A short entry for our next GTW. This is one of the first mentions of the Alien VS Predator franchise which Activision first started out with.
Commodore Format first talked about plans of Activision to produce a game for the home systems based on the popular comic (and long before the movie or console games came about).Commodore Format were quoted as saying that this was Activision’s “Most promising game”. Nothing else was known at the time about the game.
Sadly Activision lost interest with the 8-bits, and the game never surfaced, and nor did really any other new single releases after the likes of Atomic Robokid and Dragon Breed.
The game franchise did however surface about 4/5 years later on various platforms including the Jaguar. The 16-bit console versions were platform affairs, which no doubt the C64 would have been trying to emulate.
We do not know exactly how far the C64 conversion got, or if indeed the game was ever actually started or not. Commodore Format may have got their information wrong, so we could be searching for nothing. We urgently need new information on this title, so if you can help us, then please do so :)
Ross Sillifant did find what seems to be a PC/Amiga shot from 1993, so the game had been in development for sometime (see scans) – we just don’t know if a C64 version ever existed.
Contributions: Andrew Fisher, Ross Sillifant
Found an old quote from Activision, July 1990, announcing they had acquired the AVP licence :
“This is going to be a real biggie when it arrives, it’s going to be so hot”
Larry Sparkes, Activision UK Marketing Manager.
Game was expected at some stage in 1991
Traced the Atari 7800 version claim back to it’s source.
Appeared on a Digital Press list, with part number:CX-7896
Alongside supposed conversions from ARC’s ST games…Badlands Pete (CX-7883) and 9 Lives (CX-7881) which was also rumoured for conversion to Lynx, though Simon Butler wasn’t aware of any conversion plans.
This list appears to be based on results from an Atari development conference, which Atari held with regards to getting more developer support for the ST and Lynx and they were feeling out what sort of support would be possible for the 7800.
This does tie-in with Press releases in UK Press at the time from Atari Uk, with a lot of talk of plans to get more ST games converted to other Atari formats.
But, until any coder or artist comes forward to say they worked on it, it has to remain as pure vapourware.
If anyone can find her, maybe Amanda Barry, Activision PR lady at the time, might be able to shed some light on what became of it?
There were claims of a NES AVP by Activision back in Nov’1990 from VGCE Magazine, never seen any screens etc myself though.
But a C64 version based around any planned NES game, would of at least been do-able i guess?.
You also have ZERO I(ssue 10/August) via it’s news page, Oi! featuring a report on it, though they refer to it as Predator Vs Aliens :-)
Lot of utter speculation, plus PR guff from Activision, saying it’d be THE biggest film deal of 1991 and game would be a big hit, Zero suggesting game would combine elements from Arnies Predator film and the Alien Movie.
Despite NO formats listed (PC/ST or Amiga), Zero seemed confident both the AVP Film and Game, would be out in 1991.
News based on a PR brief, if ever there was :-)
Found another magazine snippet, this time in the ZX Spectrum Press:
Your Sinclair, Aug’90..issue 56
heading:Monster Mash (P6 if you can find the scan, Frank)
Talks of Activision having bought the rights to make at least 1vcomputer version of AVP but they question just when said game would actually see the light of day….
How very right they were there :-(
I really would love for more on this to come to light as going by what Rebellion have said, Atari had to aquire the AVP Licensce from Activision, in order to start work on Jaguar (and unfinished Lynx…) version of AVP and even then wanted to stick to the side scrolling genre for Jaguar version, until Rebellion convinced them otherwise.
So, how much Activision paid for the licensce and how long it lasted for i’d love to hear for starters, as i’d of thought they’d of been keen to get a return on said investment and thus started work on 8/16 Bit Home micro versions….no matter how poor.
There’s still not a shred of proof Atari even planned a 7800 version either.
Game crops up again, Amiga Power issue 18/Oct’92 in it’s ‘Where Are They Now?’ feature on missing games.
Talk of Activision getting licence, but very unlikely game was now coming out on Amiga, it’d been so long.
Which again does suggest Activision simply ‘sat’ on the licence…
Just emailed over ACE Magazines claim this was headed to a computer format, they too could’nt say which format, only it was computer, not console, so yet again i beg to ask where the Atari 7800 idea doing rounds on net came from.
They do have a name to put to the quote…Bruce Davis, who’s now: Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Digimarc…..but seems rather pointless even thinking of contacting him, as i doubt he’d even recal Activision getting the licensce, let alone anything else.
Interesting to note though that ACE thought characters were coming from films like Alien 3/Predator 2 and seemingly had no idea of Dark Horse Comics origins…
Cheers Ross, added now!
Just emailed over the C+VG news section reporting on Activision having the licensce, but again, no details on style of gameplay or formats it’d appear on.
Given the GB+SNES games did’nt arrive until’93 (?).Very good chance Activision just ‘sat’ on the licensce until it decided time was right to do a game and which (console) formats were best suited and UK Press had just assumed that since they had the rights 3 years earlier, games would appear on popular formats of the time.
But even that rules out the Atari 7800 :-)
Just emailed over the CU Amiga ‘Buzz’ section reporting on it (July’90) they don’t even specify a format, but one would assume it was Amiga (And ST) based rather than C64, let alone 7800 based.
Never saw anything after said vague claim…
Cheers Ross, adding now! :)
Hmmn.Seen this ‘linked’ to being a possible Atari 7800 game as well, but no source to go with it, so not sure which magazine made the claim.
Personally never thought the game’s potential would have really worked on 8 Bit micro or console…C64 had the fantastic Alien and Aliens games (well UK Aliens at least), Predator looked very nice, but was’nt all that to play and GameBoy AVP was rather poor as was the SNES games so it was’nt until Capcoms CPS based AVP the subject material was really done justice and the ill-fated Atari Jaguar game after that.
I’d personally at this stage put it down as yet another UK mag’s made up claim…as how on earth can you describe it as a companies ‘most promising game’ yet apparently have so little information on it..just what made it stand out as such a promising title?.