Propeller Arena: Aviation Battle Championship is a video game for the Dreamcast console. It was originally titled Propeller Head Online,[1] and was to be released on September 19, 2001.[2] The game was trademarked on August 14, 2001.[3] It was developed and completed by the development team Sega AM2,[4] but the game was never officially released.[5] The release was cancelled[6] just days after the September 11 attacks,[7] citing both similarities in game packaging and design to the events of that day[8][9][10][11] as well as the Dreamcast's declining market share[12] resulting in projected low sales numbers.
| Propeller Arena | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Sega AM2 |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Director(s) | Makoto Osaki |
| Producer(s) | Yu Suzuki |
| Designer(s) | Junichi Yamanaka |
| Programmer(s) | Tetsuya Sugimoto |
| Artist(s) | Shoji Takeuchi |
| Composer(s) | Sachio Ogawa Tomoya Koga |
| Platform(s) | Dreamcast |
| Release | Cancelled |
| Genre(s) | Action |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
The game was on display at E3 on May 19, 2001.[13] After it was postponed, they were working to change the game cover art to remove sensitive images.[14]
Hopes of a port to another console never materialized. However, a disk image of the game was eventually leaked,[15] and became a popular download on many peer-to-peer networks.[16]
Plot edit
In 2045, there is an air combat tournament with planes from the World War II era. Several pilots join the tournament, each with their own reasons.[17]
Gameplay edit
Propeller Arena consists of quick dog fight deathmatches in limited areas.[19]
The game has four modes: the main game, Championship, which is a sequence of dogfights; Quick Battle, a single dogfight; Training Arena, a number of training missions and minigames; and Network, the online mode. Beating the game and the training missions unlocks extra characters and levels.
The game features force feedback via support for the Dreamcast Jump Pack.
Soundtrack edit
The game's soundtrack, consisting of punk rock, was created by both "branches" of Sega: a Japanese team (Sachio Ogawa and Tomoya Koga) had 13 songs composed and produced in-house, while an American team arranged a deal with the Fat Wreck Chords label[17] to license nine songs from the bands Consumed, Zero Down, No Use for a Name, Mad Caddies, and Rise Against.[20][21] Some of Sega's original songs were remixed as instrumental versions and reused in their 2006 sports game Virtua Tennis 3.[22]
See also edit
- List of entertainment affected by the September 11 attacks
- The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces, an air combat game with a somewhat similar setting
References edit
- ^ "E3 2001: First Look - Yu Suzuki's Propeller Arena". IGN. 2001-05-16. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
- ^ "News Archive - August 2001". Goodcowfilms.com. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
- ^ Namedavid Ehrlich. "PROPELLER ARENA AVIATION BATTLE CHAMPIONSHIP Trademark - Registration Number 2878236 - Serial Number 76299935". Trademarks.justia.com. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
- ^ "Propeller Arena". IGN. 2001-08-21. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
- ^ "saturn-digest digest, Volume 07, Issue 258". Archived from the original on 2013-06-20. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
- ^ "TGS 2001: Propeller Arena Flies Away For Good". IGN. 2001-10-18. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
- ^ "Sega indefinitely postpones Propeller Arena". GameSpot.com. 2001-09-13. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
- ^ "Winnipeg Free Press, Thursday, October 04, 2001, Page 67". Newspaperarchive.com. 4 October 2001. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
- ^ "Traverse City Record-Eagle - News Story - www.record-eagle.com". New.thedailystar.com. 2001-09-27. Archived from the original on 2013-06-20. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
- ^ "Toy Makers Editing Product Lines". Apnewsarchive.com. 2001-09-27. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
- ^ "Toy makers respond to parental concern by de-emphasizing violence. Category: Election Section from". The Berkeley Daily Planet. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
- ^ "Propeller Arena (Preview)". NBrid.net. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
- ^ "2001 E3 Show". Future Gamez. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
- ^ "September 18, 2001". Gamebits. 2001-09-18. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
- ^ "Propeller Arena Leaked « The Blog for the Sports Gamer". Sportsgamerblog.com. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
- ^ "Interview Glenn Wissner | SegaOnline". Segaonline.nl. 2004-05-15. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
- ^ a b "Top Guns Of The Arena - Propeller Arena Feature Week 3!". IGN. 2001-07-19. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
- ^ "Propeller Arena - Sega's Lost Dreamcast Title? - Slashdot". Games.slashdot.org. 2003-12-09. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
- ^ "Feature: Propeller Arena Retrospective". The Next Level. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
- ^ "The Unravelling (CD) - Rise Against - Buy @ SmokeCDs.com music cd store". Smokecds.com. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
- ^ "Album Recap". 25 March 2010.
- ^ "Propeller Arena & Virtua Tennis 3 OST Comparison". 2013-12-17. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2014-03-26.