Joystiq

Armature Studio worked on an unreleased Mega Man X FPS, 'Maverick Hunter'

JC Fletcher — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 11:45:00 EST

Armature Studio, the Austin-based developer formed from Retro Studios talent, was working with Capcom to create a new Mega Man X FPS, Polygon reports. Maverick Hunter would have kept X's weapon stealing ability and the platforming from the side-scrolling games, and added a deeper story and a new look, including armor by Adi Granov, who designed the armor for the Iron Man movie.

Capcom canceled the project, like other recent Mega Man games including Mega Man Universe and Mega Man Legends 3, likely coinciding with the departure of series producer Keiji Inafune. Armature prototyped it in early 2010, Polygon's sources said. The site has five videos of the unreleased game, along with several gameplay details.

Perhaps Mega Man didn't need this "gritty" reboot treatment, but on the other hand, it would have been a game, which is an increasingly rare thing to happen in that series.

Armature Studio worked on an unreleased Mega Man X FPS, 'Maverick Hunter' originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 09 Apr 2013 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft cancels Gore Verbinski's 'Matter' for Kinect

Ludwig Kietzmann — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 17:55:00 EST

Matter, a Kinect game expected to launch on Xbox Live Arcade in 2013, has been cancelled by Microsoft. It was to be the first game developed in partnership with film director Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Rango) and Blind Wink Games.

"Microsoft Studios is no longer pursuing this title," says a company representative. "We have no further details to share at this time."

Phil Spencer, Corporate VP of Microsoft Studios, told Joystiq in June last year that Verbinski had pitched Matter as a means to instill and demonstrate emotion in typically motionless game players. A futuristic metal sphere, seen moving through a futuristic landscape in the game's E3 2012 trailer, represented an active control surface implemented through Kinect.

"To a lot of people who haven't played games for a long time, somebody standing completely stationary with a controller in their hands kind of seems emotionless, even though we know that we'll be sweating or twitching," Spencer said. "And [it was] his feeling, that with motion and movement, that the connection of the emotion that's happening on screen and how the player feels would be more natural."

Blind Wink, which is attached to a film production company partnered with Universal Pictures, has not responded to requests for comment.

Microsoft cancels Gore Verbinski's 'Matter' for Kinect originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 06 Mar 2013 17:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ex-Bungie devs at Moonshot cancel Fallen Frontier, intro Third Eye Crime

Jessica Conditt — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 18:00:00 EST

Yesterday we mentioned the PAX East Indie Showcase lineup includes Third Eye Crime from Moonshot Games, an indie studio composed of former Bungie developers. As we know, with each new game announcement comes an equal and opposite game cancellation, and Moonshot's PAX East 2011 Indie Showcase game, Fallen Frontier, is dead and gone.

"I'll be writing a post on FF in the coming weeks, but the short answer is, FF is not going to happen," Moonshot co-founder Damián Isla wrote in response to comments on the Third Eye Crime announcement. "We're pretty bummed, of course. We'll tell as much of that story as we can at some point."

Fallen Frontier was a co-op, 2D romp with grappling hooks that Moonshot was pretty excited about in 2011. We thought it warranted attention, as well. We've contacted Moonshot for more information on Fallen Frontier's cancellation.

Third Eye Crime, Moonshot's new, stealth-puzzle game, is scheduled to launch on iPad in the spring. Third Eye Crime tells the tale of an art thief with telepathic abilities, set in a noir enviornment, and it will be featured in the PAX East 2013 Indie Showcase from March 22 - 24 in Boston.

Ex-Bungie devs at Moonshot cancel Fallen Frontier, intro Third Eye Crime originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 27 Jan 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Terry Cavanagh halts development on Nexus City and Selma's Story

Jessica Conditt — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 22:30:00 EST

Terry Cavanagh, the developer behind VVVVVV and Super Hexagon, has scrapped two projects he's been working on for two years, Nexus City and its spin-off, Selma's Story. Cavanagh began working Nexus City with writer Jonas Kyratzes in 2010, and from humble beginnings it spun out of control, until it began getting in the way of other projects, Cavanagh writes.

"Promising games would come along, and I'd stop myself from getting too deep into them, because I had to finish Nexus City first," he says. "Everything became a big ordered list of what I could work on and when, how long I could spend on it. It's only when a project like Super Hexagon came along, and forced itself on me - became too much to ignore, that I was able to turn that part of my head off. And I could do it, but even then I constantly had that pressure - when this is done, I need to get back to Nexus City.

"I don't think that's creatively healthy."

With the weight of Nexus City and Selma's Story off his mind and a fairly successful year of development under his belt, Cavanagh plans to start 2013 with some time off. He's "very excited" about that, and we plan to live vicariously through him as he walks the beaches of Waikiki, plays the slots, or whatever people do while on vacation.

