VGEsoterica
Member
It's obviously quite common for a video game to be cancelled before release. Maybe the game just isn't shaping up to what the developers or publishers expected of it. Maybe the devs ran out of money before publishing the game. Maybe the game was transitioned from one console to the next gen hardware about ready to release. But it's exceedingly rare for a game to be cancelled due to real world events wholly outside of the developers and publishers control.
But that is exactly what happened to Propeller Arena. Sega and AM3 made an absolutely amazing aerial dogfighting arcade game where you could fly around huge open world environments and engage in aerial combat. You could even fly through the downtown area of what looked like a real world city. It's an absolute treat of a game and definitely one that was NOT cancelled due to lack of resources or the game not being "fun". So why was it cancelled?
The release date? 9/19/2001. A mere eight days after the 9/11 attack on America
So it makes perfect sense why Sega would absolutely pull the game from release and cancel it for Dreamcast, but this is one of the very few times a game has been pushed back or ultimately cancelled due to a real world situation.
The only other instance of this is the 2011 earthquake in Japan which caused a few disaster themed games to be delayed for years as releasing them during this time period rightfully felt in bad taste.
But it's a very interesting look at how real world events can actually impact the video gaming industry.
But that is exactly what happened to Propeller Arena. Sega and AM3 made an absolutely amazing aerial dogfighting arcade game where you could fly around huge open world environments and engage in aerial combat. You could even fly through the downtown area of what looked like a real world city. It's an absolute treat of a game and definitely one that was NOT cancelled due to lack of resources or the game not being "fun". So why was it cancelled?
The release date? 9/19/2001. A mere eight days after the 9/11 attack on America
So it makes perfect sense why Sega would absolutely pull the game from release and cancel it for Dreamcast, but this is one of the very few times a game has been pushed back or ultimately cancelled due to a real world situation.
The only other instance of this is the 2011 earthquake in Japan which caused a few disaster themed games to be delayed for years as releasing them during this time period rightfully felt in bad taste.
But it's a very interesting look at how real world events can actually impact the video gaming industry.