recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Banjo-Threeie

*Banjo-Threeie* is a cancelled video game that was developed by a British video game developer Rare and was initially going to be published by Nintendo, and later Microsoft Studios (Microsoft Game Studios at the time). The game was going to be the third installment in the *Banjo-Kazooie* franchise. It was initially developed for the Nintendo GameCube, and later due to Microsoft's purchase of Rare.

## Development

Although it should be noted that the third sequel is definitely Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts , it was planned to give it the title **Threeie** , announcing it almost at the end of the second sequel, before Gruntilda was defeated. In the year 2000, Nintendo confirmed that the adventures of the bear , the bird and the mumbo would come back , so the mention was also made that the witch Gruntilda would reappear in one of her last and greatest battles, saying of it would be a great job for the Rare companyand the saga.

## Plot/Synopsis

Although almost nothing is known about the game, it could be deduced that after Gruntilda's defeat, his minions would exact revenge against Banjo and Kazooie, pursued by a horde of enemies, this was previously shown in a small demo trailer.

## Why It Was Cancelled

1. The only known reason why the game was cancelled is The company *Rareware* was bought out by Microsoft for $375 million.

## Result

* The game was cancelled.
* The game then later reworked into *Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts*, recieving negative reviews by fans of the series.
* Banjo-Kazooie was added to Super Smash Bros Ultimate.
Family Guy Video Game (GameCube)

***Family Guy Video Game*** is a 2006 3D platformer game released on the Xbox and PS2 and is based on Fox's Family Guy TV series. The game was meant to have a Nintendo GameCube version as well, but it was cancelled. A listing for it can still be seen on the Best Buy website as simply "Family Guy", implying that the game may have originally been called that. However, it has the same description as the PS2 and Xbox versions, confirming that it is the same game.

## Why It Was Cancelled

* It is unknown why it was cancelled, but it is possible that the GameCube simply wasn't popular enough.

## Trivia

* More platforms for the game may have been planned as well, as one article states that the then-upcoming game would be released on the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS and PC in addition to Nintendo GameCube, Xbox and PS2.

1. ↑  https://www.bestbuy.com/site/family-guy-nintendo-gamecube/7844318.p?skuId=7844318
2. ↑  https://www.videogamer.com/news/family-guy-game-details/
Crash Tag Team Racing (Nintendo DS)

*Crash Tag Team Racing* is a game released for PSP, PS2, GameCube and XBOX in 2005, Originally there was a Nintendo DS version planned.

## Plot

The port was not going to be a direct port like the other ones and was developed by Sensory Sweep.

## Why it was cancelled

It was cancelled because Mario Kart DS was coming out about the same time.

## Results

PSP is the only portable port of Crash Tag Team Racing.

## Trivia

* If the port wasn’t cancelled, there would’ve been 4 Nintendo DS Crash Bandicoot games instead of 3 (5 if you count the cancelled Crash Landed).
Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble (Virtual Boy)

***Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble*** is a cancelled action puzzle/non-traditional platformer *Kirby* game that was going to be released by HAL Laboratory and Nintendo for the Virtual Boy.

## Why It Was Cancelled

* The cancellation reasons are unknown but the Virtual Boy was a commercial flop.

## Result

* The Game Boy Color version was released in 2001.
Atari Panther (game console)

The Atari Panther is a game console to be developed by Atari. It would have been released before the Atari Jaguar in 1991.

## Specs

The Atari Panther would have been a 32-bit system, with a Motorola 68000 running at 16 MHz, a custom sound chip dubbed “Otis,” and a custom object processor dubbed “The Panther.”

## Planned Games

1. Cybermorph
2. Raiden
3. Trevor McFur in the Crescent Galaxy
4. Mario Bros.
5. Donkey Kong
6. Donkey Kong Jr.

## Why it was Cancelled

The Atari Jaguar was progressing at a faster rate than intended, so Atari left the Panther in the dust.

## Results

* The Atari Jaguar came out in 1993.
* The planned games were developed for the Jaguar instead.
Pac-Man and Marzel Drisdom and Friends

**Pac-Man and Marzel Drisdom and Friends** is a cancelled arcade game that was supposed to be released in 2023. The game was created by Justice Elliott, True and Bartleby and Popee Abby, He uploaded 13 videos on Pac-Man and Marzel Drisdom and Friends on YouTube.

## Why It Was Cancelled

* Namco cancelled it due to licensing issues.
* Namco couldn’t voice-over it, and didn’t like the game at all.

## Result

Namco removed it from the upcoming games, and the game was permanently cancelled.
Donkey Kong Racing

***Donkey Kong Racing*** was a planned follow-up to the Nintendo 64 game, Diddy Kong Racing. It was planned to be released in 2002 (specific date unspecified).

## Goal of the game

The game was first announced at E3 2001, with a pre-rendered trailer showing the game's concept. However, the trailer and a press release (which stated that the game was set for release in 2002) made in anticipation of Space World 2001 ended up being the only public media shown for the game, as Rare was purchased by Microsoft in 2002, which caused the company to lose the rights to the *Donkey Kong* franchise's characters, before the game's completion. The game was considered canceled due to the buyout and a lack of information for several years, as well as the fact that it was going to be released for the Nintendo GameCube; unlike *Diddy Kong Pilot* and *Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers*, however, *Donkey Kong Racing* was never formally confirmed as such. A Donkey Kong-themed racing game was eventually released as *Donkey Kong Barrel Blast*.

After the buyout, the game was heavily reworked to be *Sabreman Stampede* and set for release on the Xbox 360. However, this iteration of the game also ended up being canceled.

## Why It's Cancelled

1. The company *Rareware* was bought out by Microsoft for $375 Million. This caused Rareware to lose all the rights to the Donkey Kong franchise, which went back to Nintendo, and then to Retro Studios.

## Result:

5 years later, *Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast* would be released for the Wii, on June 28, 2007. The game recieved mixed reviews from players.

## Videos

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UThl\_yyXDlQ
Atari 5100

The Atari 5100 with its bigger brother, the 5200

The **Atari 5100**, also known as the **Atari 5200 Jr.** or **Little PAM**, was an unreleased console developed by Atari.

## Goal

It was developed to be a smaller and less expensive version of the 5200. Cost-cutting measures include the removal of the 5200's joystick storage area, plus excess material. It also uses the same power supply as the later two-port model of the 5200. Only a few functioning prototypes were believed to have been made before it was cancelled.

## Why it Was Cancelled

The 5100 was cancelled because of the original 5200 console's failure in the video game market, coupled with the Video Game Crash of 1983.

## Gallery

Size comparison5100 motherboardA variant of the 5100 case with a black bezel
## Trivia

* The case design was done by Mark Biassotti, who went on to design the body shell for the Atari 2600 Jr.

## External Links

* Atari Museum page on the 5100 (Archive)
* Atari 5100 at AtariHQ.com
HYENAS

***Hyenas*** was a planned science-fiction first-person shooter developed by Creative Assembly and published by Sega. It is a multiplayer heist game set in a dystopian future. Players take control of a space pirate called a Hyena and compete in teams of three to raid heavily guarded Plunderships.

     The aim of the game is to break into vaults spread across the map, loot the Merch inside, and escape the ship alive. The game supports up to fifteen players in teams of three.

The game is set in a near-future where the wealthy have moved to Mars and created a paradise for those who can afford to live there. Players control a titular Hyena, a space pirate from the Taint, a collection of orbiting slums. They raid enormous Plunderships on their way from Earth to Mars in an attempt to steal the Merch held within.

## Why It Was Cancelled

Sega cancelled the "Hyenas" video game due to several reasons. One of the main reasons was cited as a lower profitability mainly in European bases. In response, Sega implemented structural reforms aimed at increasing efficiency and reviewed in-development games. Another reason for cancellation was the financial loss that Sega warned its investors about. This contributed to the decision to cancel the game. Sega reviewed the title portfolio of each development base in Europe and decided to cancel "Hyenas" and some unannounced titles under development. Additionally, Sega planned to implement a reduction of various fixed expenses at several group companies in the relevant region, centered on Creative Assembly. Finally, there were concerns about the game's success, causing internal worry that it would fail to do well.
Lego 007

After the success of Lego Star Wars: The Video Game, Travelers Tales wanted to explore more franchises in Lego form. A test animation of a Lego James Bond was pitched to Lego from Travelers Tales around 2005.

## Plot and Goal

The plot is currently unknown, though it likely would have been Lego adaptations of the *James Bond* movies. like Lego Star Wars

## Why It Was Cancelled

1. When *Casino Royale* came out, Lego thought the *Bond* franchise was "too dark and gritty for a kids game".
2. Possibly, Lego didn't have any 007 sets at the time.
Jean-Claude Van Damme untitled fighting game

Before Mortal Kombat was initially created Ed Boon and John Tobias had an idea to make a Jean-Claude Van Damme fighting game, If you don't know him, he's a fighting and action movie actor, He participated in famous films like *Bloodsport, kickboxer, Lionheart, Universal Soldier, etc But unfortunately jean-claude didn't accept that they made the game about him*

why was it cancelled?

Jean-Claude did not accept that Ed boon and John Tobias made the game about him

Results

Jean-claude participated in the street fighter movie And the game street fighter movie the video game

Ed Boon and John Tobias Finally Created Mortal Kombat and They made a character called "Johnny Cage" which was inspired by Jean-Claude (He would be a protagonist in the game but Liu Kang is a protagonist instead)
Propeller Arena

***Propeller Arena: Aviation Battle Championship*** (also simply called ***Propeller Arena***) is a video game for the Dreamcast console. It was originally titled Propeller Head Online, and was to be released on September 19, 2001. The game was trademarked on August 14, 2001. It was developed and completed by the development team Sega AM2, but the game was never officially released. The release was cancelled just days after the September 11 attacks, citing both similarities in game packaging and design to the events of that day as well as the Dreamcast's declining market share resulting in projected low sales numbers.

## Why it was Cancelled

The September 11 attacks, cause this game to decline.

