Prerelease:The Godfather

This page details pre-release information and/or media for The Godfather.

To do: Upload the early music tracks found on composer Ashley Irwin"s website.

The Godfather began development in March 2004. The game was supposed to come out in Fall 2005 based on early trailers and interviews, but was delayed due to production problems and quality issues. It was eventually released on March 24th 2006. The game went through quite a lot of development changes over the course of two years.

Game Design Seminar

This is a game design seminar presented by Philip Campbell, former Creative Director of EA and Lead Designer of the game in Ireland back in 2011. It showcases an astonishing amount of differences and aspects that were cut from the final game.

• At 6:52 we can see that the original name for the Intensive Care mission was called "A Hospital Ain"t No Place To Get Well". There is another additional unknown mission underneath it called "You Can"t Pick Your Friends".
• At 10:55 we can see the original name for the A Recipe For Revenge mission was called "Michael"s Revenge".
• At 11:57 we can see the original name for the A Grave Mistake mission was called "A Grave Situation".
• At 13:25 we can see the original name for the Fireworks mission was called "Bonfire Night".
• From 15:32 to 16:04 we can see that Queens was originally planned to be an area in the game and that the Barzini"s controlled it. It can also be seen at 16:30 and 18:25.
• At 23:46 we can see there were originally going to be A LOT more rackets you could take over such as a music shop, market stall, newsstands, and landmarks.

(Source: Tekkenlord05)

Promo

This was the first piece of footage of the game that was shown to the world. It"s from February/March 2005. This is the opening cutscene for The Don Is Dead mission. It has quite a lot of jawdropping differences given that it"s from early development.

• The opening is completely different.
• The car the assassins drive is different.
• Much of the cinematic camerawork and shot positions are very different.
• The barbershop has a vastly different exterior and interior design.
• Aldo Trapani and Monk Malone have placeholder voice actors.
• Aldo Trapani and Monk Malone have different designs in terms of models and clothing.
• There is a truck present at 1:29. This is removed in the final game.
• The assassins and Monk"s gun sound effects are different.
• The dramatic music plays out under Vito Corleone as opposed to Monk Malone in the final game.
• The end of the cutscene is different.

(Source: Tekkenlord05)

Closed Event Preview

This is footage for the game from behind closed doors before E3 2005. It has a TON of differences.

• The bum"s model looks more realistic and high quality at 1:09.
• There is a sign on the lamppost near the safehouse in Little Italy at 1:09.
• The Bribe text and design was different at 1:26.
• The Don is Dead mission was more of a cutscene which can be seen throughout the video.
• The enemy"s health bar was completely different at 3:10.
• The Blackhand used placeholder sound effects.
• Monk Malone had a placeholder voice actor.
• The Extort text and design was different at 4:42.
• There was more dialogue options to taking over a business at this point in development. Aldo could negotiate, intimidate or walk away. This can be seen at 4:48.
• Aldo could point his gun at Emilio the Butcher at 5:08.

(Source: Tekkenlord05)

June 2005 Footage

These are never before seen footage of the earliest build of the game so far. These mind-blowing pieces of footage show off new differences whilst having most of the same differences from the closed event footage.

• The notepad for your objectives is present on screen whilst you play as opposed to pressing a button to read them in the final game.
• A newspaper man and a shop sweeper can be seen on the streets of Little Italy. These would be repurposed for the final game.
• The barber shop had a drastically different design at this point in development.
• The environment and character models look noticeably more high quality in this build.

(Source: Tekkenlord05)

June 2005 Footage 2

More intriguing footage with very noticeable differences.

• The mini map was drastically different.
• The time and day text was part of the minimap and not in the objectives menu.
• The dialogue that Aldo and Monk express to each other is used much earlier than where it would be in the final game.
• The story was still being worked on.

(Source: Tekkenlord05)

June 2005 Footage 3

Even more intriguing footage with striking differences.

• Emilio has his voice actor from the final game.
• The music that plays is never heard anywhere in the final game.
• The extortion dialogue was completely different, more lively and had weight to it.
• The car sound effects are placeholders.

(Source: Tekkenlord05)

June 2005 Footage 4

Brand new footage with information from Gamespot.

• Sergeant Galtosino was originally called Officer O"Malley.

(Source: Tekkenlord05)

Very Early Trailer

This trailer dates back to before the game was showcased at E3 2005. It shows off the Dons Is Dead mission along with some gameplay footage that can be seen in later videos.

• Aldo"s voice acting is still a placeholder.
• Emilio had a placeholder voice actor.
• The Tattaglia henchman had a placeholder voice actor.
• The Blackhand sound effects were completely different.
• All the gun sound effects were just stock gun sounds at this stage in development.

