History Main / Vaporware

** The entirety of the ''Fabula Nova Crystallis: Final Fantasy XIII'' franchise appears to be suffering this at large:

* ''Planet Michael'', a MichaelJackson-based MMORPG, was announced in 2010 for a 2011 release. Nothing's been heard of it since; the Wikipedia page claims it's coming in 2013, but doesn't have a source listed to back that up.

*** Then there is ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'', as disclosed in E3 2013. Originally named ''Final Fantasy Versus XIII'', it was meant to be as a part of the eventually-named ''Fabula Nova Crystallis'' saga alongside ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', as announced at E3 2006, but changed enough over the years that it was made a separate title entirely (and is assumed by the new tagline at the end to be part of its own Versus saga). Actual discernible information on the game for a long time after 2006 was very sparse, and up until early 2010, trailers for it only contained CG and cutscene footage. The game languished for so long that Noctis' ''costume'' hadn't even been finalised until some time in late 2009. Development picked up after the release of ''FF XIII'', and really got into gear after its team, also a part of the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' franchise, fully switched over to it around 2011. Though originally slated for the Playstation 3 in those 7 years, its move to the Playstation 4 was confirmed in the same announcement. Its development time has made it the most delayed Final Fantasy game so far.

*** Then there is ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'', as disclosed in E3 2013. Originally named ''Final Fantasy Versus XIII'', it was meant to be as a part of the eventually-named ''Fabula Nova Crystallis'' saga alongside ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', as announced at E3 2006, but changed enough over the years that it was made a separate title entirely. Actual discernible information on the game for a long time after 2006 was very sparse, and up until early 2010, trailers for it only contained CG and cutscene footage. The game languished for so long that Noctis' ''costume'' hadn't even been finalised until some time in late 2009. Development picked up after the release of ''FF XIII'', and really got into gear after its team, also a part of the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' franchise, fully switched over to it around 2011. Though originally slated for the Playstation 3 in those 7 years, its move to the Playstation 4 was confirmed in the same announcement. Its development time has made it the most delayed Final Fantasy game so far.

*** Then there is ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'', as disclosed in E3 2013. Originally named ''Final Fantasy Versus XIII'', it was meant to be as a part of the eventually-named ''Fabula Nova Crystallis'' saga alongside ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', as announced at E3 2006, but changed enough over the years that it was made a separate title entirely. Actual discernible information on the game for a long time after 2006 was very sparse, and up until early 2010, trailers for it only contained CG and cutscene footage. The game languished for so long that Noctis' ''costume'' hadn't even been finalised until some time in late 2009. Development picked up after the release of ''FF XIII'', and really got into gear after its team, also a part of the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' franchise, fully switched over to it around 2011. Originally slated for the Playstation 3, in the 7 years since, it was confirmed to have been moved to the Playstation 4 in the same announcement. Its development time has made it the most delayed Final Fantasy game so far.

*** Then there is ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'', as disclosed in E3 2013. Originally named ''Final Fantasy Versus XIII'', it was meant to be as a part of the eventually-named ''Fabula Nova Crystallis'' saga alongside ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', as announced at E3 2006. Actual discernible information on the game for a long time afterward was very sparse, and up until early 2010, trailers for it only contained CG and cutscene footage. The game languished for so long that Noctis' ''costume'' hadn't even been finalised until some time in late 2009. Development picked up after the release of ''FF XIII'', and really got into gear after its team, also a part of the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' franchise, fully switched over to it around 2011. Originally slated for the Playstation 3 in the 7 years since, it was confirmed to have been moved to the Playstation 4 in the same announcement. Its development time has made it the most delayed Final Fantasy game so far.

