DIGITISER
  • MAIN PAGE
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Game Reviews
  • FAQ

THROTTLED AT BIRTH: 10 GAMES AND CONSOLES THAT NEVER GOT RELEASED

8/2/2018

18 Comments

 
Picture
"The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men, 
Gang aft agley, 
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain, 
For promis'd joy!"


So wrote Robert "Rabbie" Burns, The Bard of Ayrshire - presumably while drunk from the looks of it. Nevertheless, as incomprehensible as that "poem" may be, it serves as the perfect introduction to this: a list of the biggest unreleased games and consoles ever... many of which appear to have been conceived by drunks.
MEGA GAMES
Picture
At a time when home computer games were straining against the limitations of the available hardware - like a schoolboy's trunks during a swimming gala - Liverpool-based Imagine Software announced a range of new games for the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum which were so powerful they'd require you to plug them into a uranium rod (or, at least, a sort of RAM add-on pack thing). 

Psyclapse, Bandersnatch, Hero and Star Traders were the four "Mega Games" known to be in development, with a further two on the drawing board.

They were heralded with a series of press ads, many of which - it later transpired - Imagine never ended up paying for. The company choked on its own hubris in 1984, owing hundreds of thousands of pounds for advertising and tape duplication. Indeed, the company's demise was famously caught on camera in real time, after a BBC film crew had been invited into Imagine HQ - ostensibly to document this world leader in game design.

Ironically, the so-called "Mega Games" were an attempt to reverse the company's fortunes; by bundling each game with additional hardware, that would boost the host system's memory, Imagine believed it would neuter the dirty piracy it felt was damaging the company's bottom line (and, indeed, its bottom).

However, the cost of developing the games - due to retail at a then-eye-watering £40-£60 - proved prohibitive, and hiring sci-fi artists Chris Foss and Roger Dean to design the packaging artwork ate further into Imagine's evaporating resources. 

Most of the company's employees later wound up elsewhere in the games industry, and though the Mega Games were never released, elements of them made their way into other games; Amiga/Atari ST title Brataccas was essentially Bandersnatch, while Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Gift To The Gods both featured aspects of other "Mega Games".

Although, frankly, that's like sprinkling your dad's ashes on your breakfast cereal and claiming it's what he would've wanted.
KONIX MULTISYSTEM
Picture
Konix was the proverbial "King Dong" of the 1980s the joystick and peripheral market. Its Konix Multisystem was born initially out of an attempt to make a more ambitious sort of add-on, before evolving into a console in its own right.

Developed in conjunction with a team of former Sinclair employees and legendary "gaming yak" Jeff Minter, the floppy disk-based system would have included a core console which could be reconfigured to make steering wheels (with foot pedals), handlebars, and a plane control "yoke".

Additional hardware would've included a light gun, and - most ambitiously - a motorised chair, which would've replicated the experience of arcade games such as Space Harrier and Afterburner, and an exercise bike.

Alas, the "yoke" would prove to be on Konix.

Once again, the cost of developing the Multisystem eventually consumed the company - which had even sold off the rights to its existing joystick brand in order to keep the Multisystem project alive, albeit to little avail. After Konix dissolved, the hardware team eventually worked on a project which formed the basis of the Atari Jaguar... a console that wasn't cancelled, but probably should've been.

More interestingly, Sony had apparently been lined-up to manufacture the Multisystem - and funnelled what it had learned into the creation of its own games system...
PLAYSTATION/SUPER NES CD
Picture
Sony had begun taking dainty pigeon steps into the games industry after Sony engineer - and later, its chairman - Ken Kutaragi had seen how hooked his daughter had become on her NES.

Kutaragi went on to develop the Sony audio chip which provided the SNES with its sound, and it was through this relationship that Sony signed a deal to develop a CD-ROM add-on for the 16-bit console.

Sony unveiled the device - dubbed the "PlayStation" - in 1991, but behind the scenes things were less than friendly between the two companies. The very next day, Nintendo appeared to contradict Sony, stating that the Super NES CD-ROM add-on would in fact be developed in conjunction with Philips, Sony's long-time rival. 

