Biggest Delays in Gaming History

[njiska]

As DOA4 continues to taunt me with a release date i've been starting think about some other titles that have been mocking us.

Prey, formerly subtitled "A Talon Brave Game", was originally announced in June 1997 and was set to showcase 3D Realms amazing new Portal Engine. Prey was set to be released in 1998 but it disappeared from the Radar.

Prey came back into the spotlight recently and will hopefully be coming out next year on the PC and the Xbox 360. Instead of using the Portal Engine, the will now run on ID Software's Doom 3 Engine.

Duke Nukem Forever was originally announced in April 1997. Back then the game was using the, then powerful, Quake II engine. Later the game would switch to the Unreal Engine and then just completely disappeared, most likely never to be seen again.

Then there's any number of Square-Enix games. Delayed, delayed, delayed.

So any one got some other great delays?

[Tron 2.0]

Magic Knight Rayearth

I remember, WD went through hell to release it here x_x

[sisko]

Games that were/are actually still supposed to come out?

I think Starcraft Ghost takes the cake on that one. It's been what? 3? 4? 5? years now? I stopped counting a long time ago....

[Corsican]

Most any title from Working Designs. They seem to be able to snatch the game right from the console itself.

[Ed Oscuro]

Games that were/are actually still supposed to come out?

I think Starcraft Ghost takes the cake on that one. It's been what? 3? 4? 5? years now? I stopped counting a long time ago....
Not five, but three's more like it. A lot of time wasted between developers.

Counter-Strike: Zero got shifted between developers a number of times as well.

And yes, Prey. God, I'm so happy to see that game make a return.

[Slipdeath]

systems, the phantom. :D

[badinsults]

Too Human. I think it was originally announced in 1994.

[poloplayr]

The Phantom will own you all!!! I even heard it will now feature an N-Gage connectivity function! Hooray!

[jajaja]

Too Human. I think it was originally announced in 1994.

For what system?

[Blitzwing256]

nosferatsu for supernes.
it was billed as a release title, and it never came out till the very end of the snes's life.

oh and it sucked balls.

[The Brown Eye]

WD games, Wild 9, Earthworm Jim 3D, and Mission: Impossible all saw some pretty long delays. I remember Wild 9 being advertised a year or two before it came out!

I also think that most first-party N64 games were delayed at some point or another. It had to suck for anyone who had that as their only machine (but I still love mine anyway!).

[goatdan]

The reason I bought my N64 -- Earthbound 64.

Originally supposed to be a "right around launch" title, it kept slowly getting pushed back until finally it was scrapped :(

[Drexel923]

Too Human. I think it was originally announced in 1994.

For what system?

It was originally announced for the PS1...now its coming out for the Xbox 360. It's been a long long time for that one.

[vahn401]

Working Designs is the worst at pushing back EVERY game they make. For example...

Few years ago when I was working at a EB, the day we got displays and the ability to pre-order the Arc the Lad Collection, I paid for the game, and both of the guides for it in whole that day. I think a good year and a half went by before I actually got the game, got the pre-order watch months before I got the game. Took another 3-4 months just to get the 1st hardcover guide, and since close to 2 years went by since me and alot of other had pre-ordered the game, they ended up canceling and never releasing the 2nd guide for the game.

Another one that seems to be getting pushed back alot is that new zelda game, twilight princess, I paid for that in whole back in June. Now its release is indefinate last time i checked.

[hydr0x]

Heart of Darkness (PC) ;)

[Jumpman Jr.]

I know its not the biggest, but the delay of Twilight Princess killed me @_@

[boozi2]

I know its not the biggest, but the delay of Twilight Princess killed me @_@
@$%$@%@#%@ me 2! Man! What the hell?!? It gets delayed and delayed, I won't be surprised if it'll come out only by summer 2006.... Anyways, Warcraft 3 got some delays as well...

[Rob of the Sky]

I remember Conker's Bad Fur Day being pushed back several times. It was suppost to come out like a year after the N64 launch, then it got pushed back. This game was announced several time that it was going to come out for about two or three years after that, but it never came out. Toward the end of the N64's life, Rare releases the game. However, it went in a completely different direction that what it was originally going for. And it made the GBC Conker game stick out like a soar thumb.

[Snapple]

Of course, the first thing most people think of is Duke Nukem Forever (which they claim is still coming out, even after all this time).

I'm surprised nobody said Kameo, which just came out for the Xbox 360. It was originally going to be an N64 game. That's how long the damn thing has been in development. I wish I remembered where I saw screenshots of the potential N64 version.

[unbroken]

Diablo 2 (anyone remember this, took at least 6 years after their first esitmated release date).

