WCW/nWo Whiplash (lost build of cancelled Game.com professional wrestling game; 1999)
WCW/nWo Whiplash is a cancelled professional wrestling game. Developed by Tiger Electronics for its Game.com Pocket Pro handheld system, it was set for release in December 1999. However, it was never released likely because of the Game.com's commercial failure and eventual discontinuation in 2000
Background
WCW/nWo Whiplash is obscure, even among other cancelled WCW games like WCW/nWo Live and WCW 2000.[1] The game was publicly showcased at the 1999 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) as part of Tiger Electronics' demonstration of its second Game.com console, the Pocket Pro.[2][3][4][5] Based on Tiger's 1999 Toy Fair catalogue, WCW/nWo Whiplash would have allowed players to compete with WCW's top stars of the era, including "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan Diamond Dallas Page, Sting, and Goldberg.[6][7][8] A preview from July 1999 issue of GamePro claims the game may have been originally called WCW Wrestling, with a planned release later that same year.[4] Its November 1999 issue stated players could fight their way towards the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in Championship Mode, or compete in Exhibition bouts.[8] At the time, a vague "Fall 1999" release date was reported. A confirmed date was reported by GameSpot, who were informed by Tiger Electronics in October 1999 that WCW/nWo Whiplash was intended to reach markets by December.[9][5]
Alas, the game was never released.[5][1][7] The Game.com and its sequel were both critical and financial failures upon the original's release in September 1997.[5][1] Accumulating sales under the 300,000-mark, and despite including relatively revolutionary features like a touchscreen and internet connectivity, the handheld console received criticism for its problematic touchscreen, lacking features such as a backlight, and for its generally poor-quality games.[5][1] It was eventually shelved at the turn of the millennium, causing numerous upcoming games, including WCW/nWo Whiplash, to never be released.[5][1] It is currently unclear how far WCW/nWo Whiplash went into development prior to cancellation, although the cover and the available screenshots indicate that a build did exist.[7][1][8][6]
Availability
The Game.com's commercial failure has resulted in the handheld console's unreleased games becoming obscure lost media.[5][1][7] Regarding WCW/nWo Whiplash, the cover art has seemingly been released, indicating the game received an E rating by the ESRB.[7] Two screenshots, of the title and character selection screens, were shown in the Toy Fair catalogue.[6] Strangely, no actual gameplay screenshots were unveiled, making it impossible to determine its mechanics. No builds or footage of the game have publicly resurfaced,[10][5][1] though the discovery of the also-cancelled port of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night gives hope a WCW/nWo Whiplash build may one day be recovered.[11]
Gallery
Images
See Also
Professional Wrestling Media
- AJ Styles vs Kenny Omega (lost footage of professional wrestling match; 2006)
- Alberto Del Rio vs CM Punk vs Dolph Ziggler vs Jack Swagger vs John Cena (partially found master tape footage of untelevised Hell in a Cell match; 2011)
- Awesome Kong vs Melissa Anderson (lost footage of professional wrestling match; 2009)
- Bill Longson vs Whipper Billy Watson (lost footage of professional wrestling match; 1947)
- Blood Circus (partially found Santo Gold film; 1985)
- Braden Walker's "Knock Knock" promo (lost original pre-tapes of WWE backstage segment; 2008)
- Bradshaw vs Christian (lost footage of professional wrestling match; 2001)
- Bret Hart-Hulk Hogan photoshoot (lost professional wrestling promotional photos; 1993)
- Bret Hart vs Tom Magee (found untelevised professional wrestling match; 1986)
- Catch-As-Catch-Can Wrestling (lost early BBC televised professional wrestling matches; 1938-1939; 1946-1947)
- Celebrity Wrestling (partially found ITV professional wrestling reality show; 2005)
- Chowdaheads (partially found unaired professional wrestling cartoon show; 1999)
- Clement's Wrestlegamia (lost YouTube professional wrestling video game retrospective series; 2012)
- Collision in Korea (found professional wrestling event in North Korea; 1995)
- Collision in Korea wrestler sketches (lost North Korean pencil sketch portraits of professional wrestlers; 1995)
- Cultaholic (found debut video of professional wrestling YouTube channel; 2017)
- ECW Anarchy Rulz (lost build of cancelled Nintendo 64 port of professional wrestling game; existence unconfirmed; 2000)
- ECW at E3 2000 (partially found footage of professional wrestling at gaming trade event; 2000)
- ECW Hardcore TV final episodes (lost episodes of Professional Wrestling Show; 2001)
- Ed “Strangler” Lewis vs Stanislaus Zbyszko (lost radio coverage of professional wrestling match; 1922)
- Edge, John Cena, Rey Mysterio and Triple H vs. Batista, Chris Jericho, CM Punk and Sheamus (lost master tape footage of untelevised tag team wrestling match; 2010)
- FMW at E3 2000 (partially found footage of professional wrestling at gaming trade event; 2000)
- The Game (partially found Disturbed cover of professional wrestling theme song; mid 2000s)
- GFW Amped (partially found unaired professional wrestling show; 2015)
- The Giant's moonsault (lost footage of professional wrestling move; existence unconfirmed; 1990s)
