Within the mid-90s, with the Saturn bombing and the online game panorama altering quickly, Sega rolled the cube and made a number of dangerous bets. A type of was, uh, sinking $3 million into the creation of an adult-oriented FMV sport referred to as Sacred Swimming pools that was so dangerous it ended up being binned earlier than it was ever launched.
Now, although, in 2022, we are able to play it! Because of Gaming Alexandria, who not solely obtained maintain of the sport however have made it accessible to obtain and play on emulators, we are able to all get the possibility to, if not get pleasure from, then no less than expertise this misplaced piece of online game historical past.
Sacred Swimming pools went into growth in 1996, because the FMV craze was already winding down, so by the point it was prepared for its public showings and impending launch the market’s urge for food for the style had—because of an countless parade of low-effort dogshit—soured.
Whereas focused at adults, and described as an “erotic thriller”, the sport didn’t function any footage that was outright sexual; there was no full nudity proven, just a few “racy” costumes and “scantily clad ladies”, although this was sufficient to permit Sega’s advertising and marketing crew to give attention to the sport’s “lovely creatures” in a trailer.
Sacred Swimming pools was in growth for the Saturn, PC, PlayStation and Mac, however would by no means be launched on any of them. After a exhibiting at E3 in 1996 which was panned by the press, arriving because it did on the tail finish of the FMV craze, “the sport repeatedly missed its launch date and quietly disappeared from the schedule by mid-1997. SegaSoft had given up on the sport, and no amount of cash or events might repair it.”
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For 25 years that was just about all the general public had ever seen or identified concerning the sport, till Gaming Alexandria managed to pay money for “alpha builds” of Sacred Swimming pools for all of its platforms from David Grey, a former affiliate producer on the sport who had been given the discs as a “parting reward” when he left SegaSoft in 1999. These builds are actually accessible for obtain, however in the event you’d slightly simply watch somewhat footage as a substitute, right here’s the primary couple of minutes of the sport in motion:
To learn extra concerning the sport, its growth and the way these copies had been obtained, it’s best to positively try Gaming Alexandria’s function, which works into much more element—like Gap enjoying at events, and Hollywood veterans serving to in manufacturing—than you’d anticipate for a comparatively obscure title like this.