Basically any game by blizzard (war 3, starcraft ghost...ect)

Legend of Zelda: TP (only reason i say this, is because i was waiting for this game for along time and it suddenly got delayed)

Duke Forever (probably the longest delay of video game history)

[Lemmy Kilmister]

A lot of Rare's games seemed to be delayed a long time. Take Kameo, Perfect Dark Zero and Dinosaur Planet (Starfox Adventure), for example. Neither of those games were released on the systems they were originally designed for.


Working Designs is the worst at pushing back EVERY game they make. For example...

Ugh, you can always count on at least a couple delays on a newer Working Designs' title. For example.. I remember waiting forever for both the Lunars, Growlanser Generations and the Arc the Lad Collection. Now all we need is for them to decide if they'll ever get around to translating and releasing Goemon here in America. LOL

By the way, Vahn, are you the guy I sold Earthworm Jim 3D to?

[Avatard]

City of Heroes (PC). That game was pushed back 3 years I believe untill it was finally release. And the whole 3 years they were running a message board.

[jonathonwillie]

earthbound 64 for sure......still waiting for it to come out.....

[Push Upstairs]

Prey, formerly subtitled "A Talon Brave Game", was originally announced in June 1997 and was set to showcase 3D Realms amazing new Portal Engine. Prey was set to be released in 1998 but it disappeared from the Radar.

Prey came back into the spotlight recently and will hopefully be coming out next year on the PC and the Xbox 360. Instead of using the Portal Engine, the will now run on ID Software's Doom 3 Engine.

"Prey" wasn't really delayed so much as it was planned,canceled, then brought back.

This shouldnt be confused with the king of delayed games...Duke Forever.

I'm not sure why they would bring back "Prey" if they can't even crank out Duke4.

[njiska]

Prey, formerly subtitled "A Talon Brave Game", was originally announced in June 1997 and was set to showcase 3D Realms amazing new Portal Engine. Prey was set to be released in 1998 but it disappeared from the Radar.

Prey came back into the spotlight recently and will hopefully be coming out next year on the PC and the Xbox 360. Instead of using the Portal Engine, the will now run on ID Software's Doom 3 Engine.

"Prey" wasn't really delayed so much as it was planned,canceled, then brought back.

This shouldnt be confused with the king of delayed games...Duke Forever.

I'm not sure why they would bring back "Prey" if they can't even crank out Duke4.

That's open to interuprtation.

Technically yes, it's a Phoniex, it died and rose from it's own ashes, it's nothing like the game is was, but all the same it's being treated by the media as being the same game so to me it's a delay. Just a damn long delay that included being cancelled.

[Garry Silljo]

The Jaguar CD box has screen shots of the coming soon game, 'Black Ice, White Noise". My brother is still waiting patiently. Poor guy, just sits in his room wrapped in blankets muttering "it's coming soon, almost here, coming soon hehehehaHAHHH MWAHA COMING SOON." The doctors can't figure it out.

This post is LOOSLEY based on a true story.

[sirhansirhan]

The reason I bought my N64 -- Earthbound 64.

Originally supposed to be a "right around launch" title, it kept slowly getting pushed back until finally it was scrapped :(

Yup, Earthbound 64/Mother 3 wins.

[Wavelflack]

Ultimate Fighter (?) for SNES. I think I'm thinking of the right game. There were 2 page ads in EGM for a LONG time. I actually don't know if it really came out. I'm also too lazy to check the database, so there.

[Zilla]

Body Harvest for the N64 was delayed for a while but it was worth the wait. Thats so much better than a game being delayed for a long time and then getting only to realize its garbage.

[Famidrive-16]

Kirby's Air Ride was announced in 96 (maybe late 95) for the N64, then got canned, then released as a Cube game in 2003.

Robotech: Crystal Dreams for the 64; announced in 94, 'officially' scrapped in 98.

I believe Goldeneye 007 began as a Game Boy game, then went to Virtua Boy, SNES,

[cityside75]

I'm surprised no one's mentioned the game that made John Romero it's bitch, Daikatana!

Originally a quake engine game, upgraded to quake 2 and finally released when quake 2 was getting pretty ancient.

...but you got to shoot frogs!

[njiska]

I'm surprised no one's mentioned the game that made John Romero it's bitch, Daikatana!

Originally a quake engine game, upgraded to quake 2 and finally released when quake 2 was getting pretty ancient.

...but you got to shoot frogs!

I try to forget about that one. I try to forget i piad full price for it too. :(

[Haoie]

You know, with the advent of the next next gen consoles, it can be safe to assume that developing/coding/marketing/whatever new titles will certainly take longer. Longer times will undoubtly mean longer delays.

