Starblade: Operation Blue Planet (lost build of unreleased arcade game; 2002): Difference between revisions

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(Created page with "In 2002, Namco developed a brand new arcade cabinet utilizing the Namco System 256 arcade board titled "ORBS" (Over Reality Booster System). The cabinet featured a seat module...")
 
(This Twitter post confirms it's fake: https://twitter.com/kei8774/status/742643411254009856?. All this is is a Gundam P.O.D. machine playing the YouTube video on loop, as a "what-if" kinda thing.)
 
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In 2002, Namco developed a brand new arcade cabinet utilizing the Namco System 256 arcade board titled "ORBS" (Over Reality Booster System). The cabinet featured a seat module that would slide into the cabinet, a 5.1 channel Dolby Digital sound system, and a globe-shaped surface for projectors. Only one known game was developed for the cabinet, which was ''StarBlade: Operation Blue Planet''. It was intended as a sequel to the 1991 arcade game ''StarBlade'' and would have been released sometime in
{{InfoboxLost
|title=<center>Starblade: Operation Blue Planet</center>
|image=StarBlade OBP Title Screen.png
|imagecaption=Title screen.
|status=<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>
}}
In 2001, Namco developed a new arcade cabinet utilizing the Namco System 246 arcade board titled "ORBS" (Over Reality Booster System). The cabinet featured a seat module that would slide into the cabinet, a 5.1 channel Dolby Digital sound system, and a globe-shaped surface for projectors. '''''Starblade: Operation Blue Planet''''' was the only known game developed for this kind of cabinet. It was intended as a sequel to the 1991 arcade game ''Starblade'' and would have been released sometime in 2002.


==Production and Status==
''Operation Blue Planet'' was in production at Namco for its System 247 hardware, an arcade board based on the internals of the PlayStation 2.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/edgeuk116/page/n57?q=gamers%27+republic+star+blade Mention in Edge magazine.] Retrieved 10 Sep '20.</ref> The idea for the game came from director Higashiyama Asahi's personal love for the original, believing its first-person gameplay would work well with the O.R.B.S. machine. He lead a small team of employees during production; among these was "Sadahiro", a designer for ''Galaxian3: Project Dragoon'', which was the game that inspired the original ''Starblade''. The game was designed to be simplistic in response to Japan's shrinking arcade game industry.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190517022924/https://game.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/20010920/jmr2.htm Interview with the game's development team.] Retrieved 10 Sep '20.</ref>


== Production and Status ==
The game was presented at the Amusement Machine Show in 2001, and was one of the most popular games at the show, reportedly possessing a 70-minute wait to play the game. Only one level was playable to the public, and a "to be continued" message was displayed upon completion. It was received favorably by news outlets, who applauded its realistic graphics and immersive arcade cabinet.<ref>[https://www.gamespot.com/articles/am-show-2001-star-blade-operation-blue-planet/1100-2813749/ GameSpot article on the game.] Retrieved 10 Sep '20.</ref> Despite its praise, it never made it past location testing, resulting in the cancellation of the game and O.R.B.S. cabinet. No official reason was given for its cancellation, however it is believed the manufacturing cost of O.R.B.S. and the sharp decline of the coin-op industry in Japan were to blame.
 
The game was presented at the Amusement Machine Show in 2001, and was one of the most popular games at the show, possessing a 70-minute wait to play the game. Only one level was playable to the public, and a "to be continued" message was displayed upon completion. The game never made it beyond field testing, however, resulting in the game and ORBS cabinet being shelved. It is also believed that the cost of the ORBS cabinet was the result of the game's cancellation.


A gameplay video was uploaded on November 26, 2007, showing a small segment of the game. Namco Bandai themselves uploaded a complete playthrough of the demo, which was uploaded on October 5, 2011. Around that same time, the game was added to the United Galaxy Space Force website in the UGSF timeline.
A gameplay video was uploaded on November 26, 2007, showing a small segment of the game. Namco Bandai themselves uploaded a complete playthrough of the demo, which was uploaded on October 5, 2011. Around that same time, the game was added to the United Galaxy Space Force website in the UGSF timeline.


The game has not been released for any home video game platform and has not been dumped on MAME or any other emulator.
The game has not been released for any home video game platform and has not been dumped on MAME or any other emulator.
==Gallery==
{{Video|perrow  =1
  |service1    =youtube
  |id1          =https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leT3saYfZr4
  |description1 =Gameplay.
}}
==References==
<references/>
[[Category:Lost video games]]
[[Category:Completely lost media]]

Latest revision as of 23:35, 7 April 2021

StarBlade OBP Title Screen.png

Title screen.

Status: Lost

In 2001, Namco developed a new arcade cabinet utilizing the Namco System 246 arcade board titled "ORBS" (Over Reality Booster System). The cabinet featured a seat module that would slide into the cabinet, a 5.1 channel Dolby Digital sound system, and a globe-shaped surface for projectors. Starblade: Operation Blue Planet was the only known game developed for this kind of cabinet. It was intended as a sequel to the 1991 arcade game Starblade and would have been released sometime in 2002.

Production and Status

Operation Blue Planet was in production at Namco for its System 247 hardware, an arcade board based on the internals of the PlayStation 2.[1] The idea for the game came from director Higashiyama Asahi's personal love for the original, believing its first-person gameplay would work well with the O.R.B.S. machine. He lead a small team of employees during production; among these was "Sadahiro", a designer for Galaxian3: Project Dragoon, which was the game that inspired the original Starblade. The game was designed to be simplistic in response to Japan's shrinking arcade game industry.[2]

The game was presented at the Amusement Machine Show in 2001, and was one of the most popular games at the show, reportedly possessing a 70-minute wait to play the game. Only one level was playable to the public, and a "to be continued" message was displayed upon completion. It was received favorably by news outlets, who applauded its realistic graphics and immersive arcade cabinet.[3] Despite its praise, it never made it past location testing, resulting in the cancellation of the game and O.R.B.S. cabinet. No official reason was given for its cancellation, however it is believed the manufacturing cost of O.R.B.S. and the sharp decline of the coin-op industry in Japan were to blame.

A gameplay video was uploaded on November 26, 2007, showing a small segment of the game. Namco Bandai themselves uploaded a complete playthrough of the demo, which was uploaded on October 5, 2011. Around that same time, the game was added to the United Galaxy Space Force website in the UGSF timeline.

The game has not been released for any home video game platform and has not been dumped on MAME or any other emulator.

Gallery

Gameplay.

References

  1. Mention in Edge magazine. Retrieved 10 Sep '20.
  2. Interview with the game's development team. Retrieved 10 Sep '20.
  3. GameSpot article on the game. Retrieved 10 Sep '20.