Talk:Vaporware/Archives/2012

Command and Conquer Belongs Here
Please stop removing my entry on Command and Conquer. If you bother to research the patches cited, you will discover that indeed they were promised but have failed to materialize after often years without being mentioned by the developers despite inquiry by interested parties. This entry belongs exactly where it is. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.170.135.85 (talk) 12:18, 14 April 2008 (UTC)


 * The problem with the entry is that it is not neutral and the entry has no sources at all. For example you have stated "EA Games is famous for their announcement of Vaporware Patches which never materialize" yet you haven't given a single reliable source for its "famous" reputation. If it is as famous as you claim it to be then a source should be easy to find.--Sin Harvest (talk) 02:16, 14 April 2008 (UTC)


 * I'm going to be BOLD and assume you agree with the points I have made if you still do not make a reply by tomorrow. --Sin Harvest (talk) 09:36, 22 April 2008 (UTC)


 * Source added.--67.170.135.85 (talk) 21:22, 22 April 2008 (UTC)


 * The source you have given just links to the EA forums, not even to a specific thread that mentions the vaporware 1.10 patch. Also forums are genereally not reliable sources specifically I'm pointing to it being self-published. --Sin Harvest (talk) 12:05, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

older entries
Hello, I have added the 'confusing' cleanup tag as I have been using computers and have had a deep interest in how they work (i.e. learning how to program in various languages and keeping up with various GPL software and building my own computers rather than just typing the odd letter) for approx 17 years and I really don't understand what this article is all about. The way it is laid out is as if people are trying to add to a list the most recent or the most unique example of vapourware they can find in order to prove they are the only person who was clever enough to find that particular example. I believe this alienates the reader and doesn;t rally provide an explanation. What hope does average joe wikipedian hsve? Pigeonshouse 19:24, 27 April 2006 (UTC)

Is Vaporware really a type of software distribution? That whole template at the bottom seems to be more about "Words ending in -Ware" Ayumbhara

A recent edit makes minor corrections in a sentence which I question altogether. The article says "A widely cited example of this is Microsoft's strategy in Windows 95 against IBM's OS/2." How was this vaporware?

It has been widely asserted (and I happen to believe it to be true) that Microsoft executed what was called a "head-fake" in connection with OS/2 and Windows 3.0 (not Windows 95). That is, publicly they told the press&mdash;and also told developers in at least some meetings&mdash;that OS/2, which they were jointly developing with IBM, was the OS which developers should be targeting, the future of GUIs on the PC, etc. When Windows 3.0 came out, Microsoft seemed to be giving it far more attention and promotion than expected. Developers were caught unprepared. At least some major developers had targeted major efforts toward OS/2 and were not ready for the emergence and mainstream success of Windows 3.0. Microsoft, in particular, was ready with Excel when Windows 3.0 launched, while Lotus's release of 1-2-3 was greatly delayed.

This was, however, the exact opposite of vaporware. Windows 3.0 existed and so did OS/2. Furthermore, OS/2 was shipping, and, if I remember correctly, was up to at least version 1.2 when Windows 3.0 was announced (it was established and modestly successful, not embryonic or easily killed). And neither Windows 3.0 nor Windows 95 was vaporware. Windows 95 shipped in, IIRC, 1995&mdash;late 1995 but 1995.

The deception, if there was a deception, on Microsoft's part was to minimize the importance of Windows 3.0 in order to secure a headstart for their own application development for the system.

Anyway, if nobody gives a rationale as to why "Microsoft's strategy in Windows 95 against IBM's OS/2" was an example of vaporware, I think I'm going to remove that sentence.

Comments and discussions welcome. Dpbsmith 11:36, 21 Jan 2004 (UTC)

Perhaps a "List of vaporware" reference table article might supplement this one? -- LGagnon

I don't know if the recent addition of the Phantom console should count. Many people suspect it of being vaporware, but in all fairness we should wait until it is proven to be such. -- LGagnon


 * Good point. But I think that the definition should be changed, because the article seems to be contradictory. The definition says "never emerges", but then the article talks about "may actually materialize after a long waiting time". I think it should be safe to say that a product is vaporware if it is considered to be such by the market. Consider Wired News' Vaporware Awards (which should be covered in more details, by the way). Vox populi vox dei - if people thought Win2k and OS X were vaporware, weren't they? Ditto for, say, Half-Life 2 (top vaporware in 2003) and Phantom (number 3 in 2003). The fact that they may be released doesn't change the fact that they were vaporware at certain stage.


