Unreleased consoles
This page covers Unreleased consoles. there are many reasons why a console goes unreleased, Such as lack of faith in the console being successful or disagreements within the company/companies. Most of these systems had prototypes, a physical build made for testing, developing and refining into a final product.
Some prototypes do (highly likely without permission from the developers and/or company/companies backing it) get sold to collectors, the exact relationship between the seller and the company is generally unknown.
Handheld prototypes
Ericsson Red Jade
| |
| Developer | Ericsson |
|---|---|
| Type | PDA |
| Release date | 2002 (planned) |
| Emulated | ✗ |
The Red Jade was a handheld/PDA by Swedish telecom giant Ericsson, slated for a late 2002 release. It was cancelled amid corporate restructuring and mass firings, as the company was experiencing poor financial results in 2001.
GamePark XGP
The XGP was a South Korean handheld by GamePark, the successor to their GP32. Cancelled due to the company's bankruptcy in 2007.
Ink Console
The Ink was an e-reader / handheld hybrid by Spanish developer Daniel Puchau. It has an e-ink touch screen, meant for text adventures / interactive fiction games. It was planned to be crowdfunded, but the campaign was cancelled as new management took over. It is unconfirmed whether it is still under development. [1]
MoMA Eve
The MoMA Eve was a handheld PC designed by startup Ministry of Mobile Affairs and produced by VIA Technologies. It ran Windows XP embedded. It was presented at the 2004 E3, but was never released.
Nintendo Project Atlantis
| |
| Pictured: Atlantis prototype, next to a DSi | |
| Developer | Nintendo |
|---|---|
| Type | Handheld game console |
| Generation | Fifth generation |
| Release date | Canceled |
| Predecessor | Game Boy |
| Emulated | ✗ |
Project Atlantis was the codename of the intended successor to the original Game Boy. Its development started in 1995, and was slated for release in late 1996 or early 1997. Electronic Gaming Monthly reported in their issue 083 (June 1996) that it would be powered by a 32-bit ARM710 CPU, and it'd have "a 3-by-2-inch color LCD screen, at least four buttons, a link port and a port for connecting an external controller."
A number of factors are speculated to have caused this ambitious project to be shelved. Nintendo couldn't figure how to make it small, cheap, and power-efficient enough. And they realized that it would not be ready before Bandai's rumored WonderSwan. So Nintendo chose instead a fast and cheap solution: upgrade the Game Boy with color capabilities, thus creating the Game Boy Color. And afterwards the unexpected commercial success of the Pokémon franchise breathed new life into the original Game Boy, stifling the need to rush toward a next-gen successor.
Nintendo later produced a new handheld, the Game Boy Advance; while it's not said to be a direct continuation of Atlantis, it does share similarities to its rumored specs--especially being powered by the ARM7TDMI, a pared-down, low-power version of the same CPU.
Nintendo's Masato Kuwahara (lead designer of the DSi) revealed an image of the device during his presentation at the 2009 Game Developers Conference.
Resources
- GDC Vault - The Inspiration Behind Nintendo DSi Development (video of Kuwahara's presentation)
LSuperSonicQ:The Mystery of Project Atlantis & Mario's Castle (Canceled Nintendo Projects)- DidYouKnowGaming:How Pokemon Killed Nintendo's Lost 'Project Atlantis'
Philips In2it
The In2it (codename "Kidcom") was an early tablet device produced by Philips, aimed at young girls. It had a monochrome touch screen, infrared communications, and a smart card reader. Anything from 100 to 1000 units were produced, but ultimately the company decided the product was not viable and cancelled it.
Panasonic Jungle
The Jungle was a palmtop computer / handheld by Japanese electronics giant Panasonic, aimed at people who wanted to play MMOs on the go. Powered by an Nvidia Tegra SoC. Slated for a mid-2011 release, cancellation announced in early 2011.
Home console prototypes
RDI Halcyon
| |
| Developer | RDI Video Systems |
|---|---|
| Type | Home video game console |
| Generation | Third generation |
| Release date | 1985 (planned) |
| Emulated | ✗ |
The Halcyon is a LaserDisc-based, third-generation home video game console produced by RDI Video Systems.
The System was planned to be released in January 1985, priced at $2500 ($7487 in 2026). This makes it the most expensive console of all time. However, investors got cold feet and pulled the money; RDI produced less than a dozen prototype units before closing their doors. Surprisingly, it seems that some units were sold at now-defunct electronics shop Beverly Stereo in Los Angeles.
Only two games for the Halcyon were completed: Raiders vs. Chargers (released in arcades by Bally Midway as NFL Football), and Thayer's Quest (released in arcades by RDI, then ported to other systems by Interplay as Kingdom: The Far Reaches).
- Also see Home media players#Emulators section.
