An Aliens vs. Predator Football Video Game Almost Happened

[Xav]

When the Aliens from Alien and the Predators from Predator first met in 1989's Dark Horse Presents #36, it was a match made in monster movie heaven. While the concept of Aliens vs. Predator might've originated in comics, the battle between 20th Century Fox's alien monsters boiled over into a pair of feature films, toy aisles, prose novels and a few video games.

While Aliens vs. Predator brought monstrous sci-fi action to arcades and consoles in the mid-1990s, some documents recently unearthed by the National Videogame Museum have revealed that the most fierce battle between the two alien races almost jumped onto football fields in the never-made video game "Cosmic Hard Bowl."

National Videogame Museum
@nvmusa
We unearthed these concepts for a canceled Alien vs Predator Football game for the Sega Genesis...and you have to see it to believe it. In “Cosmic Hard Bowl” the Aliens and Predators would settle their conflict through, yes, AMERICAN FOOTBALL. #nvmusa

As the documents show, the game was pitched as a Sega Genesis title, which means that it would've been pitched sometime during the mid-1990s. The documents also suggest that the game would've taken place in the far future of 2702.

As the National Video Game Museum website revealed, the Japanese text on the documents roughly translates to offer some more information on the title's bizarre premise.

Mankind had neutralized the 400+ year war between Aliens and Predators. Now they have agreed to finalize the conflict by American Football on Earth. The Alien Football League and the Predator Football League were born and fierce battles engaged for the Super Bowl Title. There was only one new rule. The quarterback must be human.

The rest of the text reveals that the Alien-based teams in the aptly-named Alien Football League were called the Anchorage King Salmons, the Los Angeles Blade Runners, the Houston Exterminators, the Chicago Dirty Heroes, the Dallas Jet Flying Kickers and the Washington D.C. Bashings. The Alien in the pictures says, "My mom is the team owner. I crave some fresh human-quarterbacks."

The teams in the Predator-based Predator Football League could've included the Seattle Samurai Mifunes, San Francisco Black Catfish, Detroit Big 3, Las Vegas American Dreams, New York Psychic Murders and the Miami Dolphin Creatures. As the Predator states in the picture, “My chieftain is the team owner. I will turn you into a fully-grown quarterback warrior.”

The illustration on front of the pitch appears to show one of the alien Xenomorphs wearing a football helmet, which given the alien's durable durable exoskeleton, seems somewhat unnecessary.

While this inspired idea was ultimately never released, a fairly similar game, Electronic Arts' Mutant League Football, was released on the Sega Genesis in 1993. Since there are no apparent dates on the Cosmic Hard Bowl pitch documents, there's no telling which game was pitched first or if either idea took inspiration from the other.

While the Aliens and Predators have met each other on a consistent basis since this game was considered, the aliens still haven't tried to settle their differences with a few games on the football field.

https://www.cbr.com/aliens-vs-predat...ll-video-game/

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Just say "no" to drugs, kids!

[neatoman]

So a sport that's considered a national niche on earth being played by extra-terrestrials? That's kind of funny.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Originally Posted by neatoman

So a sport that's considered a national niche on earth being played by extra-terrestrials? That's kind of funny.

Wasn't there a Mighty Ducks cartoon with extraterrestrial ice hockey teams in the 1990's?

[Candy Kappa]

Sounds like Blood Bowl

[Voltron]

Originally Posted by Original TMNT Cartoon Fan

Wasn't there a Mighty Ducks cartoon with extraterrestrial ice hockey teams in the 1990's?

I remember that. And they were super heroes, too.

It was as stupid as it sounds.

[oldmanwinters]

This would have been perfect for a SEGA console!