 * If that's the case, a lot of software and hardware could be considered vaporware. There are tons of pieces of software and hardware that are believed at first to never see a release. With that much to consider, we'd have too much to mention to be fair, and it would just look rediculous eventually. It's best that we just concentrate on what was never released for the sake of fairness and not going overboard with a list of could-have-beens. -- LGagnon


 * Again, that makes sense, but you can't prove a negative. If we stick to the letter of the existing definition, we may not include any product, unless the company developing it goes under, their office is demolished, all blueprints and prototypes burned and all the personnel executed. Otherwise, there is always a chance the product will see the light of the day.


 * I think a better solution would be to admit that there are two definitions - one strict (as defined now), another more commonly used and describing the product, which as presented to the public is mostly vapor. This second definition is clearly used when people talk about DNF and in Wired News' Vaporwire Awards. By this definition we can call DNF vaporware, because as of today there are still no solid proofs that the game actually exists. Phantom was rightly called vaporware, because it was a known risky concept and only a few mock ups were ever shown (until the release). The fact that Phantom was finally released and DNF might very well be released this year or next does not make them not vaporware. It just makes them vaporware finally realised as a real product.


 * We really need another definition, because otherwise we would have no right to call DNF vaporware and that would be horribly wrong.Paranoid 18:10, 25 May 2004 (UTC)
 * VapourWare is software/hardware that may never be released, or is delayed for an exended period of time and if it is released it does not come out as advertised (sometimes but rarely for the better) --Weyoun6 07:29, 18 May 2005 (UTC)
 * Regarding the comment that "Phantom was finally released" - it was never actually released, Infinium Labs simply showed up to E3 with what might have been a PC in a custom mod case and custom keyboard. There is no proof to this day that this was the actual console. The best case scenario would be that this was the only known prototype of a console that was never put into production or released for sale to the public. It is to this day still widely regarded as an unrealized project, and by many people as hoax, if not an outright scam. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 149.99.186.98 (talk) 12:35, 11 March 2008 (UTC)

Advice from Peer review

 * The statement about the Hurd is wrong, for one. Just for starters, it was not started in 1984. Suggest time on Peer Review. Dan Gardner 04:22, 11 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * Not sure if this can ever be much of an article to feature. I mean you've got what vapourware is (two lines enough?) and then it's just examples. If there is a way to expand it, I suppose it is an interesting topic to feature - non-techies may not be familiar with it. Zoney 14:51, 11 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Vapourware?
Really? Can anyone from a Commonwealth country confirm this spelling? --Dante Alighieri | Talk 15:34, May 11, 2005 (UTC)


 * It gets slathers of hits both in Google and Google Groups--about 13,000 for "vapourware" in Groups, compared to 25,000 for "vaporware"--and the meaning from context seems to be the same as that of "vaporware," so it looks OK to me. Dpbsmith (talk) 20:13, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC)

British english?
Why is the article at vapourware and not vaporware? Does british english trump american english? I think the article should be at vaporware. --DannyBoy7783 17:55, 15 May 2006 (UTC)


 * I moved this back as it qualified as a speedy move, IMO. Feel free to undo if there is a genuine need to discuss this further. older ≠ wiser 16:01, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

Why does American English trump Commonwealth English? I don't think there is any reason any spelling is superior to the other.--Sonjaaa 20:48, 29 August 2006 (UTC)


 * As it was first coined in the US, and is not widely used in the UK or other English-speaking countries, I have no problem with its US spelling Quiensabe (talk) 07:22, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Airware?
I've removed the comment that it can also be called "airware" because
 * I've never heard it called that;
 * The American Heritage Dictionary has an entry for "vaporware," but the entry does not mention "airware" as an alternate, and has no entry for "airware"
 * A quick eyeball scan of the first few hundred Google hits for "airware" turns up only legitimate company names, mostly not software companies, and no indication of its use in a software context;
 * A quick eyeball scan of the first hundred Google hits in Google Groups turns up references to legitimate products, software and otherwise, that are actually named "airware" and no indication of its use as a synonym for "vaporware."

