particular caught my attention. Look at the end of this one (.mov file)... I like it because it looks like something Nintendo might have done (how ironic that it was set out for Xbox). Is there anything close to this game on the market right now?
Granted this borders on nostalgia, but I LOVED Master of Magic, as did many of my friends. A turn based strategy game, it came out it 1993 as a DOS game, had its share of bugs even fully patched, and did not work well with Windows. I can't quite put it into words, but nothing since has quite matched it in my eyes. The closest successor would be the Age of Wonders games. I own all three of those, and they still don't have the level of detailed city control that fans of MoM knew and loved.
:)
For years the promise was out there of a sequel. Then Microprose sold it (or was bought?), I think to Hasbro, and the team responsible got broken up for other projects. Heck, if all they did was properly port it to Windows and add mulitplayer alot of my friends would have bought it.
At least there is a multiplayer hack out there for those still willing to put up with the bugs. And yes, I still dust it off on occasion and play it.
"Build something idiot proof, and someone will build a better idiot" - Samuel Clemens
It was more than just nearly complete.
The X-Box version at least was finished and distributed on usenet. It is a great shame that it wasnt released officially it is well deserving of making money and there are few games as addictive and down right fun as it is. With any luck it will gain a cult following and either be released or another game based in the Red Star universe will come out.
As a kid, I loved The City, especially because there were so many places that you could *not* go, because those areas were to be in another installment of the game. And The Dungeon was even more fun, with actual quests and alignment. They were supposed to turn it into a MMORPG, but that died around 1999, I think. So, that series had a total of 4 or 5 planned games that were cancelled. This must hold a record somewhere in game history. The music in the game was the best to come out of my Apple IIc's tinny speakers...
--The Programming goddess from Gorflaz
Mechwarrior fan since Mechwarrior 2,Mechwarrior fan Forever.Cougar,Bushwacker,Thanatos,Mauler,Fafnir-I mish you all,My Heavy Metal Friends!
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.