Microsoft

BloodBath [Cancelled – Xbox 360 / PS3]

Update: some years later, the game was released on Steam

BloodBath is an unreleased action game / brawler set in a post-apocalyptic future, that was in development by Freedom Factory Studios for Xbox Live Arcade (Xbox 360) and PSN (Playstation 3). Players would have been able to chose from differents characters and classes, with their own set of combos and special abilities, to fight in combat pits full of deathly traps and hazards all around the world. Single Player, Coop-Mode and Versus Multiplayer were all planned. BloodBath was pitched around to various publishers, but sadly they were not able to find one.

Only some screens from this lost game are archived below, to preserve its existence.

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Simpsons: Hit & Run [Beta – PS2 XBOX GameCube]

As we can read on Wikipedia, The Simpsons Hit & Run is an action-adventure game based on the animated sitcom The Simpsons. It was released for the GameCube, Xbox, PlayStation 2 on September 2003. The game’s developer, Radical Entertainment, received the rights to create games for The Simpsons franchise when they demonstrated a playable prototype. Radical released its first The Simpsons game in 2001 called The Simpsons Road Rage, a parody of the Crazy Taxi series of video games. After Road Rage was released, the development team for Hit & Run decided not to create a direct sequel to Road Rage. Instead, Radical wanted to steer the franchise’s video game series in a different direction by giving the game engine a complete overhaul.

In the game’s booklet, there are some beta images that shows the character mission mugs were in 3D too rather than animated. One has a display mode in options. In Tips & Tricks No. 105 in 2003, some character’s clothes were identified in the wrong episode. For example, Lisa’s “cool” outfit info says that it’s from the episode Little Girl In the Big Ten, but it’s actually from Summer of 4 ft. 2. Lisa didn’t wear that outfit in Little Girl In the Big Ten. Marge’s inmate outfit from Marge in Chains is originally periwinkle and short-sleeved, but the red-orange color may come from another episode. Facts say that Maggie is a playable character in the game, but for unknown reasons, she was replaced with Apu Nahasapeemapetilon in the final game.

Thanks to Luis Morales for the contribution!

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Spyro’s Kingdom [Cancelled – PS3 / Xbox 360 / Wii]

Spyro’s Kingdom is a cancelled game in the Spyro Series, which was developed, then scrapped, then redeveloped, then scrapped, but became Skylanders. Version 1 was developed by Helios Interactive and was to be exclusive to PC and Nintendo Wii. This version got cancelled, however, it was revived later by Toys 4 Bob with version 2, which introduced the portal of power and skylander figures, then called “Kingdom Heros”. Later it was redone again and finally released as Skylanders.

VERSION 1- Helios Version
The game was presented to
Activision, complete with working demo and production art. However, Activision decided against this game, and instead went on to create Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure, the third reboot in the Spyro franchise. It is unknown if the game was cancelled before or after the cancellation of the Spyro movie, which was also set in the ‘Legend’ reboot.

Something interesting to note is that the flying mechanic is very similar to that used in Skylanders – It is unknown if this was on purpose or not.

Post by RadSpyro

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Version 2 -Toys 4 Bob Version
This version is highly similar to Skylanders, even including portals and figures, however, this version did not require the figures or portal to play, and it had online play. Activision liked the concept and decided to go with it, later they had Toys 4 Bob remove the online play and make the figures and portal required. The version 2 was going to be Nintendo Wii Exclusive. However when word of this got out to fans, there was backlash and the fans on several forums expressed hate and did death threats. Later they announced it would also launch on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 as well.

http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20121019073502/spyro/images/7/7b/Spyro%27s_KingdomLogo.jpg

http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20121019062627/spyro/images/thumb/d/df/Spyro%27s_Kingdom1.jpg/185px-Spyro%27s_Kingdom1.jpg

http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/spyro/images/thumb/6/64/Selecing_Spyro_on_Spyro%27s_Kingdom.jpg/185px-Selecing_Spyro_on_Spyro%27s_Kingdom.jpg

more information: http://spyro.wikia.com/wiki/Spyro’s_Kingdom 

Crackdown 2 [Beta – Xbox 360]

As we can read from Wikipedia, Crackdown 2 is a sandbox third-person shooter game developed by Ruffian Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 in July 2010. Thanks to a post at Sean Noonan’s blog, we can read some interesting info about the beta and the development of Crackdown 2:

We had these cavernous locations for these monstrosities to roam, but the Goliath’s slow movement pace just couldn’t cut it against our nimble agent characters – no matter how powerful we buffed the Goliaths. Their great size meant any quick movements looked jarring and totally unconvincing, so the speed couldn’t change. […]

We pulled an all nighter or two and redesigned the Goliath. We adopted an approach whereby the Goliath would completely ignore the player. The Goliath would sprint as fast as possible to the beacon at which point he would pummel it until it was destroyed – the player’s job was to kill the Goliath before that could happen. It was simpler, cleaner and had a much more interesting visual impact. […]

The old Shai Gen Car Park in Unity Heights Square is roughly a tenth the size it originally was meant to be with the old Goliath design …in fact the old Shai Gen Car Park was once meant to be a freak infested mall as an homage to Dawn of the Dead but it’s location being on the final island best suited a Goliath encounter. At one point we talked about having a Goliath climb the agency tower as a final, but the idea was scrapped […]

Thanks a lot to Sean for the contribution!

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