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Post by phediuk on Dec 5, 2018 19:55:17 GMT -5
The "last great games for each system" thread got me thinking about this. How many games are there that were completed, then shelved for awhile, and then officially released later? I'm not counting stuff like prototypes leaked onto the internet or what have you, I mean commercial releases, as in, games that were still sold for money after being mothballed.
Super Battletank (Game Gear)
Made in 1994, but not released until 2001 when Majesco decided to publish it during the time when they had licensed the rights to the Game Gear. It was the only new game they released. The next-to-last release for the Game Gear in North America was The Lost World: Jurassic Park in 1997.
The Red Star (PS2)
Supposed to be released in 2004, and a demo even made it out, but Acclaim's collapse put in limbo until 2007, when XS Games put it out.
Strahl / Triad Stone
Data East Laserdisc game that was supposed to be released in 1985, when the first wave of FMV games was already pretty much done. So, it was mothballed until FMV games returned in the mid-90s and published by Media Entertainment Inc. on the 3DO and Saturn.
Zupapa
Neo Geo game completed in 1994 but shelved after developer FACE went bankrupt. SNK acquired the rights and released it in 2001.
Dead of the Brain 1 & 2 (PCE)
I'm not sure if this has ever been officially confirmed, but I'm assuming this was a mothballed game, given its absurdly late release in June of 1999, over 2 years after anything else for the system, and 6-7 years after the original PC-98 releases.
Star Fox 2
Probably the most famous example: despite being completed (or damn near to it) in 1995, it was passed over in favor of effectively remaking it as Star Fox 64. Finally saw release in 2017 as part of the SNES Classic.
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Post by mainpatr on Dec 5, 2018 20:54:11 GMT -5
The Last Guardian
Announced for PS3,then came out years later on the PS4
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Post by phediuk on Dec 5, 2018 22:12:24 GMT -5
The Last Guardian Announced for PS3,then came out years later on the PS4 That's a case of development hell.
This thread is for publishing hell.
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Post by vnisanian2001 on Dec 5, 2018 23:49:14 GMT -5
Night Trap was intended for release as early as 1988/1989 on the unreleased Control-Vision.
HAL Laboratory's ports of Midway's arcade classics were supposed to come out in 1983.
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Post by Bumpyroad on Dec 6, 2018 2:02:29 GMT -5
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Post by teroknor on Dec 6, 2018 4:34:00 GMT -5
Ballblazer and Rescue on Fractalus! got lost in the shuffle in 1984 when the Atari 5200 was discontinued and Atari was sold to Jack Tramiel, and didn't get released until more than a year later. Pirated copies were infamously widely available long before that.
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Post by kingmike on Dec 6, 2018 11:37:35 GMT -5
You mentioned Star Fox 2 but forgot EarthBound Beginnings? (the official name for Mother 1, translated in 1991 but not officially released until 2015 on Wii U)
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Post by zaphie on Dec 9, 2018 18:47:04 GMT -5
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Post by ommadawnyawn2 on Dec 10, 2018 8:55:40 GMT -5
Triad Stone was released on the Laser Active in 1993, that's how I first played it.
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Post by phediuk on Feb 9, 2019 11:40:16 GMT -5
Courtesy of the GDRI, apparently the Mega Drive version of Ultraman was completed in 1991 but delayed until 1993 due to a dispute between Sega and Bandai.
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Post by ZenithianHero on Feb 9, 2019 11:46:01 GMT -5
Rodea the Sky Soldier, Wii version. Yuji Naka said the game was completed in 2011 but no publishing. Then later releases as a bonus game for the Wii U "remaster/reimagining" in 2015.
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Post by phediuk on Feb 9, 2019 20:18:16 GMT -5
A more minor example, but according to Sega Retro, Metal Fangs for the Mega Drive was delayed for 18 months after completion (June '92 > Dec '93), for unknown reasons: segaretro.org/Metal_Fangs
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Post by starscream on Feb 10, 2019 10:22:20 GMT -5
Submarine Commander, Computer War and River Rescue for the TI-99.
This was a trio of early computer games originally published by the videogame division of Thorn EMI for various computers, but there was trouble with the parent that lead to some reorganizing and then Texas Instruments pulled the plug from the TI. Some third parties picked up these ports, the delay until they reached the market was 2-3 years (1986).
Also, the Atari 7800 is a case where the system itself was shelved for a while. The conversions of Asteroids, Dig Dug and Galaga seem to have been ready for the planned launch in 1984, the console was released in 1986.
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Post by kingmike on Feb 10, 2019 12:14:07 GMT -5
Related to the Atari delay, Milipede, Joust and StarGate/Defender II for the NES were written as launch games for the Atari Famicom in 1984 but when that got pulled, they ended up releasing in Japan in 1987 (with 1983 Atari copyrights) and I believe a year or so later for the NES (with slightly updated graphics and more accurate copyright).
Also, WURM for the NES was supposedly mostly finished in 1989, but was delayed until late 1991 in both Japan and the US due to bug-testing according to the programmer.
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Post by dsparil on Feb 10, 2019 12:26:27 GMT -5
Wizardry V was held back 2 years as it was made by a different team (well mainly David Bradley) and finished before Wizardry IV.
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