Terry Cavanagh halts development on Nexus City and Selma's Story originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 03 Jan 2013 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Primal Rage 2 footage surfaces, breaks our heart

Jordan Mallory — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 18:00:00 EST

Primal Rage 2 is one of the more mythical cancelled games of yore. Plenty of rumors and legends surround its life and death, but there's very little in the way of concrete, verifiable information when it comes to what the game was actually like. Now though, thanks to some new off-screen footage captured from a working prototype version, we have a slightly better idea of what could have been.

As shown in the video above, Primal Rage 2 maintained the claymation aesthetic found in the original game, though the character models and their various animations look much more fluid than Primal Rage's Harryhausen-esque staccato jitters. Furthermore, the combo system appears to have been improved and expanded, though to what extent is difficult to ascertain.

Essentially, it looks like everything we ever could have wanted. Finding absolute proof that we're not living in the best of all possible universes wasn't really on our "To Do:" list today, but here we are. Someday we'll open a worm hole to the bubble universe where Primal Rage 2 was released, and it'll be so great. Provided everyone in that universe breathes oxygen, of course; alternate universes can get complicated.

Primal Rage 2 footage surfaces, breaks our heart originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 29 Dec 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aero Cross release plans crossed out

JC Fletcher — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 14:40:00 EST

Aero Cross, the XBLA and PSN reimagining of bizarre footracing game Metro-Cross, has officially been canceled, following two years of total silence. Namco cited "various" non-specific reasons for the curtailment of the project.

Taken with the cancellation of Dancing Eyes and the total lack of other series announcements, this looks like the inauspicious end of the Namco Generations retro revival series. We can probably expect more ports of the Pac-Man Championship Edition games, at least.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/10/19/dancing-eyes-and-the-death-of-a-generation/

Aero Cross release plans crossed out originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 06 Dec 2012 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NBA Live 13 canceled by EA

Mike Suszek — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 16:03:00 EST

EA Sports has canceled NBA Live 13. The company plans on taking a full year off to work on the next game in the series.

"But making great games is not easy, and we're just not there yet on NBA LIVE 13. Having continued to look at the game over the past few days, it's clear that we won't be ready in October," EA Sports Executive Vice President Andrew Wilson wrote in a news release today. "And rather than launch midway through the season, we're going to sit out the full year and stay focused on making next year's game great."

The news comes after an announcement on the game's delay and its absence from EA Sports' E3 showing. More notably, the cancellation of NBA Elite 11 makes this the third year in a row that EA's simulation basketball series has failed to see publication.

"We're committed to delivering new innovation in online, and our progress in the visual presentation of the game continues to take big strides. We also know that a great game starts with great gameplay, and this remains a huge priority for us," Wilson wrote.

NBA Live 13 canceled by EA originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 27 Sep 2012 16:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance's Xbox 360 version cancelled in Japan

Sinan Kubba — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 09:00:00 EST

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is now PS3-only in Japan following the Xbox 360 version's cancellation. Kojima Productions announced the news today via its website. There the company apologized for the cancellation but didn't give any reasons for it. The 360 version, as Konami confirmed to Eurogamer, remains scheduled for release outside of Japan.

It's odd to reflect on a game being cancelled for the platform it was first announced on, but the news isn't surprising given the 360's poor sales in Japan since then. As our latest Stiq Figures show, the console only shifted 875 copies last week compared to the PS3's 12,433. Also, while the PS3 version of Metal Gear Solid HD Collection entered Japanese charts in fifth last November, the Xbox 360 version didn't even register in the top 20. While we understand where Konami's coming from, the cancellation of such a high-profile game can't help the console's chances in Japan one bit.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance's Xbox 360 version cancelled in Japan originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 12 Sep 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Former 38 Studios Creative Director provides context for leaked trailer

Mike Schramm — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 19:35:00 EST

Steve Danuser is the ex-Creative Director at the shuttered 38 Studios, and in light of that leaked trailer seen earlier today he's posted a few bits of context for the video. As you might have guessed, the posted trailer was entirely a work in progress, with most assets and even the script likely set to be replaced before it appeared before the public.

The trailer itself would have been a launch trailer, likely also released with some in-game or hands-on footage, and the illustrated look seen in the trailer was planned to be a characteristic of the game itself, used to introduce the game's various races and factions.

As for the tri-circle logo, which seems very similar to the recently revealed Elder Scrolls Online logo: Danuser says the design is coincidental, and that the two MMOs were using the same themes. 38 Studios' logo was put together before anyone from the team saw what Zenimax Online was working on. "That's what you get," says Danuser, who fondly remembers working on putting the trailer together, "for basing your IP on classic themes."

