The Simpsons Game March 8th 2004 Prototype, Original Xbox 

You know, I never realized how huge the Simpsons house actually was.

Games like this are a lost art

The Simpsons REALLY deserve another big-budget home console game set in an open world. I'm sick of EA just doing the bare minimum with the licence and milking a bullshit mobile game no real gamer would ever give a rat's ass about. A smaller company like THQNordic could and WOULD do wonders for The Simpsons.

Why does this have better camera movement than The Simpsons Game 2007?!

5:02 that's good squishe

I feel like the music cutting out really gives this prototype an uncanny, eerie feeling.

The Cel Shading and graphics look waaay better in this build than in the final, like how

To the people saying "Why is this better detailed then the final game?" Because it's a demo pitch from EA to Fox, if you know you can get away with a few blocks of empty houses, yards, streets, and have your future riding on showing an old executive an interactive 3D "The Simpsons" house, it's gonna be good!

me before the lobotomy

0:31 That loading screen is from 007: Everything or Nothing another game EA worked on. This suggests it might be running on that game's engine.

Poor Bart, constantly having to pick out wedgies, slammin' into walls and stuff...

bart's running animation looks almost the same as the hit'n'run

Looks like this early build is running on the same engine used for 007: Everything or nothing, judging by the loading screen at the beginning.

Very impressive for the original Xbox actually, and in 2004 as well! An open world version of this would be fun even in 2020 imo.

2:00 Holy shit these animations are so charming

1:05 That’s it? That’s the episode?! THAT WAS JUST A BUNCH OF CHEAP FIGHT CYCLES!

I love the level of detail and interactability here for such an early prototype! Although I enjoyed The Simpsons Game back in the day, I'm retroactively disappointed that the final game wasn't more like this, as this early build is somewhat more charming in a way. Bart's model definitely looks better and is way more animated and expressive compared to those seen in the final game. An explorative and open-ended game like Hit and Run, but with more action elements like the climbing and ledge-grabbing seen here, would have been amazing.

imagine being stuck in this demo for the rest of your life

Me everytime after the lobotomy:

The Simpsons Game was alright, but holy crap do I want this version instead.

If it's accurate then the date of this build is fascinating because it means EA started pitching, or at least prototyping, not long after Hit & Run shipped in Autumn 2003. I know Vivendi was still considering working with Hit & Run in January 2004, so I'd guess that EA made this demo on their own and used it to pitch The Simpsons Game to Fox when they saw how successful Hit & Run turned out to be. I can't find the source at the moment, but I thought Radical pitched Hit & Run to EA but they turned it down because it would be too expensive.

Me after the lotomy👹👹👹👹🧌🧌🧌🧌

The Graphics have Aged very well in today’s gaming technology

This demo is pretty damn funny not gonna lie.

8:54 Yeah, that makes sense.

I'm amazed how huge everything looks, especially for a kid's point of view

its very uncanny how the replicated the shows artstyle more than current games

2:01 Nah bart tweaking

Wow! This prototype dates back to 2004? The models here look like the final ones but more expressive, you could interact with objects, and it felt more open-world. But when Bart bumps into the wall with the sound effect it looks and sounds painful, glad they never kept it in.

That actually looks great. This is the best art direction for a 3D Simpsons game I've ever seen

6:20 Seams like this prototype had an unfinished Simpsons fence.

why was this generation of consoles a golden era for cartoon video games?

Holy shit this looks pretty promising. The art style sure aged better than Hit&Run

1:20 Road Rage music :D

The game seems more fun in this demo than the real game. I mean the real game was good but this one seems to have more detail and gameplay aspects and ideas

2:41 the origin of the GameCube error sound

Why the hell does this prototype look even better than the final game?!

8:55 bart simpson A S C E N D S

i want another simpsons game so bad bro, but still nothing better then the classic games

“0/10. Not enough golfing, or brutal murder of beloved father figures.” - IGN

Me every time before the lobotomy 😁👍

The 3D cutscenes in this were pretty good, but I’m happy we got 2D animated Cutscenes

If they made a massive open world Simpsons game in Springfield where you can play different missions as different characters which all sort of converge and intersect, I'd buy that shit like my life depended on it.

Given the spinning on the phone thingy and the platforming, I would say this once was going to be some kind of super mario sunshine/Banjo Kazooie esque platformer set in an open area.

