10 Cancelled Video Games That Could Have Been Masterpieces

Beginning development in 1994, Earthbound 64 was cancelled in 2000 following six years of continuous setbacks and countless delays. The game was originally planned to be released on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, but was later moved to the N64, and finally the GameCube.

Despite his lack of experience, Shigesato Itoi developed Earthbound 64 using 3D technologies, which ultimately exceeded the capabilities of the platform. Likewise, the game was rumoured to be over sixty hours in length, which would have made it the longest game in the entire series.

The game was planned to be completed three years after beginning, but development continued for several more years. Eventually, Satoru Iwata made the decision to cancel the 3D version of the game in favour of a more practical 2D counterpart, which was later released as ‘Mother 3’ exclusively in Japan.

Outside of Japan, Earthbound 64 never materialised, despite being rumoured to be over 50% complete. In 1999, IGN managed to get their hands on a fully-fledged demo of the game, and claimed the project was progressing nicely, and looked very promising.

Nintendo did everything within their power to keep the project alive, but ultimately, it was sunk by its own ambition. Earthbound 64 just couldn’t meet its own unrealistic expectations, and was left playing catch up for years prior to its eventual cancellation, which comes across more as though a mercy killing in retrospect.