*** Then there is ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'', as finalized in E3 2013. Originally named ''Final Fantasy Versus XIII'', it was meant to be as a part of the eventually-named ''Fabula Nova Crystallis'' saga alongside ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', as announced at E3 2006. Actual discernible information on the game for a long time afterward was very sparse, and up until early 2010, trailers for it only contained CG and cutscene footage. The game languished for so long that Noctis' ''costume'' hadn't even been finalised until some time in late 2009. Development picked up after the release of ''FF XIII'', and really got into gear after its team, also a part of the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' franchise, fully switched over to it around 2011. Originally slated for the Playstation 3 in the 7 years since, it was confirmed to have been moved to the Playstation 4 in the same announcement. Its development time has made it the most delayed Final Fantasy game so far.

*** Then there is ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'', originally named ''Final Fantasy Versus XIII'', as it was meant to be as a part of the eventually-named ''Fabula Nova Crystallis'' saga alongside ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', as announced at E3 2006. Actual discernible information on the game for a long time afterward was very sparse, and up until early 2010, trailers for it only contained CG and cutscene footage. The game languished for so long that Noctis' ''costume'' hadn't even been finalised until some time in late 2009. Development picked up after the release of ''FF XIII'', and really got into gear after its team, also a part of the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' franchise, fully switched over to it around 2011. Originally slated for the Playstation 3 in the 7 years since, it was confirmed to have been moved to the Playstation 4 in the same announcement.

*** Then there is ''Final Fantasy Versus XIII,'' announced alongside ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' at E3 2006. Actual discernible information on the game since then has been very sparse, and up until early 2010, trailers for it only contained CG and cutscene footage. The game has been languishing for so long that Noctis' ''costume'' hadn't even been finalised until some time in late 2009. Whilst development has definitely picked up since the release of ''FF XIII'', ''Versus XIII'' will likely not see release until 2013, ''seven years'' after its initial announcement.
**** However, in E3 2013, Square Enix has announced that ''Versus'' has officially become ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'', and has moved from the PlayStation 3 to the PlayStation 4.

*** Then there is ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVersusXIII,'' announced alongside ''FF XIII'' at E3 2006. Actual discernible information on the game since then has been very sparse, and up until early 2010, trailers for it only contained CG and cutscene footage. The game has been languishing for so long that Noctis' ''costume'' hadn't even been finalised until some time in late 2009. Whilst development has definitely picked up since the release of ''FF XIII'', ''Versus XIII'' will likely not see release until 2013, ''seven years'' after its initial announcement.
**** However, in E3 2013, Square Enix has announced that ''Versus'' has officially become ''Final Fantasy XV'', and has moved from the PlayStation 3 to the PlayStation 4.

* Talk of a sequel to ''HisDarkMaterials'', ''The Book of Dust'', started soon after ''The Amber Spyglass'' was released in 2000. As of May 2011, there isn't even a tentative release date.

* Vaporware also occurs for TheMerch of a MerchandiseDriven series, as shown by [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Unreleased_toy this article at TFWiki.net.]]

* Chapter 2 of the ''StarWars'' fan film series ''IMPS: The Relentless'' was in post-production, "almost done", for four years. It was finally released November 2009. Only 6 more to go according to the website.
* The conclusion of the second "Starship Exeter" fan episode was originally promised to be released around Christmas 2007. ''Nearly 4 years later'', no word on when or even if we'll see it beyond "a few months from now" (though the person doing the editing has released some screenshots on [=TrekBBS=]).

* Years after the events of 9/11, Ground Zero remained depressingly empty. Plans for a new World Trade Center were approved in 2003, scheduled to finish by the 10th anniversary; a cornerstone was laid in 2004... and all work halted until late 2006 while [[DevelopmentHell financial and architectural lawsuits raged]]. The actual tower construction didn't start until 2008, and the Port Authority now estimates 2013 before it's ready for move-in.

* Music/GunsNRoses' album ''Chinese Democracy'' spent 14 years in development hell before being released in 2008 to mixed reviews. Dr Pepper even offered a free drink to everyone in America if Axl Rose ever got his act together and released the album. [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome They did]], though the event was marred by website problems and poor communication.