(Source: Tekkenlord05)

E3 2005 Footage

This is dated 25th May 2005. The game was showcased at E3 and presents a hit list mission for Clemenza and the Don is Dead mission. This shows off the Xbox version. All videos from this one onward focus on the Xbox version and are from the E3 2005 Build. It has many differences.

• Aldo"s voice acting is still a placeholder.
• The yes/no choices text boxes were a different design.
• This hit list mission for Clemenza was drastically different. Bobby Marcalino"s rank was different, this mission takes place in a different location, and he kills a guy instead of a girl in the final game.
• There is no HUD.
• The Cuneo henchmen had placeholder voice actors.
• Vendetta had a different sound effect.
• The talk text box was different at 1:07. The button to press for this is also different.
• The music that plays is completely different.
• There is no aiming reticle.
• The wall smack sound effect was different.
• The camera for throwing the enemy over an object follows them falling.
• The truck and car at the end of the video were different colours.

(Source: Tekkenlord05)

E3 2005 Build Showcase

This is footage of the E3 2005 Build from an old GameSpot E3 DVD. We can see a lot more of what the game offers at this point in development. Most of the differences can be seen in previous and future videos. (Only the first 10 minutes is what you need to look at.)

• The notepad has a very early design.
• The Don Is Dead Cutscene was a bit different.

(Source: Tekkenlord05)

New York Story Mission Trailer

This is dated July 12th 2005. It is gameplay from The Don Is Dead Mission. There are many staggering differences which are extremely noticeable.

• The minimap is unfinished.
• There is no HUD for Aldo and the enemies.
• The health bars for everyone are completely different.
• The gun and ammo designs and texts are very different.
• The assassins voice acting is a placeholder.
• The interrogate bar and text box is different at 0:36.
• Aldo"s voice acting is still a placeholder.

(Source: Tekkenlord05)

Little Italy Hit List Mission Trailer

This trailer is dated July 12th 2005. It is the same hit list mission from Clemenza from the E3 2005 footage. It has many of the same differences as previous trailers but also has new differences.

• Aldo"s voice acting is still a placeholder.
• The target detected text at 0:41 is different.
• The push over ledge text and text box at 0:41 is different.
• The controls to perform moves were different.
• Bobby"s voice acting is a placeholder.

(Source: Tekkenlord05)

Butcher Trailer

This trailer is dated 12th July 2005. It is the tutorial mission from Luca Brasi. It has many of the same differences as previous videos but has other new differences.

• The talk text is different.
• The sound effects for breaking environment objects are different.
• Emilio"s voice acting is still the same as the very early trailer.
• The racket dialogue is different.
• Respect increased text is different and is visible at 0:47.

(Source: Tekkenlord05)

Family Business Trailer

This trailer is dated 17th August 2005. It has many of the same differences as previous trailers but also has some intriguing ones.

• Vendetta increased text is different and visible at 0:23.
• Crimewatch increased text is different and visible briefly at 0:25. It looks like Heat wasn"t finalised so this was used as a placeholder.
• The Cuneo henchmen had placeholder voice actors.
• The reload sound effect was different.
• Bobby"s voice acting is a placeholder.
• The mission complete text and text box was different at 1:17.

(Source: Tekkenlord05)

Butcher Racket Trailer

This trailer is dated 11th November 2005. It shows off the racket in Emilio"s Butchers. It has some interesting differences.

• The discovered racket text and textbox is different.
• The discovered racket sound effect is different.
• The racket boss is completely different to what he is in the final game.
• The Extort text and text box is different.
• The Blackhand sound effects are still the same as previous videos.
• The pressure bar is different.

(Source: Tekkenlord05)

Play TV January 2006 Preview Footage

This is from a German gaming website and focuses on the PlayStation 2 version. It has A TON of differences.

• The MobFace had a very different design.
• The grabbing text in the tutorial is different.
• Aldo"s HUD was starting to morph into the final versions.
• The enemy AI"s health bar was different.
• The money pick up symbol was in a different position.
• The rival families had different insignias in Tom"s Report.
• "Family Strength" is present on the Rival Families menu in Tom"s Report.
• The extortion meter is different.
• The minimap is VERY unfinished.
• The business floor text is in a different position.
• The money earned textbox is different.
• The pause menu was completely different. We also see the build date!
• Objectives is present in the pause menu.
• Pressure would continuously increase after hitting someone or using the environment on them.
• Strangely, the car driving music is used when attacking the owner up until you nearly kill a Tattaglia.
• The shotgun ammo text is visible, different and in a different position.
• The ammo textbox is different.
• The hit list target symbol is different.
• Street texts are in a different position.
• The heat symbol was completely different.

