Command & Conquer: Red Alert was an adaptation of the eponymous PC game for the Tiger Electronics Game.com. As all titles for the system it was developed in-house by Tiger Electronics. Though showcased in a number of magazines and at E3 2000, the game never saw a release, as the Game.com folded before it was published.
Development
In 1997, Tiger Electronics released the Game.com, a handheld console with a touch screen and black-and-white display. The company secured a number of licenses for games for the Game.com, among them Command & Conquer: Red Alert. Evidence of the planned Red Alert port emerged in 1999, when the game was featured in Tiger Electronics's toy fair catalog. Its "unique touch-screen command interface" was mentioned, confirming that this Red Alert version was indeed intended to use the Game-com's touch screen.[1] The catalog included two cropped screenshots. The first one shows the game's start menu, which visually resembles that of the DOS original. A "Vs Mode" is mentioned, suggesting the inclusion of multiplayer. The second still shows the beginning of the first Allied mission, with parts of the top bar being visible.
A pre-release screenshot used in Consoles+.
The second screenshot also appeared in a special issue of GamePro, which also stated that the game would be available in the autumn of 1999.[2] A similar screenshot was featured in French magazine Consoles+, this time with the side bar being displayed. The bar shows build options for Tanya, the Light Tank, the Allied Tech Center, as well as the Badger. The magazine referred to the game as Command & Conquer 2: Red Alert.[3] Red Alert was further feature on the Game-com's official website, where it was advertised as a game for teenagers. The website again showed the pre-release screenshot of the first mission of the Allied campaign, as well as cover art resembling that of the North American original Red Alert, albeit with the Game-com's name featured prominently, and Tiger's logo joining that of Westwood.[4] During E3 2000, GameSpot reported that the game was "on display", without specifying whether the game was presented in a playable form.[5]
Cancellation
The Game.com was discontinued in 2000, and the port was never released. The extend of Westwood's involvement in the project is unknown, but since Tiger Electronics themselves were the sole developer for the Game.com, the port is likely to have been an in-house project.
Gallery
The Game.com version of Command & Conquer: Red Alert mentioned in the 1999 Tiger Electronics toy fair catalog.
Box art as shown on the Game.com's official website.
References
- ↑ Tiger Electronics toy fair catalog, 1999 (archived)
- ↑ "Tiger Game.com A-Z" GamePro Presents: Handheld Video Games, Winter 1999, p. 86 (archived)
- ↑ "Pocket Pro" Consoles+ #90, July/august 1999, p. 71 (archived)
- ↑ Command & Conquer: Red Alert on the official Game.com website (archived).
- ↑ Sam Kennedy (27 April 2000). Tiger Shows New Game.com Lineup (archived). GameSpot. Retrieved on 5 September 2022.