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Insomniac reveals canceled 1080Pinball, 'the most realistic pinball simulation ever'
Insomniac has posted a timeline entry on its Facebook page detailing a pinball game it worked on, but never released. 1080Pinball was the name attached to the project-in-progress, and one of the featured tables was named Captain Starfire, after the handsome chap above. You can see what looks like an in-game screenshot on the official timeline post, along with some concept art.The blurb says the game was designed to be "the most realistic pinball simulation ever," complete with actual material physics and graphics running at in 60fps at 1080p (as you might have guessed from the title). There was also going to be a "Gran Turismo level of progression," designed to build as much replay value as possible.This, says Insomniac, also explains the whole (pin)Ballz phenomenon, and the company's fascination with pinball in general. The developer will discuss the abandoned game on a future podcast. As for whether it'll ever return, Insomniac says, "The Zen Pinball games do a fantastic job anyways."
Bethesda has no comment on Prey 2 cancellation rumor
Publisher Bethesda has no statement on the rumor that Prey 2 has been canceled, a story which gained significant traction yesterday. Dutch site PSFocus reported that the game, in development at Human Head Studios, was kaput and that an official announcement would be made next week.The last time Prey 2 showed up on our radar in a significant capacity was around GamesCom last August. As IGN notes, GDC talks planned for the game were cut a few weeks before the show.This isn't the first time this year a high-profile Bethesda title made its way into the rumored cancellation mill, as DOOM 4 went through the experience twice in six month. The difference? Bethesda flat-out stated "DOOM 4 isn't cancelled."%Gallery-131026%
'Mass Effect Team Assault' was a canned multiplayer FPS
In 2010, BioWare Montreal was developing a competitive, multiplayer first-person shooter called Mass Effect Team Assault, but it was reshaped into the third-person co-op mode that shipped in Mass Effect 3, according to a Kotaku report based on the iPad app The Final Hours of Mass Effect 3.Mass Effect Team Assault saw four months of production before being presented to the Mass Effect hierarchy and transforming into Mass Effect 3's multiplayer skirmish mode.
Bastion's canceled feature: 'Find a shoe? Plant it.'
Supergiant Games spent one year working on a "rich gardening feature" for Bastion that the entire team was "really excited about," but was eventually cut from the game, designer Amir Rao said at GDC. The final version of Bastion demonstrates the team's obsession with plants, but gardening itself was set to play a pivotal role in exploration and players' overall sense of accomplishment, Rao said, breaking it down into four functions: Players would find seeds for story items and worlds Planters on the Bastion would open up gradually, limiting how many seeds could be planted Plants would be watered with blue "cores" They would sprout and the fruit would offer its item, world, etc.Gardening in Bastion faced a slew of problems, but mostly the seeds had no aesthetic connection to the final plant -- "What does a 'hammer plant' look like?" Rao asked -- and Supergiant eventually realized that they were solving the wrong problem. What Bastion really needed was a menu.
Gotham by Gaslight featured beefy London Batman, gameplay vid reveals
It must be terrifying to be a developer on a game that's just barely greenlit, facing down publisher meetings that could make or break all the hard work you've put into a particular project. Come to think of it, the stress and constant panicked feeling would probably be similar to how the prostitutes in London felt every nightfall during Jack the Ripper's heyday. Maybe.F.3.A.R. developer Day 1 Studios knows how both of those things feel, to some extent, having begun work on Gotham by Gaslight, a steampunk-inspired adaptation of a one-shot Batman graphic novel, only to have it canceled shortly after. We previously got a peek at some concept art for the title, and now Siliconera has uncovered an animation test that it says comes from someone at Day 1.Check out the burly Batman's flowing cloak as he strides around a dark London setting right here.
32GB GSM Galaxy Nexus canceled, Google hopes you really like streaming
This probably won't matter too much to our American readers, but the 32GB version of the GSM Galaxy Nexus has been canceled according to Expansys and Negri Electronics. Initially the latest Nexus device was supposed to be sold in both 32 and 16 gigabyte varieties. But, for whatever reason, the larger capacity model never made it to market. Now, word is that it may never happen. A couple of importers are saying they've been notified by Samsung that handset has been discontinued, which is particularly bad news since the Gnex (as the cool kids are calling it) doesn't have a microSD slot. We hope you like streaming all your media.
Killzone PSN version 'delayed indefinitely' [update]
[Update: This post erroneously referred to this version of Killzone as a "remake" for PS3, but it was intended to refer to the PSN re-release of the PlayStation 2 game. We apologize for contributing to the 'ghastly confusion.]Killzone the First was scheduled to become a downloadable PSN game in late January, but has since been "delayed indefinitely," according to the official Killzone Twitter account.Killzone franchise creators Guerrilla Games are currently working on the next entry in the series, as well as a still-unnamed "new IP."
