Senjo no Demae Mochi (lost build of cancelled Xbox poetic pizza delivery game; 2002-2003)

The official logo for the game.

Status: Lost

Senjo no Demae Mochi (戦場の出前持ち) (transl. "Battlefield: Home Delivery") is, to be frank, a "poetic pizza delivery game" made by game designer Gabin Ito - an editor for the PaRappa the Rapper series of games and its spin-offs - and manga artist Katsuki Tanaka, creator of the manga "Baka Drill", and was to be produced by Microsoft Game Studios. The game was announced at the Tokyo Game Show 2002 and was set to be released in Spring 2003 for the original Xbox console^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]. Other than this debut announcement at the Tokyo Game Show in 2002, this fabled poetic pizza delivery game was never released and is unknown how far into production it had gotten before its cancellation.

Announcement

The game was announced at the Tokyo Game Show 2002 at the Xbox panel^[2]^[3]^[4] by presenters and producers Gabin Ito and Katsuki Tanaka^[3]^[4] with Seiko Ito as the moderator for the panel^[4]. Before the panel had commenced, people were expressing the most interest in this game as Gabin Ito is responsible for its production, given that Ito had developed the critically acclaimed video game franchise, PaRappa The Rapper. Added in the fact that Ito is known for his unique approach to game design on his games^[3], fans were ecstatic to know more about Ito's next work^[4].

The panel was reportedly full of 99% jokes as the audience couldn't grasp if what Ito and Tanaka were saying was either the truth or a joke, but the audience was reported to be full of smiles, laughter, and anticipation for the game^[3]^[4]. In one instance, the moderator had asked what type of game would the game be, and Ito simply but stutteringly responded with: "poem"^[3]^[4]. The moderator would later ask what console can the game be played at, and Ito curiously and naively answered if they should put the game in the Xbox console, even if they are presenting the game in the Xbox panel^[4].

Information

The panel would later reveal a trailer and gameplay footage from the game, which included pandas and low-quality footage of the main character which they would later named "Fran-chan"', but the trailer was mostly composed of pandas^[1]^[3]^[4]. Gabin would later comment on the trailer stating that: "The pandas will not appear"^[3]^[4]. He was then asked about the "Battlefield" part of the title, and he would later comment that: "The battlefield will not appear"^[4]. This statement by Ito are confusing and contradicting to what is shown which is likely to be an ironic joke from Ito. Nevertheless, given that the panel was reportedly full of jokes, commonly accepted information about the game is that it is a pizza delivery game with a poetic twist that stars a girl named "Fran-chan" and probably does have pandas given it is shown in every promotional material of the game and its official website^[5], even if Ito said there won't be^[1]^[5].

Other than the official debut announcement that commenced at the Tokyo Game Show 2002, no available information on this game had resurfaced. An official website for Senjo no Demae Mochi has been archived on the Wayback Machine^[5], but doesn't give out more information about the game other than its official game synopsis which is:

「戦場の出前持ち」ってどんなゲームなの？　「フランちゃん」がピザを届けるゲームなんです！
Translation: "What kind of game is Battlefield Delivery?" It's a game where 'Fran-chan' delivers pizza!^[5]

Availability

Other than this information given from the official announcement, no other information on this game has resurfaced, let alone its production or its cancellation. As of December 2023, no other information has been released on this game and any builds of the game has not resurfaced.