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See an unreleased 'The Simpsons' game that never made it to Dreamcast
The title offers a fantastic glimpse into The Simpsons' living room, complete with giant lumbering Homer.
The 'lost' Superman PlayStation game has appeared in public
It's an unreleased adaptation of one of the worst games ever made.
Rayman Legends concept video showcases scrapped NFC features
While Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and its Amiibo army are currently dominating store shelves, Ubisoft's Rayman Legends was once slated to be the first Wii U game to offer figure-powered nearfield communication (NFC) features, Unseen 64 reports. The concept trailer above, intended for internal use within Ubisoft, shows players summoning new elements into levels by placing figures (including a Rabbid toy) on the Wii U gamepad. The footage features a prototype Wii U controller that hadn't finalized its NFC technology, so figures are placed on the gamepad's screen, rather than on the NFC badge present in the final version. Ubisoft eventually scrapped its plans for NFC support, and Rayman Legends figures never made it to retail. Unseen 64 additionally shows off concept art for levels that didn't make the cut for the final version of Rayman Legends, including a recently unearthed "Dracula's Castle" world. A concept video showcasing these levels is available here. [Video: Ubisoft / Liam Robertson]
Man ransoming unreleased Resident Evil GBC prototype ROMs to the Internet
Two prototype versions of the Game Boy Color port of Resident Evil are waiting in the wings for an imminent release; news that strikes us as rather serendipitous considering that we were just talking about that game last week. Like all great news, however, there's a bit of a catch.We're not talking about something awesome and legit, like an official 3DS eShop release, we're talking about ROMs. What's more, the ROMs for these two prototype cartridges, one containing most of Jill's campaign and the other containing an earlier build, will only be released to the internet if the anonymous seller's "fundraiser" reaches its $2,000 goal by the end of February.Now, that sounds more like extortion than a fundraiser, but the third party running the sale maintains that the benefactor in question is actually taking a substantial loss at that price point. That sounded reasonable at first, but the more we think about it, the less we buy it.It's true that some rare games can sell for tens of thousands of dollars, but those games tend to exist in extremely limited quantities and also tend to be remarkably verifiable; Stadium Events for the NES and the European version of Kizuna Encounter for the Neo Geo immediately spring to mind. Those are actual games, though, and not ROMs. Unless this collector destroys these cartridges after the ROMs are posted, the $2,000 entry fee is nothing but pure profit, since the cartridges can still be sold afterwards. Don't get us wrong, we love the idea of preserving the gaming industry's wackier moments. What we don't love is the idea of someone coercing a substantial amount of money from a dedicated fan base by ransoming the distribution of a product that they have no right to distribute. To paraphrase a brilliant professor of archeology, "They belong in a museum!"
Gametel Android controller steals the spotlight from Xperia Play, threatens to be vaporware
Xperia Play, Schmaschmeria Play -- who needs it? Fructel's got an Android add-on that does away with Sony Ericsson's slider niche. The folks over at Pocket Gamer recently got hands-on time with this category-quashing controller, dubbed Gametel, that connects to handsets using clamps and a rubberized grip, no matter your mobile manufacturer of choice. Unfortunately, there's no analogue pad here, so it's not quite on par with its PlayStation Certified competition, but it will hold hands over Bluetooth with any Googlefied phones running Froyo and up. The unreleased peripheral includes a 250mAh battery, letting you bash away with those sore thumbs for up to nine hours at a time, your phone's charge willing. There's no official word on just when you can expect this game pad to make its market debut, but if you're really eager, head on over to the source to sign up for launch notifications.