* Wintersun's second studio album ''Time'' was originally slated for release in November 2006, and was pushed back to August 2007. When August 2007 came, it was postponed to 2008. It still has yet to be released and no date has been given. However, if frontman Jari Mäenpää is to be believed it is nearing completion and only 2 songs remain to be recorded.
** ''Time'' is being released as two parts. The release date for ''Time I'' was announced as October 12th, though it was delayed by another week, with ''Time II'' expected to be done sometime in 2013. Things are bound to change, but so far it looks like the wait is coming to a close.

* In 1973, HarlanEllison announced he'd be publishing a collection of others' SF short stories named ''[[Literature/DangerousVisions The Last Dangerous Visions]]''. He's announced its impending publication several times since then. We're still waiting, but in the interim, Creator/ChristopherPriestNovelist wrote a scathing [[http://web.archive.org/web/20000902203835/http://sf.www.lysator.liu.se/sf_archive/sf-texts/Ansible/Last_Deadloss_Visions,Chris_Priest criticism of the whole situation]].

* Music/{{Vocaloid}} [=CV04=]. Fans rejoiced when they learned that it was the fourth product in Crypton Future Media's "Character Vocal" series. Fans rejoiced further when it was announced that he would be a ''male'' voice instead of a female one. The few fans that heard the demos rejoiced ''[[OverlyLongGag even further]]'' when it was implied that [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyI Yuuki]] [[BlackButler Kaji]] would supply the voice. The fans were incredibly annoyed when they realized that he was taking so dang ''long'' to be released and that they don't even know his real name. It's been about three years since his existence was made known and still nothing. And don't go searching for those demos either, they're long gone. Worse still, it's been announced that Vocaloid3 will be released this September and the CV series is in Vocaloid2. Unless [=CV04=] is released soon or released with Vocaloid3, he may stay this way forever.

* Beyond the countless {{pilot}}s that are shot but never picked up, some TV series never even make it that far despite being talked about.
* ''Fearless Photog'' was a character created for a 1986 ''WesternAnimation/{{HeMan|and the Masters of the Universe}}'' contest by then twelve year-old Nathan Bitner. Among other prizes the winning character was supposed to have entered into production. It wasn't until 2011 and after a massive case of "whatever happened to...?" on the Internet that Mattel announced that it would indeed be produced in 2012.
* The tenth and final book in the ''Literature/NightWorld'' series. It's been more than a decade since the last book came out, and the publishers even re-released the earlier books in pretty omnibuses in anticipation of Strange Fate. Alas, she is still writing it.

* Bruce Coville's ''Literature/TheUnicornChronicles''. After writing books one and two in fairly quick succession (1994 and 1999 respectively), and leaving the captive audience with a massive cliffhanger, he then dropped off the face of the earth for nine years before publishing the third book in 2008… which ends with another cliffhanger. Coville even [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this in his author's note, saying that he feared fans of the first books would have outgrown the series before he finished it.
* Stephenie Meyer began a POVSequel for the ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' series, entitled ''Midnight Sun''. She originally hoped to publish it in 2008, but after a partial draft was leaked, she put it off indefinitely, saying she wouldn't touch the novel again until she was "sure everyone's forgotten about it."

* Fans of rapper Dr. Dre are well acquainted with the concept thanks to his promised "Detox" album, which was described in 2001 as "The most advanced rap album ever" and was set to be released in 2005, before being delayed and set to be released by Interscope in 2010. Since then, two singles have been released, and Eminem and 50 Cent claimed the album would be released in 2012. Since his last album, 2001, came out, Dre has gone on tour, done production work on Eminem's "Relapse" album, promised an instrumental album based on the planets of the solar system and, in 2011, decided to take a break from music. Notably, the second single, "I Need A Doctor" is themed around Eminem trying to get Dre to stop wasting time and work on his album.

