Why was Ghostlop never released?

NeoGeo64

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I've searched the Internet far and wide and haven't found a definitive reason why Ghostlop was cancelled.

It's a really great title for the Neo, and it was basically finished. Perhaps reaching out on here can shed some light on why it never saw the arcades.
 

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oliverclaude

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Why was Shock Troopers and Strikers never released on the home console? That answer, along with others, is hidden in the mists...

Spoiler:
399247-dog.jpg


The Ghostlop triumvirate John, Billy and Tony might know something but they may only surface when the planets are perfectly aligned, so expect to trade kidney or 1st born for this info.
 

Heinz

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I didn't find the game to be that good to be honest, really it's kinda shit and that's reason enough for it not to be released.
 

radiantsvgun

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Yeah from what I hear it did terrible on location testing. I’ve always found it to be a shit game but I’m not really into puzzle games outside of puzzle bobble and Tetris.
 

Neodogg

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i enjoy it, it's like a mix of arkanoid and puzzle bobble...
 

Evan

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Location testing seemed to kill lots of neo geo puzzle games, Sunshine, Fun Fun Bros and Ghostlop were all location tested and not released. Since these were all location tested and not released I guess that could be the reason, but there could be others.
 

Kid Panda

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It's good to know that a member of the community got ahold of this game and released it instead of hoarding it like so many do. Proto hoarding is sad.
 

Neo Alec

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It's one of my favorite games for the system.

Over the years it has long been rumored to have been canceled due to similarity with Puzzle Bobble, but that feels like looking for a reason. The location tests are a more likely answer.

You can now play the game officially in Magical Drop V, so that makes me think there was no legal reason holding the game back, but times have also changed.
 

Tarma

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Why was Shock Troopers and Strikers never released on the home console? That answer, along with others, is hidden in the mists...

Spoiler:
399247-dog.jpg


The Ghostlop triumvirate John, Billy and Tony might know something but they may only surface when the planets are perfectly aligned, so expect to trade kidney or 1st born for this info.

Shock Troopers not getting a home release will always be a mystery to me, especially as most Saurus stuff had a home release on either AES or NGCD.

Strikers will be down to Psikyo probably not wanting to pay SNK for a home release when it wouldn't have yielded them much of a return at the time. There are a lot of very late 90s third party MVS titles that didn't get a home release, and I think it was down to commerical reasons basically.
 

Ip Man

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gusmoney

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It's good to know that a member of the community got ahold of this game and released it instead of hoarding it like so many do. Proto hoarding is sad.

This.

The logic used to keep this game -or prototypes in general- away from the masses is seriously flawed.

How about doing something for the betterment of the community and not just for one's own private library? The former is mutually beneficial in the long run and the latter is just selfish.
 

egg_sanwich

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This.

The logic used to keep this game -or prototypes in general- away from the masses is seriously flawed.

How about doing something for the betterment of the community and not just for one's own private library? The former is mutually beneficial in the long run and the latter is just selfish.

C.R.E.A.M.

Undumped protos are worth more than dumped ones.

We need a true proto enthusiast with heaps of cash like thewildlombax to come and save us from the hands of greedy proto hoarders.
 

Heinz

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That link with the article written by Billy Pitt is a prime example of what's fucked about the 'proto scene' Let's present a little snippet shall we...

Billy Pitt said:
And so that is it. That is the REAL story about the NEOGEO proto game "Ghostlop". The main thing that I learned from the experience was that I would NEVER again make the same mistake. I learned my lesson, and from that point on, I would NEVER handle any of my protos for any of my systems in the same way. To this day, I hold that policy and despite the fact that since then I have indeed acquired more protos, they remain locked away and ONLY available for a trade deal for another equally rare proto. I MAKE NO EXCEPTIONS! They are not for sale at ANY price. They are for TRADE only.

Locked away and only for trading for equally rare proto's but thanks for sharing that dramatic story we're all so glad. :thevt:
 

Gyrian

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Billy Pitt said:
To this day, I hold that policy and despite the fact that since then I have indeed acquired more protos, they remain locked away and ONLY available for a trade deal for another equally rare proto.

It is hard for me to understand this viewpoint. It just doesn't do any good, unless your actual goal is to let these things remain unseen while they waste away. Who knows how much history and work gone into this medium will be lost to thinking like this.
 

gusmoney

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The only hope is that other protos get usurped by this process:

...the "ticking time bomb" angle that these proto games have. They can go from priceless to worthless on any given day if another copy is found and/or if the data suddenly appears on the internet.

This is a valid concern for those trading only in rare protos and thus the flaw in the logic of never making them available to others
 

Heinz

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It is hard for me to understand this viewpoint. It just doesn't do any good, unless your actual goal is to let these things remain unseen while they waste away. Who knows how much history and work gone into this medium will be lost to thinking like this.

That's the type of person who would rather destroy them than expose them for all to see which I find odd. They seem to like the attention they get but NTM is far more respected in my mind because of the dragons heaven release.
 

Kid Panda

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That's the type of person who would rather destroy them than expose them for all to see which I find odd. They seem to like the attention they get but NTM is far more respected in my mind because of the dragons heaven release.

+1
 

NeoGeo64

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NeoGeo64

Zero's Secretary
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Posts
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It's good to know that a member of the community got ahold of this game and released it instead of hoarding it like so many do. Proto hoarding is sad.

Yeah, seriously. These proto games need to be shared. I find myself playing Ghostlop almost daily right now, my top score is just under 80,000 and I don't understand why it didn't do well during a location test.
 

mathieu4d

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Maybe it did do well in location test.
We dont know.
What we know is the context.

In january 97 there is the last preview in neogeofreak (the magazine).
Its probably fair to assume that at this time data east / snk have not yet take a decision concerning the fate of ghostlop.
Among puzzle game on mvs, there are some solid competitors (puzzle bobble, puzzle de pon, magical drop 2).
We know that data east has allready planned magical drop 3 (97).
Maybe they felt that the market couldnt handle 2 puzzle games the same year... or maybe they didnt want their 2 puzzle game to compete against one other.

My point is there are other "valid" reason as to why this game didn't hit the market in 97, and I believe its not fair to assume that this game didnt do well in location test ;-)
 
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BlackaneseNiNjA

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Maybe it did do well in location test.
We dont know.
What we know is the context.

In january 97 there is the last preview in neogeofreak (the magazine).
Its probably fair to assume that at this time data east / snk have not yet take a decision concerning the fate of ghostlop.
Among puzzle game on mvs, there are some solid competitors (puzzle bobble, puzzle de pon, magical drop 2).
We know that data east has allready planned magical drop 3 (97).
Maybe they felt that the market couldnt handle 2 puzzle games the same year... or maybe they didnt want their 2 puzzle game to compete against one other.

My point is there are other "valid" reason as to why this game didn't hit the market in 97, and I believe its not fair to assume that this game didnt do well in location test ;-)

Whats up mathieu4d! Rather than just assumption though, in this case, we're really just going off the statements of the person who actually obtained the proto cartridge:

"Apparently the game did not perform well in testing, and so it was never released to market. However, the operator somehow managed to keep the cartridge there even after the test was over."
source: http://culturaneogeo.com/ghostlopeng.htm


Of course, nothing can be verified 100% in this case, but the statement sheds some possible light on the game's lack of release if the author's statement is to be believed.
 
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