Buzz
The Urban Dictionary defines ‘Vaporware’ as ‘anything (usually software, but it can be any product) that is marketed and hyped but never actually produced’. The term has expanded to encompass a wide range of product categories and may soon be officially recognized in the English language. Here are 10 notorious products whose releases were delayed so extensively that many feared they would never come to fruition. Some emerged from their long development cycles, while others continue to make us wait. And wait. And wait.
10. White iPhone 4
Henry Ford was famously misquoted saying, ‘You can have any color (of Model T) you want, as long as it’s black.’ Apple, however, cannot claim any such misquote. In June 2010, the company invited reporters into a room to preview the iPhone 4 in both black and white. The black version launched as scheduled, but the white iPhone 4 never made it to market, despite Apple having produced white handheld devices for more than ten years.
The demand for the white iPhone 4 might be exaggerated (it’s been over 250 days as of this writing), but it does exist. Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple and Employee Number 1, has been trying to get one, and even he hasn’t succeeded. So, true to form, Woz put together his own white iPhone 4 using defective parts from China. He admits that the camera takes poor-quality photos when using the flash, which could explain why Apple never released it. This blunder was so out of character for Apple that Steve Jobs humorously remarked that the iPad2 would ‘be shipping in White from Day One.’ No update on the iPhone 4, however.
9. Chinese Democracy
Respect to Tom Scholz for his extended breaks between Boston albums, but ‘Guns N’ Roses’ ‘Chinese Democracy’ became the stuff of legends for nearly fifteen years. Guinness World Records names it the most expensive album ever produced. Geffen Records even offered Axl Rose, the band’s only remaining original member, a $1 million bonus just to finish it. This offer came in 1999, five years after the band initially entered the studio. Little did Geffen know, that was just the beginning of a very long wait.
‘Chinese Democracy’ was recorded three separate times, featuring every legendary guitarist in LA. The sessions started in 1994, but the album didn’t release until 2008, much to the frustration of fans and to less-than-stellar reviews. The delay is often attributed to the band’s strange recording methods, obsessive perfectionism, constant Internet leaks, and an overwhelming project debt that seemed to have a life of its own before finally being laid to rest. The album’s relatively low ranking here is due only to the fact that it was eventually released and even went platinum. Of course, the sales never covered the $13 million in recording costs.
8. Fantastic Four Movie
At least the first Watchmen film had an actual purpose. Back in 1986, Constantin Films acquired the rights to Marvel Comics’ Fantastic Four franchise, only to sit on them while DC Comics was raking in money with ‘Batman’ and ‘Batman Returns’. After twelve years of no progress, Constantin rushed to commission Roger Corman’s production company to create a low-budget ‘ashcan’ movie just to retain the rights to the Fantastic Four film. The $2 million production was completed in under 30 days—and it’s easy to see why.
That is, if you were ever given a chance to see it. The film was never meant for a public release, but the studio still sent the unsuspecting cast and director on a promotional tour to build excitement. Marvel later bought the film (along with the negatives), allowing 20th Century Fox to produce a higher-budget version that hit theaters in 2005. You can find leaked versions of the original on YouTube, but seriously, don’t.
7. Infinium Phantom
A more fitting product name is hard to imagine. In January 2003, Infinium Labs introduced a gaming console that ran embedded Windows XP, allowing gamers to play PC games. But that wasn’t all—Phantom boasted that gamers could download any game they wanted via the Internet, and even hinted that, in the future, the console might be given away in exchange for a two-year subscription. Instant skepticism followed when no actual product materialized, and the hype-to-reality ratio was off the charts. Bloggers had a field day with it.
Why all the hate? Well, after a year of delays, Infinium Phantom displayed a unit at the 2004 E3 trade show (only to miss its launch dates). An updated version was shown at the 2005 Consumer Electronics Show (again, with missed launch dates). Eventually, the SEC filed charges against the former Infinium CEO, and later announcements revealed Infinium had lost $62.7 million over three years, with only $ million spent on actual development (a staggering 5% of their R&D budget). A few months later, Infinium cancelled the project, rebranded as Phantom Entertainment, and shifted its focus to the LapBoard, which launched in June 2008—two years after its originally planned release date.
6. Ovation
The early 80’s marked a crucial period in computing history. Development of office software for the IBM PC and MS-DOS was just beginning. Programs like WordStar, WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, and Lotus 1-2-3 were emerging as essential business tools for a platform that was only three years old. This was a time before Microsoft Office held its dominance, if you can imagine such a moment.
In 1983, the startup Ovation Technologies unveiled a comprehensive application package that included word processing, spreadsheets, database management, and communication tools—essentially what we know today as MS Office. However, by 1984, Ovation declared bankruptcy after burning through $7 million in venture capital without releasing a single product. In fact, Ovation never managed to launch any product at all.
If you were around during the dot-com bust, you may recognize the problem: Ovation spent most (if not all) of its resources marketing and selling the product rather than actually creating it. As a result, Ovation’s sole contribution to computing history is this: their non-existent software is believed to have inspired the term “vaporware.”
5. Cherry OS
In October 2004, Maui X-Stream introduced CherryOS, a proprietary Mac emulator for Windows PCs that was promised to be incredibly fast and available for just a $50 download. The announcement caused a frenzy, and servers were overwhelmed before anyone could actually download the software. But soon after, Maui X-Stream pulled the product without offering any explanation, leading to accusations of fraud and widespread discontent.