As much as I love The Simpsons Game that we got, I can't help but feel robbed.

love easter eggs and small details that make a game feel alive

me after the lobotomy

How energetic the animations are in the cutscenes are pretty good, so much energy and gives off the cartoon vibe

Damn, this would’ve been barely a year after Hit & Run released

8:55 Let the bodies hit the floor!

wow, for a game from 2004, it still holds up quite well today I'm talking graphics wise i guess a lot of it is due to the art style it's like wind waker, pretty much timeless and it'll always look good

this is obscure, there's nothing left, just a house, yes, it's full, has interactions and all the details, but just a house, no Springfield, no neighbors, no door outside, there is no world, just Bart doing weird things, Homer being dumb and nothing else

lobotomy

Till this day the dream is dead

hitting walls is a detail i never seen in any game, ever

Man, I would love another Simpsons game. I always remember playing the games at my grandma's house on ps2.

I love how bart smashes his head into the wall when you run straight into it. Its the little details.

I remember i played this prototype, there was a lot of potential and cool but at the same time annoying gimmicks that could be amazing in the final release

I’ve always wanted to see a Simpsons videogame given the same treatment as the recent South Park games.

If they added the physics and the camera of this prototype, the game would have been better than it already was

2:23 - when you find out mum ordered pizza for dinner

Wow there's so many small yet satisfying details that fsr never made it to the final game, didn't realise you could smash Bart's head against any surface or slide down the banister

Everything about this build is incredible, the animation, the little details, etc. I'm just so impressed by all this

Really dig the cel-shade style

This build was released on the exact day I was born

March 8th 2004. The exact day I was born.

Never knew this existed, I like how they made 3d models look like 2d cartoons

Open world games were somewhat ahead of their time for “future” gen , despite being available as far back as the early 90s ... but with better (and 3d) animation/graphics games like this become far more challenging . Imagine a sims-like MMO in the simpsons world where everyone’s a different person and you can do all sorts of careers XD would be a weird game but I’d hit .

This is all at once incredibly fascinating and super errie. Like it's so quiet and there's no one around. Whenever the music starts up again I'm afraid something is going to appear from around the corner.

5:02 Woooahhh that's good Squishie.

Anyone else get season 1-3 vibes from this? I love it.

I can’t wait to play this game when it comes out

I've always loved how 3D interpretations of Bart's obviously 2D zig-zag hair style becomes a meat tenderiser XD

Very nice very impressive animations and interaction for 2004. Thanks for posting

Every copy of the Simpsons is personalized.

It’s like in this prototype that all the Simpsons died except Bart and he’s the only one left

Goddamn I love the old interface of the Xbox

I never knew this existed

this looks excellent. Looks better than the final product in 2007.

This is what The Simpsons: Hit & Run should've looked like.

My goodness, the graphics look beautiful... Its 2020 and it keeps up beautifully!

This looks great for an Xbox game , looks just like the 360 game

Sad that we did not get the opening cutsene

When Bart runs into walls, it gives me huge levels of dopamine. If I were playing this, I’d do nothing but slam him into walls.

I fucking cant stop laughing every time bart slams into something

Piano freaked me out lmao

3:47 i remember that almost 90% of ps2 games allowed you to make a double jump

Thinking about it, it’s beyond me how there weren’t any actual open world titles for the Simpsons (or even Family Guy). There would’ve been so much potential if it was handled right.

The 3D graphics really match The Simpsons style

Wow I love how timeless the graphics for this are, they're pretty much perfect

you better not be tweaking when i get there

It's definitely a Simpsons Game prototype for those who are doubting. The unusually large empty rooms of the house made it into the final game 😂

I guess homer is steaming some hams.

This has some uncanny polish for a demo build.

First it was Family Guy full episodes, now The Simpsons game footage is in my recommended, I don't even know what RU-vid is anymore.

Wow in 2004 they released the prototype Thats weird because looks like The Simpsos Wrestling, 3 years later and they have released The Simpsons Game

Looks a lot like the style of Samsonadzes lol

Wouldn't it be creepy if you were playing a simpsons game and then the music stopped and all you could hear was the passing of the cars and the slight static noise from the console.

This really pisses me off man, i've always dreamed for a Hit N Run remake/expansion with these visuals.. they could have done it from the start

im late but the same cartwheel animation at 2:24 can be seen in the final game if you roll towards Bart as Ball Homer