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darthsylly wrote

Speaking as someone who owns a copy... I would say no.

The magazine scans show it was planned for release, but we know it was cancelled.

Do we know if it was commercially released in Hong Kong? No we don't.

Do we know if it was old stock found in a warehouse that was sold on? We don't know that either.

I think the incorrect artwork on the back shows this is not a game ready to be sold in stores.

It's a lovely game to own, and one I am proud to have a copy of, but I don't believe it's correct to consider it a part of a full set.

Sorry but what proof do you have it was never released?

The game was to be released in July 93 and some companies were listing the game for sale (even in the September issue of Sega Power).

Maybe only a very limited number of games was sold for unknown reasons? Maybe it was a last minute cancel?

I will continue my enquiries.

I think magazines usually have a lengthy lead time?
Such that a September issue would have probably been written in July (or earlier?).
That would fit the timing if it was a last-minute cancellation.

Stan-GG wrote

Sorry but what proof do you have it was never released?

It was someone on SMS I think who said it was a cancelled release, but to be honest I don't actually have any proof. But this makes my point stronger.

So much is unknown. Here's what we do know.

No-one has ever found a copy of this game in England, France, Spain, Italy... anywhere in Europe or Australia in fact - at least no-one active in the collector communities.

What we do know is every copy is found in Hong Kong. Maybe other parts of Asia? Hong Kong only as best as I know.

Games which are tie-ins with Hollywood movies do not get small limited releases.

What they do get is cancelled due to rights issues or under-performing box office sales. Sometimes it is better to cut your losses and cancel the release rather than ship the games across the world and continue to pay for distribution, marketing and storage costs.

I think the scenario is like the Smurfs 2 and the Italian seller who bought all the unreleased stock from the distributor; someone in Hong Kong found the crate and has sold the games locally and they have filtered through the country and now the internet.

But even that's a theory. Without confirmation of retail release, the game is a mystery. I couldn't commit to considering it part of the set under those circumstances and I think it unwise for anyone to do so at this moment in time.

The thing that makes Surf Ninjas a bit weird is that, as I understand, it was sort of a tie-in with the Game Gear.
I have not seen the movie but I had seen the Nostalgia Critic review and I recall the GG was actually relevant to the movie.

Though perhaps it makes it even more bizarre then if Sega set up some promotion between the game and the movie and didn't follow through with it?

KingMike wrote

The thing that makes Surf Ninjas a bit weird is that, as I understand, it was sort of a tie-in with the Game Gear.
I have not seen the movie but I had seen the Nostalgia Critic review and I recall the GG was actually relevant to the movie.

Though perhaps it makes it even more bizarre then if Sega set up some promotion between the game and the movie and didn't follow through with it?

Good point.

Here's something interesting that no-one has looked into; as best as I can tell, Surf Ninjas the movie was only released in the US.

So... not in Europe.

Try this: what if the film was planned to be released in Europe, the game was prepared, but the film didn't do well domestically ($4.9 million according to boxofficemojo.com) and the European release was cancelled. New Line (the film distributor) cut their losses. It happens.

So the game release was also cancelled and the copies already printed sat in a warehouse in Hong Kong until someone found them and sold them on as dead stock.

I should have posted here before but FYI during Summer 2017 while travelling in Asia and spending a little too much time scouting local auctions with the help of chinese-speaking people (aka my wife) I snapped two copies of Surf Ninjas. One of them I sold to someone here the other I kept.
That's to say, other copies will appear!

