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Overview
Tetrisphere is a variant on Tetris in which various shapes are shifted across a wrapped three-dimensional grid resembling a sphere, and then destroyed. The objective of the game changes depending on the mode, but generally consists of removing layers of shapes to reach the playing field's core. Despite very little domestic advertising, Tetrisphere enjoyed moderately good sales and a mostly favorable critical reception. Reviewers praised the game's originality and the musical score composed by Neil D. Voss. • Saves via Internal Memory (EEPROM)
Trivia & Facts
"That was the first they had heard of the release date", stated Canadian Business magazine.
Tetrisphere was developed by H2O Entertainment, a game development company founded by Steve Shatford, Christopher Bailey, and Michael Tam, which was based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
The project originally began as an Atari Jaguar game titled Phear and was showcased for play at Atari Corporation's booth during the 1995 Winter CES, featuring gameplay akin to the "Tower" challenges found in the "Hide and Seek" mode of Tetrisphere.
However, it required players to create a hole of a specific size (e.g., 3×2) at the center of the sphere's core to advance to the next level.
Nintendo reportedly acquired the rights to Phear after witnessing the game at WCES '95, and it was subsequently announced as a Nintendo 64 title at Nintendo Space World later that year.
Around the time the company went public, Nintendo announced that Tetrisphere would be released in October 1996, which initially boosted the company's stock.