* Sonic 2 HD, a FanRemake of ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2'' had potential when the alpha stages of the remake were shown to the public with brand new shiny HD graphics and remixed music, and quickly became very popular. However, after months of releasing no further information of the game after the Emerald Hill Zone release, the development team decided to come out and say that L0ST, the main programmer of the game, had refused to stay in contact with the team, put [=DRM=] in the demo to stop people from trying to look at the game's code (Which was actually based off of Sonic 2's) and spent ages trying to make the game suit his vision perfectly, even going so far as to replace other members' work if he wasn't pleased with it. Eventually, the team got sick of his antics and cancelled the project.

**** However, in E3 2013, Square Enix has announced that ''Versus'' has officially become ''Final Fantasy XV''.

* Introversion Software (''{{Uplink}}'', ''{{DEFCON}}'' and ''{{Darwinia}}'') spent many years hinting at their new project, ''Subversion'', and even produced an intriguing twenty-part development blog - before abruptly halting all announcements and going dark for ten months. A lot of people feared AuthorExistenceFailure, but the reality was more mundane; they'd realised that ''Subversion'''s ideas weren't coalescing into a game in they wanted it to, so they threw it onto the back burner and turned to a new game, ''PrisonArchitect''. ''Subversion'' remains as a project and an idea, but it's pretty much on indefinite hiatus as a game.

-->--'''TomLehrer''' on Indonesia's [[SouthAfricansWithSurfaceToAirMissiles nuclear ambitions]], ''Who's Next?''

** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' spent five years under development and had several canceled versions, although some of them were revamped into separate projects: namely the original ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' and ''HauntingGrounds''.

* Following in Valve's footsteps are the makers of the ''Half-Life 2'' mod ''VideoGame/BlackMesa'' (formerly ''Black Mesa: Source''). Announced in 2004, the ''Black Mesa'' team made steady and well-documented progress chipping away at no small task: recreating the entirety of the original ''Half-Life'' on ''Half-Life 2'''s Source Engine. It usually won the "Top Unreleased Mod of 200X", but eventually the accolades turned into dubious honors, as it racked up its first [[http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/12/vaporware-2009-inhale-the-fail/ Vaporware Award]] at the end of 2009. The team tried to settle on a late 2009 release, but were ultimately unable to meet it. Since then they underwent a total media blackout, only publishing updates on their progress every once in a blue moon. It was finally released on 9/14/2012, a good 8 years later. However, the current version is incomplete, missing the last five chapters and the Hazard Course training level, though the latter is explained as them taking extra time to make sure the Xen levels do not suffer from [[DissapointingLastLevel the same problem they did originally]].

* The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panasonic_M2 Panasonic M2]] console was to have been the 64-bit successor to the [[ThreeDOInteractiveMultiplayer 3DO Interactive Multiplayer]], but was canceled very close to its announced 1997 release. {{Konami}} did release a few arcade games based on the [=M2=] architecture (namely ''Battle Tryst'', ''Polystars'', ''Evil Night'', ''Heat of Eleven '98'' and ''Total Vice''), making it possible for the public to appreciate the system's mediocre 3D rendering capabilities and LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading.

** ''D2'', the sequel to ''VideoGame/{{D}}'', was first announced for the stillborn Panasonic M2 (see below), and then for the Sega Saturn. Several years and a Wired Vaporware award later, it finally was released for the SegaDreamcast.

* The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panasonic_M2 Panasonic M2]] console was to have been the 64-bit successor to the [[ThreeDOInteractiveMultiplayer 3DO Interactive Multiplayer]], but was canceled very close to its announced 1997 release. {{Konami}} did release a few arcade games based on the M2 hardware, making it possible for the public to appreciate the system's mediocre 3D rendering capabilities and LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading.

** ''D2'', the sequel to ''VideoGame/{{D}}'', was first announced for the stillborn Panasonic M2 (see below), and then for the Nintendo 64. Several years and a Wired Vaporware award later, it finally was released for the SegaDreamcast.