The poor marketing Dreamcast sales.

## Result

the game was never released but yet was leaked on the internet.
Lego Stunt Rally (PS1)

Lego Stunt Rally is a PC racing game released in late 2000. A PlayStation port was in development but was cancelled before its scheduled release in 2001.

## Plot/Goal

Mr. X, a wealthy racer, has invited four amateurs to face off against four other racers on Stunt Island.

## Why It Was Cancelled

No reason is officially known, though the lackluster scores and sales of Lego Racers, and the impending release of the PS2, were likely reasons.

## Trivia

* An advertisement for this game can be seen on the back of the PlayStation version of Lego Island 2's manual.
* The official PlayStation website says this game is out, even though it isn't.
Dog Eat Dog

**Dog Eat Dog** is a cancelled PC adventure game, originally developed in 1992 by Darlene Waddington (who also worked on *Dragon's Lair* on arcade and *Duck Tales*on NES) for Buena Vista Software, a division of Disney Software that concentrated on games for an older, more mature audience.

The game would have the player (either male or female) as an office employee attempting to work their way up in the "Big Black Box Industries" company by interacting towards many other characters, getting various results by changing their communicating attitude (going from *"Berate"*, *"Sympathize"* or*"Kissup"*).

The storyline would have been quite dark and cynical, encouraging the player to be manipulative and opportunistic, and satirizing the merciless nature of the corporate world (hence the title). It would also have included sexual themes.The graphics were comic-book inspired (by this period).

The project was left in development hell, until it was reprised in 1995, this time produced by Trilobyte. Waddington was still designing the game, along with two other writers, Tamara Williams and Susan Chaw, forming the *Ministry Of Thought*studio.

The look of the game was completely revamped; it was redesigned as to be FMV (which was a trend in PC games of the mid-90's), with more than twenty actors. They were to be shot on green-screen and afterwards incrusted on 3D backgrounds. Despite shooting almost 200 hours of film and spending almost a million dollars on it, the game ended up being cancelled for good.

No known playable copy of either version of the game has been made available.

## References

https://www.abandonware-france.org/ltf\_abandon/ltf\_jeu.php?id=1462
Killing Bites

"Killing Bites" was supposed to be a PS4/Vita game based on the manga/anime series of the same name created by Shinya Murata

## **Plot/Goal**

Although gameplay footage was never revealed to the public, it was going to be a multiplayer fighting game about the Killing Bites tournament, in which "the one who's fangs are the sharpest wins"

## **Why It Was Cancelled**

The game was supposed to be released in 2016. However, the developers got dissolved in that same year and because of features that would go beyond the multiplayer mechanic planned for the game.

In 2017, the developer Nex Entertainment announced that the game's development was fully suspended and apologized and thanked everyone for supporting the game
MultiVersus (Nintendo Switch)

A port of MultiVersus was planned for Nintendo Switch, however, it did not come to fruition.

## Why It Was Cancelled

* Due to issues, Nintendo was unable to acquire the rights from Warner to make a port of MultiVersus for Switch.

## Results

* There is no Switch port, but there are theories that an MVS port for NS will be made in the future.
Harlem and chance vs the big world 5

harlem and chance vs the big world 5 is cancelled game oversoft in may 7 2006 oversoft needed a new game so on facebook they said what new game do you want so the list was chole hd remake and harlem and chance vs the big world 5 the vote was done on june 8 2006 they made the game in april 23 2007 they did chance and harlem model harlem model was a pink jacket blue pants and white shoes and chance model was a blue jacket red pants and red shoes threre was 80 levels harlem house chance house water park lava land and more in july 9 2008 threre were more people ashton emery cody and more but was remove because they will not work out in the game in 11/24/2009 the game was canclled because oversotf did not want a game with a lot of levels and they made like it was woc so the chloe hd remake came out
New Space Order

***New Space Order*** was a planned real-time strategy arcade game in development by Namco Bandai Games. The game began development in 2007 and was cancelled in 2009. A short anime series tie-in, *New Space Order: Link of Life*, was also produced.

## The goal of the game

The player, controlling a large fleet of ships, was to conquer surrounding planets by attacking enemy ships with their own. Many of the game's ships were from various games such as *Galaga* and *Bosconian* and were to use special weapon types that were based on their original titles.

## Why it was cancelled

* Namco Bandai considered the concept of a real-time strategy game too advanced for an arcade game.
* Developers encountered numerous bugs and issues that were very difficult to fix.
Big Thinkers 2nd Grade

Humongous Entertainment produced dozens of popular games like Spy Fox and Freddi Fish, but they also had a lesser known game series called *Big Thinkers*starring Ben and Becky Brightly, two peppy teenagers who tag along with you as you explore their house and play educational games to earn Smart Stars. Unfortunately, the series didn't catch on and only two games were ever released (Kindergarten and 1st Grade). However, one additional game--***Big Thinkers 2nd Grade***--was planned for release in early 1998 but despite being talked about somewhat extensively in a news article, it was never released to the public.

