Why the heck weren't these games developed & released?

[fishsandwich]

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I'm not talking games that were started or even finished and just released like Dreamcast Propellor Arena or Atari 5200 Tempest... I'm talking no-brainer games that were never started or possibly never even contemplated.



SUB-ROC is a good example. It began life in 1982 as a fairly popular arcade game (the first 3-D game?) and had a substandard port for the Colecovison released. Sega released the Master System and it's awesome 3-D glasses a few years later, but the closest they got to Sub-Roc for the SMS was the shitty Poseiden Wars. I know that Sub-Roc was a bit old at this point, but lots of old games got released for the NES. This game was a NATURAL for the 3-D glasses and had name recognition! How about a Super Sub-Roc or Sub-Roc 2?



WARHAWK 2. Where was the sequel for the original Playstation? The first game game was a big seller (and maybe even a system-seller) when it first came out. What happened? Two Twisted Metal games and a clone using the same engine got you tired?I hear there's a sequel in the works... 11 years too late!



DAYTONA USA 2 or even SCUD RACER? Seriously... the Dreamcast got loads of racers (including a few that no one had ever heard of) as well as an enhanced version of the original Daytona, but no Daytona 2? That might have moved a few more systems.



THE LOST WORLD. I'm talking about the gun shooter, not the fairly smelly side-scroller for the Saturn and PSX. I saw the arcade game in quite a few movie theatres, but not on the Dreamcast. Were licensing fees so high that they couldn't get it out the door to augment House of the Dead 2? Crappy Sega... didn't even release a Sega-branded gun for the DC in the States! LA MACHINE GUNS would have been another good one. Maybe they just didn't want to mess with Model 3 conversions?



SUPER ZAXXON should have been a natural for the SMS. Seriously. I know it came out for the Commodore 64, but where was the Master System port? The 32x got a (shitty) Zaxxon game (Motherbase 2000) but not the Master System? Was Zaxxon 3-D enough? Only 47 people bought that game anyway. It played nothing like the original to boot.

Super Zaxxon Arcade
http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/S/xSuper_Zaxxon.png

Super Zaxxon C-64 version
http://www.gb64.com/oldsite/gameofweek/6/superzaxxon/Super_Zaxxon_1.gif

Zaxxon 3-D for SMS
http://www.digitpress.com/dpsightz/segamaster/zaxxon3d.gif



WING WAR didn't make much of a splash in arcades, but Sega ported all the other Model 1 arcade games to the 32x (Star Wars Arcade, Virtua Racer, and Virtua Fighter... Tecwar was just a demo), so why not this one? At least it had better name recognition than Shadow Squadron/Stellar Assault (fantastic game, BTW.)




WAVE RUNNER. Ok, ok, this used a special controller... a moving seat shaped like a waverunner! But the Saturn sure could have used some ammunition against the Nintendo 64 in 1996, especially when Wave Race 64 came out and knocked everyone's socks off. The Saturn could do a respectable Model 2 conversion, after all... VF2 and Sega Rally proved that. How about TOP SKATER too? OK... that controller was extra-special.



GUNBLADE NY was a no-brainer for the Saturn. I mean, there were enough Stunner Guns out there with the decent sales of Virtua Cop 1 and 2, so why not this cool gun game?



JAMBO! SAFARI would have been great on the Dreamcast, and it was a regular Naomi game so a conversion would have been easy. I know the controller is again pretty special, but the DC pad could have done it. Maybe the DC was just too dead. Looks a lot like Crazy Taxi to me...




SUPER MARIO 64 Part 2 is possibly the biggest offender on this list. I mean, the original game was a LAUNCH TITLE, the BEST-SELLING game EVER of the N64, and one of the top-20 best-selling games OF ALL TIME? Maybe even top 10? Yet Nintendo never did a sequel. Almost 5 years, no damn sequel. I mean, there were cetianly enough 3-D platformers on the N64 plus Nintendo had Rare in their pocket back then, but certainly they could have delayed that shit Yoshi's Story game and the mediocre Kirby's Crystal Shards and worked on a proper sequel for their system seller? Nintendo gave us Pokemon out the ass three Mario Parties, but not this one? Lame I say. No N64 Metroid was lame, too. I won't even go into Earthbound. STUPID!!!

http://bonusweb.idnes.cz/obrazek/supmarion64_3.jpg




Anyone else have any no-brainers?