* ''Metal Gear Solid: Rising'', a [[HackAndSlash hack-'n-slash]] (with stealth elements) spinoff of the ''Franchise/MetalGear'' series, was first announced in E3 2009, with a gameplay demo being shown the following year. However, the project was on the verge of cancellation when the developers failed to produce anything more than a tech demo by the end of the year, and couldn't get the game to play the way they wanted. As a result, Kojima Productions handed development of the project to Creator/PlatinumGames and the game resurfaced as ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'', and was released in February 2013. The final product was still a stealth/hack-and-slash hybrid just like the original incarnation, but it doesn't play like how it was originally going to.

* ''[[{{Starcraft}} StarCraft: Ghost]]'', a StealthBasedGame starring a Terran Ghost named Nova. Initially announced in 2002, it was postponed six times before being put on "indefinite hiatus", a month before its projected release date. Nova turns up for one mission in ''StarCraftII'' where you can either help her keep a bunch of deranged criminal psychics from escaping a prison complex, or make life hell for her employer, [[TheEmpire The Dominion]], by helping them all escape.

* Chyoo, an adult create-a-story[[hottip:*: Think ChooseYourOwnAdventure erotic fiction, collectively written.]] website run by the same folks who run {{Literotica}}, has been advertising "Chyoo 3.0" for several years. In fact, their front page has a notice claiming Chyoo 3.0 will be released in a few months... that dates back to 2006. In actuality, the Literotica owners have apparently lost all interest in maintaining Chyoo. Lack of quality content probably has much to do with it.

** One of the ''first'' platformers announced for the {{Nintendo 64}} was a game called ''Conker's Quest.'' The cute platformer starring a child-friendly squirrel was intended to be a counterpart to the more complicated platformers of the time. This incarnation of Conker even made a cameo (along with future Rare star [[{{Banjo-Kazooie}} Banjo]]) in ''DiddyKongRacing'' later the same year, intended to pave the way for his future franchise. Though initially shown at E3 in 1997, ''Conker's Quest'' disappeared for awhile before resurfacing in 1998 as ''Conker's Twelve Tales''. Footage of this incarnation can found floating the net. Another game based on this version of the character came out in 1999 for the Game Boy Color, ''Conker's Pocket Tales'', but there was still no sign of the N64 version. In 2000, in what many at first assumed to be an April Fool's prank, Rare unveiled that they'd completely tossed out all work on the child-friendly ''Conker's Quest'', retooling it into ''VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay'', a violent, sexually charged platforming parody of gaming culture, its genre, and pop culture in general. When everyone realized that Rare was ''serious'', pandemonium broke out. This essentially consigned the original ''Conker'' game to the mists of vaporware history, though fans of the game that finally came out don't seem too broken up about it.

** ''BanjoKazooie'' was originally scheduled to be released in November 1997, as Nintendo's big game for the Christmas season; ultimately, it had to be pushed back to Summer 1998 and Nintendo replaced it with ''VideoGame/DiddyKongRacing'', which thus became the first released game to have a playable Banjo or Conker.
*** ''BanjoKazooie'' was actually re-tooled from ''yet another'' game that never saw the light of day. This game, which bore the working title ''Dream'', was to have been an RPG on the SNES to start, starring a human hero named Edison. It was gradually turned into a 3D platformer on the Nintendo 64 with an animal star shortly after the dev team previewed ''Conker's Quest'' and considered it vastly superior to their idea. All that has surfaced of ''Dream'' are a couple of screenshots drifting around on the Internet and 10 pieces of music, plus a brief history of the game, found on [[http://www.grantkirkhope.com/dream.html the composer's website.]] And Blackeye the Pirate, who was to be the BigBad in ''Dream'', got a cameo in ''Banjo-Tooie'' and a statue in ''VivaPinata''.

** And then ''Banjo-Threeie'' was planned for a Gamecube release, but soon got the axe. It was reincarnated for the Xbox 360 in 2008 as ''Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts''.