Thanks to this news article, we do know a few things about the game. *Big Thinkers 2nd Grade* would have followed the standard 2nd Grade curriculum and featured educational games like Ant Math, Spider-Web Words, and Sticker Toons.

Since so much information is given, one can assume that the game got a fair amount of development. It was unknown for years what happened to the game, but former sound programmer Devin Hurd eventually set the record straight by stating "It was developed in parallel with Big Thinkers Kindergarten and Big Thinkers 1st Grade and eventually was abandoned when developing three titles with one team proved to be too ambitious." It is unknown if any remnants of it exist.
Aquaria

*Aquaria* was a game being developed by Lobotomy Software. The game was an underwater exploration game, set for release in late 1998 on the Nintendo 64 and Playstation.

## Plot/Gameplay

In this game you control a third person viewpoint of an alien-like mermaid creature exploring sea labyrinths in open world exploration. Various game outlets compared it to the game *Nights* in its control, as your character could do acrobats or dolphin-like manuevers to dodge obstacles.

At one point, Lobotomy were contacted by Sega for possible work on an *Ecco the Dolphin* title. Lobotomy sent what they did so far of *Aquaria* to them, but Sega ended up not being interested.

## Cancellation

In early 1998, Lobotomy were purchased by Crave Entertainment, who requested them to work on the game *Caeser's Palace*. As a result, this ended up putting a hold to development on a couple other Lobotomy titles, including *Aquaria*. A year later, Lobotomy was closed down and their projects were handed over to Crave, who ended up cancelling all of them, thus shelving this title for good.

## Result

Despite no screenshots or art ever appearing to the public about this game, one ex-employee, Brian McNeely, does claim that a demo for it was created on PS1 hardware, and several journalists reportedly saw footage of it when it was still in development. Ironically enough, Brian has also said that design elements of this game did end up in the next Ecco game, *Defender of the Future*.

#### References:

1. ↑ https://www.unseen64.net/2015/03/09/interview-brian-mcneely-lobotomy-software/
Minibon's

**Minibon's** was a cancelled side game from the Welcome To Bon's Burgers franchise. It would've supposedly been an 8 bit styled RPG set to release for the pc.

## Story

Not much is known about the story, other than the fact that the player would have to solve the problems of a town's inhabitants.

## Gameplay

The game would've involved the main player character Bon, exploring a small town and doing various tasks and side quests for NPCs. There would've been specific areas of the game hidden behind glitches. The only known mechanics of the game are movement, and interacting with people and objects.
Later in the game the player would gain acess to multiple charecters, prsumbly only able them within teams of four at a time.

## Cancellation

The game was canclled along with its sister game, Welcome To Bons burgers in 2019 by its creator u/Cupcakecomeme2764 along with the various other spin offs.
Resident Evil (Game Boy Color Port)

*Resident Evil* is a game released for the PS1 in 1996. In 1999, Capcom decided to let HotGen Studios port the game to the Game Boy Color. Intended for a Christmas 1999 release, the game got delayed. In early 2000, the port was cancelled.

## Why It Was Cancelled

1. Despite being 90% completed, Capcom wasn't happy with the port.
2. It already missed its Christmas 1999 deadline.

## Result

It was cancelled. However, 2 prototypes have been leaked online.
Atari Cosmos

The **Cosmos** was a tabletop console developed by Atari at their Holoptics Lab, which engaged in research and development of holographic technology.

## Goal

The system was supposed to be innovative in the use of Holoptic technology, where pre-printed, two-layer holographic images were superimposed over a 7-by-6 grid of red LEDs to enhance the display. Two small lights illuminate one or both holographic images depending on the game state.

The Cosmos was to have nine game titles released for it, but the logic for all nine are contained within the system itself, technically making it a dedicated console (a fact not publicized at the time by Atari). The cartridges, which were going to be sold for $10 at retail if the system did see release, only contained the holographic images and a notch to identify what game it is to the main system.

With development started in 1978, the Cosmos was showcased at the 1981 New York Toy Fair, where it received criticism. In spite of this, however, Atari managed to obtain 8,000 pre-orders for the system. Engineering logs indicated that a batch of 250 units was to be made, but it is unclear whether or not that they were all manufactured.

## Why it was Cancelled

According to an Atari Compendium interview with ex-Atari employee and video game industry veteran Roger Hector, the official reason for the Cosmos being cancelled, as told to Hector by then-CEO Ray Kassar was that Atari overbooked orders for the VCS and needed more production capacity. That, and at the time, Atari did not want to produce anything new.

## Results

As a result of the Cosmos' cancellation, similar projects that were being developed by the Holoptics Lab would never see the light of day. Al Alcorn left, followed up by Roger Hector and others, leading Atari to shut down the Holoptics Lab.

## External Links

* Wikipedia article
* Interview with Roger Hector at Atari Compendium
NBA Live 96 (Sega Game Gear)

*NBA Live 96* is the second installment of the NBA Live series, developed by Hitmen Productions/EA Canada and Electronic Arts and released in 1995 for PlayStation, MS-DOS, SNES, Sega Genesis and Game Boy.

A Sega Game Gear version was planned and it was to be based on the Game Boy version, but plans were eventually scrapped.