If anyone wants to reinsert it they should provide some kind of source citation that shows that it is really in widespread use as a synonym for "vaporware." Dpbsmith (talk) 20:09, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC)

OK - I'll go along with that. I remember hearing the term "airware", but I guess it has fallen out of use, like so many other short-lived innovative terms. By the way, the reason Google turns up so many commercial hits has to do with who pays them for product placement. Try submitting a new webpage to them - it's not free the way it was in the early days. Cbdorsett 21:08, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Spore
At what point is it safe to call Spore (video game) vapourware? There is a lot of talk about it, and a lot of demos, but no release date ever announced.--Sonjaaa 20:49, 29 August 2006 (UTC)


 * Probably after several years more- a delay of less than a year is hardly considerable for vapourware. We'd probably have to wait for a media outlet to declare it vapourware first though. Also, the release date was slated as Fall 2006 and is currently being reported as sometime in 2007, so that's not too major. --Wafulz 14:48, 30 August 2006 (UTC)


 * It qualifies as vaporware because of the time difference between first announcment, first gameplay footage and promotional content, and the current expected release date. That's a big enough delta already.  Mathiastck 07:58, 15 June 2007 (UTC)

Tiberian Sun
Would Command and Conquer Tiberian Sun qualify for this page? I remember they announced it years before it actually came out and everyone was upset at all the delays. Papercrab 00:01, 29 September 2006 (UTC)


 * If it actually exists, it is not vapor. --FOo 01:26, 29 September 2006 (UTC)


 * It qualifies for a mention in the "Redemptive Software" category with other products that were eventually delivered with huge delays and frequent release date pushbacks, like Prey. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 149.99.186.98 (talk) 13:16, 11 March 2008 (UTC)

Half-Life, TeamFortress 2, Prey
Both were considered "vaporware" for many years (HL took 7 years to be released, TF2 even longer.) There's also Prey. My point is that there are some software which were initially considered "vaporware" but were pleasant surprises. JAF1970 11:20, 23 April 2007 (UTC)

Non Software
How about non software works of intellectual property which never got finished? Sibelius's 8th symphony was a masterpiece of vapour. - Zimriel (talk) 02:32, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

GnR's Chinese Democracy
Guns N' Roses Chinese Democracy is one of the biggest examples of non-software based vaporware, but one that finally materialized, albeit perhaps 8 or so years later. Under "Types" of Vaporware, I think we'd have to add a section for "Striving for Perfection" or something like that. Someone care to do a little writeup? --Fshafique (talk) 23:32, 23 November 2008 (UTC)

Selling hardware by promoting vapor software
Perhaps we should include the PS3 console in the Overambitious Hype category. Sony has been promoting sales for the console since 2006 by brandishing screenshots and trailers of Metal Gear Solid 4, which has only JUST received a july 2008 release date, itself a vaporish product on its own. In effect, Sony promised vapor software to sell existing hardware. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 149.99.186.98 (talk) 12:30, 11 March 2008 (UTC)

NPOV
Maybe it is just me but it seems the article is rather extreme on both sides of the spectrum when describing companies delaying products anyone else think so as well? --Sin Harvest (talk) 07:56, 30 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Yes I don't think software qualifies as vapourware just because release dates are pushed back - there is the implied requirement that the development time be vastly in excess of the expected development period, eg: more than twice the expected time. There is also the burden of lack of communication - products that have long development times but provide regular updates or proof of progress can't really be labelled vapourware. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mjharrison (talk • contribs) 17:18, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Hoaxes
The Hoaxes section, at least as it exists now, really doesn't seem to fit into this article. To me, the definition of vaporware is clear enough, but if the contrast between it and a hoax is needed, it could be done in one sentence integrated in the introductory section of the article. If a hoax section was to be maintained then it needs actual computer hardware or software examples, as right now it sends people off to read about perpetual motion machines which really isn't that helpful to the article. I'll leave it as is for a day or so just in case there is a strong objection to changing it. Mantisia (talk) 13:28, 17 August 2008 (UTC)

Lack of focus
The "Types" section lacks focus, as evidenced most clearly by the "Lack of focus" section. Reasons for software being labeled vaporware fall into a spectrum. On the one end, typical over-promised and under-delivered due to underestimating engineering realities. Most of the "Types" of vaporware listed fall into this category, but this is too common, and not exactly what the term vaporware means. The middle of the spectrum is marketing hype, which is usually where the term vaporware is applied. It can include anticompetitive practices, but it is also attached to good ideas released as "marketing hype" in an attempt to build customer/client and contributor/investor support for something that might never be built otherwise. The far end of the spectrum might include hoaxes that nobody ever intended to build. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 151.151.7.52 (talk) 21:00, 28 August 2009 (UTC)

Timesplitters 4, The Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf
May I just point out that these two games could be designated as vapour/vaporware? Timsplitters has passed to new developer, apparently, yet there is nothing to confirm  that it is being worked on. The port of The Witcher is believed to be on "indefinite hold", but that was quite a while ago, and there is little to show that the developers are busy. Otherwise, a promising article despite the many issues it has.

