Batman

Gotham by Gaslight Game [Cancelled – Xbox 360 / PS3]

As we can read in Wikipedia, Gotham by Gaslight is a DC Comics one-shot comic, considered to be the first Elseworlds story, where DC Comics heroes are taken out of their usual setting and put into alternate timelines or realities. In Gotham by Gaslight, Batman is set in 1889, in a sort of steampunk europe.

A game based on Gotham by Gaslight was pitched by Day 1 Studios, and an early prototype was created. Some menù concept arts are and a video of the proto are saved in below, to preserve its existence. Thanks to Supererogatory and MitsuharuSan for the contributions!

Images:

Videos:
 

Batman (SC) [SNES – Cancelled]

In november 2008 Sample_Seller opened an auction on Ebay for a Batman prototype that was in development by Software Creations for the Super Nintendo.

BATMAN super nintendo SAMPLE/DEMO US NTSC version

Very early 2 level demo, no sound… undiscovered batman game!!

Devoloped by SOFTWARE CREATIONS.

Original development sample game direct from Nintendo !!

Rare unreleased/unannounced game !! Only a few were made, unique item for any collector !!

As we can read on Wikipedia, Software Creations were primarily known for their video games based on movie and comic licenses like Marvel Comics, Cutthroat Island, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and original titles Solstice and the sequel Equinox.  Their Batman project was never released for unknown reasons.

As Yakumo as noted, this Batman demo has been on the scene for years, infact since the begining of the Super Magicom, Wildcard, profighter and so on. A rom of the demo was leaked and should be easily findable with google.

You can read more info on this beta at SNES Central!

Thanks to Yakumo and Celine for the contributions!

Images:

Video:
 

Batman: Arkham Asylum [X360/PS3/PC – Beta]

Batman: Arkham Asylum is an action-adventure stealth video game based on DC Comics’ Batman for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. It was developed by Rocksteady Studios and published by Eidos Interactive in conjunction with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Comics and was released in 2009. [Info from Wikipedia]

Throughout Batman: Arkham Asylums development the developers were shooting for a hard T rating. Based on early screens it seems that they intended for the game to have blood, but it appears that they had to tone it down to get the rating that they wanted.

Also, as we can read at Game Informer, it seems that the combat system in the game was changed at least 3 times before chosing the final one:

Combat went through three distinct revisions – the first one being a full rhythm action game! The second one was prototyped in 2D, which popped up whenever you got into a fight, and involved colored circles bashing into each other. This actually formed the basis of the final system.

FMMC noticed that Batman’s gliding was impaired when his cape was torn in the beta.

Thanks to Robert Seddon for the contribution!

Images:
 

Batman: The Dark Knight [X360/PS3 – Cancelled]

Batman: The Dark Knight was an open world action stealth video game loosely based on the 2008 film, The Dark Knight. The game was unofficially revealed in the summer of 2007 as being in the works at Pandemic Studios’ Australian branch in Brisbane.

This cancellation makes The Dark Knight the first Batman film made by Warner Bros. not to receive a video game translation.

As we can read on Kotaku (thanks to Robert Seddon for the link!), the development of Dark Knights had too many problems and it was probably the main reason why the studio was closed:

“Pandemic worked out a deal with Warner/DC and EA to make a Batman game. So Pandemic spent six months on pre-production of a Batman game. Then EA came in and said it had to be a Dark Knight game, so most of that six months’ work was thrown out. EA were forced to rush the project, as their ownership of the Batman rights would expire in December 2008. […] Pandemic thought an open-world game would suit the property best. But few, if any staff at Pandemic Brisbane had experience making open-world games. The decision was made to use the same engine being used for Pandemic’s upcoming WWII action title Saboteur. It’s a pretty engine, but was never built for the kind of open-world game Batman was supposed to be, and this caused a ton of serious technical issues.

Some leaked screenshots were found by Superior Version in January 2009.

Thanks to Borman and Dan for the contribution!

Images:

Video: