Rare/Obscure PC versions

[KyoriAsh 2]

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What other games had PC ports that were left behind in Asia

Seems nobody paid attention to P.T.O. (Pacific Theater of Operation), otherwise knows as Teitoku no Ketsudan Series

https://www.amazon.co.jp/s?k=%E6%8F%90%E7%9D%A3%E3%81%AE%E6%B1%BA%E6%96%AD&i=software&__mk_ja_JP=%E3%82%AB%E3%82%BF%E3%82%AB%E3%83%8A&ref=nb_sb_noss

Amazon store of this series

[Theclaw135 4]

Similarly, there's the Naval Ops series.

https://www.amazon.co.jp/s?k=鋼鉄の咆哮&i=software&__mk_ja_JP=カタカナ&ref=nb_sb_noss

Gee this stuff was huge in Japan. I shudder at the proverbial flood of Daisenryaku.

[icup321 5]

There is apparently a PC port of Pac-Man World 1 that was released exclusively in South Korea in 2001 according to the Pac-Man Wiki, there's barely any info on it and there's a very high chance it hasn't been dumped/preserved yet. If this does in fact exist, then that means the PC version is currently lost media, there's also this box art that was uploaded on there:

 

EDIT: It turns out this PC version might actually just be a pre-packaged PS1 emulator that comes with the game based on what I've been told by someone just recently, and not actually a native PC port.

[Luigi master89 12]

Even so, 2001 wouldn't have very powerful PCs to handle a PS1 emulator reliably, unless it's a customized version of Bleem.  I'll ask two Korean friends of mine if they have any info; since the game was released physically, it has a non-zero chance of being found.

[Theclaw135 4]

Another one I wouldn't have guessed. A Korean release of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. https://oldpcgames.tistory.com/1618

[jimi19 0]

The promo version of Incoming! An early build of the game was bundled with several graphics cards (think it was some 3dfx ones, no idea where my dad got our copy from) and you where supposed to mail it in a receive a free copy of the retail version once it launched. It lacked most of the game modes besides the campaign and used some different art assets and vehicles, Just compare the tank from level 1 stage 3 from the promo (top) and retail (bottom) version.

Hell, my copy is probably even rarer since it has been completely translated into Swedish. No idea if they bothered to do that for the retail version too. (only have it from GOG) 

 

[Luigi master89 12]

Sorry for the bump but here is another interesting case; a PC port of Mission: Impossible (seemingly the N64 version) handled by Indian developer Dhruva Interactive.  This YouTube video is the only purported proof of the game receiving a PC version, but searching for it online only yields results for the N64 and PS1 versions.  I wonder if it existed at all.

Edited February 22, 2021 by Luigi master89
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[Talos 1]

No problem for the bump. It certainly needs one. 🙂

Thanks for the video. I checked it out. I seriously don't know if this was released. I would suggest reporting the (potential) PC port of Mission: Impossible as lost media on LostMediaWiki, so that the game in question can get some attention. Also, contacting the original developer directly could provide even more clues or evidence for the port's existence

I also have another obscure PC port: Suikoden II. I made a post a while back detailing PC ports of PlayStation games made by Konami, through their Konami Computer Games Aoyama department. Check it out here:

Now, Suikoden II also received a PC port, but this time it was only released in Traditional and Simplified Chinese variants. I wasn't able to find any info on Japanese PC release, I guess this PC version was developed only for the Chinese market.

[Theclaw135 4]

Lego Batman has a Japanese PC release. I don't know much about it.

https://www.mercari.com/jp/items/m388928787/

(it would appear, on the other hand, that Lego Batman 3's localization isn't available for PC...)

[terje_p 0]

https://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/aliens-in-the-attic

That review and a few foreign listning which might just be spam, is the only evidence I have found about a PC version. There is a good change that the PC version was planned but later cancelled.

[Talos 1]

On 5/5/2021 at 8:43 AM, Theclaw135 said:

Lego Batman has a Japanese PC release. I don't know much about it.

https://www.mercari.com/jp/items/m388928787/

(it would appear, on the other hand, that Lego Batman 3's localization isn't available for PC...)

A lot of PC games in the past (80's, 90's and 2000's) actually had Japanese releases, though some of them were not full localizations. Rather, they would include a translated manual and that's it. Certain series, such as Civilization, has been localized all the way, with Civ VI having a complete Japanese audio dub.

