LEGO Sea Challenge (lost build of cancelled "LEGO Island" spin-off game; 1997): Difference between revisions

From The Lost Media Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search
No edit summary
mNo edit summary
Line 14: Line 14:


==External Links==
==External Links==
*[https://archive.org/stream/nextgen-issue-021/Next_Generation_Issue_021_September_1996#page/n25/mode/2up Next Generation magazine covering Lego investing $2 million into video game development] Retrieved 06 Jan' 18
*[https://archive.org/stream/nextgen-issue-021/Next_Generation_Issue_021_September_1996#page/n25/mode/2up Next Generation magazine covering Lego investing $2 million into video game development] Retrieved 06 Jan '18


*[http://le717.github.io/LEGO-Island-VGF/legoisland/interview.html Wes Jenkins' interview with a ''Lego Island'' fansite] Retrieved 06 Jan' 18  
*[http://le717.github.io/LEGO-Island-VGF/legoisland/interview.html Wes Jenkins' interview with a ''Lego Island'' fansite] Retrieved 06 Jan '18  


[[Category:Lost video games]]
[[Category:Lost video games]]
[[Category:Completely lost media]]
[[Category:Completely lost media]]

Revision as of 20:18, 27 May 2020

Elevator.gif

The only known teaser from the elevator

Status: Lost

Beneath the Phanta-Sea was a planned spin-off game in the Lego Island series. The game would have taken place in the ocean and would have possibly been based on the Lego Aquazone or Lego Divers themes. Beneath the Phanta-Sea was going to be developed and published by Mindscape.

Background

In 1996, the Lego Group invested $2 million into developing Lego-themed video games. This was done in part to help expand the Lego brand beyond Lego sets and into other mediums of entertainment. On September 26, 1997, the first Lego video game titled Lego Island was released. The game was met with great success and before the release of Lego Island, six more games were already in the planning stages. Beneath the Phanta-Sea is the most notable out of the six games as there is an easter egg in Lego Island that shows a teaser for the game. In an interview with a Lego Island fan site, director Wes Jenkins says that "Yes the 2nd floor was an homage – hey, cool that you went there! We thought it was funny that the ocean was on the second floor…" referring to the second floor of the elevator in the game where the easter egg can be spotted.

Cancellation

Also in the same interview, Wes Jenkins also talks about why Beneath the Phanta-Sea was canceled, stating "Well… time, budget, technology, and other… but mostly because Mindscape got in a dispute with LEGO over distribution and lost their contract – political issues, mostly. They didn't realize the potential profits of the product and what LEGO was about. In fact, they couldn't quite understand why we didn't just do a simple 2D program instead of 3D. Is that libelous? No, I didn't mention any names… maybe I should just say some people from some unknown places seemed less than enthusiastic and were paranoid every step of the way." Mindscape also fired the entire team that had worked on Lego Island a day before the release prompting any spin-offs to be shelved. No other gameplay footage or teasers are known to exist outside of what was shown on Lego Island.

External Links