HP's unreleased white TouchPad and Pre 3 for AT&T (hands-on video)
What's this? Some of HP's unreleased WebOS devices? Well yes! Say hello to the white European TouchPad, the black TouchPad 4G for AT&T, the Pre 3 4G for AT&T, and our very own Veer 4G review unit, all gathered on a fine specimen of mid-century modern upholstery. We were able to unbox these devices and handle the hardware, but the software was off limits. The owner of the Pre 3 did activate it for us, but that's as far as we were able to go. While still heavier and thicker than the competition, the white TouchPad -- a 64GB model with the faster 1.5GHz CPU -- is significantly more attractive than its black sibling, and less of a fingerprint magnet to boot. AT&T's TouchPad 4G -- with 32GB of storage and the same 1.5GHz processor -- features a working SIM slot for the carrier's faux-G network (HSPA+), but is otherwise cosmetically identical to the existing WiFi version. The Pre 3 is the same phone we handled during HP's announcement last February, save for the AT&T logo on the back. Check out our gallery below, and hit the break for our hands-on video. %Gallery-134380%
BlackBerry Touch receives conservative makeover before its corporate interview
You've already witnessed a prototype of the BlackBerry Touch and its sleek lines, but get ready for a new peek as RIM has put on its "serious business" face in anticipation of Monaco's release. As you can see, the designers from Waterloo are separating and raising those four iconic buttons. Regardless of RIM's intentions, if this leaked unit makes it to retail shelves, the change would represent a subtle but distinct shift in BlackBerry design. We're guessing the corporate-type won't even notice -- unless those new protrusions happen to catch on their oh-so-fashionable holsters, anyway.
Planet Moon artist shows off unreleased Kinect adventure game 'My Amazing Story' [update: site locked]
Trevor Grimshaw, a lead artist for Planet Moon (when it was still Planet Moon) posted a bunch of concept art and screens from an "Unreleased Adventure Game" for Xbox 360, which Superannuation identified as a "first-party Kinect game" called My Amazing Story. That title does appear on the artist's resume, and the screenshots have "MAS" in their filenames, so it's a reasonably safe assumption. The project, an action-adventure game, featured creepy monsters, various suits that the player could wear to gain powers -- including spacesuits and some kind of cat costume -- and cute Kinect integration in the form of "postcards." Given that there's no Kinect-based action game like this on the market now, it's disheartening to learn of this one only after it was cancelled. Update: The site is now locked to "invited readers only." We've also removed the header image at Trevor's request.
BlackBerry Touch / Monaco gets manhandled, said to get official in May
Our interest in the BlackBerry Touch (codename Monaco) was piqued when we first caught wind of the device, and we had a feeling it'd be making its way into the wild ever since one showed up in Verizon red around mid-Feburary. Now, BGR has managed to procure an unreleased prototype, and we've gotta say that we like what we're seeing. According to the pub, it should get official at BlackBerry World in May, and it'll run OS 6.1 underneath that 800 x 480-pixel screen. The new BB6 is said to use a BlackBerry ID in place of a PIN for certain key functions -- a necessary move for non-BB platforms rumored to be getting BBM (a historically PIN-based service). BGR also claims it won't be getting the Storm nomenclature, so we apologize in advance to the SurePress fanboys. Either way, we've got an inkling that we'll be hearing more as we get closer to May, but unfortunately our dreams of a super AMOLED-equipped Torch running stock Android with a BBM app will just remain figments of our imagination.