Former 38 Studios Creative Director provides context for leaked trailer originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 09 Jul 2012 19:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Police Warfare Kickstarter suddenly and mysteriously canceled

Jordan Mallory — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 14:06:00 EST

The Kickstarter for Police Warfare, the proof-of-concept-turned-real-project from ex-Ubisoft/EA/Activision/Epic employee-driven Elastic Games has been cancelled by the studio, roughly two hours ago as of press time. As of its cancellation, the project had raised $25,025 of its sought-after total of $325,000 from 784 different backers.

"Thank you so much for the incredible response to the game," reads an update on the Kickstarter. "We're shutting down the kickstarter account but this is by no means the end of Police Warfare. News will be coming." Joystiq is digging around for more information and will update as soon as we have additional details.

Police Warfare Kickstarter suddenly and mysteriously canceled originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 21 Apr 2012 14:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Replica portal gun orders canceled by some retailers [update: still coming, says NECA]

Jessica Conditt — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 17:30:00 EST

Update: NECA claims that the Portal gun is still being prepared, but fell victim to uncontrolled numbers of pre-orders. After slamming on the brakes with certain retailers, the association aims to deliver the replica between May and June in an "organized and fair manner."

Original story:

NECA -- National Entertainment Collectibles Association -- was set to create a line of replica portal guns for public purchase in May or June this year, but it has stopped production on the piece, citing "issues" and "no longer planning on making it for the foreseeable future," according to information shared via email by distributor Entertainment Earth. "The item was never produced, and to the best of our knowledge will not be delivered to any retailer at this time."

Entertainment Earth has logged a protest with NECA, but for now it seems we'll all be $130 richer and a million-fold more heartbroken.

[Thanks, Matthew.]

Replica portal gun orders canceled by some retailers [update: still coming, says NECA] originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 12 Mar 2012 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Buffy and Firefly MMO dev studio closes

Alexander Sliwinski — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 09:30:00 EST

It was a foregone conclusion that we'd never play the announced Firefly and Buffy the Vampire Slayer MMOs from developer Multiverse, but the closure of the studio makes that all but certain.

The company actually ceased operations in early December, with a post on its website noting the studio closed due to a lack of funding after it was unable to achieve profitability with the Multiverse platform.

The Multiverse platform was used as "proof of concept" for Facebook titles Battle, Team Battle and Battle: Realms at War. The platform was also used for McDonalds and Coca-Cola web games.

Our condolences go out to Browncoats and followers of the Scooby Gang.

Buffy and Firefly MMO dev studio closes originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 04 Jan 2012 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How Irrational's cancelled 'The Lost' found itself in India

JC Fletcher — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 09:37:00 EST

Irrational Games opened up its virtual "Vault," delivering information about its appropriately named PS2/Xbox game The Lost. "It was Silent Hill meets Zelda meets Devil May Cry in the sense that it was a series of levels in linear fashion, but within the levels, there was freedom," explained Games Design Director Bill Gardner.

Though Irrational decided not to release the project, it ended up making it to retail -- in India. Irrational decided to license the game to an Indian studio called FXLabs, whose CEO was working to build up the Indian game industry. FXLabs kept the game design, but localized it for PC as Agni: Queen of Darkness, even adding Bollywood actors. Above, actress Malaika Arora performs in a music video built around footage of the game.

In other words, there's an Irrational game out there you haven't played. Try to live with that!

How Irrational's cancelled 'The Lost' found itself in India originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 16 Nov 2011 09:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video reveals 'Blood Dust,' a canned multiplayer shooter from Visceral Melbourne

Ludwig Kietzmann — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 11:14:00 EST

The use of historical or chronologically irregular locales in multiplayer games still feels novel, even if your activities tend to fall predictably between stabbing or shooting strangers. Visceral's Melbourne studio, which was shuttered by EA earlier this year, was reportedly working on "Blood Dust," an eccentric multiplayer shooter set in the 1930s.

According to a report on Kotaku AU -- which we're pairing with leaked game footage above -- Blood Dust was to be a class-based "run and gun experience" for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Visceral and other EA studios had been working on the game for three years, furnishing it with upgradeable weapons and special abilities spread amongst three factions (including gentlemen and gangly monsters). And we just love Ye Olde Hulke Hogan at 0:17 in the video!

Another rumor suggests that Blood Dust was initially envisioned as a multiplayer add-on to "The Ripper," Visceral's rumored reinterpretation of England's infamous yet unidentified serial killer, Jack the Ripper. That project supposedly remains alive as a single-player game, left behind in the 19th century (when Jack did his nasty business).

Kotaku AU writes that the project's cancellation was handled with enough consideration for its creators -- a source claims departing staff were "well taken care of and treated respectfully," and offered positions at other EA locations.

[Thanks, Anon.]

Video reveals 'Blood Dust,' a canned multiplayer shooter from Visceral Melbourne originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 11 Nov 2011 11:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The RPG/RTS that Irrational never made: 'Dungeon Duel'

Ben Gilbert — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 20:30:00 EST

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.