Sony was reportedly furious, but it was a gambit which - initially anyway - worked in Nintendo's favour; off the back of its announcement, Nintendo managed to negotiate a much more favourable deal, which would have deprived Sony of any software profits associated with the PlayStation.

However, despite a reported 200 PlayStations being produced - along with software - the agreement ultimately disintegrated before the device could go into mass-production. As history records, Sony refocused its work on releasing its own standalone system, also called PlayStation, which in time would give Nintendo al "bloody nose". 
ATARI COSMOS
Picture
A tabletop, cartridge-based system developed in the late-1970s, the Cosmos was unique in that would've displayed games using a unique "holography" effect.

While this might sound impressive, when visitors to the 1981 New York Toy Fair were given a demonstration of the console, their feedback was, reportedly, less than positive. In the wake of this criticism, a humbled Atari chose to punt the Cosmos into a bin.

Nine games were known to have been planned for the hardware, including Atari heavy-hitters Asteroids and Space Invaders, plus Road Runner and Superman. 
SCOOBY DOO IN THE CASTLE MYSTERY
Picture
Inspired by the Dragon's Lair arcade game, Elite's Scooby In The Castle Mystery was an ambitious interactive cartoon.

When far-too-impressive screenshots appeared in the gaming press, many voiced a concern that it couldn't possibly be made to fit on the humble Speccy. Though Elite assured journalists that it had everything under control, ultimately they were proved wrong, and Elite was forced to cancel the project, when the graphics ate up all the available memory, leaving nothing for gameplay.

Not wishing to waste its licensing agreement, Elite instead churned out a cheap-and-cheerful Scooby Doo platform game.

True story: Scooby Doo was originally called "Too Much" (not a joke), but later renamed Scooby Doo after CBS programming boss Fred Silverman heard Frank Sinatra improvise the words "Doobie-doobie-doo" during a performance of Strangers In The Night. 
SILENT HILLS
Picture
One of the most high-profile cancellations of recent times, Silent Hills was to be the ninth instalment in the Silent Hill series.

Created by superstar games producer Hideo Kojima and superstar movie director Guillermo del Toro, a playable teaser trailer was even released - starring a digital recreation of The Walking Dead's Norman Reedus - before Kojima fell out spectacularly with his employers Konami over the release of his game Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. 

In the wake of the mysterious brou-ha-ha, Kojima left the firm that had employed him more or less since birth, formed his own company, and began work on a new game - the as-yet-unreleased Death Stranding - with del Toro and Reedus: the games industry equivalent of getting back at your ex by posting an Instagram of you in bed with their dog.
STAR WARS 1313
Picture
A victim of Disney's purchase of LucasFilm - and the company's decision to close its software subsidiary LucasArts - 1313 was created with the input of then-Star Wars boss George Lucas. It was rumoured to revolve around a young Boba Fett, and explore the literal and figurative underworld of the Star Wars universe's capital planet, Coruscant. Apparently, it all took place in a "big hole".

Though Disney has rebooted the Star Wars expanded universe following its takeover of LucasFilm, elements of 1313 have since appeared in other spin-off media. The disappointment surrounding EA's flaccid single player campaign in Star Wars Battlefront 2 - and the cancellation of Amy Hennig's Star Wars game - has since made the loss of 1313 all the more acute.
SIX DAYS IN FALLUJAH
Picture
Set during the Second Battle of Fallujah in Iraq - which took place just five years before Six Days In Fallujah began development - Konami was forced to cancel the game following a public outcry. 

"Too soon!" they wailed, having somehow missed all the other games in which people shot Middle Eastern men.

Six Days was being created with the help of actual veterans of the conflict, with the stated aim of making it the most realistic warfare simulation ever, and respecting the fighting men and women of the US armed forces. Allegedly, it played more like a Survival Horror game than a shoot 'em up.

