1. Video Games That Should Be Released By Now (But May Never Be)
There is a unique frustration experienced by video game fans whose anticipated
favorites are delayed indefinitely. The recent release of Duke Nukem Forever
shows that “delayed indefinitely” is not the same as “canceled,” but Duke’s
adoring public was left waiting for almost a decade and a half.
What else is in development limbo? Here are 5 titles:
Shenmue III
You can’t accuse the Shenmue series of lacking ambition. The original Shenmue
broke records as the most expensive video game produced at the time, costing
US$70,000,000 to produce and intended to be the first installment of a story told in
16 chapters. Shenmue II cost less to make and covered more ground, including
chapters 3 through 5, but the remaining 11 chapters have yet to see the light of day.
Shenmue III’s announced development has already been cancelled twice, but fans
have reason to remain optimistic. Shenmue creator Yu Suzuki still works for Sega
and claims to have finished the storyline.
Half-Life 2: Episode 3
Maybe Valve doesn’t hate Half-Life protagonist Gordon Freeman, but it seems like
they’ve done everything in their power to avoid putting an end to the Half-Life 2
storyline. This isn’t unusual for the franchise, considering that there was a six-year
gap between Half-Life and Half-Life 2 — with three Half-Life expansions released
during that time. Since the Portal games have become a surprise fan favorite, the
conclusion of Half-Life 2 may be delayed even longer. Luckily, fans can probably
expect some more expansions to hold them over until Episode 3’s release.
Beyond Good and Evil 2
Ubisoft’s Beyond Good and Evil was designed to be the first installment in a
trilogy, but disappointing sales numbers crippled plans for an immediate sequel.
Fan pressure appears to have kept the game’s development alive, but at a more
moderate pace. While past rumors had spread alleging that the game’s designer
Michel Ancel was leaving Ubisoft Montpellier and suspending the game’s
development, Ancel himself has said that the game is still in progress — he
attributes the delay to the development team’s insistence on staying small to focus
the game’s artistic spirit. Beyond Good and Evil 2 is currently targeting a release

2. on the next generation of game consoles, which means it won’t be hitting shelves
any time soon.
Final Fantasy Versus XIII
Square Enix’s FF Versus XIII dwells in the peculiar gray area outside of the main
Final Fantasy series, which may explain why it remains unfinished. The game was
to be set in the same universe as Final Fantasy XIII — similar to the way that Final
Fantasy X-2 continued in the Final Fantasy X universe — but using completely
different characters. While hordes of rabid fans drive the main Final Fantasy titles
onto store shelves in a timely manner, companion stories can end up getting put on
the back burner to meet other obligations. Even though Square Enix previously
announced that Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII were being
developed together, the former has been available in Japan since 2009 while the
latter is not expected to be on shelves any time before 2012.
Starcraft: Ghost
Fans of Starcraft’s Sarah Kerrigan, the “Queen of Blades,” know that Blizzard can
make games with compelling female characters, but Ghost moves the Starcraft
games in an unexpected direction by shifting from real-time strategy to third-
person shooter. Ghost’s planned release on consoles is also a departure from
Blizzard’s usual PC-friendly titles. These changes may have caused problems for
the development of Starcraft: Ghost, but Blizzard has stubbornly refused to cancel
the game’s development outright. It has languished on “indefinite hold” since
2006, but fans have been left with Starcraft Ghost: Nova, a novel detailing the
protagonist’s backstory.
Some of these games seem more likely to be released than others, but that may not
be a good thing. Considering that Duke Nukem Forever was criticized for failing to
keep up with the times after its extended development cycle, getting canceled may
be a kindness.