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Is Metroid Dread the best vaporware?

JusDoIt

JusDoIt

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Oct 25, 2017
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Among titles officially announced or widely rumored for 10+ years before release, is Metroid Dread the best to actually see the light of day?

There are a few games that were stuck in development hell as long or longer before they came out, but were any of them as well received as Dread?
 
makonero

makonero

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Oct 27, 2017
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I don't think vaporware is the right term…but yes it is the most outstanding of any game that was never officially announced but then later got a release
 
Phendrift

Phendrift

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Oct 25, 2017
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Vaporware actually seeing the light of day is rare enough already, I really can't think of many examples in the first place. Especially not those received as well as Dread. Does FFVIIR count? Versus XIII becoming XV? Either way I think only VIIR could be argued to be as well recieved as those
 
Soap

Soap

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Oct 27, 2017
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I have a feeling they just took the name because they were aware of the rumours rather than it being the same game in active development after all this time.
 
Zeal543

Zeal543

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May 15, 2020
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I don't think rumored games facilitate being vaporware, but in terms of your criteria yeah I think it's the best
 
Weiss

Weiss

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Soap said:
I have a feeling they just took the name because they were aware of the rumours rather than it being the same game in active development after all this time.
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Well no, Dread at least in concept was going to be Metroid DS, but then it was cancelled because Sakamoto didn't think he could realize his vision there.

That paid out in fucking dividends.
 
Zeal543

Zeal543

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Weiss said:
Well no, Dread at least in concept was going to be Metroid DS, but then it was cancelled because Sakamoto didn't think he could realize his vision there.

That paid out in fucking dividends.
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I think the Dread we ended up getting is very different than what we would have got from around 2005. The idea of samus being chased persisted throughout the years but I think everything else was different, especially the stuff that was introduced in SR
 
Berordn

Berordn

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I would be kind of surprised if the DS game actually made it into significant development. This version is clearly built off the bones of SR and while I'm sure the story and general structure came from those original plans, I'm skeptical that there was much more than a name and design documents with how long it was rumored for.
 
ChaosXVI

ChaosXVI

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Oct 25, 2017
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I'd say so, if we're adhering strictly to games in dev hell for 10 years or longer. Not exactly a long list, but still. Certainly kicks the shit out of Duke Nukem Forever and Shenmue III (even if saying that last one hurts me.)
 
skeezx

skeezx

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Oct 27, 2017
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Soap said:
I have a feeling they just took the name because they were aware of the rumours rather than it being the same game in active development after all this time.
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more or less what the deal is. though maybe when/if leaks come out of the "OG Dread" who knows maybe mercury steam picked up on a lot of it. i doubt it but who knows
 
Gamer @ Heart

Gamer @ Heart

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Oct 26, 2017
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Dread was never once formally announced so I almost feel it doesn't count, because unless you knew the lore and the tiny tidbits that came out over the years, the average person would have no idea the game ever existed, thus it can't be vaporware if never revealed.

Nioh was given a name, teaser, and a rough timeline before it disappeared for a decade.
 
DIE BART DIE

DIE BART DIE

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Oct 25, 2017
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I'd love to see footage of the DS build. A 2D pixel art Metroid with the power of the DS would have been beautiful.
 
scare_crow

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Oct 28, 2017
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Soap said:
I have a feeling they just took the name because they were aware of the rumours rather than it being the same game in active development after all this time.
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This. I've seen similar stuff of "it's finally here!" And it's like… not really. They used the name BECAUSE of the rumors and buzz, not because this very concept was an actual game at some point and got stuck.
 
BlackJace

BlackJace

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scare_crow said:
This. I've seen similar stuff of "it's finally here!" And it's like… not really. They used the name BECAUSE of the rumors and buzz, not because this very concept was an actual game at some point and got stuck.
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I mean they referred to it as Project Dread, albeit in an obscure log in Prime, but I think the name was always there.
 
MouldyK

MouldyK

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Nov 1, 2017
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scare_crow said:
This. I've seen similar stuff of "it's finally here!" And it's like… not really. They used the name BECAUSE of the rumors and buzz, not because this very concept was an actual game at some point and got stuck.
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Yeah, it has similarities, but it's also very different:

www.eurogamer.net

Nintendo's Sakamoto on bringing Metroid Dread back from the dead

Nintendo's E3 2021 Direct saw it reward patient fans with the long-awaited return of franchises like WarioWare and Adva…
www.eurogamer.net www.eurogamer.net

"15 years ago when I originally conceived of the game, the story itself wasn't clearly set," Sakamoto recalled. "It was basically driven, or kept alive, by the concept. It's fairly recent we finalised the detailed story, so you can imagine what I had envisioned 15 years ago is not the same as what has been achieved now.

"It consisted of Samus facing a dreadful opponent, a dreadful experience," Sakamoto continued, when asked specifically about his original concept. "At that time I hadn't developed in detail the storyline within the overall chronology and background of the series. [On beginning work with MercurySteam] we further developed in detail the story... The final product surpasses what I originally envisioned."
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Fisty

Fisty

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Oct 25, 2017
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The Metroid Dread that just came out was never vaporware, it's not the same game
 
HylianSeven

HylianSeven

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DIE BART DIE said:
I'd love to see footage of the DS build. A 2D pixel art Metroid with the power of the DS would have been beautiful.
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I have a weird false memory of seeing a screenshot of a DS 2D Metroid game in a Nintendo Power magazine one time. It looked in the style of Metroid Fusion. I know it wasn't real, but it would have been funny if the real DS version was like that.
 
HylianSeven

HylianSeven

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Pokemaniac

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Soap said:
I have a feeling they just took the name because they were aware of the rumours rather than it being the same game in active development after all this time.
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I believe the title Metroid Dread originally came from an official Nintendo list of upcoming DS games. The game got cancelled twice according to Sakamoto, but the title seems to have stuck around the entire time.
 
SunshinePuppies

SunshinePuppies

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i don't think this is vaporware, i think it's just the same name and general theme of samus being hunted, so no
 
AgeEighty

AgeEighty

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Oct 25, 2017
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trashbandit said:
I very much doubt this Dread is in any way connected to the rumored Dread of many years ago.
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I mean, the director said in the announcement that the concept has been around since then, so it probably is in some sense. It just probably didn't get too far into development at the time, and of course they would've started the work itself from scratch.
 
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