​However, mounting pressure from Stop The War Coalition, British war veterans, and the father of Lance Corporal Thomas Keys - whose son was killed in Iraq - convinced Konami to lay a big egg on the project. 
SEGA VR
Picture
Surfing the hype wave surrounding Virtual Reality, Sega announced that it was working on a VR headset for its Genesis/Mega Drive console, with a release date pencilled in for Spring 1994.

Regrettably, the limitations of the host hardware - the Mega Drive was not known for its ability to handle complex 3D graphics - and reports from those who'd been demonstrated the device at trade shows that it caused motion sickness, led Sega to reconsider.

Absurdly however, Sega announced that the reason it was cancelling the Sega VR was not because it made people want to throw up on themselves, but because its virtual reality effect was "too realistic", and that users might end up hurting themselves while using it, by trying to walk around their living rooms and waving their arms around and that.

Only a handful of games were known to be in development for the system, with arcade smash Virtua Racing scheduled as a launch title. 
SEGA NEPTUNE 
Picture
As further evidence that Sega of the mid-90s didn't have a single clue what it was doing, despite having already been burned by the release of the Mega-CD and the difficult and expensive development of the 32X, the company was also working on a combined 32X/Mega Drive hybrid alongside its bona-fide next generation console, the Saturn.

Though the Neptune was shelved before it could enter into manufacturing, it's likely that the announcement alone - uttered in the same breath as the Saturn, stupidly - muddied Sega's ongoing strategy, and contributed to the company's famously troubled fortunes.
DIGITISER MERCHANDISE AVAILABLE NOW! T-SHIRTS! HOODIES! MUGS! AVAILABLE IN YOUR CHOICE OF COLOURS AND SIZES!
Picture
18 Comments
Chris
8/2/2018 10:26:53 am

Is The Downfall of Imagine available anywhere? eg. YouTube?

Reply
Dr. Budd Buttocks, MD
8/2/2018 11:54:14 am

Yes, it was called Commercial Breaks

Reply
Chris link
8/2/2018 12:25:16 pm

Thanks, found it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt9BsZCifgU

DEAN
8/2/2018 10:30:12 am

The Nintendo and Sony thing has always been of particular interest to me because it's makes me think about what may have occurred if Sony had been marked as absent from the console arms race.

Picture the scene! Nintendo and Sony had played nice together and shared the toys, in my humble opinion, video games as we know them would be fucked.

And for a console to get off the ground and to actually make it to the West it would take an awful lot of green - too much for most. Only a company like Sony with many years experience in the international entertainment sector and coffers of unimaginable (end of Lost Ark) enormousness could pull off such a feat.

Nintendo's greatest gift to video games is the Sony Playstation.

What I'm saying is that if you can imagine a past where the 2 big players remained as on their laurels as Nintendo and Sega either were or definitely on their way to, then video games today would be so very different. I'd argue that without Sony, games would be in a poor state.

I mean we can talk about economies of scale, bleeding edge 'consumer' technology and marketing but... well, I don't really want to.

And screw the Seattle-lites; the Xbox project is an answer to the Sony Playstation and it's connected media server in the living room promise - not anything Nintendo ever did.

So yeah, I think it's all interesting; you know, the shit that went down between these 2 shitbags.

Reply
Dr. Budd Buttocks, MD
8/2/2018 12:08:45 pm

If it hadn't been Sony, it would have been someone else like Philips or Panasonic. There was nothing particularly special about the Playstation hardware itself, there was no shortage of competing systems that were just as good or better. All it needed was someone with enough funds to sell a system cheaply, and the marketing skill to overtake Sega and Nintendo, who were driving under the influence and asleep at the wheel, respectively.

Reply
DEAN
8/2/2018 12:18:32 pm

I follow your logic but disagree with your conclusion.

Panasonic and Phillips lack Sony’s experience in global market entertainment. Sony are quite a different company when you factor this in. The 3DO and CDi were never in the same league and the best marketing in the world wouldn’t have changed that.