## Why It Was Cancelled

1. THQ/Black Pearl Software pulled out of the Sega Game Gear market, alongside other games like the Sega Game Gear version of *NHL 96*.
2. The Sega Game Gear was discontinued in 1997.

## Result

The Sega Game Gear version was permanently cancelled, likely because THQ/Black Pearl Software is pulling out of the Sega Game Gear market.
Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter (GameCube version)

Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter is a 2003 Sci-Fi first person shooter developed by Warthog Games and published by Vivendi Universal Games under the Black Label Games name for PC, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. It was also planned to be brought over to the GameCube as well, but the port would later be cancelled.

## Why was it cancelled?

* The game received generally mixed reviews from critics and gamers alike.
* Low sales on other platforms.
* Low in general GameCube console sales.

## Results

The GameCube version was permanently cancelled altogether.

We just got PC, PlayStation 2, and Xbox versions of this game.

## Trivia

Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter was at one point planned to be published by Crave Entertainment with EA handling European distribution, and was also originally planned as a Xbox exclusive too, until that plan was scrapped as PC, PS2, and GameCube versions were all announced in 2002. Most likely due to creative differences, Crave Entertainment dropped out of the production, and thus came Vivendi Universal Games (through Black Label Games name) releasing this game in June of 2003 in North American and later September of the same year in Europe.

Due to poor sales of the game on Xbox and PS2, Vivendi not only cancelled the GameCube version, but also (almost) cancelled the North American release of the PC version, until early 2004 where Mumbo Jumbo acquired the rights to publish the North American PC version.
Legacy of Kain: The Dark Prophecy

**Legacy of Kain: The Dark Prophecy** was an action game that entered development in 2004 and was cancelled three months later.
It was the intended sequel to Defiance, and the last chapter in the saga.

## Plot

Little is known about the intended plot, but it is speculated via the concept art that it might have involved playing as different versions of Kain.

## Why It Was Cancelled

Eidos cancelled the game for unknown reasons. Ritual Entertainment was soon bought out, so all development ceased entirely.

## Result

The game's cancellation led to the franchise going inactive since 2003.

Various Legacy of Kain game began development and were cancelled as well, such as Dead Sun, and Nosgoth.

## Trivia

* Mama Robotnik/Divine Shadow has been amassing lots of information on the game, from looking into the artists' portfolios to interviews. As such there is plenty of concept art and ideas to be found online.

## Result

The game's cancellation led to the franchise going inactive for years.
Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers

***Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers*** is a cancelled puzzle game for the Game Boy Advance that was developed by Rare, Ltd. It was slated to be released in 2002.

## Why it was Cancelled

1. Rare was sold to Microsoft in 2002, causing Rare to lose the rights to the Donkey Kong characters before the game was finished.

## Result

* The game was eventually reworked into *It's Mr. Pants*, which was released on December 7, 2004.

## External Links

* Unseen64 article on Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers
Primal Rage II

**Primal Rage II** was a versus fighting game developed and released by Atari Games to arcades in 1996. By 1995, Atari had begun production of Primal Rage II. Ken Humphries, senior producer of the home versions of the original Primal Rage, said in an early 1996 interview that "Primal Rage 2 should come out in the arcades in September 1996. As soon as they finish that, we'll start working on the consumer versions."

The game was to feature new characters; humans called the Avatars, that were the gods' surrogates on Urth, with the first game's characters meant to make a comeback as said gods. Necrosan, a boss in the form of a living dragon skeleton, once rumored by video game magazine GamePro to be added in an updated release of the original Primal Rage, was to become the main antagonist.

The plot focused on the years after the first game's timeline. It turns out the meteor that crashed on Urth was actually an egg which hatched a being known as Necrosan. The gods fight it but their efforts end up being useless. Necrosan imprisons them in a state of semi-suspended animation, forms minions of his own and starts to wreak havoc on Urth. The gods then choose human Avatars for themselves. The Avatars fight the minions of Necrosan, release the gods from their prison and battle Necrosan himself. The warriors would be Malyssa, avatar of Vertigo; Arik, avatar of Sauron; Keena, avatar of Talon; Shank, avatar of Chaos; Sinjin, avatar of Diablo; Kaze, avatar of Blizzard; Tor, avatar of Armadon; and Xiao Ming, avatar of Slash Fang, a newly-introduced Primal God in the form of a Smilodon;

## Why It Was Cancelled

1. The game did not get very far into production before being cancelled, as Atari felt that it wouldn't generate enough sales.

## Results

Although the game never came to be, its story was later adapted into *Primal Rage: The Avatars*. Also, the characters of Slash Fang and Necrosan were released with the other god characters in the short-lived Primal Rage action figure series.
Akira

**Akira** is a cancelled video game based off of the anime film and manga series of the same name. The game, published by THQ, was intended for release sometime in 1994 and was planned for multiple consoles, including the Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Sega CD, Game Boy and Game Gear.

Video and screenshots of the game have circulated on the Internet, though ROMs or physical copies from any version of the game have yet to surface.

