View Full Version : WANTED Dreamcast HalfLife and lost games Whistleblowers!
luth714
04-15-2003, 09:41 AM
Hiya everyone,
I've posted this question on several sites and the trail has lead me to post here too!
I've got a copy of the DC Half Life that's knocking around on "the underground" and pretty impressive it is too I reckon. This has made me wonder why on earth it was pulled at apparently the last minute.
I've trying to gather information regarding the cancellation of Half Life and any other canned Dreamcast games (Colin McRae, Black and White, Propeller Arena, Soul Reaver 2) What state of play were these games in at the moment of execution? Could they still have been released (I know Propeller Arena was apparently all ready to go...)
As for Half Life, I've come across several theories, some relate to the financial state of Sierra, some people have suggested that Sony may have had more to do with it behind the scenes...
I'm planning on doing an article for a fanzine and would love to here from anyone who works or has worked in the industry and knows (or knows someone!) anything about this (ex Sega, ex Sierra, journalists etc) Please leave a post or contact me directly. Your anonymity is safe with me, its just that I've eager for this story to get out!
Thanks in advance to all you gamers who support me!
Ta
Luth
Tempest
04-15-2003, 09:45 AM
Propeller Arena is out there, I know one or two people who have it. I heard it got canned because of 9-11, but I never understood why they didn't release it later on.
Tempest
Captain Wrong
04-15-2003, 11:49 AM
Colin McRae? Really?
I followed the DC scene pretty closely and I never heard anything about Colin McRae coming to DC. I thought that franchise was pretty closely tied into Sony (a sweetheart deal of some sort). Just wondering if you heard something I missed. That'd be too cool.
Leo_A
02-13-2006, 02:18 PM
Sorry for bumping a old thread, was searching out information on Half-Life for the DC and had something to add to this.
Colin McRae was done and finished, but never released due to changing market conditions of the Dreamcast market.
And the series hasn't even seen the last two Colin McRae's released on the PS2 in the US. So In the United States, it's becoming more of a Microsoft series than anything.
diskoboy
02-13-2006, 07:51 PM
Tempest was right.
Propeller Arena was cancelled in the US because of 9/11. There's a stage where you fly planes into buildings. I've got a CDR copy of it. It's a shame it was never released. Thank god for newsgroups! ;)
If I remember correctly, It was actually supposed to come out the next day, wasn't it?
B&W was supposed to be out on the DC and PS2. I think they were both canned. The DC probably couldn't have pulled that game off, anyway.
Joker T
02-13-2006, 08:37 PM
Soul Reaver 2 was canned?
diskoboy
02-13-2006, 09:32 PM
BTW - What ever happened to DroneZ? I know the PC version came out with some Geforce 3 cards, and a DC version was announced before the console was even released. One of the main reasons I wanted a DC was because of DroneZ.
It never came out. And even an Xbox version was promised.. Again, vapor.
Smithy
02-13-2006, 09:33 PM
Soul Reaver 2 was canned?
Yup, along with lots of other games that ended up on other consoles, gun valkyrie, etc...
Even some oddball pc games 'existed' at one point (Black & White, AOE2, Flight Simulator, Heroes of Might and Magic <-- beta exists)
:'(
kainemaxwell
02-13-2006, 10:21 PM
Only 3 I know of are Half-Life, Propeller Arena and PBA Bowling 2001.
Ze_ro
02-13-2006, 10:32 PM
Propeller Arena was cancelled in the US because of 9/11. There's a stage where you fly planes into buildings.
Well, that's not really the POINT of the level... they're just there as an added obstacle to make things interesting. Also, if I'm not mistaken, the box art showed this stage with a plane crashing into one of the buildings, which obviously would have upset some people.
Incidentally, the buildings in the game look nothing like the World Trade Center.
Personally, I've always wanted to try Gorka Morka. Everything I've seen of it looks rather mediocre, but I'm still drawn to it for some reason. I'm sure someone out there has this game, and it'll eventually get released.... I just hope it's not 30 years from now.