- Girls Gone Wild: Live from Spring Break (found WWE/Girls Gone Wild crossover special; 2003)
- GLOW (lost unfinished final season of Netflix comedy-drama series; 2019-2020)
- Goldberg's pre-television debut matches (lost footage of professional wrestling dark matches; 1997)
- Gotch-Hackenschmidt Match Film (lost world championship match; 1908)
- Gotch-Hackenschmidt Match Film (lost world championship match; 1911)
- Jake "The Snake" Roberts DDTs Hulk Hogan (lost Snake Pit segment; 1986)
- Johnny Gargano vs Velveteen Dream (lost footage of alternate finish to professional wrestling match; 2019)
- Kurt Angle vs Owen Hart (lost footage of professional wrestling match; 1999)
- The Last Battle of Atlanta (found untelevised professional wrestling steel cage match; 1983)
- Lita's training matches (partially found training videos of professional wrestler; late 1990s-2000)
- Low Ki & Mercury vs Ric Blade & TCK (partially lost footage of hardcore wrestling tag team match; 2000)
- Mark Jindrak in Evolution (partially found unaired vignettes of professional wrestling stable; 2003)
- Pat Tanaka vs Rocco Rock (lost footage of "Body Count" professional wrestling match; 1993)
- "Plane Ride From Hell" (lost photographs of drunk wrestler incidents; 2002)
- Radio WWF (lost professional wrestling radio show; 1993-1994; late 1990s-2000)
- Screwed: The Bret Hart Story (lost unfinished wrestling documentary film; 2005)
- Sex University (lost WWE webshow; 2006)
- Sheamus vs John Cena vs The Undertaker (lost master tape footage of untelevised Steel Cage match; 2010)
- Shin Nihon Pro Wrestling Gekitou Densetsu (lost build of unreleased Virtual Boy wrestling game; 1995)
- Strange Kentucky People (lost recording of Chris Jericho "tribute"; 1994)
- TNA Impact! 2 (lost build of unfinished professional wrestling game; 2009)
- WCW 2000 (lost work on unfinished PlayStation 2 game; 2000)
- WCW All Nighter (partially lost professional wrestling compilation show; 1994-1995)
- WCW Classics (partially found professional wrestling compilation show; 2000-2001)
- WCW Internet-only Special Events and PPVs (lost audio streams; 1997-1998)
- WCW/nWo Live (lost build of cancelled PlayStation professional wrestling game; 1998)
- WCW SuperBrawl Wrestling (lost build of cancelled Sega Genesis port of professional wrestling game; 1994)
- WWE 24x7 (lost professional wrestling compilation show; 2007)
- WWE Brawl (lost build of cancelled fighting game based on professional wrestling; 2012)
- WWE Crush Hour (lost build of cancelled Xbox port of vehicular combat game; 2002)
- WWE SmackDown vs Raw Online (lost build of cancelled online professional wrestling PC game; 2010-2011)
- WWE Wrestlefest (lost builds of cancelled console ports of iOS remake of 1991 arcade game; 2013)
- WWE Wrestlemania 36 (lost footage of alternate finishes to professional wrestling matches; 2020)
- WWF Attitude (lost professional wrestling recap show; 2001-2002)
- WWF Backlash (non-existent unfinished Nintendo 64 professional wrestling game; 2001)
- WWF Excess (partially found professional wrestling talk show; 2001-2002)
- WWF In Your House 8: Beware Of Dog (partially found untelevised professional wrestling matches; 1996)
- WWF Livewire (partially found professional wrestling recap and talk show; 1996-2001)
- WWF No Mercy (lost Game Boy Color games based on Nintendo 64 wrestling game; 2000)
- WWF Shotgun (partially found July to December season of syndicated wrestling show; 1997)
- WWF Xperience (found pay-per-view event footage; 1996)
Tiger Electronics Media
- Evander Holyfield Championship Boxing (lost build of cancelled Game.com boxing game; 1999)
- Furby Island (lost cancelled children's animated series; 2006)
- Metal Gear Solid (lost build of cancelled Game.com port of PlayStation action-stealth game; 1999)
- NASCAR Racing (lost builds of cancelled R-Zone and Game.com racing games; mid 1990s-2000)
- Net Jet Games (partially lost inaccessible Tiger Electronics brand games; 2007-2009)
- Tiger Electronics "Tabletop Arcade Games" (lost pixel LCD game series; 2000)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 WrestleCrap summarising the unreleased game. Retrieved 10th Jan '23
- ↑ GameSpot reporting on the Pocket Pro games showcased at E3 1999, including WCW/nWo Whiplash. Retrieved 10th Jan '23
- ↑ 13th May 1999 press release from Tiger Electronics announcing its line-up for E3 1999, including WCW/nWo Whiplash. Retrieved 10th Jan '23
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 July 1999 issue of GamePro previewing the Game.com Pocket Pro and listing WCW Wrestling among its upcoming games. Retrieved 10th Jan '23
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 Bad Game Hall of Fame detailing the Game.com's failure and summarising WCW Whiplash among other cancelled games. Retrieved 10th Jan '23
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Tiger Electronics' 1999 toy fair catalogue containing promotions for games including NASCAR Racing. Retrieved 27th Jan '24
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 The game's cover art and some summary information. Retrieved 10th Jan '23
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 November 1999 issue of GamePro previewing the game and providing a screenshot of it. Retrieved 10th Jan '23
- ↑ GameSpot reporting on the game's planned December 1999 release. Retrieved 10th Jan '23
- ↑ Diskman listing the unreleased Game.com games. Retrieved 27th Jan '24
- ↑ Diskman summarising the Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Game.com port. Retrieved 27th Jan '24