Atari Game Brain
The Game Brain was a low-cost game console by Atari, slated for a 1978 release. The console itself was little more than a shell, with the hardware contained in each cartridge doing the actual processing. This was never intended to be a major seller, but a way to clear CPUs from unsold dedicated consoles. It was poorly received at the 1978 CES due to being terribly outdated, so it was cancelled.
Atari Panther
The Panther was a system developed by the Atari Corporation, slated for a 1991 release.
At the same time, the team was working on its planned successor, the Jaguar. As the system was found to have bugs that would have been costly to correct, and the Jaguar design progressed faster than expected, Atari decided to skip the Panther.
While it was never completed, there are various prototypes in the wild.
Resources
Atari Jaguar Duo
The Jaguar Duo was a planned upgraded version of the Jaguar with a built-in Jaguar CD drive, slated for a 1996 release. However, the Jaguar had been such a commercial failure that by late 1995 Atari had stopped any further hardware production. Only an empty mock-up case and an unpopulated PCB seem to exist.
Resources
Atari Jaguar 2
The Jaguar 2 (codename "Midsummer") was meant to be the successor to the Jaguar. However the Jaguar was a commercial failure and Atari closed doors in 1996. A number of developers are said to have received development prototypes (codename "Cobweb") and reference material; Atari Museum had access to a working unit, and confirmed it to be backwards-compatible.
Resources
Atari Mirai
| |
| Pictured: Atari Mirai shell at the Classic Gaming Expo 2007 | |
| Developer | Atari |
|---|---|
| Type | Home video game console |
| Emulated | ✗ |
Little is known about the Mirai ("future" in Japanese). A mockup shell was found in 1996 after Atari's bankruptcy; it is on display at the National Videogame Museum in Frisco. Aesthetically very similar to the Atari XEGS, it is speculated to be a variant of that, or a consolized version of the ST computer, or even a rebranded version of SNK's Neo Geo. In any case, no solid information is known.
Resources
Hasbro Control-Vision
The Control-Vision (codename "NEMO" - short for "never ever mention outside") was a system by Hasbro, slated for a 1989 release. It would use VHS tapes, with computer data stored alongside multiple video streams, to offer live action and interactive full-motion video.
Two games were completed for it: Night Trap and Sewer Shark. However, shortly before the planned release, Hasbro executives deemed it to not be price-competitive and canceled it; the system was projected to retail for $300, while the hugely popular NES could be had for $80. The untimely death of Hasbro's CEO Stephen Hassenfeld, the main champion of the project in the company, was likely a major factor as well.
The system's developers bought the software assets from Hasbro and formed a new company, Digital Pictures, which later released those games on the Sega CD and other platforms.
Resources
Konix Multisystem
| |
| Pictured: Konix Multisystem promotional image | |
| Developer | Konix, Flare |
|---|---|
| Type | Home video game console |
| Generation | Fourth generation |
| Release date | Canceled |
| Emulated | ✓ |
The Multisystem was a console by British peripheral manufacturer Konix, announced on early 1989. It was designed by Flare Technology, a team of former Sinclair Research employees. It was derived from their Flare One design, which in turn was a successor to the canceled Sinclair Loki computer. The Multisystem was promised to surpass the graphical capabilities of the Amiga and ST computers by a wide margin, while retailing for half as much. However, as development suffered multiple delays, Konix ran out of funds and closed doors.
Flare proceeded to create a new "Flare Two" system; the team was acquired by Atari, and that became the basis for the Jaguar.
The Flare One design was utilized by Bell-Fruit Manufacturing on a range of quiz arcades. Those machines are emulated by MAME.
Resources
- Slipstream: the Konix Multisystem archive
- Konix Multisystem emulator
- Games That Weren't: Konix Multisystem canceled & unreleased games
Namco 16
Little is known about the Namco 16. It is rumored that Namco wanted to get into the console business, but lacked the capital to do so.
New Computer Express reported in their issue 053 (November 1989) that Namco had designed a 16-bit console that could compete against Nintendo's still-upcoming Super Famicom. They had offered it to various American and Japanese hardware manufacturers, and Hudson Soft, creators of the PC Engine, acquired it to make it that system's successor.
In contrast, Electronic Gaming Monthly reported in their issue 002 (July-August 1989) on Namco's system, which was "almost completed". They also reported on NEC's "PC Engine 2" as a separate machine from that. Then, in issue 003 (September-October 1989), they reported that NEC had attempted to acquire Namco's system, but Hudson Soft intervened to prevent that deal.
Ultimately, nothing came of Namco's design. NEC and Hudson instead released the SuperGrafx as the successor to the PC Engine.