Rumor: WAR40K canceled, THQ readying itself for sale [Updated; rumor debunked]
It's been a rough couple of years for Warhammer MMORPG fans, and if the rumors are true, it's about to get a bit bleaker. Kotaku reports on a tweet by games industry insider Kevin Dent that indicates that THQ has "canceled its entire 2014 slate of releases to position the company for sale." This would include Warhammer 40K: Dark Millennium Online, which Dent referred to as "the Games Workshop MMO" on his Twitter page. We'll keep you posted as we learn more. [Update: THQ's Australian PR department has issued a statement asserting that the company has not in fact canceled its 2014 lineup and "has not made any decisions" regarding WAR40K.]
Amazon canceling some Transformer Prime pre-orders, supply shortages to blame
Were you one of the eager beavers who pre-ordered ASUS' new superslate, the Transformer Prime, from Amazon? It turns out, demand for the tablet was so great that it's outstripped the retailer's supply, so Bezos' business is apparently canceling orders placed on or after November 22nd and issuing refunds. Sad news for those who had their hearts set on getting the Prime this holiday season, but maybe it's a blessing in disguise -- the delay gives you the opportunity to size up the competition before taking the quad-core plunge. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Samsung and Google postpone Ice Cream Sandwich and Galaxy Nexus
Color us a disappointed shade of blue, but it appears that Samsung and Google have decided not to launch the Galaxy Nexus (or Nexus Prime, or whatever it's called) and Ice Cream Sandwich at their October 11th Unpacked event. The two companies sent out a joint announcement reading: Samsung and Google decide to postpone the new product announcement at CTIA Fall. We agree that it is just not the right time to announce a new product. New date and venue will be shortly announced.The press event on the 11th was expected to be not only the debut for the successor to the Nexus S, but our first good look at the next version of Android. For whatever reason the companies have decided to delay that launch. But, if Eric Schmidt is true to his word, we shouldn't have to wait too much longer... he did promise us that it would launch by November. We'll let you know as soon as we get a new date to expect "something big."Update: A Samsung spokesperson issued a follow up statement to CNET, confirming speculation that the reveal was postponed out of respect, following the passing of Steve Jobs. "We believe this is not the right time to announce a new product as the world expresses tribute to Steve Jobs's passing," the spokesperson explained.
The Game Archaeologist answers Asheron's Call 2: The highlights
MMO sequels are funny animals. Sequels (along with prequels and "reimaginings") are ingrained into the entertainment industry so deep that it makes sense that MMO studios would follow suit. And yet these types of games -- with their ever-growing nature and heavy involvement with loyal playerbases -- are not always conducive to such projects. More often than not, a sequel to an online game becomes its ancestor's main competition, which is not a desirable outcome for the studio. Perhaps back in the early 2000s, studios simply didn't know better. There's good evidence that the typical "hit video games need a sequel" mindset ran rampant across the industry, from the multiple attempts at Ultima Online 2 to the release of the don't-call-it-a-sequel sequel of EverQuest II. Perhaps developers didn't realize that MMO players didn't necessarily want to be uprooted and moved to a new game every few years. While sequels, spin-offs and remakes are still present, the genre learned a hard lesson with Asheron's Call 2 in the first half of the decade. Asheron's Call was a success on Microsoft and Turbine's behalf, and a sequel -- with vastly improved graphics and deeper gameplay -- seemed like a logical next step. Unfortunately, it was a Greek tragedy in the making, destined for a short but memorable life in our world. This month we're going to look at the brief shining star of Asheron's Call 2 and get all sorts of misty-eyed romantic over it!
The RPG/RTS that Irrational never made: 'Dungeon Duel'
Back in 2002, the folks leading up development of next year's highly anticipated, high-flying FPS, BioShock Infinite, were hard at work on a game that never made it off the ground. It was a role-playing game crossed with a real-time strategy title, and it was aimed at consoles. As revealed on the Irrational Games blog, the game was known as "Dungeon Duel" never got past the concept stage. The gameplay seems to be a mix of dungeon crawl and card-based strategy, with cards representing actual monsters and spells rather than operating on a numbers level. Combat was described as both "fast-paced" and "real-time," though the design doc fails to go into too much detail -- it's an early pitch, after all. A handful of concept art shots and in-game artwork were also made available, which you can see over on the Irrational blog.
Urgent help needed to resurrect Mega Man Legends 3, says local paper ad
You can't squash the spirit of "100,000 Strong for Bringing Back Mega Man Legends 3," an online activist group that hasn't yet amassed its titular display of quantitative strength. The message is already reaching far and wide through a dedicated blog, Facebook page and coverage on outlets like this one, but what of the inattentive, uninformed supporters-to-be in Lagrange, Topeka and Shipshewana, Michigan? Group member Paul Barrett posted a photo of his own grassroots effort to override Capcom's culling of Mega Man projects. "Urgent help needed!" reads the ad, placed in Tuesday's issue of The Gateway Shopper, a paper local to Southern Michigan and Northern Indiana. It politely asks for help in undoing the events of "the worst day in gaming history." Even if only an (utterly optimistic) eighth of newspaper readers join the cause -- it appears The Gateway Shopper has a current circulation of 9,838 -- the group must still inch its way toward the halfway mark of 50,000 supporters. Of course, now that the paper's online, its effect has been considerably magnified. Hey, don't blame us for digging out a speck of hope. We're already disheartened that, for many people, MML is gradually devolving into FML.