Starcraft II
This game is in beta now, so it really is no longer vaporware. 74.69.251.170 (talk) 21:12, 14 March 2010 (UTC)

Stargate Worlds
Would Stargate Worlds be considered Vaporware since it has yet to be released or put into beta testing? Andy5421 (talk) 23:14, 17 March 2010 (UTC)

Expansion and rewrite
I've been researching this topic off and on for a while now, and I'm ready to start expanding the article. Most of the information here will probably stay, its just going to be rearranged, reworded, elaborated on, and cited with reliable sources. I have the outline and organization planned out, and most of the content is ready to be written, but you are welcome to help. &mdash;Sebquantic (talk) 02:04, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

moving some information
some of the info that was in the article is sourced, but I think goes into took much detail, or provides examples that are redundant. I'm going to move them to their respective main articles per WP:SS: &mdash;Sebquantic (talk) 16:00, 16 April 2010 (UTC)


 * 1) Vaporware awards section -> Wired News
 * 2) DivX research study -> DIVX (Digital Video Express)
 * 3) Apple FullWRite Professional -> this info is already in FullWrite Professional (in greater detail)
 * 4) Thor-CD stuff -> Thor-CD
 * 5) Silicon Film -> History of the camera
 * 6) team fortress 2 -> is already in the development section of Team Fortress 2

Antitrust allegations
Just happened to read this article. Although interesting, the section about "antitrust allegations" presents a hopeless systemic bias. The entire section is written as if US legislation was the only in the world. Given that this article is looking for GA status, this must surely be fixed up. Is there violations of antitrust or similar problems in other jurisdiction, or is this only illegal in the US? If the latter is true, then that in itself is worthy of mention. Otherwise, discussion of other geographic areas must be discussed, such as for instance EU or Japanese legislations, two large software manufacturing entities. Arsenikk (talk)  22:03, 22 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Do you know which states' competition laws could arguably cover preannouncement like in the US? The only examples I'm finding are of other states (UK, japan, etc) accusing Microsoft of unreleated antitrust violations. &mdash;Sebquantic (talk) 16:07, 23 April 2010 (UTC)
 * I know very little about the issue or the legal framework of any of these countries—I had never even heard of the term vaporware until I read the article last night. If you can find sources that indicate that antitrust is only an issue in the US, then that should be clearly stated in the article. Note that the term antitrust is in itself skewed towards the US, as it is only the US judicial system that uses the term—other jurisdiction normally refer to it as competition law or similar terms. Although the US judicial system has produced some oddities through the years, it is uncommon that it is the only country in the world were a particular action is illegal, although for instance it may be that in the US the issue is covered by antitrust laws while in EU it is covered by marketing laws or similar. In my experience, EU legislation about competition and consumer protection is stricter than in the US, but exceptions always exist. Arsenikk (talk)  17:07, 23 April 2010 (UTC)

I've been doing some occasional research on this, but still not sure what to do. Most country's competition laws seem to be based on the Sherman Act. For instance, Japan's Antimonopoly Act is an almost verbatim copy of it drafted after WWII, and apparently it's Section IV is very similar to the Sherman Act's Section II. The economic and social pillar of the EU's laws also cover monopolies. The problem is that I'm not finding any discussions about how those laws have been interpreted to include preannouncements by non-American computer companies. I get the impression from reading some of these source that they aren't. This would make sense if true, because even in the US I don't think there have been any high profile cases since the 90's (US V. Micorsoft) because it's so hard to prove a company did it on purpose.

I can think of two ways to take care of it:

1.
 * Remove the Antitrust section, and use the IBM and Microsoft as specific examples somewhere else in the article
 * Change a few sentences to let the reader know software products are called vaporware by English-language press in other countries.

2.
 * Leave the tag and wait until somebody can do more thorough research.