## History

Developer Jim Gregory, in an interview with video game website Hardcore Gaming 101, shared details regarding his experiences working on the Super Nintendo version of Akira.

According to Gregory, the original developer Black Pearl had transferred the rights to the game during development to THQ. THQ made demands of the project that were not possible to perform due to the technical limitations of the consoles. The lead programmer of the game left the project which further compromised the development process. These factors played a large role in the game's cancellation.

Gregory stated in the interview with Hardcore Gaming 101 that a physical copy of Akira for the Super Nintendo was never produced. The only playable builds were sent via modem to THQ. Despite this, THQ does not have a copy of the master in its archive. THQ mastering lab tech Ryan Arnold hypothesized that the master copy is currently in the possession of Akira's license holder.

Tom Meigs of Black Pearl confirmed that the company was also working on a Game Gear version of Akira. Progress of the game was destroyed when the programmer left the project. Approximately 30% of the game was completed.

A 1994 VHS release of the movie included a mail-in rebate offer for $5 with the purchase of both the movie and the video game.

In December 2013, gameplay footage was discovered in a video of the 1994 Consumer Electronics Show uploaded by YouTube user pookninja3. The footage was taken from the Sega Genesis version of the game.

## Gameplay

Video game journalist Phil Theobald shared his experiences playing the Sega Genesis version at the 1994 Consumer Electronics Show. According to Theobald, each level of the game played differently. A motorcycle racing level, a first person shooter level, an isometric perspective level, a beat-em-up level and a side-scrolling platformer level were all included in the game. Screenshots and the video of the game confirm much of his account.

According to Jim Gregory's testimony, the Super Nintendo release was intended to be a traditional platform game throughout. This version would borrow elements from the manga in addition to the film. A 16-bit rendition of the film's score was produced but could not be used due to licensing issues.

The Game Gear edition was a side scrolling action game with bike segments between levels.
Donkey Kong's Fun With Music

**Donkey Kong no Ongaku Asobi** (***Donkey Kong’s Fun With Music***) is an unreleased 1983 Famicom educational video game that starred the cast of the original Donkey Kong series with the newcomer Donkey Kong Jr. This game is meant to teach players music. They were planned to released this on Famicom in 1983 but they only released two educational games, Donkey Kong Jr. Math and Popeye no Eigo Asobi and cancelled this game for unknown reason.

*Donkey Kong’s Fun With Music* had only been announced in 1983 in a Japanese gaming magazine.

## Result

No prototypes or any other information has surfaced. Only four screenshots of the game exist.

## References

https://www.unseen64.net/2008/04/14/donkey-kongs-fun-with-music-nes-cancelled/

https://www.mariowiki.com/Donkey\_Kong\_no\_Ongaku\_Asobi
Capitol Punishment

***Capitol Punishment*** is a cancelled video game project by famed programmer Al Lowe (who created the *Leisure Suit Larry* series). It would have been published by Sierra and released for the PC by the end of 1994.

It was meant to be an action game where the player would play as both Bill and Hillary Clinton riding in a canoe on a long river while avoiding many obstacles and enemies, usually based on rival politicians and the gameplay would involve various politics-related satirical imagery.

Al Lowe cancelled the game when he realized his idea looked better on paper than in execution, and due to technical limitations: after getting so many elements together, the game would "bogged down terribly".

Apart from three different screenshots, no prototype or other media from the game has surfaced.

## References

http://verbosity.wiw.org/issue7/allowe.html

https://www.abandonware-france.org/ltf\_abandon/ltf\_jeu.php?id=1473
Duke Begins

Duke Begins was a project proposed by Gearbox Software. It was meant to be the origin story for Duke Nukem, as the name implies. Little is known about this game, since it was canceled prematurely.

## Why it was Canceled

1. Duke Nukem Forever and Aliens: Colonial Marines were in development.
2. There was legal trouble with Gearbox Software, the developer, and Take 2 Interactive, slated to be the publisher.

## The Result

There has yet to be a Duke Nukem origin story.
Def Jam Icon 2

**Def Jam Icon 2** is a cancelled fighting game that was in production by EA Chicago, a subsidary of EA, and would be published by EA.

It was to be the 2010 sequel to 2007's Def Jam Icon.

## Plot\Goal

The goal of Def Jam Icon 2, (as I think in my opinion) would have been to create a empire based on whatever musical career you chose. Hip-Hop would mostly be an increase in charisma and Insults (How much mental impact can have a insult which could destroy the other's will to fight) Rock & Heavy Metal would increase all the strengths.

## Gameplay

The gameplay is similar to Def Jam Icon, with music playing much larger role in fights, but Def Jam Icon 2 would include a new fighting combo system that can be charged in to powerful grappling attacks, as well as a new combo where a player can launch their opponent in the air. The game also has a stable and faster framerate than in Def Jam Icon.

Also the song switching feature would have now been upgraded from Def Jam Icon, song switching here would change to the player's stage, rather than on the stage the fight takes place on.

There would have been three modes available in the game, **Throw Down**, **Obey**, and **UCM,** but It's unknown what these modes would have the player do.