Sometimes I stumble upon a surprise when looking for PC games on Yahoo! Auction or Mercari. I recently discovered a fully localized Japanese PC version of the game Revenant. I will be contributing more info on the game in the next few days. Sadly, all I could find are these screenshots from this website. There's no video footage on either YouTube or NicoNicoDouga. The game is sold on Yahoo! Auction or Mercari for cheap, if anyone is interested in picking it up.

On 5/6/2021 at 10:58 PM, terje_p said:

https://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/aliens-in-the-attic

That review and a few foreign listning which might just be spam, is the only evidence I have found about a PC version. There is a good change that the PC version was planned but later cancelled.

I checked out Ebay and all I found was the Nintendo DS and Wii versions of the game. There was no sight of the PC version at all, even though it says even in MobyGames that it was released.

Perhaps consider making a forum post on LostMediaWiki. Maybe somebody can help you find sources for the release. Otherwise, you can make an article about the game over there and report it as (potential) lost media.

On 2/6/2020 at 5:33 AM, Luigi master89 said:

...which further convinced a large number of publishers to eschew PC versions of their games, especially from formerly PC-centric publishers like LucasArts (Gladius, Mercenaries), Interplay (Dark Alliance series, Fallout Brotherhood of Steel), and Electronic Arts (Burnout series, Black).

And finally, after years of being originally cancelled by Interplay themselves, the port/remaster of Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance will finally arrive on the PC. It already arrived for all the main consoles.

The original game's development on the PC is a special case, as it was supposed to be done by none other than CD Projekt. According to this article on Eurogamer, somebody managed to smuggle the PS2 Development Kit used to develop the game from the Interplay's offices in London to Poland. However, Interplay caught wind of the incident and outright cancelled the game. I really hope that, with this port/remaster, we can finally put the case to rest.

[terje_p 0]

Aliens in the Attic got a digital only PC release in 2010 or earlier:

https://web.archive.org/web/20110823122100/https://www.gamersgate.com/DD-AITA/aliens-in-the-attic/

https://web.archive.org/web/20100510140148/http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-AITA/aliens-in-the-attic

If anyone bought it back then, they may still have the files in their inventory.

 

[cuzbabytonight 2]

The original release of 3D Instructor 2 (City Car Driving) is basically non-existent these days:

https://web.archive.org/web/20100423165659/http://3dinstructor.ru/distrib/3di_20_home

Please share the demo version if you have it, as I don't think the game has any sort of demo these days.

[Theclaw135 4]

On 5/10/2021 at 5:03 PM, Talos said:

A lot of PC games in the past (80's, 90's and 2000's) actually had Japanese releases, though some of them were not full localizations. Rather, they would include a translated manual and that's it. Certain series, such as Civilization, has been localized all the way, with Civ VI having a complete Japanese audio dub.

Sometimes I stumble upon a surprise when looking for PC games on Yahoo! Auction or Mercari. I recently discovered a fully localized Japanese PC version of the game Revenant. I will be contributing more info on the game in the next few days. Sadly, all I could find are these screenshots from this website. There's no video footage on either YouTube or NicoNicoDouga. The game is sold on Yahoo! Auction or Mercari for cheap, if anyone is interested in picking it up.

For sure gathering info is trickier than I thought. I've turned up indications SimCity and SimCity 2000 were available in Japanese.

By the way Imagineer has a helpful list of releases.

https://www.imagineer.co.jp/contact/over.php

[Talos 1]

On 7/25/2021 at 11:09 AM, Theclaw135 said:

For sure gathering info is trickier than I thought. I've turned up indications SimCity and SimCity 2000 were available in Japanese.

By the way Imagineer has a helpful list of releases.

https://www.imagineer.co.jp/contact/over.php

Indeed, but searching through auction sites is definately the first step towards discovering rare releases. It can be quite addicting as well. 🙂

Thanks for the link. It will definately come in handy when contributing either here or on MobyGames.

Besides Imageneer, CyberFront also did a number of Japanese PC releases over the years before their dissolution in 2013. Here's a list of titles developed/published:

https://www.4gamer.net/script/search/index.php?mode=title&P00014

Another obscure release was the Japanese dubbed version of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. Originally, the Japanese PlayStation release was planned, but was cancelled in the end. However, the PC retail version has it perfectly fine. Here's some gameplay footage featuring the dub:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYbPJrsDoIU

Japanese cover for the game:

https://www.amazon.co.jp/SOUL-REAVER-ソウル-リバー/dp/B005MGXIAQ

And if someone is interested in picking it up:

https://product.rakuten.co.jp/product/-/c5df9efc63b45b0148eb8416591c22b3/