Ultravision Video Arcade System
| |
| Pictured: VAS advertisement | |
| Developer | Ultravision |
|---|---|
| Type | Home video game console |
| Generation | Second generation |
| Release date | 1983? (planned) |
| Emulated | ✗ |
A system by Miami-based developer Ultravision, it was supposed to combine a game console, a home computer, and a built-in 10-inch color TV.[2] Add-ons to play Atari 2600 and Colecovision games would be sold separately. It was announced at the 1983 CES, but the company closed doors that same year.
Retro Chameleon
The Retro Chameleon (originally Retro VGS, then Coleco Chameleon) was a crowdfunded console announced in 2015.
From the start its creators seemed to be shady, running crowdfunding campaigns without showing any prototype. The first one they did show, at the 2016 American International Toy Fair, was identified as a SNES inside a transparent Jaguar case. They responded by showing a new photograph of their supposed system, but that also was quickly identified as a video capture card inside the same case. In response, Coleco Holdings revoked permission to use their brand, and the whole project was shut down.
Infinium Labs Phantom
The Phantom was a PC-based console by Infinium Labs. It was revealed in 2003 as a system that would eschew physical media in favor of an online subscription model. It was seen with suspicion from the start, as the announcement was light on specifics and heavy on buzzwords, and digital-only distribution seemed unfeasible when high-speed internet was still not widespread. The company repeatedly announced release dates, but never delivered. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accused it of never intending it to actually launch a product, being merely a pump-and-dump scheme.
Intellivision Amico
| |
| Developer | Amico Entertainment |
|---|---|
| Type | Home video game console |
| Release date | 2020 (planned) |
The Amico was a console announced in 2018 and slated for a 2020 release.
Intellivision Productions, a company formed by former Mattel Electronics employees, obtained the rights to the Intellivision system and games in the late '90s.[3] After the death of founder Keith Robinson in 2017, game composer and compulsive liar Tommy Tallarico bought a stake in the company, and announced that the Intellivision brand would return as a retro-style, family-oriented console.
However, the system suffered multiple delays. Excitement fizzled as the press noted that the hardware was akin to a budget smartphone, and some of the promised titles were already available as free web games or phone games. Tallarico got in public online spats with journalists, and left the company in 2022. In 2024 Atari SA acquired the Intellivision brand, so the company rebranded to Amico Entertainment.
While there was never an official announcement of cancellation, and there are some working prototypes out there, the project can be considered effectively dead, as they couldn't secure funding for mass production.
Mera-Elzab GEM-1
Placeholder Text https://gadzetomania.pl/kometka-dla-swietlic-i-klubow-bajty-z-broda,6704136032499329a
Vanguard Vang-Ball
Placeholder Text for a cancelled spanish magnavox odyssey clone https://prehistoricgaming.com/vang-ball-la-consola-espanola-perdida-de-1974/
Taito WoWoW
The WoWoW was a console produced by a joint venture between arcade developer Taito, satellite operator JSB, and publisher ASCII. It was to run games from either CD-ROM or download them via satellite. It was unveiled at the 1992 Tokyo Game Show. However, data transfer speed was too slow, and the satellite receiver would make the system quite expensive, so it was cancelled. Only a pared down port of arcade Darius was developed for it.
Apex Digital ApeXtreme
The ApeXtreme is a PC-based console by Apex Digital, running Windows XP Embedded. It was shown at E3 2004, but cancelled in December that year.
Indrema Entertainment System (L600)
A console with PC-based hardware and running the Linux operating system. Announced in early 2000, just in time for the dot-com crash: the company could not get further financing and closed doors without releasing any product.
Sega Jupiter
The Jupiter is an idea explored by Sega during the development of the Saturn. The two machines would be identical specs-wise; but the Jupiter would lack a CD-ROM drive (cutting the price from the planned ¥50,000 to ¥30,000), running cartridge-based games instead; it would be upgradable into a Saturn by acquiring the CD-ROM drive separately.
It does not appear that the Jupiter ever reached the prototype stage; however, it is conceptually similar to the Sega Titan arcade system, which is essentially the Saturn hardware with games loaded from cartridges.
Sega Neptune
The Neptune was a planned upgraded version of the Sega Genesis, with a built-in 32X.
Only one non-functional prototype mockup is known to exist.
Ares can emulate Sega Genesis games with 32X hardware, essentially replicating the way the Neptune would run Genesis games.
Sega Pluto
The Pluto was the codename of an upgraded version of the Saturn that would have included a modem and a hard-drive built in the console.
There are two known working prototypes.
SKB Kontur Krokha
| |
| Developer | SKB Kontur |
|---|---|
| Type | Home video game console |
| Release date | 1990 (planned) |
| Emulated | ✓ |
The Krokha (Кроха, "baby" in Russian) is a console by Russian company SKB Kontur (СКБ Контур). 200 test units were produced in 1990, and given to the employees when the project was cancelled. By non-Soviet standards, this was an extremely outdated design, with monochrome graphics and one sound channel.
