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For years the handheld gaming market was mainly dominated by Nintendo and their line of portable gaming platforms. However, back in 2004 Nintendo got a major competitor from Sony with the release of the PlayStation Portable. The device was able to bring out video game titles that were close to the visuals of a PlayStation 2. As a result, this game system was quickly purchased up and became a hit selling over eighty million units over the course of being supported. Likewise, this system was capable of playing MP3s, videos and even access to a web browser.
While the PlayStation Portable was filled with fantastic video game titles that were well worth purchasing the console for, there are a number of cancelled projects from developers. Some of these games were announced at events or discovered from a leaked prototype build. At any rate, here are eight video game titles that we almost received on the PSP but was killed off during development. Please take note that these games are not ranked in any particular order.
#10 Far Cry
The Far Cry series has been around since 2004 and over the years, the video game franchise has seen several installments and spin-off titles. However, it was discovered that Ubisoft was interested in making a Far Cry title for the PlayStation Portable. This news came out years after when an FTP leak unveiled the title. Since the game was never officially announced, it’s uncertain just how far the development team actually got into the project.
There have been times where a game is considered and nothing has actually progressed past the initial idea. At the time the game would have been in the works around the time of Far Cry 2 so perhaps it would have been an adaption of the game or potential a spin-off. It’s really hard to say as no information has since come out on the title. Still, it’s tough to see a big franchise like Far Cry dodge the PSP platform.
#9 Traxion
Rhythm games were all the rage years ago. With the likes of Guitar Hero and Rock Band, there was a genre full of these games that players can enjoy timing the button presses to the beats of songs. One of the games that were heading to the PSP that was based around rhythm was Traxion from development studio Kuju Entertainment. It was a game that not only had a mode where players had to sync the buttons to the music, but it was also set to feature several other little minigames which would have likely played a great time killer.
What may have really stood this game out from the competition was that the studio was allowing the gameplay to adapt for any music file. While the game was set to feature a collection of music and artists, there was the ability to import music that was on your PSP. It seemed like things fell apart as the cancellation came with the studio or publisher LucasArts, unveiling the reason behind scrapping the project.
#8 Heartland
Note: No images or footage available.
The PSP had a few big titles out there but Heartland was definitely one of the more ambitious games in development. Under the care of development studio, Incognito Entertainment, Heartland was a project being lead by David Jaffe. This game was set to be an FPS that would have mimicked the war on terror which was a big subject at the time under the George W. Bush Jr. administration. As a result, the game was intended for a mature audience that would have attempted to capture a more personal look into the tragedies of war. There are only a few examples that been mentioned for the game but essentially players would have to deal with various consequences from the choices the made. All-in-all, these big moments was in hopes that the game would get an emotional response from the players.
As production started and an engine for the game was established, there became a slight problem. At the time Sony was working on a game called Warhawk for the PlayStation 3 and the company felt that the game should become more of a priority. This meant that developers were being pulled from the Heartland team and moved to the Warhawk team. In the end, there was a very small team of developers working on Heartland that David Jaffe knew the game would have to be abandoned. This title was scrapped and a new team moved on to create a completely different game called Calling All Cars, which is a downloadable car battle game for the PlayStation 3.
#7 Duke Nukem: Critical Mass
Duke Nukem doesn’t seem to have the same appeal and interest from when it first launched but that didn’t prevent attempts in bringing back Earth’s mightiest hero. Back in the day, there was an attempt to bring Duke Nukem back in a game called Duke Nukem: Critical Mass which released on the Nintendo DS. Within the story, Earth’s defenses decided to craft a time machine to monitor the future but when two of the best agents were sent in go missing Earth’s last chance is relied on Duke Nukem.
During development, it was revealed that two versions of the game were in the works, one for the Nintendo DS and another on the PlayStation Portable. While the two would play differently, the basic story would remain the same. Likewise, this title was set to be the first of a new trilogy of Duke Nukem games. Into development, the PSP version was scrapped. When the Nintendo DS version released it came with a slew of horrible reviews though we wonder how the PSP version would have done in comparison.
#6 Saints Row: Undercovered
There were a few different PSP games announced that we would have certainly loved to have played for it to just get cancelled midway into development. One of those games was a title within the Saints Row franchise. Originally developed by Mass Media Games and Savage Entertainment, developers had hoped to bring Saints Row 2 onto the portable handheld. Unfortunately, developers soon found that they were unable to port the full game experience onto the portable handheld system which resulted in crafting up a brand new story.
Scrapping the idea of a port, developers went with a new story is known as Saints Row Undercover, which followed an undercover cop that was tasked with joining The 3rd Street Saints after a large civil war with the group became a problem for Stilwater. Overall, players with tasked with finding out just what the civil war started within the group and put an end to it. Gamers would still get to explore the open world environment but it was sized down along with other limitations for the game to be playable on the PlayStation Portable.
This game was officially scrapped and was never finished but since then a playable version prototype found its way online. The build is apparently pretty buggy and again, it’s not the full game, but if you’re a fan of the Saints Row franchise then it could be fun to jump into the game and see what could have been if THQ and Volition hadn’t killed it. Apparently, the reason behind its cancellation, to begin with, is that the IP owners didn’t feel it met the standards of the series.