--Zero
Slimedog
02-14-2006, 09:44 AM
It was my understanding that HL was canned because Sierra thought they could make more money off it as a tax write off. I don't know any of the numbers involved, but they thought that the DC audience was dwindling and could never recoup the money that they had sunk into it. They projected that sales wouldn't earn more than the publishing and distribution costs so they canned the whole thing as a tax write off rather than sink more money into distribution. I think I read that in an interview somewhere, but I'm not 100% so maybe its just scuttlebutt.
what about the baldur's gate port? was it ever finished?
chrisbid
02-14-2006, 10:15 AM
on a semi related topic, are there quasi-official covers and disc labels for these three games? they really deserve shelf status with the rest of my official DC collection
some nice ones here:
http://www.cdcovers.cc/dreamcast_p.php
what's the legal issue with having a game like prop? licensed and trademarked no doubt, but unavailable for retail purchase, so is it not as bad as a pirated game or worse?
CosmicMonkey
02-14-2006, 10:49 AM
If anyone fancies a bit of DC based aerial combat, or FPS shootery give me a PM......
Or indeed, any PCE fans want a cetain game with the initials SFZ....
The Brown Eye
02-14-2006, 06:02 PM
There's a guy on Assembler that has (had?) the Internet Game Pack for sale. He wanted $500 for it. It's on a GD-R, and I believe it's as complete as it got. This was over a year ago that I talked to him, and I haven't seen him post there anytime recently. He may have sold it by now. I could possibly dig up some contact info for him if someone is seriously interested.
CosmicMonkey
02-14-2006, 08:25 PM
PMs sent. Anyone know of a decent public torrent tracker I don't have to register with or anything? Or is there anyone with an FTP we could borrow pls?.....
Leo_A
02-15-2006, 04:58 PM
I'd sure like a ftp server we could borrow as well.
Asked around among some friends at another board, but no luck on finding a available server.
InsaneDavid
02-15-2006, 05:33 PM
Tempest was right.
Propeller Arena was cancelled in the US because of 9/11. There's a stage where you fly planes into buildings. I've got a CDR copy of it. It's a shame it was never released. Thank god for newsgroups! ;)
You don't "fly planes into buildings." :roll: The Tower City level along with the original commercial box art design (planes against skyscrapers) was why it was canned. It never had a release later on because Sega didn't have the resources to market and distribute it afterward.
Incidentally, the buildings in the game look nothing like the World Trade Center.
No, but the Tower City stage was based around a concept of the Manhattan skyline.
on a semi related topic, are there quasi-official covers and disc labels for these three games? they really deserve shelf status with the rest of my official DC collection
Official Propeller Arena cover art...
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4f/Propeller_Arena_cover.jpg
As you can see there's no plane crashing into a building, but it does look like an air raid over Manhattan if you didn't know any better.
Seriously, there are a couple other threads on Propeller Arena running RIGHT NOW. X_x
I smell this thread turning into a warez trading exchange - let's try to keep it clean so the lock doesn't appear. ;)
Leo_A
02-15-2006, 05:58 PM
"I smell this thread turning into a warez trading exchange - let's try to keep it clean so the lock doesn't appear. "
I wouldn't worry, things were much more blatant before when Half-Life and Propeller Arena first became available. I'm not aware of any changes to forum rules, and the owner of this board even participated in past discussions. Safe to say it's acceptable I'd say.
InsaneDavid
02-15-2006, 06:53 PM
"I smell this thread turning into a warez trading exchange - let's try to keep it clean so the lock doesn't appear. "
I wouldn't worry, things were much more blatant before when Half-Life and Propeller Arena first became available. I'm not away of any changes in forum rules, and the owner of this board even participated in past discussions. Safe to say it's acceptable I'd say.
Yeah I know how things were back then, I was distroing them for $3 a pop shipped. ...so many requests. x_x
allsport11
02-17-2006, 08:44 PM
I might have Half Life and Propeller Arena on my FTP somewhere. I'll have to look and see. ;)
CosmicMonkey
02-21-2006, 07:49 PM
Minis are nice cars. So are Novas.
If I was gonna get a new car, I'd certainly check out a
mini / nova. *Ahem*
I'm sure I don't need to spell it out. Check the DC section.
Enjoy all....
ProgrammingAce
02-21-2006, 08:02 PM
Minis are nice cars. So are Novas.
A nova is a nice car? Have you ever owned one? Oy... LOL
kainemaxwell
02-21-2006, 11:41 PM
Always try Bittorrent also...