The RPG/RTS that Irrational never made: 'Dungeon Duel' originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 23 Sep 2011 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gremlins game would have been a squad-based shooter

Jessica Conditt — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 17:30:00 EST

Gremlins are cute on their own, but in packs, they can be more terrifying than a horde of undead headcrabs, which may explain French developer Neko Entertainment's decision to make its early-2000 PS2 Gremlins game a squad-based shooter. Unfortunately, Generation 2000 has trouble distinguishing Gizmo from a Chia Pet, which may explain why production on the game was eventually cancelled. All we have left from Neko's attempt are some screenshots and the above video of Gizmo testing out his 3D skin, as found by Siliconera.

Grab a snack and settle in to watch Gizmo being rendered for the game's opening video. Wait -- what time is it there? Oh.... Maybe we should rethink that snack.

Gremlins game would have been a squad-based shooter originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 21 Aug 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Square Enix snags rights to True Crime: Hong Kong from Activision

Christopher Grant — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 16:00:00 EST

"The finished product was not going to be at the top of that genre," Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg told Joystiq following the sudden cancellation of the publisher's True Crime: Hong Kong reboot in February. That blunt assessment hasn't stopped Square Enix from picking up the rights to the United Front Games-developed title from Activision and placing it under the management of Square Enix London Studios and its general manager, Lee Singleton.

"When we first saw and got our hands on the game we fell in love with it," Singleton tells Gamasutra, further describing the game as a "great big bucket of fun." Square Enix London Studios knows a thing or two about "fun." The organization is tasked to provide a "fresh approach to third party game development" and, in that pursuit, it's managed games like Rocksteady Studios' Batman: Arkham Asylum and Avalanche Studios' open-world Just Cause 2.

Since Square Enix didn't purchase the (somewhat worthless) True Crime IP, it appears it will be renaming the game; the "branding team is already working on concepts," Gama reports. And while the-game-formerly-known-as-True-Crime-Hong-Kong was destined for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC this November, Square's not ready to even address those specifics. After the game's cancellation, the development team had to "scale back" but now that Square Enix has picked up the title, "we're ready to turn up the heat and get the team up to capacity," Singleton says.

For his part, Activision's Hirshberg tells Gama, "Our team has worked very hard to find a solution where everybody wins. Square Enix gets the benefit of the tremendous investment we've made in the game thus far. UFG gets to stay together and complete their vision. And gamers get to play a great game. We couldn't be more thrilled." And while most gamers will no doubt look forward to the title's release, if only to play "Would I Have Cancelled It," Singleton reminds us that the game still needs work. "We are committed to working with the team at United Front Games and giving them the time needed to realize the full potential of the game's standout features and create a truly unique open world adventure." Now we wait to see if Square's able to release something "at the top of that genre."

Square Enix snags rights to True Crime: Hong Kong from Activision originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 01 Aug 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Puzzle Quest 2 canceled for PSP

Alexander Sliwinski — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 10:40:00 EST

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?

Puzzle Quest 2 canceled for PSP originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 21 Jul 2011 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mega Man Legends 3 Project canceled

JC Fletcher — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 23:21:00 EST

Here's an aspect of the 3DS Mega Man Legends 3 Project for which Capcom didn't consult fan input: the publisher has ceased development of both the game and the downloadable "Prototype Version." This marks the second (and third) Mega Man game to be canceled in 2011, following the death of Mega Man Universe in March.

In a FAQ on Capcom-Unity, Capcom denied that Keiji Inafune's departure had anything to do with the cessation of his pet project. "Unfortunately it was not felt that the Mega Man Legends 3 Project met the required criteria" to go into full production, and thus the plug was pulled. Our guess is that Capcom is backing off from the 3DS after it didn't achieve stratospheric sales immediately.

This news comes immediately after the start of a fan campaign in support of the continued development of Mega Man Legends 3. Combine that with the already beleaguered nature of Mega Man Legends fans who had to wait over ten years for news of a sequel, and, well, there's going to be a giant Servbot-shaped shadow cast over any announcements Capcom makes at Comic-Con this week.

Mega Man Legends 3 Project canceled originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 18 Jul 2011 23:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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THQ: 'We are not developing Saints Row: Drive By'

JC Fletcher — Wed, 04 May 2011 13:10:00 EST

THQ left very little room for interpretation today in regards to Saints Row: Drive By, the XBLA and PSN spinoff of its puerile open-world series. "We are not developing Saints Row: Drive By," a THQ rep told Joystiq, confirming reports of its cancellation.

That likely means there won't be a 3DS Saints Row game either, since core games CEO Danny Bilson said that the planned 3DS project was the same as the XBLA game. Given the kind of weaponry we've seen in the latest Saints Row game -- weaponry we're not too keen to see in 3D -- we're at peace with the cancellation.

