Technically the term "never happened" doesn't apply here, because Tetris - the hardboiled, fiendishly simple game - would have existed, but only beneath the steely gaze of the iron curtain. The addictive nature of this game meant it was a surefire hit for its creator, ready to set him up for life with a sweet beachfront pad and ladies of the night on tap, but that is not how things are done in Soviet Russia, you decadent Western swine. Despite proving as popular in Moscow as heavily discounted vodka, creator Alexey Pajitnov had no intention, nor any means, of making money from his masterwork. Nonetheless it continued to spread like wildfire until it wound up in Hungary, where it was picked up by a British software house. They naturally tried to strike a deal with Pajitnov, because if you think there's treasure in your backyard, you better hope you can afford a shovel. It turns out communication wasn't great in 1980's Russia, and by the time they managed to get through, the rights had already been sold. Somehow though, Andromeda were able to gain a license for the Commadore 64; the details of this arrangement were sketchy, so we can only assume it involved an AK47 and a padlock. Ultimately though, Tetris is a story about a game that was too good to contain. The licensing issues that surround it could fill a novel, but the way it got out of Russia was beautifully simple: it was shared because people loved it. By 1988, Russia realised resistance was futile and began marketing it across the world, and it ended up on almost every games console, computer and even mobile phone in the world, selling in excess of 170 million copies. Did we miss any great games that notoriously almost didn't even exist? Share your own stories below in the comments thread below.