[Joker T]

I was really looking forward Trinity

[Dire 51]

Planet Harrier - that should have been a natural for the DC.
Solar Assault Gradius - I don't care what system it would have been for, it should have gotten a home release.

[syd]

I really agree with you on the Super Mario 64 Part 2, I mean they made a sequal to Super Mario World, why not make one for this game? This one did even better sales than Super Mario World!

Here are a few games that bug me for the SNES (yeah I'm pretty oldschool LOL )

Star Fox 2 - They had a beta that was 90% done, why not release it?

Star Ocean - Alright it was released in Japan, but why not North America? This game was great!

Tales of Phantasia - Another great game releases in Japan but not in North America.

[Cryomancer]

Very yes on Planet Harrier, they need to release that NOW so it's not "wah, too dated i don't wanna play it".

[crazyjackcsa]

Jambo Safari wasn't based on the same hardware that the DC was.

[klausien]

Slightly OT, but the three tracks from Scud Race and 2 from Daytona 2 (no oval) were combined into a multistage bonus race in the XBox version of Outrun 2. They look so good it makes you wonder why Sega doesn't release perfect conversions like they have done with Virtua Racing on PS2. We may never know.

[Famidrive-16]

Legend of River King 64 - The screens for the game looked awesome. Did it ever get a Japan release?

[Aussie2B]

Star Ocean - Alright it was released in Japan, but why not North America? This game was great!

Tales of Phantasia - Another great game releases in Japan but not in North America.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: releasing those games in the US at that time would've been a poor business decision, regardless of how good they are.

Both games were late Super Famicom releases. By the time localizations could've been finished for them, the SNES in the US would've been dying, if not dead. This hurts even more when you consider that at the time RPGs were NOT mainstream, like they are now (to some extent), and very few Super Famicom RPGs made it outside of Japan. When you weigh the cost of localization and publishing against the potential sales, it just doesn't add up. Profit would be minimal at best, or at worst, in the red. Keep in mind that most RPGs that did come out those days were from Squaresoft, a name that was recognized by most RPG fans, and they chose to release RPGs that were very traditional and familiar feeling to their fans. Tales of Phantasia and Star Ocean were nothing like any of the RPGs out in the US at the time. Tales of Destiny and Tales of Destiny II sold pretty poorly in the US on PlayStation, and I'm sure Phantasia would've done even worse if published on SNES by Namco. And finally, who would've even published Star Ocean? Enix of America closed down prior to Star Ocean, and nobody else was interested in picking up their titles back then. It's not like they had a great history of sales for US releases (otherwise they wouldn't have felt the need to close down their American branch, obviously). Despite the huge push from Nintendo, Dragon Warrior sales were disappointing, and each following Dragon Warrior's sales were even worse, to the point that they gave up on the idea of bring 5 and 6 stateside. Other than those, Enix just brought out quirky action/adventure games like Actraiser and Brain Lord, which had lukewarm receptions at best.

[Kid Ice]

I think some of the games on your list are a bit obscure to call "no-brainers", although I've wondered about Daytona 2 and Gunblade as well. I'm still trying to figure out how Skies of Arcadia ended up on Gamecube and Panzer Dragoon Saga didn't end up anywhere.

[Sosage]

Very yes on Planet Harrier, they need to release that NOW so it's not "wah, too dated i don't wanna play it".

I remember a port of this being slated for the Dreamcast. It was added to the release list sometime around when the arcade version was sitting at svgl (I think it was sitting in svgl...never made it down to check it out). It would be cool if an early build exists somewhere, but I have a feeling this port never made it passed the "on paper" stage.

[zerohero]

Most of the images you posted are not showing up.

[fpstream]

These games weren't released because of money. Plus Nintendo doesn't want to mess with Mario. They don't want to screw up the only way they're staying alive.

