Vaporware is a product, usually software, which has been announced and is long in development, but has not yet been released and not been officially cancelled either. The lack of a substantial release has led these products being referred to as "vaporware". This list documents products which have been labelled as "vaporware".
Products which once were considered to be vaporware which eventually surfaced after a prolonged time:
The GameCube is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on 14 September 2001, in North America on 18 November 2001, in Europe on 3 May 2002, and in Australia on 17 May 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (N64). As a sixth-generation console, the GameCube primarily competed with the PlayStation 2 and Xbox.
Metroid Prime is an action-adventure game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. Metroid Prime is the fifth main Metroid game and the first to use 3D computer graphics and a first-person perspective. It was released in North America in November 2002, and in Japan and Europe the following year. Along with the Game Boy Advance game Metroid Fusion, Prime marked the return of the Metroid series after an eight-year hiatus following Super Metroid (1994).
The Wii is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, following the GameCube and is a seventh-generation console alongside Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3.
Pikmin is a 2001 real-time strategy puzzle video game developed and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. The game was created and produced by Shigeru Miyamoto, and is the first entry in the Pikmin series. The game's story focuses on an alien pilot, Captain Olimar, who crash lands on a mysterious planet and must make use of a native species called "Pikmin" to find his ship's missing parts in order to escape within 30 days. Players take control of Olimar and direct the different varieties of Pikmin to explore the game's various levels, overcoming obstacles and hostile creatures, in order to find and recover the missing ship parts.
Retro Studios, Inc. is an American video game developer and subsidiary of Nintendo based in Austin, Texas. The studio is best known for its work on the Metroid Prime and Donkey Kong Country series, and has contributed to several other Nintendo-developed projects, such as Mario Kart 7.
Pikmin is a real-time strategy and puzzle video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto, and published by Nintendo. The games focus on directing a horde of plant-like creatures called Pikmin to collect items by destroying obstacles, avoiding hazards, and fighting fauna that are hazardous to both the player character and the Pikmin.
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is an action-adventure game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the Wii. The seventh main game in the Metroid series, it was released in North America and Europe in 2007 and in Japan the following year.
Metroid Dread is an action-adventure game developed by Nintendo and MercurySteam and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It was released on October 8, 2021. Set after the events of Metroid Fusion (2002), players control bounty hunter Samus Aran as she investigates the source of a mysterious transmission on the planet ZDR. It retains the side-scrolling gameplay of previous 2D Metroid games and incorporates stealth elements.
Project H.A.M.M.E.R. was a beat 'em up video game in development by Nintendo Software Technology for the Wii. The team's other projects included Metroid Prime Hunters, 1080° Avalanche, and Wave Race: Blue Storm. Project H.A.M.M.E.R. was originally announced at E3 2006. No information regarding the game has been released to the public or media since the game's original announcement. Rumors began circulating in mid-June 2007 that the game was not going to be released, and that the development team had gone to work on other games. Nintendo confirmed at E3 2007 that development was on hold. Beth Llewelyn, senior director of public relations at Nintendo of America, made a point to note that despite the game not being a focus of Nintendo’s, Project H.A.M.M.E.R. "may come back" in the future. A report revealed that the game was cancelled in 2009 due to creative internal conflicts at Nintendo Software Technology.
Pikmin 3 is a 2013 real-time strategy and puzzle video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U video game console. It is the sequel to the GameCube games Pikmin (2001) and Pikmin 2 (2004), and was released in Japan on July 13, 2013, and in all other regions the next month. Shigeru Miyamoto announced Pikmin 3 on July 16, 2008, for the Wii console, later stating at E3 2011 that it had transitioned to the Wii U.
New Play Control! is a series of first-party GameCube games ported to the Wii by Nintendo. Games in the New Play Control! series feature enhancements such as widescreen support, enhanced graphics and the implementation of the Wii's motion controls with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk.
The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2012 was the 18th E3 held. The event took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California. It began on June 5, 2012, and ended on June 7, 2012, with 45,700 total attendees. It was televised on Spike and streamed online to computers, mobile devices, PlayStation Home and on Xbox Live via IGN's application. This was the last event to be broadcast by G4 along with being the last one to feature a physical press conference by Nintendo which mainly focused on games that were coming to the then upcoming Wii U video game console that launched later that year and was later considered to be a commercial failure.
Axiom Verge is a metroidvania video game by American indie developer Thomas Happ. The game was originally released in March 2015 in North America and April 2015 in Europe and Australia for PlayStation 4. It was released in May 2015 for Linux, OS X, and Windows. A PlayStation Vita version was released in April 2016. The Wii U and Xbox One versions were released in North America and Europe in September 2016. A Nintendo Switch version was released in October 2017.
Young Justice: Legacy is an action-adventure video game developed by Freedom Factory Studios and published by Little Orbit. It was released in November 2013 for Nintendo 3DS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. The game is based on the Young Justice animated television series, and takes place in the five-year gap between seasons one and two, and was developed in collaboration with the writers of the series, Greg Weisman and Brandon Vietti. Originally the game was planned to also be released on Nintendo DS, Wii, and Wii U, but the developers announced that these versions were cancelled due to quality issues and low interest from retailers.
Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development Division, commonly abbreviated as Nintendo EPD, is the largest division within the Japanese video game company Nintendo. The division focuses on developing and producing video games, mobile apps, and other related entertainment software for the company. EPD was created after merging their Entertainment Analysis & Development (EAD) and Software Planning & Development (SPD) divisions in September 2015.
The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2017 was the 23rd E3, during which hardware manufacturers and software developers and publishers from the video game industry presented new and upcoming products to the attendees, primarily retailers and members of the video game press. The event, organized by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center from June 13–15, 2017. It was the first E3 to allow public access to the event, and as a result, the total attendance was about 68,400 which included 15,000 in public passes.
Ghost Song is a 2022 video game developed by Old Moon and published by Humble Games for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
The bona fide beginning of the new millennium is almost upon us, but some things never change: The tech industry continues to whip up excitement by promising amazing new technologies, only to crush our spirits by delaying, postponing, pushing back or otherwise derailing the arrival of said goods – sometimes indefinitely.
the keyless smart lock that's designed to fit over your dumb deadbolt so you can lock and unlock your door with a smartphone remains so much sexy-looking vapourware
The last year of the last decade before 2000 has come and gone, but the Vaporware 1999 "winners" are still a dream to some, and a nightmare to others.