THQ told Joystiq it had "no further comment at this time" regarding the 3DS title specifically.

THQ: 'We are not developing Saints Row: Drive By' originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 04 May 2011 13:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Saints Row Drive-By for XBLA and PSN cancelled, according to resume

Christopher Grant — Tue, 03 May 2011 11:30:00 EST

According to the LinkedIn resume of one Mr. Scott Rogers, "Creative Manager for THQ's CORE games, CORE Digital Games Group and Kids and Family Groups," the downloadable Saint's Row spinoff, Saint's Row Drive-By, has been cancelled. The project was first obtusely revealed when THQ Core Games chief Danny Bilson said the 3DS-bound Saint's Row title was already being made for Xbox Live.

Later Bilson said, "We actually changed the design and are doing something more unique. This is just creative but we wound up feeling the game we were building was too much like a section of Saint's Row that you could play in Saint's Row." We're not so sure that canceling a game is the best way to make it more unique - that's old territory.

At GDC 2010, Bilson first revealed to Joystiq that THQ would develop downloadable games from its stable of "Core" brands, including Red Faction and Saint's Row. In advance of Red Faction: Armageddon's early June launch, THQ released the underwhelming Red Faction: Battlegrounds on XBLA and PSN. Following a string of negative reviews - including our own 2/5 - a THQ rep called the reception a "disappointment." If Saint's Row Drive-By was shaping up to be cut from the same cloth, a cancellation may have been a wise move.

We've reached out to THQ for an official comment on the status of Drive-By and Saint's Row 3DS.

[Update: A THQ representative issued the following statement: "We are not developing Saints Row: Drive By."]

Saints Row Drive-By for XBLA and PSN cancelled, according to resume originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 03 May 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Planet Moon artist shows off unreleased Kinect adventure game 'My Amazing Story' [update: site locked]

JC Fletcher — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 09:30:00 EST

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.

Planet Moon artist shows off unreleased Kinect adventure game 'My Amazing Story' [update: site locked] originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 28 Apr 2011 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just Add Water reveals screenshot of abandoned Paradroid remake

Griffin McElroy — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 21:30:00 EST

The Oddworld franchise isn't the only series developer Just Add Water had its sights on for a reboot -- the company recently tweeted a concept image of an abandoned remake of the Commodore 64 classic Paradroid. (That's Spanish for "for Droid," you know.)

Continue reading Just Add Water reveals screenshot of abandoned Paradroid remake

Just Add Water reveals screenshot of abandoned Paradroid remake originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rare's canceled 'Perfect Dark Core' revealed in concept art and video

JC Fletcher — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 09:55:00 EST

After Perfect Dark Zero, Rare had Chris Seavor and the Conker team at work on another Perfect Dark, also for Xbox, called Perfect Dark Core. Unseen64 has found concept art, 3D renders, and even video of this cancelled game -- and the other cancelled game it metamorphosed into. In this "more realistic" Perfect Dark game, players controlled a male character who accompanied a "smoking, flirting" Joanna Dark on her mission.

By late 2008, Core had been taken out of the Perfect Dark universe, and its team (cut down to three people) turned it into a mech FPS before the project was killed. It might not have been Perfect Dark, but it was probably really dark inside those mechs.

Continue reading Rare's canceled 'Perfect Dark Core' revealed in concept art and video

Rare's canceled 'Perfect Dark Core' revealed in concept art and video originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 09:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Giant, game-cancelling boulder catches up to Gun Loco

Justin McElroy — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 09:15:00 EST

We started to get suspicious after it missed its first listed release date, and now our fears have been confirmed: Square Enix's third-person arcade shooter, Gun Loco, has been canceled. The news came via the game's official site, though no more details were provided.

We're sorry for rubbing salt in the wound, but here's what Gun Loco would have been:

"Gun Loco is set on a prison planet (which, for some reason, has Earth-like ruins throughout) where the universe's worst criminals are left unsupervised. The prisoners have created different factions, and are locked in constant warfare."

Frankly, video games, if you can't make that premise work, it might be time to take a long look in that deep, dark and truthful mirror and wonder if you wouldn't be happier making add-ons for Quicken.

Giant, game-cancelling boulder catches up to Gun Loco originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 18 Mar 2011 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Torchlight XBLA cancelled in Japan due to text bug [update: It actually never existed]

JC Fletcher — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 11:15:00 EST

Torchlight was set to launch on Xbox Live Arcade in Japan today, but it won't make its appointed release date, or any release date. In a brief statement on Xbox.com, Microsoft announced that the Japanese release of the dungeon crawler has been canned ~~as a result of a bug in the Japanese language text display~~. due to difficulty of localization (see below for statements from Runic and Microsoft about exactly what happened).