(Source: Tekkenlord05)

Brooklyn Hit List Mission Trailer

This trailer is dated 23rd January 2006. It is a hit list mission from Tessio. It looks very close to the final game but has multiple differences. This is the January 2006 Prototype.

• Aldo"s voice acting now matches the final game"s voice actor.
• The HUD is different.
• The Y Button Command Prompts are different.
• The minimap is more detailed.
• There is no weapon text.
• The execution text is different.
• The location text is different and in a different position.
• Sound effects are different.

(Source: Tekkenlord05)

PC Games REPORTER January 2006 Footage

This is preview footage from the German gaming magazine PC Games Reporter of the January 2006 Prototype.

• The HUD is drastically different.
• The street text is in a different position.
• The police protection meter is a different colour.
• The HEAT text is in a different position and works differently.
• The gun ammo text is different.
• The wall cover action button is different. It"s the X Button in the final game.
• Rank text is visible when you kill the Tattaglias.
• The Don is Dead Mission music is surprisingly different.
• The business textbox has more important text such as difficulty and extortion potential. It looks like these could be looked at on the map screen when you press the white/black button. These were cut from the final game.
• There are two barbers in DeMantagnas.
• The Mobface menu looked very different.
• The mission arrow design is different.
• The cinematic shot of Sonny and Fredo at the hospital is different.
• Clemenza at the hospital has different dialogue.
• Aldo"s suit is present. This was cut from the final game.

(Source: Tekkenlord05)

Gamekings January 2006 Coverage

This is footage of the January 2006 Prototype covered by the Dutch game reviewers known as Gamekings.

• Mission timer was different.
• Mobface was different.
• Pedestrian life meters started to resemble the final game"s.

(Source: Tekkenlord05)

PlayZone March 2006 Preview

This is footage of the January 2006 Prototype that was present in the PlayZone March 2006 DVD.

• Don Corleone lighting a candle and making Aldo part of the Corleone family is seen before going into the prologue. It turns out that this was actually a scrapped cutscene!
• The thugs that take Johnny into the alleyway have placeholder white suits. They are supposed to be the Barzini"s.
• Child Aldo doesn"t cry when Don Corleone is trying to comfort him.
• The Mobface was different.
• Heat text is in a different position.
• Aldo is wearing a different shirt than what he wears in the final game.
• Controlling text is present when entering the Corleone Compound.
• Help text is different and in a different position.
• Mission Halo text is present.
• The 38.Pistol can hold 268 bullets but in the final game its less than 40.
• Mission and Business symbols on the in game map are very different.
• The Respect Earned sound effect is different.
• There is meat and poultry models missing in Emilio"s Butchers. Text for them is used as a placeholder instead.
• The Destroy Property bonus doesn"t work.
• The pressure meter increases drastically when Aldo hits Emilio.
• The you applied enough pressure text is different and in a different position.
• The Bribing Cops textbox is different. The tutorial video for Heat isn"t present.
• The pistol ammo collected text is different and in a different position.
• There is a strange texture on the restaurant owners head.
• The Notepad for objectives text is different and in a different position.

(Source: Tekkenlord05)

February 2006 Debug Footage

This footage shows off the February 2006 Prototype in action. It has a few differences.

• Mob War timer is different.
• Gun Ammo text is different.
• The word "stagger" can be seen very briefly.

(Source: Tekkenlord05)

GamePro February 2006 Preview Footage

This footage comes from a GamePro Magazine DVD from February 2006. It has a plethora of differences.

• The Controlling Family text is visible.
• The Baseball Bat text is different and in a different position.
• The Mission Objective text is different.
• The Heat text is different and in a different position.
• The Heat symbol is different.
• The business difficulty was still present at this point in development.
• The destroy property text is completely different.
• Pedestrian health meters are different.
• The Respect and Execution sound effects are different.

(Source: Tekkenlord05)

PC Powerplay February 2006 Preview

This footage comes from PC Powerplay and focuses on the Windows version of the game. It has many of the same differences as previous videos but also has new ones. (1:57 to 9:36 is what to look at.)

• The Mobface background images are different.
• The Gun tutorial text is different. Error text is used as placeholder text.
• The business racket textbox is in a different position.

(Source: Tekkenlord05)

Face to Face Trailer

This trailer is from February 2006, a month before the game was released. It now resembles the final game but has some small differences.

• The HUD is slightly different.
• The weapon text is different.
• The location text is different.

(Source: Tekkenlord05)

Play TV Early March 2006 Review

This is a review from Play TV, around 3 weeks before the game was released.

• Mobface had a different design.

(Source: Tekkenlord05)

Launch Trailer

This was the trailer used to hype the game. It is the final game. It has one difference.

• Some enemy voice acting is used as placeholders for what they are in the final game.

(Source: Tekkenlord05)