NVIDIA promises 'fastest DX11 GPU on the planet' very, very soon (video)
Nobody will be too shocked to hear NVIDIA expects its next flagship GPU to be the fastest that's ever been, but few will have guessed it'd also be one of the company's coolest and quietest. In the first public teasing of its next-gen graphics card (which is almost certain to bear the GeForce GTX 580 name tag), NVIDIA has revealed a new vapor chamber cooling system, which reminds us of Shuttle's ICE CPU cooler -- basically, water sealed within the chamber gets boiled by the hot elements (a copper plate in NVIDIA's case), which forces it to transfer heat away to the bits that are being cooled by the fan, where it chills out and recycles itself back to the boiling plate. The end result, according to NVIDIA, is about seven decibels less vroom relative to the GTX 480, along with lower operational temperatures. Besides that, the company's Tom Petersen also showed off an impressive tessellation demo and the first public display of Call of Duty: Black Ops gameplay, which was powered by this as yet unannounced GPU. Skip past the break to see it all on video. [Thanks, Vygantas]
Nokia Star Trek Communicator is simply awesome, sadly just a prototype (video)
Nokia had a little product placement going on in the latest Star Trek movie, you know that already. But did you also know that those crazy Finns made a few never-released prototypes for a most bodacious tie-in handset? That "Starfleet Communicator" above is said to be one of only 14 units built by Nokia, intended to simulate the iconic voice comms devices of the original TV series. Hardware-wise, it's based on the somewhat less exciting N76 and comes with an external LCD and a trifecta of lights on its front, both protected by a big and heavy brass grill. It's a fully functioning phone, too, replete with preinstalled chirps when flipping it open. Check it out on video after the break! [Thanks, Randall]
More abandoned GRIN projects surface
With several canceled games previously revealed by an artist's online portfolio, another online portfolio has now revealed what appear to be two more projects from the recently shuttered developer GRIN. The first features a very angry looking man with a magical, possibly possessed shield. Sketches in the portfolio elaborate on the game's combat system, showing off various gameplay situations like counterattacks and dodges. Other sketches make reference to a ninja game, above, and go into detail about a "Ninja energy" system. Said energy would serve to fuel the game's sweet ninja maneuvers like bullet deflection, super jumps and "shadow dodge". The concept goes on to illustrate other abilities, like mounting the backs of dinosaurs and hijacking enemy vehicles. Also, the ninja's sword looks a bit like the tonfa blade wielded by one Strider Hiryu. That's probably just wishful thinking on our part, though a new Strider was rumored way back in 2008. Of course, these are just sketches, and it's possible any related projects never made it past the planning stages at all. Still, we can't help but wonder about the games that might have been. [Via Siliconera]
Unreleased Helio slider surfaces
Described to us once by those in the know as "a project that would've been," this Helio-badged, Samsung-built, multimedia-happy slider just surfaced on the Heliocity forums. Samsung shipped tweaked versions of this handset (based on the Samsung F400) with B&O and Armani branding, but there's no telling if "Helio by Virgin" still has plans to bring this to market. More shots after the break.
The most interesting Wiimote grip shell ever
The person selling this Wiimote controller grip on eBay claims it's an unreleased development model. We've certainly never seen this exact model before. GameSniped agrees, and they're fairly savvy about neat rare game stuff. With no brand marking, we're having a hard time searching for it to see if anything matching this shape made it to the market. It's a bit nicer-looking than some other grips we've seen, owing mostly to its similarity to the quite comfortable Dual Shock.Who made this? Why didn't it get released? Why does it have fake, nonfunctioning Dual Shock shoulder buttons? The controller grip is shrouded in mystery. [Via GameSniped]
Unreleased Game Boy Color RPG resurfaces
Planned for release in 2001, Affinix Software was ready to put the final touches on Infinity, a role playing title for the Game Boy Color. Unfortunately publishers were already looking ahead to the Game Boy Advance and all the pretty pictures it could display. Infinity was never released, Affinix was eventually dissolved, and the game was left to sit on its creators' hard drives for years. But a Lost Levels forum member unearthed a video of the game in action (watch it after the jump) and suddenly Infinity finds itself the recipient of some well-deserved attention.In early February a news post on the Affinix website mentioned the possible release of an Infinity ROM. We contacted project leader Justin Karneges to get an updated status on the game. According to him, Infinity is very close to being complete and just needs a few story points linked together, spells filled in, and a final boss programmed. In addition to himself, one more team member is needed to tie up the loose ends, everything else is ready to roll. You can even download the full soundtrack from composer Eric Hache's website. As for the ROM: "There's no need to talk us into releasing a ROM. If we had a finished game, it would be released.". Infinity could be a breathtaking game, or it could turn out to be a dud. We won't know until we get to play it, and we're itching to take her for a spin. If you need us, we'll be consulting our astrologers to make sure the stars are in perfect alignment to get this game into the wild.[Via Insert Credit]
Romero unearths unreleased Doom music
So you think you know everything about Doom, huh? You've beaten all the games on Nightmare without cheats? Played every fan-made WAD you could get your hands on? You're listening to a megamix of Doom MIDIs right now, aren't you? Well we've got some tunes here that we can guarantee aren't on your playlist.Doom co-creator John Romero has posted these unreleased tracks on his blog with the warning that, much like deleted scenes on DVDs, "there's a reason these weren't released - they're not very good." And he's right -- with a few exceptions, the tracks are overly repetitive and a bit wonky. Still, if you worship anything and everything Doom-related, then, uh, I guess you should start worshiping ... because these are definitely Doom-related. Yeah!