Neptunium
8/2/2018 12:22:36 pm

I think you're right. After reading Dean's comment my first thought was "the 3DO and it's follow up would have mopped up the space left by the PlayStation". Matsushita would have just continued dropping the prices of the console and made up the difference in software, and Nintendo would be scaring the publishers away by steadfastly sticking to carts in, what was then, a CD future.

DEAN
8/2/2018 12:48:31 pm

At that time no other manufacturer had Sony’s clout - they were THE lifestyle brand. Sure B&O had more prestige but when it came to cool and youthful Sony were unmatched. This is crucial because it gave them a unique position. Philips made Philishaves and Panasonic made your grandad’s stereo.

Biscuits
8/2/2018 04:51:01 pm

I have to concur with DEAN, Sony as a brand was a hip, young, CD player type brand - they were probably still most famous for the Walkman, fer cryin' out loud.

But I think more pertinant is the fact that when they released the PS they sent consoles to magazines, newspapers, gadget shows etc., whereas before consoles had only been sent to video game mags and kid's TV shows. At around this time the kind of specemins that had grown up with games were becoming fully-fledged adults with salaries... They 'legitimised' the industry more than any other company

Col. Asdasd
8/2/2018 07:21:44 pm

You make a strong case, DEAN. It's hard for us to appreciate just how many studios, genres, series and games owe their existence to Sony's bravery in stepping onto the scene. You have to wonder if Nintendo, complacent at the height of their market control, would have had the incentive to till such fertile soil for its developers.

On the other hand, the tremendous success of the Playstation became synonymous with glitz, spectacle and graphical fidelity. This was crucial to capture the sense of legitimacy Biscuits is referring to. Those were the terms on which the Xbox would engage with the Playstation 2, and for better or worse that's only become a greater focus of effort and investment as time has gone on.

Wadaload
8/2/2018 12:05:47 pm

Scoobypedia (which the site alleges to contain at least 12 000 pages of doo related trivia) doesn't mention the game(s console?) 'Scooby Doo in the Castle Mystery' at all! And the writers consider themselves fans!

From what I remember of the spectrum platformer: weren't the rest of the gang dismembered and put into vials or something?

Reply
BIFFO fan
8/2/2018 12:06:35 pm

Not that my opinion is worth a bean, but your writing is really good these days Biffo

Reply
Mr Biffo
8/2/2018 01:10:08 pm

Thank you. It makes me very happy that you think that. It felt like I was doing good stuff of late, but, well, I never really know.

Reply
sonicshrimp
8/2/2018 03:16:06 pm

I think lots of people (me included) really enjoy the website without commenting frequently. Hopefully, most of them help support it via patreon or t shirts as well.

What I mean is, more people will be enjoying it than the comments or google analytics might make it seem :)

Reply
Mr Biffo
8/2/2018 06:04:08 pm

Oh, hopefully! The stats have crept up a bit over the last couple of months, so people seem to like the direction it's going in.

Reply
Mr Bee
8/2/2018 10:32:51 pm

It's better when you keep the politics out of it. :-)

HotSoapyBeard
13/2/2018 07:33:52 am

Just for the sake of balance, I like your pieces with a bit of politics in them.

Starbuck
9/2/2018 12:10:54 am

Ooh, the sight of Psyclapse (which I've only just realised is misspelled Psyclops) and Bandersnatch and the thought of them running as I'd dreamed they would on original Spectrum hardware still makes me giddy down below...

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    This section will not be visible in live published website. Below are your current settings:


    Current Number Of Columns are = 2

    Expand Posts Area =

    Gap/Space Between Posts = 12px

    Blog Post Style = card

    Use of custom card colors instead of default colors = 1

    Blog Post Card Background Color = current color

    Blog Post Card Shadow Color = current color

    Blog Post Card Border Color = current color

    Publish the website and visit your blog page to see the results

    Picture
    Support Me on Ko-fi
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    RSS Feed Widget
    Picture

    Picture
    Tweets by @mrbiffo
    Picture
    Follow us on The Facebook

    Picture

    Archives

    December 2022
    May 2022
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    November 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014


    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • MAIN PAGE
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Game Reviews
  • FAQ