Author	Message
Stan-GG Joined: 04 Oct 2017 Posts: 9 Location: France	Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2018 3:49 pm
Stan-GG Joined: 04 Oct 2017 Posts: 9 Location: France	darthsylly wrote Speaking as someone who owns a copy... I would say no. The magazine scans show it was planned for release, but we know it was cancelled. Do we know if it was commercially released in Hong Kong? No we don't. Do we know if it was old stock found in a warehouse that was sold on? We don't know that either. I think the incorrect artwork on the back shows this is not a game ready to be sold in stores. It's a lovely game to own, and one I am proud to have a copy of, but I don't believe it's correct to consider it a part of a full set. Sorry but what proof do you have it was never released? The game was to be released in July 93 and some companies were listing the game for sale (even in the September issue of Sega Power). Maybe only a very limited number of games was sold for unknown reasons? Maybe it was a last minute cancel? I will continue my enquiries.

KingMike Joined: 14 Oct 2008 Posts: 513	Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2018 6:56 pm
KingMike Joined: 14 Oct 2008 Posts: 513	I think magazines usually have a lengthy lead time? Such that a September issue would have probably been written in July (or earlier?). That would fit the timing if it was a last-minute cancellation.

darthsylly Joined: 19 Oct 2010 Posts: 31	Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2018 9:48 am
darthsylly Joined: 19 Oct 2010 Posts: 31	Stan-GG wrote Sorry but what proof do you have it was never released? It was someone on SMS I think who said it was a cancelled release, but to be honest I don't actually have any proof. But this makes my point stronger. So much is unknown. Here's what we do know. No-one has ever found a copy of this game in England, France, Spain, Italy... anywhere in Europe or Australia in fact - at least no-one active in the collector communities. What we do know is every copy is found in Hong Kong. Maybe other parts of Asia? Hong Kong only as best as I know. Games which are tie-ins with Hollywood movies do not get small limited releases. What they do get is cancelled due to rights issues or under-performing box office sales. Sometimes it is better to cut your losses and cancel the release rather than ship the games across the world and continue to pay for distribution, marketing and storage costs. I think the scenario is like the Smurfs 2 and the Italian seller who bought all the unreleased stock from the distributor; someone in Hong Kong found the crate and has sold the games locally and they have filtered through the country and now the internet. But even that's a theory. Without confirmation of retail release, the game is a mystery. I couldn't commit to considering it part of the set under those circumstances and I think it unwise for anyone to do so at this moment in time.

KingMike Joined: 14 Oct 2008 Posts: 513	Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2018 7:32 pm
KingMike Joined: 14 Oct 2008 Posts: 513	The thing that makes Surf Ninjas a bit weird is that, as I understand, it was sort of a tie-in with the Game Gear. I have not seen the movie but I had seen the Nostalgia Critic review and I recall the GG was actually relevant to the movie. Though perhaps it makes it even more bizarre then if Sega set up some promotion between the game and the movie and didn't follow through with it?

darthsylly Joined: 19 Oct 2010 Posts: 31	Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2018 9:18 am
darthsylly Joined: 19 Oct 2010 Posts: 31	KingMike wrote The thing that makes Surf Ninjas a bit weird is that, as I understand, it was sort of a tie-in with the Game Gear. I have not seen the movie but I had seen the Nostalgia Critic review and I recall the GG was actually relevant to the movie. Though perhaps it makes it even more bizarre then if Sega set up some promotion between the game and the movie and didn't follow through with it? Good point. Here's something interesting that no-one has looked into; as best as I can tell, Surf Ninjas the movie was only released in the US. So... not in Europe. Try this: what if the film was planned to be released in Europe, the game was prepared, but the film didn't do well domestically ($4.9 million according to boxofficemojo.com) and the European release was cancelled. New Line (the film distributor) cut their losses. It happens. So the game release was also cancelled and the copies already printed sat in a warehouse in Hong Kong until someone found them and sold them on as dead stock.

Bock Site Admin Joined: 08 Jul 2001 Posts: 8652 Location: Paris, France	Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2019 10:05 pm
	I should have posted here before but FYI during Summer 2017 while travelling in Asia and spending a little too much time scouting local auctions with the help of chinese-speaking people (aka my wife) I snapped two copies of Surf Ninjas. One of them I sold to someone here the other I kept. That's to say, other copies will appear!

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