I'm leaning toward 1, but what do you think? &mdash;Sebquantic (talk) 00:12, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Black Mesa Source
Call me crazy, but nearly seven years of "Development" makes it clear that the Dev team cannot get this done. Hell, go to their forums. They're more interested in banning and trolling the forum goers more than posting media updates. This whole project is a joke.--FlareKitsune (talk) 22:45, 12 May 2010 (UTC)
 * To call a third party MOD vapourware, when it is being developed by people for free in their spare time, and then to personally attack it because you have issues with the way they run their own forums, is ridiculous. Why don't you try and make something of this scale before attacking them. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.9.123.75 (talk) 15:02, 2 December 2010 (UTC)
 * FlareKitsune is right, because this game has been in development for ages, it was to be released in 2009, then postponed, and there is no news about the development since. This is not just a mod, it is a complete trasformation of an old game onto a new engine. And a lot of people wait for this game! But really, the development seems to be dead, because there hasn't been any news, new pictures, videos or anything about this game since early 2010.  Dubfire 12:20, 9 September 2011 (UTC)  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Dubfire (talk • contribs)

Xanadu "surfaces"
Im removing this, reading the manifests of Ted Nelson its clear "Xanadu" is suposed to be a worldspawning network based hypertext system. Xanaduspace is just something that happens to have the same letters, but its just a static 3d engine with the same static 3 texts. To call it "surfaced" is like to calling a broken ligher the rocket you promised so long ago. --16:07, 23 May 2010 (UTC)

Duke Nukem Forever
I see that DNF has made it into the list of former (surfaced) vaporware. All we have seen the last 24 hours is a demo. 3d Realms has released both screenshots and demos before, and then postponed the game. Untill we actually see a finished, released game, I propose that we remove DNF from the list, and let it remain vaporware. TheIncredibleNix 16:14, 4 September 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by TheIncredibleNix (talk • contribs)
 * I agree untill it's shipped to stores or can be legaly downloaded from store, it is still Vaporware. Just moving it to new developer which promises to launch it realy isn't too much different from before status... --82.130.29.94 (talk) 07:15, 8 September 2010 (UTC)
 * I moved it back up in Games, but did not re-write the text about it. TheIncredibleNix 19:59, 9 September 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by TheIncredibleNix (talk • contribs)

Hello, I apologize if this is not the correct place to mention this, but in:

''A promotional screenshot of Duke Nukem Forever shown in 2007. The game's early announcement in 1997, continued promotion, and apparent abandonment 12 years later made it synonymous with the word vaporware in the software industry. Its latest release window is "in 2011".[15]''

Isn't "...and apparent abandonment 12 years later..." a typo? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.224.36.151 (talk) 08:03, 26 October 2010 (UTC)

Battlefield 1943 for PC
Can someone please add this to the games section? I don't know how to do it properly. Thanks. 174.5.11.131 (talk) 01:41, 22 January 2011 (UTC) I would hardly call it vaporware its just a console port of battlefield254Jackson (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 05:42, 3 April 2011 (UTC).

Project Milo
Im adding it to the games list seeing as though it has no release date and many aruing if it was a real game  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 254Jackson (talk • contribs) 02:39, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

StickRPG2
I know that it's a flash game, but it's development cycle has been questionable since 2003. 161.184.228.14 (talk) 20:30, 15 July 2011 (UTC)

Bulldozer
Given the extensive series of delays for AMD's Bulldozer chips, should they not be included in this article? It seems like a massive omission. Irazmus (talk) 00:56, 30 September 2011 (UTC)

GM Hy-Wire
They said that they would have it commercially available in 2010, now it's 2 years since then and it's not even available. Would this be considered a perfect example of Vaporware? --Adam the silly (talk) 03:59, 9 August 2012 (UTC)

Final Fantasy Versus XIII
While Square Enix has continued to confirm the development of Final Fantasy Versus XIII, the game does fit as vaporware under one of the article's definitions that "the term also generally applies to a product that is announced months or years before its release, and for which public development details are lacking". It was announced back in 2006, along with Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Agito XIII (now Type-0), and both of these games have been released, as well as a sequel to FFXIII and a second sequel in development. The last major official announcement regarding the game was back in January 2011 when the 1st Production Department Premiere trailer was shown. Square has been notorious for sparsely revealing information on the game and its development over these past 6 years that it's been in development.--Appledoze (talk) 22:13, 8 October 2012 (UTC)

Beyond Good & Evil 2 should be here
A notable omission to be sure. Announced almost half a decade ago, a single concept trailer, some leaked media, no date, no platforms, nothing remotely concrete. I don't think anyone would object at this point to BG&E 2 being included on this list, if you do, please elaborate. No matter how much I may personally love the game and hope for it to surface, it's definitely vaporware, so it should be placed on this list. 2602:306:BC19:6100:61E:64FF:FEF7:FA98 (talk) 07:49, 14 October 2012 (UTC)