Spider-Man 4 Prototype Unearthed On Wii Development Console
Everyone loves a good Spider-Man game; just look at Marvel's Spider-Man, Insomniac's big PlayStation 4 exclusive from 2018. Back in the day, though, we had games based on the original Spider-Man movie trilogy, directed by Sam Raimi and starring Tobey Maguire. While the fourth Raimi Spider-Man movie tragically never saw the light of day, an early prototype version of the Spider-Man 4 video game has recently surfaced.
YouTube channel Hard4Games got its hands on an old Wii developer kit, and what the channel found on this console was something rather interesting: an early (and we mean early) prototype of Spider-Man 4. In the state it was shown in the video, there's no way it would have ever gone on sale for the average person to play. However, what we can see provides an interesting look at an unreleased video game.
A few small sandboxes were built based on New York City alleyways and rooftops. Some of the 3D assets didn't even have collision, and most of the sandboxes wouldn't allow Spider-Man to swing around. Some arenas were also built for the developers to test combat, though that aspect seemed rudimentary at best.
Hard4Games also found a debug area, where everything was built using basic textures. Each wall was made of one-square-meter tiles, with specific locations that allowed for web swinging. Other locations in the debug area tested things like camera controls, collectibles, and more. All in all, if you're interested in seeing what a game looks like during development, the video provides a good peek into that world.
This early version of Spider-Man 4 also provides some hints about what the fourth Raimi movie could've been. The main menu mentions the Vulture, who could've been the next major villain. Of course, it's worth noting that the game could've taken its own liberties with the story.
Luckily, we live in a world where we aren't hurting for good Spider-Man games, thanks to Insomniac. In fact, a sequel to Marvel's Spider-Man could be coming "sooner than we think."