Although many video games are originally released on a certain console or platform, a lot of them are later ported to other platforms later on in their lifespan. Whether this is a newer hardware and it's being added as a retro favorite or it's another console or platform during the same generation, it's a great way for more people to experience the game.
But, even games that are known for being released on a single, specific console or platform have also been ported to many other consoles over the years. Some of these are really surprising and have an interesting story behind them. These can be a fun look at the life of a video game and a cool way to learn something about your favorite console.
To see 10 surprising video game ports you didn't know existed, keep reading!
10 Myst (Nintendo DS)
Myst is a puzzle adventure game that was originally released for the Macintosh personal computer in 1993. This game has the player travel through different historical worlds to solve puzzles and, as they solve these different puzzles, are transported to different places and learn more and more about the backstory and life of the character.
In 2008, this massively popular video game was ported to the Nintendo DS. Unfortunately, its popularity did not help this game to be well-received on the DS. The low quality graphics made some of the puzzles hard to solve and it got some pretty negative reviews, leading to this port's lack of popularity.
9 Donkey Kong (Atari 2600)
It's always interesting for video game fans to hear about a Nintendo game that was released on a non-Nintendo console. It doesn't happen often anymore, but in the days of retro gaming, there were a few different arcade games that were released on home consoles that Nintendo had nothing to do with.
Donkey Kong was originally released in arcades in 1981. This early platform game has given way to a lot of massively popular platforming games over the years and the characters have since become iconic in the world of video games. What many people don't know is that among the ports of this classic arcade game was the Atari 2600.
8 Aladdin (Game Boy)
Aladdin is a classic Disney movie and anyone who grew up gaming in the 1990s likely either had the video game Aladdin on their console of choice. A version of the game was released on the Sega Genesis as well as one on the SNES. There were minor differences between these games, but they followed the same plot and had basically the same sprites for graphics.
The fact that a Game Boy version of the game is probably not that surprising, considering a version was released on the SNES, right? Many gamers would assume that the SNES version was ported to the Game Boy. But, that's not the case. The SNES version was ported to the Game Boy Advance, but oddly enough, the Sega Genesis version is the one that was put on the Game Boy.
7 Half-Life (Sega Dreamcast)
This port is one that was technically never released, but a late-stage development version of the game was leaked at one point and many people believe that it was likely the final version of the game that was scheduled to be released. Half-Life is a game that was originally released in 1998 on Windows.
A port of Half-Life for the Sega Dreamcast was scheduled to be released in 2001, but the game was cancelled shortly before its scheduled release. This port was eventually changed and instead released on other platforms, but this cancelled Dreamcast port that leaked onto the Internet is definitely a surprising part of gaming history.
6 Grand Theft Auto (Game Boy Color)
The Grand Theft Auto series is one that has become really popular in the gaming world over the years. These games often have the player control a character living in a large city, doing illicit crimes for cash. The games are known for being somewhat violent and are always flagged with an "M" rating, right?
Not always. A version of the first game in the series was ported to the Game Boy Color and had the swearing and much of the gore removed, likely at Nintendo's request in order to appeal to a younger audience. The game was given the "T" rating instead of the series' usual "M" rating. This wasn't the only time a GTA game appeared on a Nintendo handheld - Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is famously one of only 11 "M"-rated games on the Nintendo DS.
5 Double Dragon (Atari 2600)
Double Dragon is an arcade game that was originally released in 1987 but was later released on various different home consoles, most notably the NES, Sega Genesis, and Commodore 64. This beat 'em up-style arcade game was one of the first games of the genre to get massively popular, so the fact that it was ported onto such a wide variety of different home consoles is no real surprise.
But one of the home consoles that it got a port onto was somewhat surprising. The Atari 2600 was a home console that was sold between 1977 and 1992 and was originally released on the market for $199 - or nearly $900 in modern currency. Graphically simple games like Space Invaders, Pac-Man, and Asteroids are among the most well-known games released on this console, but Double Dragon was also ported to the Atari 2600.
4 Rayman DS
The Nintendo DS had quite a few fun and unique games and even saw some ports of other video games. Since this console's many versions have been so popular since it was introduced, it's likely no surprise that Ubisoft released a Rayman game on the console in 2005, right?
But this game actually wasn't a brand new game in the franchise. Instead, Rayman DS is actually a port of the Nintendo 64 game Rayman 2. This game is nearly identical to the Nintendo 64 version, which had been released only six years prior, except for minor gameplay tweaks that utilize the Nintendo DS touchscreen.
3 The Sims 2 (Game Boy Advance)
The Sims is a super popular life simulation game series that allows players to create a character and completely control their life. From their job to friends and relationships, everything is up to the player to control and choose for them. Although these games are best-known for being PC games, they've also been ported to various consoles over the years.
One surprising port of a Sims game is The Sims 2's Game Boy Advance port. Instead of being a sandbox-style life simulation game, the character in this port is living in Strangetown and is starring in 12 episodes of a TV show by the same name.
2 StarCraft (Nintendo 64)
StarCraft is the first in a science-fiction franchise of video games by the same name. This game was developed by Blizzard and was originally released on Mac and PC in 1998. StarCraft is set in a distant part of the galaxy during a distant future in which three different species of creatures are fighting for dominance.
This game has become a really popular Blizzard PC game over the years and has spawned a successful franchise. Although it's known for being a PC game, this game was also ported to one home console. In 2000, it was released on the Nintendo 64.
1 Call Of Duty (N-Gage)
Call of Duty games have been ported to just about every modern console a person could think of. This series has a ton of games in the franchise and they've been put on so many different handheld and home consoles over the years. Still, there's one Call of Duty port that might surprise you.
The first game in this series was released in 2003 on Windows, Mac, and the N-Gage. The N-Gage was a device that combined a mobile phone with a handheld console and had quite an interesting and surprising list of games released for it, including the first Call of Duty game.