Vodafone axes EVO 3D before it even hits shelves
Keen-eyed observers, or those who registered to be notified about the EVO 3D, may have noticed a sudden dearth of glasses-free 3D phones coming to Vodafone. Apparently, the British carrier's execs are not the patient type. After several delays, Vodafone has decided to simply ax the handset rather than wait out HTC's supply issues, and has removed it from the company's "Coming Soon" page. Lets just hope its customers are a bit more understanding -- especially those who signed up to get first-crack at the now canceled phone.
Puzzle Quest 2 canceled for PSP
From PSN-only to the void, Puzzle Quest 2 for PSP has met with the ultimate skull chain combo. Steve Fawkner, CEO and president of Infinite Interactive, confirms on his Facebook account that the PSP version has been canceled. "After Firemint's acquisition of Infinite, and EA's acquisition of Firemint, so many people have moved around, that I find myself without enough manpower to finish it," Fawkner writes. "I would also like to point out that it was nothing to do with EA and/or Firemint that it has been cancelled - they have been excellent in giving me enough time and freedom to get it done... this is just a very unfortunate logistical problem where key people are no longer available to work on it." Fawkner claims there was "ONE sound bug remaining to be fixed, and it would have been good to go." He won't give up hope entirely, but admits that finishing the project is "unlikely to happen." So, um, anyone with working knowledge of PSP development want to help a brother out?
Square Enix's canceled top-down shooter Project Dropship revealed
Footage of a downloadable title that was purportedly in the works at Square Enix's Los Angeles-based studio is being featured on Siliconera. The Western-themed top-down shooter, titled Project Dropship, was not formally announced before its quiet cancellation, but based on the footage it looks like it was fairly far along in development. It also looks and sounds like it had a Firefly thing going for it, which is really, really working for us. Or, rather, it would have worked for us. Now it just makes us sad that nobody's made a Firefly game yet. What gives, entire video game industry?
Rumor: Wet sequel dries up, canceled
Wet 2 was confirmed to be in development last November, but it would seem that's as far as the sequel is going to get. Siliconera points to the LinkedIn profile (now appended) of a former Behaviour Interactive employee that had listed the title as canceled. The site also notes that around March or April of this year several employees working on Wet 2 left for other companies. Another LinkedIn profile of a current Behaviour employee notes Wet 2 as a past project. Bethesda, which published the first Wet game, told us today, "We are not publishing Wet 2." Behaviour had yet to respond to our request for comment as of publishing.
Footage of canceled 'Sonic Extreme' hoverboarding game
YouTube user ProtonX3 has released a series of videos demonstrating a reportedly canceled Sonic the Hedgehog hoverboarding game for the original Xbox, entitled Sonic Extreme (not to be confused with Sonic X-Treme). Not to cast any aspersions on the potential merits of the game, but the same engine was also used to create a skateboarding game starring anthropomorphic thumbs (also canceled, apparently). But hey, it probably would've been better than Sonic Free Riders, right? Check out some footage after the break and find a lot more on ProtonX3's YouTube channel.
Droid Charge shows its colors in Verizon training docs, Droid Bionic gets killed off?
Samsung gave us the basic specs on day one, but Verizon's sparing no detail this week, as it trains employees how to effectively sell the LTE-packed Droid Charge to those of us who live and die by how many devices we can connect to our hotspot (10) and size of our bundled microSD card (32GB). Droid-Life brings us those revelations, while Phone Arena has a rumor somewhat upsetting if true -- that site's anonymous tipsters claim that the Droid Bionic is no more. They say that the Atrix-alike's Tegra 2 processor wasn't playing nice with Verizon's LTE baseband chips and had overheating issues too, and rather than expend more effort to fix the incompatibilities, Motorola simply gave it the boot. However, Phone Arena's quick to mention that the "Droid Bionic" name may live on, as Moto will allegedly be grooming the top-shelf Targa to replace it. We're reaching out to Verizon right now, and expect we'll have an official "we do not comment on rumors and speculation" before long. Update: Motorola tells the Wall Street Journal that the Droid Bionic has been delayed.
Duke Nukem: Critical Mass trailer skips the PSP version for good reason
After a mysterious quiet period (which is totally uncharacteristic for a Duke Nukem game), Deep Silver and Apogee are planning to release Duke Nukem: Critical Mass for DS this week in Europe and next month in North America. You can see it in action in the trailer after the break, and, well ... it looks like a thoroughly humiliating experience, narrated by Jon St. John. Surprisingly, the press release accompanying the trailer says that the PSP version is coming out at the same time -- but Deep Silver informs us that it was actually canceled. So if you're in Europe and in line for Critical Mass on PSP ... go home.