[adaml]

I remember seeing screenshots of Adventure of Link in those old Nintendo Fun Club mags. Because of a so-called chip shortage or something this game took forever to come out. I'm sure someone knows the details better than I.

[Ed Oscuro]

I believe Goldeneye 007 began as a Game Boy game, then went to Virtua Boy, SNES,
News to me, but there was a 007 game for GBC out some time around when the N64 title was released. Wholly different game.

[dreamcaster]

The N64 was original scheduled for 1995, and got pushed back until late 1996 for the US and March 1997 for us PAL gamers.

For a mainstream console, that's one HELL of a delay. :/

[Eternal Champion]

I remember seeing screenshots of Adventure of Link in those old Nintendo Fun Club mags. Because of a so-called chip shortage or something this game took forever to come out. I'm sure someone knows the details better than I.
Yeah, man, that was a big deal back then! But compared to stuff like Duke Nukem Forever, or even Half-Life 2, which took 6 years, that was nothing.

So what was the whole story with Zelda II, anyway?

[ClassicGameTrader]

The N64 was original scheduled for 1995, and got pushed back until late 1996 for the US and March 1997 for us PAL gamers.

For a mainstream console, that's one HELL of a delay. :/

I was scanning this post thinking nobody was ever going to mention it. I remeber playing KI and Cruisin' USA in the arcades and waiting and waiting for the console versions. Finally when I couldn't wait anymore I bought a PS1. I didn't get the 64 until at least a year after it came out.

And funny enough I ended up never getting the console versions of those games (Because they sucked)

[alexkidd2000]

Virtua Fighter 3 for Saturn comes to mind...

[Leo_A]

Half-Life 2 wasn't delayed six years.

[dbiersdorf]

I remember Conker's Bad Fur Day being pushed back several times. It was suppost to come out like a year after the N64 launch, then it got pushed back. This game was announced several time that it was going to come out for about two or three years after that, but it never came out. Toward the end of the N64's life, Rare releases the game. However, it went in a completely different direction that what it was originally going for. And it made the GBC Conker game stick out like a soar thumb.

Not really... Conker didn't get announced until after Kazooie was released, so maybe in 1998? I suppose the change of direction pushed it back a little farther, but yeah, it was never meant to come out that early, don't know where you came up with that.

I'd say mostly anything Rare is delayed like crazy though... Perfect Dark Zero, Kameo (four console changes!), Star Fox Adventures...

[njiska]

Half-Life 2 wasn't delated six years.

No it was developed for six years, but it was delyaed sevaral times. The original target date was early 2000s.

[Streetball 21]

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, but in the end I think it will be worth all the wait.

[Lothars]

Well the game you mention in Duke Nukem forever takes the cake

I think it was originally suppose to be released in what like 1998 or so

but all of those are pretty good examples.

[drwily008]

The worst I can think of is Dragon Warrior 5 & Final Fantasy Extreme for the SNES. They were both annouced around 1992......but I'm still f'in waiting!!!!!

Another one is the excellent game for the Dreamcast/Gamecube/PS2/XBOX..........EVIL TWIN. I waited so long for that game to come out that I finally imported it.

Come to think of it I imported all three of these games at one point. I eventually had Dragon Warrior 5 put on to a SNES cartridge with a great looking label translated into english

[Famidrive-16]

I believe Goldeneye 007 began as a Game Boy game, then went to Virtua Boy, SNES,
News to me, but there was a 007 game for GBC out some time around when the N64 title was released. Wholly different game.

Different game. The 64 Goldeneye started out on several consoles, VB/GB/SNES (don't know which order, I meant) then went to the 64, from what I remember.

I remember reading about Conker and Banjo in 97.

[Canadian Psycho]

I remember Conker's Bad Fur Day being pushed back several times. It was suppost to come out like a year after the N64 launch, then it got pushed back. This game was announced several time that it was going to come out for about two or three years after that, but it never came out. Toward the end of the N64's life, Rare releases the game. However, it went in a completely different direction that what it was originally going for. And it made the GBC Conker game stick out like a soar thumb.

Yes, I remember that. It was supposed to be called Twelve Tales: Conker's Quest or something like that. There were many screens shown in Nintendo Power circa 1997 IIRC.

[WanganRunner]

How about the N64 hardware (aka Project Reality/Ultra 64)?

That shxt took FOREVER given when Nintendo started talking about it and when it actually came out....

Didn't they start talking about it way back in like 93/94?

[FireMillen]

what is that PC MMORPG that is/was so very long in development by Richard Garriott formerly of Ultima Online?