* There was supposed to be a 2.5D ''VideoGame/{{Kirby}}'' game for the [=GameCube=], but it never materialized on that system and has yet to show up on the Wii. Until 2011.
** An official trailer was released for a Wii Kirby game and is believed to be a the one originally planned for Gamecube. Nothing else has been said, aside from Nintendo stating on July 31st 09 it's still being worked on. Any mentions of it however have been removed from Nintendo's websites and fans had relegated it to vaporware for the most part.
*** When an entirely different game (''VideoGame/KirbysEpicYarn'') was released, many fans thought that's what the game had turned into. The "more traditional" Kirby game eventually surfaced under the title of ''KirbysReturnToDreamland'' in late 2011, to the fanbase's delight.

* ''TooHuman'' started development in 1998 for the PlayStation. It was later moved to the GameCube when Nintendo announced an official partnership with developer Silicon Knights, but Silicon Knights started developing [[EternalDarkness two]] [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid other games]] and ''Too Human'' got left behind. Eventually it started development for the Xbox 360 and came out in 2008. The finished product was generally considered underwhelming by reviewers, and quickly forgotten by all but the most die-hard fans.

* Most ''VirtualBoy'' games. It was actually going to have a ''VideoGame/StarFox'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioLand'' game.

** ''ResidentEvil4'' spent five years under development and had several canceled versions, although some of them were revamped into separate projects: namely the original ''DevilMayCry'' and ''HauntingGrounds''.

* A very meta example: ''MakaiKingdom'' included a preview of the next game's protagonist, Asagi, as a bonus character. Her game, ''Makai Wars'', has never surfaced so she's become a running gag who [[HostileShowTakeover attempts to take over other games for her own]]. In-universe, ''Makai Wars'' was being worked on as a movie for well over a hundred years and ''{{Disgaea 2}}'''s Remake's Axel Mode, tells us that it was scrapped during or after the game, and they skipped directly to ''Makai Wars 2''.

* ''[[TinyToonAdventures Tiny Toons]]: Defenders of the Universe'' was being developed by Treasure in the early 2000s under contract from Conspiracy, with screenshots and previews being shown. However, years passed by and there was nothing new on the release of the game. Eventually, the game was confirmed as cancelled, the reason supposedly being that Conspiracy went bankrupt around 2002, and lost the rights to Tiny Toon Adventures before the game was released. Fortunately, the game wasn't completely lost, as a ROM of the beta was leaked, and can be played on a PS2 emulator.

* ''Metal Gear Solid: Rising'', a [[HackAndSlash hack-'n-slash]] spinoff of the ''Franchise/MetalGear'' series, was first announced in E3 2009, with a gameplay demo being shown the following year. However, the project was on the verge of cancellation when the developers failed to produce anything more than a tech demo by the end of the year. As a result, Kojima Productions handed development of the project to Creator/PlatinumGames and the game resurfaced as ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance]]'', and was released in February 2013.

* A sequel to ''Skies of Arcadia'' has occasionally been hinted at, but with no media to back it up.

* The Control-Vision VHS-based console for which the FullMotionVideo games ''VideoGame/NightTrap'' and ''VideoGame/SewerShark'' were originally developed.
* The Sega Neptune, an integrated [[SegaGenesis Mega Drive/Genesis and 32X]], which was swiftly canceled when it became apparent how absurd releasing this would be (as indeed releasing the 32X already had been) when the Saturn was just around the corner [[VideoGame/{{Neptunia}} It still lives in spirit, though.]]

* ''Wii Vitality Sensor'' was shown at e3 2009. It has not been shown again or talked about since by Nintendo. Some video game journalists seriously doubt that project was ever real and the sensor itself was just a mock up shown because Nintendo didn't have anything new or interesting to reveal at e3 that year.

** Now it's been released - well. It lets you walk around in your ship. That's something!