There were only two fighters available to play as, **Playa** and **T.I.**, in the beta version. There are only three stages in the game's beta version, **Physics Testbed** (**What Happens Here Stays Here**), a stage that was merely for testing, **Tarmac** (**Ground Level Turbulence**), a stage that would take place at an airport, and **Custom Car Shop** (**Pop Goes** **the Diesel**), a stage that would take place in a car shop. There was only two songs in a video of Def Jam Icon 2, **Rich Boy - Boy Looka Here**, **T.I. - Big Shit Poppin' (Do It)**, which would possibly be in the game. 7 mostly likely (As I could believe) would be **Ghostface Killah feat. Doom - Renegade,** **Young Jeezy - Put On, Bishop Lamont - City Lights, Ja Rule feat. The Game - Sunset, USDA - Corporate Thuggin', Beanie Sigel - What They Gonna Say to Me,** and **T.I. - Big Things Poppin'**

## Why it Was Cancelled

* EA Chicago was closed down before they could do more to Def Jam Icon 2, as well as to more projects that were in the works before they could complete it.

## Results

* A prototype of it was leaked by SuperiorVersion.com, a website that is closed, which showed many beta elements of the game.

## Videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XM0S9Ld7puk
Batman: The Dark Knight

***Batman: The Dark Knight*** was an action-stealth game for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 developed by Pandemic Studios from September 2006 until its cancellation in October 2008. It would have been the first open world video game to feature the DC Comics superhero Batman and was based on Christopher Nolan's film *The Dark Knight*. In *Batman: The Dark Knight*, the player controlled Batman, who could freely explore Gotham City, drive vehicles, and perform missions. Pandemic was given access to the film's script and other materials, and the cast was to reprise their roles for the game.

## Why It Was Cancelled

1. Development was stalled when Pandemic's staff discovered the underlying technology desired to create the game was incompatible with most assets.
2. Publisher Electronic Arts (EA) chose to cancel the game when it could not reach its intended December 2008 deadline.

## Results

1. *Lego Batman: The Video Game* ended up being the de facto tie-in game for the movie.
2. EA reportedly missed US$100 million in potential revenue.
3. The Brisbane branch of Pandemic was shut down shortly after the debacle in February 2009; some staff moved to Los Angeles to finish The Saboteur. The studio was closed entirely in November 2009.
4. EA did not renew its license, so the video game rights to the Batman intellectual property reverted to Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment afterwards.
5. Although a Dark Knight video game was never released, an expansion pack for *Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham* (2014) contains levels based on the film, and Batman's suit from the film is available as downloadable content for *Batman: Arkham Knight* (2015).
EarthBound (GameCube)

In 2003 Baten Kaitos director Yasuyuki Honne proposed to Nintendo a new Mother / Earthbound RPG for GameCube, but in the end the game was cancelled. This project was pitched in summer 2003, just a few months before the release of Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean, possibly to become their following collaboration between Nintendo, Monolith Soft, tri-Crescendo and Namco, the game was imagined in a quirky felt-made diorama graphic style, that would have been somewhat similar to classic Earthbound promotional clay models.

## Plot

The game looks like it would've been a remake of the SNES game, EarthBound (AKA Mother 2) since Ness is seen as the player character.

## Why it was Cancelled

1. It was rejected.
2. After the cancellation of Mother 3 for Nintendo 64, they were quite cautious about working on another new 3D Mother/EarthBound game.
3. Itoi didn't seem very interested.

## Result

The game was cancelled and doesn't look like it made it after the planning stages. 3 years later, Nintendo instead published Mother 3 on GBA and Yasuyuki Honne’s Baten Kaitos prequel (Baten Kaitos Origins) on GameCube.
Nightmare Creatures 3: Angel of Darkness

Nightmare Creatures 3: Angel of Darkness was to be a Action-Horror game that was originally planned for Spring of 2003 release. It would've been developed by Kalisto Entertainment and this time around be published by Ubisoft and was targeting PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Original Xbox. Spring 2003 came and went with no news, it was reported that a Ubisoft team took over development and was now planned for a 2004 release, but it since missed the year release date and no further news came about since. It was likely quietly cancelled.

## Plot/Goal

In the original concept for the game, it would've took place in 19th century Prague, Czechia, set many years after the events of Nightmare Creatures II, it is centered about a heroine who can merge with her pet raven and transform into a monster during the night and battle various hordes of Adam Crowley's creatures.

## Why it got cancelled?

* Original developer of this game Kalisto Entertainment went bankrupt & ultimately closed down in end of 2002.
* Ubisoft most likely lost all further interest developing this game and has quietly shelved it since.

## Result(s)

Nightmare Creatures 3 never saw the light of day and pretty much only survived through various concept art pieces.

The series concluded with Nightmare Creatures II.
Jungle Bots

*Jungle Bots* was a First-Person Shooter game being published by Titus and developed by Conceptual Realities. It was announced in 1998 and set for a release the following year for the Nintendo 64.

## Plot

In this game, the player ends up stranded on a jungle island, and is forced to do combat with a plethora of robotic animals.