[tritium]

These games weren't released because of money. Plus Nintendo doesn't want to mess with Mario. They don't want to screw up the only way they're staying alive.

I dont think Mario is the only way they're staying alive... See Pokemon....

[alexkidd2000]

I really hope planet harriers becomes one of the Ages 2500 games. And the closest you will get to Daytona 2 on a home system in Outrun 2 on Xbox. Scud race too for that matter. Both have tracks in Outrun 2. Roller coaster is out of service tho :(

[fishsandwich]

Jambo Safari wasn't based on the same hardware that the DC was.

Are you sure? According to System-16: The Arcade Museum, Jambo Safari DOES run off the first generation Naomi fardware which is very similar to Dreamcast hardware. Awesome site, by the way.

http://www.system16.com/sega/hrdw_naomi_page2.html


:D

[fishsandwich]

Most of the images you posted are not showing up.

I hate that shit. I find a bunch of nice images, they show up on Preview, but then they turn into a bunch of X's after a couple of views. Why is that? Bandwidth limitations? Do some websites limit the number of views you can get from a site?

Anywho, I got rid of all my pretty pictures. Damn.

FOLLOW THIS LINK TO GET A VERY NICE ZAXXON UPDATE. PLAYS GREAT, DON'T HAVE TO INSTALL!

LINK...http://www.pankhurst.uklinux.net/zaxxon.html






http://www.pankhurst.uklinux.net/menuscreen.png

[mcarocks2003]

OMG Scud Race - WHERE THE HELL IS THIS GAME?

I want to know WHY SEGA NEVER RELEASED SCUD RACE!

It's easily up there with Daytona and Sega Rally.

[eggwolio]

I would have loved to see an R.C. Pro-Am update for the N64, Gamecube, or even on the XBOx now that Rare's over there.

[PapaStu]

I wanted Wing Wars to make it out of the arcade sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo bad. That is one of about 3 games that I would buy a system for or do my damndest to get an arcade unit itself.

Reason that The Lost World never came out was the same reason that there is no 1st Party gun for the DC( I would think). All gun games were under MAJOR attack after the rash of High School shootings, and especially Columbuine. Games were fun, but still being seen as nothing more than glorified entertainment that was often to violent for its own good. Also Lost World is really long, maybe there were space issues getting it onto a disc and having it still look respectable enough to play.

[fishsandwich]

I wanted Wing Wars to make it out of the arcade sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo bad. That is one of about 3 games that I would buy a system for or do my damndest to get an arcade unit itself.


Amen to THAT! I love this game! A 32x port was a natural, and the game on this list I'd pay the most $$$ to get. Especially a 32x cart version.

http://www.planetsega.de/images/screenshots/specials/segaarcade/sa67.jpg


Here's a list of Sega Arcade games that never got a console port...

Air Rescue Shooter 1991 System32
Alien 3: The Gun Shooter 1993 System32
Arabian Fight Beatemup 1992 System32
Behind Enemy Lines Shooter 1998 Model2C
Burning Rival Beatemup 1992 System32
D.D. Crew Beatemup 1991 System18
Dark Edge Beatemup 1994 System32
Desert Breaker Shooter 1992 System18
Desert Tank Shooter 1994 Model2
F1 Exhaust Note Racing 1991 System32
F1 Super Lap Racing 1993 System32
Golden Axe: Revenge of Death Adder Fight 1992 System32
Hard Dunk Basketball 1994 Multi32
GunBlade NY Shooter 1995 Model2B
Indy 500 Racing 1995 Model2B
Jurassic Park Shooter 1994 System32
Laser Ghost Shooter 1989 System18
Michael Jackson's Moonwalker Beatemup 1991 System18
Motor Raid Racing 1997 Model2
Rail Chase Shooter 1991 Y-Board
Rail Chase 2 Shooter 1994 Model2B
Rough Racer Racing 1991 System24
SEGA Ski SuperG Skifahren 1996 Model2
SegaSonic the Hedgehog Jump 1992 System32
Sonic the Fighters Beatemup 1996 Model2B
Spider-Man Beatemup 1991 System32
Top Skater Funsport 1997 Model2C
Wing War Shooter 1994 Model1


