Gamers Don't Always Get What They Want

Kubinator

June 12, 2010

As a child, did you ever make a wish list--you know, your just-gotta-have new game, or t-shirt, or toy or DVD. Of course, your list is based on advertising hype for new movies, releases, and flashy models.

CanceledSide1 (35K) Gamers are no different! Gaming companies use screenshots, interviews, and commercials to introduce upcoming games. As gamers, we scour the Internet for facts, holding our breath and biting our nails in anticipation of the next new game, promising more action, better graphics, and exciting story lines! Despite the hype, and the sense of pending release, these anticipated games may be in development for years. Suddenly, the game ceases to be! Whether its development problems, employee firings, company closures, financial backing, or creative disagreements, or that the finished product is just going to suck--90% of these highly anticipated games never see the light of day.

Let's take a look back at some of these great games!

Number 1 on the list of hopeful sequels was Duke Nukem Forever, the long-anticipated follow up to the mid-1990's blockbuster, the king-of-all FPS'-- Duke Nukem 3D. Duke Nukem Forever has been in the works since 1997 and like many fans, I couldn't wait to drop one-liners and save babes. The game bounced between the Quake II engine and the Unreal engine and was supposed to finally be released in 1999. Fans were teased and tempted with press releases, screenshots, and magazine previews. 1999 came and went with no DNFr on the shelves! Loyal PC gamers stayed strong and finally in 2007 it was rumored the game would be finished within a few years. Two years later, we learned 3D Realms had laid off the DNF staff due to development and financial issues. Duke Nukem Forever was put on the backburner indefinitely.

CanceledSide2 (25K) Thrill Kill was another game I wanted to play after reading a preview. This game for the Playstation 1 was supposed to slash its way into gamers' homes in 1998. This over-the-top sadistic and ultra-gory fighting game featured four players at a time in a 3D room beating the crap out of each other. The game featured brutal end killings so gory they made Mortal Kombat fatalities look like baby kittens. Thrill Kill was going to be a technical feat for the PSX. EA eventually acquired the rights to publish the game but because of the high level of violence and the controversy surrounding the violent game, Thrill Kill was quietly shelved.

Star Fox 2, the sequel to one of the greatest SNES games ever was supposed to wow gamers in 1995. The graphics were going to blow both newcomers and fans away, and push the SNES system to the limits. There were six playable characters and the game was a mix of non-linear adventure and strategy. The saddest part of this story is the game was 90% finished when Nintendo pulled the plug, crushing young gamers' dreams. Why? Nintendo wanted to focus on the N64 and make the next Star Fox game using the N64. Gamers can only hope that, maybe one day Star Fox 2 will make it onto the Virtual Console.

CanceledSide3 (46K) Sonic's first foray in the 3D world was supposed to be in 1996 on the Sega Saturn in a game known as, Sonic Xtreme. Gamers would play Sonic Xtreme in a tube-like fashion, with Sonic walking on walls and changing gravity. Rumor was there was supposed to be four playable characters including Knuckles and Tail. But this was a game that bounced from the Genesis, to the Sega 32x, and the Saturn before being canceled for a variety of reasons. The two biggest cancellation factors were the shortage of manpower and company in-fighting on both the direction and development of the game. Some even claim the failure of Sonic Xtreme was the leading factor in the collapse of Saturn. Unlike its rivals, Nintendo and Sony, Sega was unable to produce a system selling, 3D mascot game, and gamers were forced to contend with Sonic 3D Blast.

Nothing has angered gamers more in the last 10 years than the cancellation of Star Craft Ghost! This game was a third-person action stealth game that was supposed to come out for GameCube, PS2, and the Xbox by 2004. Yet within a year of Star Craft Ghost's supposed release, the game was canceled. Ghost featured a good-looking Terran lady by the name of Nova who was a crazy, acrobatic, hand-to-hand, weapon-dealing death machine. The game contained multiple vehicles, a plethora of weapons including a flamethrower, and many multiplayer options. According to Blizzard, the game has been put on hold despite tempting fans with screenshots and advertising hype. With Blizzard's focus elsewhere, on WoW and Starcraft 2, gamers may never get a chance to play this game.

Gamers may or may not remember Super Mario Wacky Worlds. This gem was almost-created back in the mid-1990s when Nintendo was letting other companies use their character licenses. Phillips CD-I had an opportunity to use Mario in a game known as Super Mario Wacky Worlds, a Mario-themed game similar to Super Mario World. The real difference--Wacky World would feature real places instead of Mario's mushroom kingdom. Gamers had high hopes this title would be better than the Zelda games for Phillips CD-I. But because of hardware limitations, the game was shelved. In some ways gamers can be thankful it was never released, could there have been a game worse than Mario is missing?

Other canceled games include Primal Rage 2 for the arcade and Warcraft Adventure for the PC. Rumor was Blizzard canceled Warcraft Adventure because the company thought point and click adventure games were games of the past and that the game was going to sell poorly. Other canceled games I can think of were Halo DS, Shenmue III (Sega said it's still a possibility), Indiana Jones, Resident Evil 1.5, and Sonic Crackers are just a few more I can think of. Here's hoping fellow gamers, that someday some of these great canceled titles will see the light of day.