iPod Tetris game controlled by scroll wheel found on prototype

An unreleased iPod Tetris game has been found on a prototype of a 3rd-gen model, controlled by the scroll wheel …

The Tetris clone was found by X user AppleDemoYT, who collects Apple prototype devices. Engadget reports.

It’s called Stacker and, obviously, is controlled via the iPod’s scroll wheel […]

The prototype iPod is a “DVT” device, meaning it was a mid-stage device that was still in “Design Validation Testing.” It has a model number of A1023, which is not a known model number of any iPod version.

The device runs a prototype version of iPodOS 2.0, which is where Stacker comes from. The pieces are moved from left to right using the scroll wheel and they fall when the middle button is pressed. The goal is to clear lines and score points. You know the deal. It’s Tetris.

Later versions of the iPod did get a number of games – including an official version of Tetris – but not the gen 3.

Getting at the game on the prototype took a bit of work, as Apple Demo explains in a YouTube video. When he tried to start it up, it failed with a dead drive icon, but he wasn’t willing to give up there.

I wanted to test the original drive in a different iPod to see if it’s something wrong with the actual iPod prototype itself. So I put the drive into a first-generation iPod, and to my sheer amazement it booted! This not only meant that the original hard drive worked, but it means that the Prototype software also works on other models of iPod!

So I immediately went out and bought a brand new iPod third-generation hard drive ribbon cable, and sure enough once I installed it the iPod worked

He was also curious as to why it never launched, so did what anyone would do and asked ‘the father of the iPod’ himself.

Tetris was never released on the iPod third-generation, and upon speaking to different individuals I heard many theories as to why this game wasn’t included – so I went to ex-Apple engineer Tony Fadell [and the reason] rather disappointingly was, and I quote “because we added games with a later software release.”

Check out the video below.

Image: Apple Demo