Michael Jakson's Moonwalker game is another one that I'm surprised didn't get a release. The arcade game was an isometric shooter/action game that was actually pretty popular and I liked it. The Genesis/SMS games are totally different. It certainly wouldn't do well TODAY, but back then Michael was still popular. The Genesis or Sega CD could have done a decent port.

http://www.planetsega.de/images/screenshots/specials/segaarcade/sa57.gif

[syd]

Star Ocean - Alright it was released in Japan, but why not North America? This game was great!

Tales of Phantasia - Another great game releases in Japan but not in North America.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: releasing those games in the US at that time would've been a poor business decision, regardless of how good they are.

Both games were late Super Famicom releases. By the time localizations could've been finished for them, the SNES in the US would've been dying, if not dead. This hurts even more when you consider that at the time RPGs were NOT mainstream, like they are now (to some extent), and very few Super Famicom RPGs made it outside of Japan. When you weigh the cost of localization and publishing against the potential sales, it just doesn't add up. Profit would be minimal at best, or at worst, in the red. Keep in mind that most RPGs that did come out those days were from Squaresoft, a name that was recognized by most RPG fans, and they chose to release RPGs that were very traditional and familiar feeling to their fans. Tales of Phantasia and Star Ocean were nothing like any of the RPGs out in the US at the time. Tales of Destiny and Tales of Destiny II sold pretty poorly in the US on PlayStation, and I'm sure Phantasia would've done even worse if published on SNES by Namco. And finally, who would've even published Star Ocean? Enix of America closed down prior to Star Ocean, and nobody else was interested in picking up their titles back then. It's not like they had a great history of sales for US releases (otherwise they wouldn't have felt the need to close down their American branch, obviously). Despite the huge push from Nintendo, Dragon Warrior sales were disappointing, and each following Dragon Warrior's sales were even worse, to the point that they gave up on the idea of bring 5 and 6 stateside. Other than those, Enix just brought out quirky action/adventure games like Actraiser and Brain Lord, which had lukewarm receptions at best.

You make very good points that I really never thought about before. I always thought the Dragon Warriors sold well in North America, but now it makes sense why the SNES Dragon Warriors were not released in North America. You're probably right, those two RPG's probably wouldn't have made much of a profit after translations and everything else. Thanks a lot for the info. :)

[vintagegamecrazy]

Water Ski for NES, Froggo was one of the few to survive the crash and they knew the state of the Atari 7800, why didn't they release on the nes like the rumor mill states, they probably would've had a much better chance of survival and sold more copies even with Nintendo's standards.

Xari Arena - Atari 5200

Any of Imagic's releases on the Atari 5200, what was the point of releasing games on such obscure systems and not the 5200?

[Famidrive-16]

Sonic Fighters got a console port on the Sonic Gems Collection...

[Jorpho]

Tales of Phantasia was the largest SNES game ever produced, size-wise, wasn't it? The production costs of the cartridge would have been a factor. (Likewise for Star Ocean with its special chip.)

Anyway, my vote goes for Anachronox. A little bit more polish and the PC game would have been perfect, but as it is it's still begging for a console port. (And someone needs to cough up the funds to make Anachronox 2.)

[diskoboy]

SubRoc (3-D).

Why Sega never released it in 3-D on the SMS is beyond me.

Poseidon Wars 3-D tries to be SubRoc.... It just doesn't work.

[Aussie2B]

Tales of Phantasia was the largest SNES game ever produced, size-wise, wasn't it? The production costs of the cartridge would have been a factor. (Likewise for Star Ocean with its special chip.)

Yeah, I forgot to mention that. English text takes up more storage space than Japanese too, so the carts might've ended up even larger than the Japanese releases.

[Vectorman0]

Jambo Safari was in fact planned for release on DC at one time. I remember reading about a slated arcade compilation at IGN. I think Emergency Call was one of the other arcade games going to be included along with a Firefighter game.