They promised CherryOS would be available for download again in March 2005. Many tech enthusiasts cried foul, accusing CherryOS of being nothing more than a ripoff of PearPC, an open-source Mac emulator. Since PearPC is free software, it was illegal for Maui X-Stream to profit from it. Kristian Hermsen and Halvar Flake supported these claims by identifying 600 functions taken from open-source projects, and they posted CherryOS for free online in an effort to thwart Maui X-Stream’s sales.
Maui X-Stream sent cease and desist orders but eventually withdrew CherryOS from the market on April 5, 2005, with the announcement, 'CherryOS is on Hold – Until Further Notice.' The very next day, Maui X-Stream declared that they had open-sourced their code and that CherryOS would be available in May for just $14.95 to cover development and marketing costs. Since then, the CherryOS website has disappeared.
4. Ryugyong Hotel
All of this for a country that barely entertains tourists.
In 1987, North Korea embarked on the ambitious construction of the colossal Ryugyong Hotel, aiming to surpass South Korea’s Ssanyong, which had completed the world’s tallest hotel a year prior (the Singapore Westin Stamford). The Ryugyong was slated to open in June 1989 for the North’s ‘13th World Festival of Youth and Students’, but that never came to fruition. And it continued to not happen. While the hotel’s skeleton was erected within a few years, construction of the 330-meter, 3,000-room building was halted in 1992 when Soviet aid was withdrawn, causing the project to remain frozen for the next 16 years.
Interestingly, after heavily promoting the hotel and even issuing commemorative postage stamps, North Korea began digitally removing the structure from photos of the Pyongyang skyline and even ceased including it on city maps. That’s right, North Korea tried to make the hotel disappear like vaporware, but it was too obvious—it remained visible for all to see.
In the late 90s, the EU Chamber of Commerce inspected the unfinished hotel and declared it ‘irreparable’, citing crooked elevator shafts and poor-quality concrete. However, construction resumed in 2008 after Egypt’s Orascom won a contract to provide a wireless network and used the hotel as a site for antennas. Officially, Orascom denies that completing the hotel’s construction is part of the contract, but they have made improvements to the building’s facade.
The most recent completion estimate given by North Korean officials was in 2008, when they claimed the hotel would be finished by 2012, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of Kim Il-Sung’s birth. Or, if you believe the Mayans, it was supposed to coincide with the end of the world. Or maybe it’s just the latest rumored release date for…
3. End of the World
Humanity has been anticipating the end of the world almost since the dawn of civilization, and so far, all predictions have proven to be vaporware. Some have made precise forecasts that were spectacularly wrong (see ‘Top 10 Failed Apocalyptic Predictions’ on Mytour), while others have thrived on ambiguity for fun and profit. That’s why I’m not any more concerned about 2012 than I was about 2011 or 2013. That’s my perspective, but it’s still a wise idea to live as though the end is imminent: our mortality is certainly no illusion. We’re done when we’re done. Carpe Diem.
2. Flying Cars
For decades, the quintessential vision of the future has been jetpacks and flying cars. If you’re not familiar with this, then those endless reruns of ‘The Jetsons’ and the ‘Back to the Future’ films might have been in vain.
Jetpack research has more or less fizzled out, though there are still military and NASA prototypes floating around if you're not too concerned about the risks involved. But the dream of flying cars and clear roads remains elusive. The latest effort was Flight Innovations' N2001C Sky Commuter, a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. However, details were scarce, and oddly, the project was abandoned after only $6 million in R&D. At least there are still alternatives like the Falx Stalker and the Transition.
1. Duke Nuke’em Forever
3D Realm’s Duke Nuke’em Forever stands as the ultimate example of vaporware. It appeared so frequently on Wired Magazine’s Annual Vaporware Awards that the magazine eventually retired it from the list.
The original ‘Duke Nuke’em 3D’ made its debut in 1996, offering a cocky marine, entertaining gameplay, and adult-oriented content—a rare combination at the time. However, things weren’t as smooth for the sequel, which was supposed to arrive by late 1998. 3D Realms' developers criticized the outdated game engine, which led them to license the Quake II engine and essentially restart the project. But after receiving the Quake II source code late, they stalled by showing off gameplay teasers at industry trade shows. Then, in 1998, Epic Games released the Unreal Engine, which surpassed Quake II in quality. The developers then decided to switch engines again, starting over once more.
By the end of 1999, deadlines were being missed left and right, and the game wasn’t even halfway finished. To make matters worse, the owner kept introducing new game elements without any clear vision for what the final product would actually look like. By 2003, management became openly hostile with the media, declaring that Duke Nuke’em Forever would ship ‘when it’s done.’ This became a familiar refrain for the next several years.
By 2006, funds had dried up. 3D Realms had already spent $20 million on development and had requested an additional $6 million from their partner Take Two to complete the game. Staff were laid off, and Take Two filed a lawsuit for breach of contract. Meanwhile, nine of the laid-off employees continued working on the game from home. This group, later known as Tryptych, set up an office next to 3D Realms' rival Gearbox Software. At the time, 3D Realms was relying on contractors, but upon learning about Tryptych’s progress, they approached Gearbox to help finish both the PC and console versions.
3D Realms officially re-announced Duke Nuke’em Forever at the 2010 Penny Arcade Expo, allowing gamers to play the mythical game for the first time. The line to try it out was four hours long. Gearbox Software later confirmed that Duke Nuke’em Forever would finally be released on May 3, 2011, fifteen years and at least $26 million after the initial start. But hold your breath at your own risk.