Only a cartridge with five games was developed for it. It can be emulated on MAME.
Panasonic M2
| |
| Pictured: FZ-21S Model | |
| Developer | 3DO |
|---|---|
| Type | Home video game console |
| Generation | Sixth generation |
| Release date | Canceled |
| Predecessor | 3DO |
| Emulated | ✗ |
- Not to be confused with Konami M2, although they do share some history.
The Panasonic M2, also known as 3DO M2 or simply M2, is a 64-bit, sixth-generation home video game console meant to be released by Matsushita (Panasonic) in 1997. Developed by The 3DO Company, M2 featured a CPU comprised of dual PowerPC 602s clocked @ 66 MHz, alongside a custom ASIC chip codenamed "Bulldog", which handled several audiovisual elements. It was originally intended to be an add-on for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer. Third-party developers received the M2 SDK, and they stated that the console is inferior to the Nintendo 64.
After system specifications were sold to Matsushita in early 1996, the company made a deal with Konami to produce arcade hardware based on the specifications (See Konami M2).
Despite this, plans for release of the home console were canceled in mid 1997, and in October of the same year, Matsushita started marketing the M2 hardware for use in other markets, such as interactive kiosks. However, several games and miscellaneous software have surfaced since, such as "IMSA Racing", "PonPonLand" and "VizHouse".
THERE ARE CURRENTLY NO EMULATORS FOR THIS DEVICE OR PLATFORM. ANY CLAIMS TO OFFER THEM ARE SCAMS!
Models
- Interactive Media Player FZ-21S (FZ-21S1TK / FZ-21S1K)
The system uses a case design identical to what was intended for the finalized M2 console. Additionally, it is much more rare than the FZ-35S.
- Interactive Media Player FZ-35S
Uses a completely different case design, has 16MB of RAM and features a DVD-ROM drive. Other than that, the hardware is identical to the FZ-21S.
Resources
- Panasonic Press Releases and Operating Manuals
- Software
- Operating System
- Miscellaneous
Add-on prototypes
SNES CD Add-ons
Nintendo / Sony PlayStation
- Main article: Super Nintendo emulators#Hardware variants
| |
| Developer | Sony Nintendo |
|---|---|
| Type | Home video game console |
| Generation | Fifth generation |
| Successor | PlayStation |
| Emulated | ~ |
The Super Famicom CD-ROM Adapter (a.k.a "SNES CD", "Super Disc", "Super CD", or "Nintendo PlayStation") is a prototype add-on for the Super Nintendo, developed by Sony in cooperation with Nintendo. It was never released to the public. The system seemingly would be available as both a CD-ROM add-on for the SNES, and a standalone unit that would read games in cartridge and CD.
However, Nintendo eventually realized that the terms of the partnership were disastrous: Sony would have full control of the Super Disc format and reap all profits from software and multimedia licensing. Nintendo cancelled the deal and made a new one with Philips. Sony decided to proceed with their own new hardware, retaining the name PlayStation.
While hundreds of prototypes were produced, only two are known to still exist. One is owned by entrepreneur Greg McLemore; the other is owned by PlayStation creator Ken Kutaragi.
Nintendo / Philips Add-on
As a public fuck you to Sony, Nintendo made a deal with their major rival, Dutch electronics giant Philips, to create a different SNES CD add-on.
This system would have a 32-bit processor (possibly an NEC V810), and add four audio channels to the SNES' eight. It would have a 2x speed, caddy-type CD drive. Its media would use a new format called Nintendo Disc, a variant of the CD-ROM XA format. Its games were planned to be compatible with the CD-i line, which was also being planned at the time.
Nintendo quietly cancelled the system before any prototype was produced.
Resources
Sega Trip
The Trip was an add-on for the Saturn, that added an SH-3 CPU to improve its 3D graphics capabilities. Its existence has been confirmed by Sega engineer Junichi Naoi in an interview to Beep21.
Luggable prototypes
Atari Cosmos
| |
| Pictured: Atari Cosmos advertisement | |
| Developer | Atari |
|---|---|
| Type | Luggable |
| Generation | Second generation |
| Release date | 1981 (planned) |
| Emulated | ✗ |
The Cosmos was a portable / tabletop console by Atari. Like many early handhelds, it was a simplistic hardware with a LED-based display; but it superimposes a printed two-layer holographic image to produce a 3D effect. It was shown at the 1981 New York Toy Fair, but reactions were mostly negative, so it was cancelled.
See also
- Preservation projects (especially Hidden Palace)
- Development Kits
- Console-specific development wikis
- Interactive Kiosk