: Even high-quality games can be shelved if they are deemed too similar to existing hits or if focus group testing suggests the market isn't ready. Q Bert Faster, Harder, More Challenging* was shelved because Gottlieb felt players were still mastering the original game. 2. Digital Preservation and "Gaming Philology"

The history of unreleased games spans nearly every console generation: 25 years of Games That Weren't

The Echoes of What Could Have Been: A Study of Unreleased Video Games

The study of these lost works is often referred to as , focusing on early development stages like alpha and beta versions to understand the "unseen history" of the medium. Preservationists emphasize that even unfinished material is a historical artifact worth saving.