Either that's one serious bug, or Microsoft decided the cost of the QA wouldn't be worth it for a game that already faced two strikes -- being a downloadable game in Japan, and being an Xbox 360 game in Japan.

The Torchlight avatar cap and other accessories are still available.

Update: Runic president Travis Baldree sent the following statement over to Joystiq:

"We're not privy to the decision making process in providing the game in Japan - but it was not due to bugs in the translation because the game has never been translated to Japanese. Since there was no existing Japanese version of the game, the complexity of a new translation combined with the randomly generated naming scheme for Torchlight made it beyond the scope of the project."

In other words, this is much weirder than just a bug that killed the whole project -- the Japanese version never existed, and the "cancellation" announcement came on the projected release date.

Update 2: And Microsoft has sent along the following: " "We made the decision to not launch "Torchlight" on Xbox LIVE Arcade in Japan due to localization complexities; not due to bugs. We apologize for any inconvenience."

Torchlight XBLA cancelled in Japan due to text bug [update: It actually never existed] originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 09 Mar 2011 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Mirror's Edge 2 rejected by EA (oh, and Happy Valentine's Day!)

Christopher Grant — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 13:00:00 EST

In late 2008, EA released two new intellectual properties; while both failed to break sales records the world over, they went a long way towards proving to the world that EA was serious about changing its image. The more successful of the two games just saw a sequel released: Dead Space 2 opened to strong reviews and is outselling its predecessor two to one. The other game, however, hasn't had such an easy time of things. According to a Press 2 Play TV report - translated by Eurogamer - "EA was shown a prototype" of a Mirror's Edge sequel but "declined" to pursue it, ostensibly opting to focus all of developer DICE's efforts on the upcoming Battlefield 3, as previously reported.

Nearly two years ago, EA's Patrick Soderlund said, "You will see another Mirror's Edge for sure. It's just a matter of when that time is and what we do with it. We have a small team on it and I'm excited about what we do." While Soderlund could have been talking about EA Mobile's better-than-it-should-be Mirror's Edge for iOS, the name Mirror's Edge 2 popped up on a DICE lighting artist's portfolio a few month's later. EA CEO John Riccitiello even said "it's a game that deserves to come back," and we don't think he was referring to mobile.

So has Mirror's Edge 2 been rejected by EA? We'll have to wait for EA to get back to us before we know anything for sure but, if it has, we just wanted to say thanks, EA. For breaking our hearts. On Valentine's Day.

[Update 3:05pm:An EA spokesperson got back to us with this: "Mirror's Edge is an important franchise built by the DICE studio in Stockholm. DICE is currently producing Battlefield 3. Nothing further to announce." With just one full title under that name, and the aforementioned mobile game, franchise sounds like an awfully strong word for Mirror's Edge. With that in mind, we'll try to keep our hopes up.]

Report: Mirror's Edge 2 rejected by EA (oh, and Happy Valentine's Day!) originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Marvelous cancels multiplatform RPG nobody knew existed

JC Fletcher — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 09:45:00 EST

No More Heroes and Harvest Moon publisher Marvelous Entertainment's latest financial report includes the sad news that the company has decided to cancel an "epic RPG" that was in development for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The loss of the title comes as a surprise to us, because Marvelous never told anyone about it in the first place. Marvelous hinted at an original IP for "new hardware" back in 2010.

Marvelous reported ¥245 million ($2.9 million) in losses from the development of this title, which is especially impressive in proportion to the company's operating profit of ¥409 million ($4.9 million), of which the digital contents division (the part that makes games) brought in ¥89 million. That operating profit, by the way, is a great improvement over last year's ¥1,208 million ($14.6 million) loss.

Marvelous cancels multiplatform RPG nobody knew existed originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Canceled 'Day to Night' Midway game unearthed in concept art

Ben Gilbert — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 20:00:00 EST

Former Midway background artist Brian Beppu was at one point drawing up concepts for a PlayStation 2-era game named Day to Night. As the title suggests, Day to Night looks like it was going to be some type of zombie game -- as seen in the concept panels above, a hobbled humanoid approaches a gentleman who appears to be a cowboy in snowy woods. A handful of environments are also on display, varying from a cheap roadside motel to a graveyard overtaken by jungle brush.

Given the fact that this art is now nearly a decade old, Day to Night likely lost its shot at becoming a finished product before Midway's less than successful final years. Little else is known about the title, in fact, so feel free to shoot us a tip if you know more.

Gallery: Day to Night

Canceled 'Day to Night' Midway game unearthed in concept art originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Artwork surfaces from canned Midway game, 'Hero'

Ben Gilbert — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 13:30:00 EST

Concept illustrator Stephan Martiniere worked at Midway Chicago until August of 2008. Some time before he left the company to work at id Software, he inked concept art for a game titled "Hero," spotted by Siliconera on Mr. Martiniere's website. Midway, as you likely know, went bust over the last few years, with some titles being picked up by other publishers and some games in-development being put on permahold.

