Unlike movies, video games can get far into production before the plug is unceremoniously pulled for a variety of reasons. Maybe the progress was not promising, the studio ran out of money, or development hit some unforeseen snags. The following ten games werecanceledfor reasons far stranger.
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It is impossible to say if they would have been great works had they seen the light of day, but at least they made the history books for the bizarre stories of their demises. A few of the situations are sad, though, forcing us to remember how ignorance and rash actions ruin potentially great things.
10Streets Of Rage 4
The world is finally getting a properStreets of Rage 4after decades of radio silence from the series, but fans could have gotten one years earlier had Sega of America’s new management been aware of the series' legacy.
As thestory goes, the American branch of the company recently had a change in management, and the new heads were completely oblivious to the series' past on theGenesis, and they didn’t like what they saw of theDreamcastgame. As unfortunate of a story as this is, maybe they did us a favor. After all, theStreets of Rage4coming out this year looks like an excellent beat ‘em up, something severely lacking in recent years.
9Six Days In Fallujah
Six Days In Fallujahaimed to portray a real-life battle in Iraq. The announcement sparked tons ofcontroversy, with numerous talking heads on television condemning the game for turning war into a video game. Many could not, and still cannot, see the medium tackling a serious subject with the right tone.
No one ever got the chance to find out ifSix Days in Fallujahwas a respectful portrayal of the skirmish, because Konamicanceledthe project shortly after its reveal.
8Motorstorm Apocalypse In Japan
Motorstorm Apocalypsetakes the racing franchise out of nature and into a city recently destroyed by a disaster. The game’s release was preceded by a devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan whose death toll reached over fifteen thousand.
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Out of respect and sensitivity to the tragic event, the game’s release was postponed worldwide by several weeks, and indefinitely in the nation suffering from the recent calamity. Japan ultimatelynever sawthe game released on its shores.Apocalypsewas also the series’ last entry.
7Ms. Pacman: Maze Madness 2
Can one have too muchPacmanor Ms.Pacman? Apparently, Namco Bandai thought so in the mid-2000s when they canceled a sequel toMs. Pacman: Maze MadnesstitledMs. Pacman: Maze Madness 2.
The3D platformerPacmangames were notoriously difficult entries in the genre, and this sequel probably would have been no different. Unfortunately, the publisher felttoo many otherplatformers were out at the time and didn’t want to release something into a busy market, so the project was shelved. Perhaps they underestimated just how much people lovePacman.
6Super Mario Spikers
Super Mario Spikerswas to be a unique blend of wrestling and volleyball. How the gameplay would have turned out is still a mystery, sinceNintendorejected it at the pitch meeting because it"clashed with the company’s code of honor.“We’re still unsure what that means, but it makes one wonder how many potentially great decisions were not made because of this philosophy.
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At the same time, having this code of honor has served them well throughout the decades. Though they’ve had some setbacks, they are currently riding high with the success ofNintendo Switch.
5Liquid Kids
The company working on the Amiga port toLiquid Kids, a populararcadegame, started work on the project before ever obtaining the rights. By the time the project was completed, the publisher stillfailed to secure them, forcing the completed game to sit unreleased for eternity.
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The build was discovered and put on the internet over a decade ago, but it sucks to think all that work never really paid off for the developers. Still, it is a risk one takes when working on a game without the proper deals put in place.
4Fez 2
Fezwas an indie phenomenon in 2012 when it came out, and a sequel was in development until Phil Fish abruptly canceled it on twitter while simultaneouslyleaving the industryaltogether.
It apparently came from a variety of pressures, but the final straw came from a statement made by Marcus Beer on a podcast from Gametrailers.com. In it, the host condemned Fish for his treatment of gaming journalists. While Beer may have had a point, his profanity-laden execution could certainly be construed as unprofessional, but anybody familiar with Beer’s work knows that is par for the course for the journalist.
3Thrill Kill
Thrill Killwas aPlayStationfighting gamecentered on being as explicitly violent as possible. As a result of its content, publisher Electronic Arts refused to market and release thefinished title.
Eventually, builds came out on bootleg and are easy to find on the Internet today. The work was not all in vain, either. Developer Paradox Entertainment would go on to makeWu-Tang: Shaolin Style, a fighting game based on the popular hip-hop group, using the same engine.
2Parasol Stars On Commodore 64
Parasol Starswas being ported to the Commodore 64 by a single person. All of his work went up in smoke one day when his wifedestroyed all the progressin a fit of rage.
The two had been going through marital problems due to his wife’s alcoholism, andParasol Starswas an innocent victim in the whole mess. The deadline was not extended and the port was canceled due to it happening near the end of the platform’s life cycle.
1Star Fox 2
Much desired sequelStar Fox 2was to come out near the end of the Super Nintendo’s life and before theNintendo 64hit shelves. This is apparently why the project was ultimately shelved, despite its finished state.
Nintendo didn’t want a 3D game coming out on the SNES, wishing for a cleardifferentiationbetween the two generations. The game finally saw an official release on the SNES classic, and while it is a solid entry into the series, the performance heavily suffers for attempting to run such a powerful game on SNES hardware.