The other lost Sonic game
We talk a lot about stuff we would like to see on the Virtual Console, but here's the stuff that would really make the service noteworthy: unreleased games. Recently, a NeoGAFfer named FortNinety posted some footage of a previously unknown Sonic game on YouTube, and it is weird. Weirder than the other known unreleased Sonic game, Sonic X-treme on the Saturn.The game, developed by the US-based Sega Technical Institute, uses the art style and characters from the Jaleel White-tastic Saturday morning cartoon. It features a Final Fight-style perspective, Metal Gear-style sneaking, and a very uncharacteristic ring-throwing attack. Does it look good? Not really. But unreleased and unfinished games are super interesting, and we'd love a chance to play even an unfinished version of this.
Devour this Gamecube Kirby video, gain its power
We caught this trailer from the unreleased Gamecube Kirby platformer on Gamevideos, and we are agape. Stunned. We think that given the choice to release this or Kirby Air Ride, Nintendo may have chosen poorly.Kirby is clearly using HAL's Super Smash Bros. Melee engine, and to awesome effect, as the graphics look great and the combat looks fighting-game solid. The video shows off Kirby's ability to not only copy enemy attacks, but to trade in those attacks for helper creatures. We loved the ability-combining mechanic from Kirby 64, and we're glad to see new stuff being done with Kirby's, uh, eating habits.The world needs side-scrolling platformers, especially when they look this cool. We sincerely hope that the release of this trailer is foreshadowing a Wii release of the game. See the trailer for yourself following the post break.[Via NeoGAF]
Unreleased but unforgotten systems
We must have missed the memo about yesterday being "blog about game systems that were announced but never came out" day, but we're trying to make up for it belatedly by pointing out two sites that took part. The first, TechEBlog, has compiled a list of five systems from the '90s that never made it off the drawing board, including the retro-futuretastic Sega VR helmet pictured above. Insert Credit didn't go quite so far back in looking at the FreeOn, a Korean cell phone system that was shown at E3 2003 and promptly never heard from again. Not a bad start, but there are a couple dozen other unreleased consoles just waiting to be covered by the blogosphere. We'd take one but we're too busy writing about systems that, y'know, actually came out. Read - TechEBlog: Five Unreleased systemsRead - Insert Credit: MIA FreeOn
Unlicensed, unreleased, un-bad NES game unearthed
As part of a new series on super-obscure games that should come to the Wii's virtual console, the prototype hounds over at The Lost Levels have unearthed Buzz and Waldog, an unreleased game from Korean company Daou Infosys. The colorful, well-made platformer was to be released by a mail-order publisher without an official license from Nintendo, putting it in rarefied company of those sleek black Tengen cartridges and crappy religious games. Unfortunately, the game never actually made it to market, though a few review copies did leak out. That's no reason for you not to enjoy it, though --The Lost Levels has released the ROM and a series of YouTube videos showing off the Mario/Sonic/Bonk inspired gameplay. Good stuff. [Via GameSetWatch]