## Development

One of the main problems that arose was that this was the first game that Realities had been working on, as previously they'd only worked on theme park attractions. They also had issue fitting the game onto N64 hardware.

Titus was also hoping to turn this game into a huge franchise line, similar to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They were going as far as hoping to have a toy line and animated series to debut alongside the game. According to one anonymous ex-dev, Titus "got to [sic] greedy" about the advertising, which may have disrupted development of the game further. Eventually plans for these fell through, but development of the game continued on.

After some time of silence, Titus announced that they would be showing the game at E3 in 1999.

## Why It was cancelled

Shortly before E3 1999, Titus suddenly announced that they were not only pulling the game from the show, but straight out cancelling it. According to them, the games development was not as satisfactory as they'd hoped it would be, and felt that they couldn't come to E3 with a product they weren't believing in. They also added that they believed the game didn't have much marketing appeal.

Conceptual Realities would go bankrupt shortly after the game's cancellation.

######

## Result

It's unknown what became of the remaining game files since. While some screenshots, concept art and a teaser trailer exist, any playable prototype or gameplay footage has not seen the light of day.

######

References:

1. ↑ https://www.ign.com/articles/1998/03/27/its-a-jungle-out-there
2. ↑ https://www.unseen64.net/2008/10/25/jungle-bots-n64-cancelled/
3. ↑ https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/04/13/titus-shelves-bots-and-camelot
Mega Man Anniversary Collection (GBA)

Mega Man Anniversary Collection, originally announced as Mega Man Mania, was originally planned to be released on the Gameboy Advance. Similar to the Console Versions, the game would've had it's own games, but it would be reworked with color on the first five Gameboy Games. However, the game was cancelled after being delayed for too long.

## Planned Features

* It would've had the first five Mega Man on the Gameboy, all recolored from black and white.
* A History Section possibly when each game was released.
* An artwork gallery with possible early development ideas.

## Reason for cancellation

The game was being pushed back several time having rumors thinking it to be caused by Capcom lacking the games' original source code. Around January 2006, several people contacted Capcom were told that the game had been placed on "indefinite hold" and have also been issuing refund checks to those who had ordered the game directly through their online store.

## Results

* Around the time the checks were issued, several retailers eclared the game "cancelled" and issued refunds or store credits.
* Though the game was cancelled, they can still be play on the handheld with backwards compatibility.
Crash Team Racing (2010)

Crash Team Racing 2010 is a cancelled racing game staring video game character Crash Bandicoot. It was developed by High Impact Games, a game company that had employees that once worked for Naughty Dog and Insomniac games, the companies that gave birth to Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the dragon.

## Development

High Impact Games began to work on the project presumably around 2009 in hopes of bringing back Crash Bandicoot to the gaming industry. The game was shown at E3 and even some screenshots were released on the Internet which you can see below.

## Why It Was Cancelled

Activision had just purchased the rights to Crash Bandicoot and forced the game to go into cancellation.

## Results

* Activision decided to rework the game into an all new racing game called *Dreamworks Super Star Kartz* starring various animated characters from various Dreamworks movies such as *Shrek*and*Madagascar.*
* A full on remaster Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fueled was released in 2019.
Mega Man Universe

***Mega Man Universe*** was a planned 3D platform-side scrolling game for the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade and is mainly based on *Mega Man 2*. However, it was later cancelled in 2011.

## Summary

Based on analysis, the game's plot would've been Mega Man 2, but in 3D-like graphics. However, players can construct their own levels and use various tools to create to their own will, just like *Super Mario Maker* and *Super Mario Maker 2*. They can also exchange parts and special chips giving Mega Man unique attributes, such as jumping height.

There are even other extra characters from the Capcom franchise, such as Arthur and Ryu, and DLC was also planned too.

## Development

Development began on March 2010 as news about the game first appeared when Capcom registered the trademark on April 27th, 2010. An animated teaser trailer was released July 16th, 2010 with Mega Man, Ryu and Arthur. Producer Keiji Inafune stated "We wanted to preserve as much as we can of the classic 8-bit Mega Man feel, while allowing players to project their own Mega Man onto the game."

Gameplay trailers were released on September 2, 2010 revealing the game having a level editor and character customization and more trailers show having music for the game.

## Why It Was Cancelled

Four months later, after Keiji left Capcom, Christian Svensson reported that despite the continued silence on the game's development, it wasn't cancelled, but it had experienced some significant changes due to criticism regarding unresponsive controls and strong negative feedback regarding the game's art direction. However, the game was later cancelled on March 31, 2011. Capcom announced the game was cancelled due to various circumstances. (Basically the negative feedback they had from critics who've tried the game out)

## Results

* Mega Man had more games planned after Mega Man Universe's cancellation, such as Mega Man Legends 3. But were all cancelled before Mega Man Legacy Collection.
* Excluding ports, a new Mega Man game was never released until 2015 being Mega Man Legacy Collection.
* Even after its cancellation, a new Mega Man title would not be released until 2018 of Mega Man 11.
* It's also possible that the 3D graphics were reused from Mega Man Universe.