Only one image of Hero is in the portfolio, but it indicates possible characters Hero might've explored -- an adult figure holds a sword in one hand and a child's hand in the other, while an ethereal being floats above both figures in a ruined Chicago (as indicated by the Chicago Transit Authority sign). That sounds an awful lot like the plot of Lone Wolf and Cub to us (minus the whole Chicago thing), so we're clearly sad to hear it never came to be.

Gallery: Hero

[Image credit: Stephan Martiniere]

Artwork surfaces from canned Midway game, 'Hero' originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 03 Jan 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Let's say goodbye to 2010's dearly departed

Justin McElroy — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 23:30:00 EST

Is there anything sadder than a canceled video game? Years of man hours, creativity, blood, sweat and tears down the drain without a single player ever being able to appreciate the effort. Are we better without the This Is Vegases (Vegi?) of the world littering the shelves? Perhaps. But shouldn't we be allowed to find that out for ourselves?

But you know what? Let's not mope. Let's start 2011 off right. Let's go over to 1UP and feel sad about all of 2010's canceled games all at once so we can move forward with a full heart. Which do you wish you'd gotten to know before it passed on?

Let's say goodbye to 2010's dearly departed originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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More Reich footage surfaces, from TGS '09

Ben Gilbert — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 19:00:00 EST

We've seen footage of Ignition's canceled FPS Reich before -- remember those videos from back in November? -- but what about the 2009 demo reel, set to erratic German metal, shown at Tokyo Game Show? Thanks to YouTube user "JanusTheChosen" (a reference to the game) the lengthy clip is now available for the world to see, showcasing the canned title's destructible environments and Psi-Ops-style telekinesis gameplay.

Additionally, Reich's apparent subtitle, "Downfall," is revealed, positioning the game one step closer to an internet meme. Head past the break to get a look at this most "up-to-date" footage.

Continue reading More Reich footage surfaces, from TGS '09

More Reich footage surfaces, from TGS '09 originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 27 Dec 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Square Enix confirms cancellation of Highlander game we forgot existed

Griffin McElroy — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 18:00:00 EST

It's usually bad news bears for the fate of a particular game when we go nearly three years without hearing so much as a peep about it from its creators -- hence our general lack of surprise at Square Enix's recent revelation that Highlander: The Game's development has been halted. The project was nearly as old as Mr. MacLeod himself, having been in development since 2005 for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC under the wing of publisher Eidos and French developer WideScreen Games.

Though Square confirmed the canning to IGN, it would not share details as to exactly why the project went south. We heard that it was due to the development team's proclivity for decapitating one another with giant broadswords, citing "research," but keep in mind that we just totally made that up.

Square Enix confirms cancellation of Highlander game we forgot existed originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 11 Dec 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lorne Lanning laments 'The Brutal Ballad of Fangus Klot' that never was

James Ransom-Wiley — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 17:30:00 EST

Game Informer has posted its recent print interview with Oddworld Inhabitants founder Lorne Lanning, a (five-years-later) followup to the magazine's April 2005 announcement of The Brutal Ballad of Fangus Klot, OWI's would-be effort to delve further into the "more hardcore" elements of the Oddworld ... world.

After finding the situation with EA (which published OWI's Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath on Xbox in 2005) "unworkable," Lanning recounted, OWI turned to Majesco to fund and publish the Fangus project, another Xbox game built on Stranger's core framework. But only a month after the game's announcement, "the shenanigans started" and OWI shut down its development studio. "Sometimes developers get fired by publishers and sometimes developers fire publishers," Lanning said coyly, "and that's probably all I should say about it."

Publisher "incompetence" aside, Fangus did sound like an odd pitch: A "close to the Earth" dog-man herdsman turned "pit fighting" slave -- to the Russian-like cat mafia -- who escapes his years-long imprisonment a hardened killer dead set on vengeance and the liberation of his people ("the timeless mythical battle between cats and dogs," in other words). Also, Fangus has terminal rabies and "would control a flock of ravenous sheep-like creatures to take down enemies and solve puzzles," according to GI's description. "We wanted it to be really hardcore," Lanning concluded.

Continue reading Lorne Lanning laments 'The Brutal Ballad of Fangus Klot' that never was

Lorne Lanning laments 'The Brutal Ballad of Fangus Klot' that never was originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 22 Nov 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Disney cancels Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned; Propaganda suffers layoffs

Alexander Sliwinski — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 15:07:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

A Disney Interactive representative has confirmed to Joystiq that Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned has been sunk down to Davy Jones' locker and will not come to port in 2011 ... or ever. The confirmation comes following rumors reported by Kotaku that the game had been canceled and layoffs had occurred at developer Propaganda Games.

