Policenauts

Policenauts (ポリスノーツ) is a Japanese adventure game written and directed by Hideo Kojima and developed and published by Konami.

Cancelled U.S. Version

Despite various fan petitions and Hideo Kojima's increased popularity in the west due to the Metal Gear Solid series, no version of Policenauts was ever released outside of Japan. Reportedly, the 3DO and PlayStation versions were both considered for U.S. release, but only the Saturn version was officially announced and then cancelled.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A press release for the game was issued on Konami of America's website on May, 1996. The press release included comments by Randy Severin (former Senior Product Manager of KOA) and Andrew Donchak (consumer division president of KOA at the time). Moreover, a mock-up cover art was shown to retailers and on certain promotional materials. The U.S. version was quietly cancelled with no official explanation.

Related Topics:
Press release - May - 1996 - Randy Severin - Andrew Donchak

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

While many fans have made their own speculations for the cancellation, the actual reason (according to an interview between Hideo Kojima and Mamoru Oshii published in a Japanese Policenauts guide, conducted on August 8, 1996) was due to lip-synching problems between the animated FMV scenes and the English dubbing.

Related Topics:
Mamoru Oshii - August 8 - 1996 - Lip-synching - FMV - English - Dubbing

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Several fans in North America and Europe have since attempted online petitions to localize the game in English. All of them has been unsuccesful so far.

Related Topics:
North America - Europe

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~