Marble Man: Marble Madness 2 (Unreleased 1991 Arcade Game)

Atari's 1986 Marble Madness was a successful arcade game which has maintained an avid cult following over the years. The game was widely acclaimed for its accessible but highly difficult gameplay, its early use of 3D level designs, its music, and its addictive gameplay. The only real complaint of fans was that the game was too short, with only six levels available to play. A longer, more involved sequel was desired, and this was put into development in 1991, with the resule being Marble Man: Marble Madness 2.

This was a whole new game with new features, many more levels than the original, and a mascot character, Marble Man. The game was completed and several arcade cabinets were built for market testing, but Atari found that the popularity of fighting games such as Street Fighter II were dominating the market. It seemed that the gameplay of Marble Madness was considered outdated and uncool, and so it was permanently shelved in favor of developing a new fighting game.

Extant Cabinets
Several cabinets for Marble Man were created and are in fact still in existence. The condition of these cabinets is unknown, but at least one private individual has suggested that they own one of these cabinets. Unlike most arcade games, Marble Man has never been available as a ROM, as no-one who has access to the game data has been willing to make it publicly available for use. Fans of the original Marble Madness continue to wait for a private owner to offer up a copy of Marble Man for copying. It is of some concern that if this is left for too long then the data in the arcade cabinets' CPUs will become damaged and will no longer be useable. Again, it is unknown whether these cabinets are being kept in good condition, but it is hoped and assumed that they are in the hands of collectors/enthusiasts who will maintain them well.