Ubisoft once courted the little-known Buzz Monkey Software to create an open-world South Park game for PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube.
After Acclaim’s South Park: Chef’s Luv Shack and South Park Rally endured an incredibly negative reception, the publisher wanted to assure creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone that their animated comedy series could still work well as a game – pointing to the success that Simpsons: Hit & Run had scored.
Liam Robertson‘s research for Did You Know Gaming? shares valuable insight into the project, which drew on Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto series although had placed more emphasis on puzzle-solving and hidden jokes.
An early prototype saw Cartman look to secure a straitjacket in South Park’s Mental House, so that he could participate in the Special Olympics. Despite working hard on the project for 10 months, it was eventually canned. Blame was partly placed on the unprofessional behaviour exhibited by one of the game’s producers, and the amount of work that remained falling beyond Ubisoft’s tight deadline.