In a statement (in full after the break), Disney Interactive explains that a "restructuring" has occurred at Propaganda Games, "affecting one of the studio's two development teams." Propaganda is still working on this December's Tron: Evolution and its post-release DLC.

Continue reading Disney cancels Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned; Propaganda suffers layoffs

Disney cancels Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned; Propaganda suffers layoffs originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 14 Oct 2010 15:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ed Boon reveals Mortal Kombat: Fire & Ice, a canceled co-op game

Griffin McElroy — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

While speaking to Game Informer about older Mortal Kombat projects, series creator Ed Boon unveiled one installment of the which never saw the light of day: A co-op action adventure game subtitled Fire & Ice. "When they finished [Shaolin Monks]," Boon explained, "the guys at Paradox were gonna do another one called Fire & Ice. It was gonna be a co-operative Scorpion and Sub-Zero game."

We're not sure how the game's writers would have navigated the series' canon to make this union possible (don't those two, like, hate each other?), but we're disappointed nonetheless. To think -- if someone had asked us what our favorite co-op Mortal Kombat game was, and then asked what our favorite 1980s German ski film was, we could have just given them a single, satisfying answer.

Ed Boon reveals Mortal Kombat: Fire & Ice, a canceled co-op game originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumor: J Allard leaving Microsoft due to Courier cancellation

Griffin McElroy — Sun, 23 May 2010 13:30:00 EST

ZDNet reports that "a pretty reliable tipster" has informed them that J Allard, Chief Experience Officer of Microsoft and overseer of the development and launch of the Xbox 360, is "on sabbatical and is unlikely to return to Microsoft." According to the tipster, Allard was upset by the sudden, surreptitious cancellation of the Microsoft Courier, which Allard has frequently talked up since it was first revealed last September.

Allard has been one of the main creative forces at Microsoft for ages, as well as one of the most charismatic individuals in the tech industry. It would be a real shame if these reports turn out to be accurate. We've contacted Microsoft to see if we can get a comment on ZDNet's report.

[Via 1UP]

Rumor: J Allard leaving Microsoft due to Courier cancellation originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 23 May 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Off-Road Velociraptor Safari HD development halted

JC Fletcher — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 18:00:00 EST

As if attacked by some kind of predatory lizard, Flashbang's Off-Road Velociraptor Safari HD has been cut down before its time. The developer has announced that it has stopped work on the standalone sequel to the browser game Off-Road Velociraptor Safari. "We may still finish Raptor Safari at some point," Flashbang founder Matthew Wegner said, "although certainly not anytime soon (not this year, or even next year)," adding that it was "entirely likely" that the project will never ship.

Development was halted due to a combination of budget constraints and malaise. "Much of Flashbang's revenue stems from affiliate programs in the casual market," Wegner said. "Many of these programs are either shuttering completely or have drastically altered their terms in punitive ways, probably as a result of the casual market itself being hurt by Facebook [and] web games."

Continue reading Off-Road Velociraptor Safari HD development halted

Off-Road Velociraptor Safari HD development halted originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Concept art from canned Vectorman update emerges

Justin McElroy — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 09:37:00 EST

Of all the canned games that we wish could see the light of day, the 3D update of Vectorman for PS2 is at the top of the list. ... Okay, maybe he's not at the top of the list, but he could probably walk there. ... Not walk, but it would be a short drive. So, as you've likely gathered, it's with a mountain of measured enthusiasm we present these recently unearthed pieces of concept art from the game, discovered by Siliconera.

You can get a slightly better idea of what the game would have played like with the alpha footage after the break. As you'll see, it kind of looks like a blend of Blasto and Red Faction, which probably sounds a lot better in theory than practice.

Continue reading Concept art from canned Vectorman update emerges

Concept art from canned Vectorman update emerges originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 20 Apr 2010 09:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Slant Six enacts 'temporary' layoffs; Star Wars Battlefront Online rumored to be canceled

JC Fletcher — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 15:30:00 EST

SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo and Confrontation developer Slant Six has instituted layoffs, according to statements given to GameSpot by managing director Brian Thalken. Thalken called the dismissals "temporary," with the goal to bring back as many of the affected staff as possible at a later date. He did not specify just how many employees had been laid off, but said the company will continue to offer benefits to those affected.

"Our current project needs do not align with our current staffing levels," Thalken told GameSpot. The studio's last release was SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 3 in February.

Additionally, Kotaku reports that, according to its sources, the rumored Star Wars Battlefront Online, which Slant Six was reportedly developing, has been canceled by publisher LucasArts. The game was never announced, and its existence was only suggested by an earlier rumor. As such, its possible relationship to the recent studio layoffs is unconfirmed. We've contacted Slant Six to clear up the issue.

Slant Six enacts 'temporary' layoffs; Star Wars Battlefront Online rumored to be canceled originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 09 Apr 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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