The YouTube channel Apple Demo recently found a rare prototype of the third-generation iPod with an unreleased game called Stacker. It’s a game similar to Tetris, but it never made it to the final version released to the public.

Apart from Stacker, the engineering sample of the iPod also has other unreleased titles like Block0 and Klondike, as reported by Engadget.

iPod Tetris game

The back of the prototype has a “DVT” (Design Validation Testing) label etched on it suggesting the device could be in the mid-development stages, according to Apple Demo. Additionally, there are two songs and a playlist named “Battery Test” likely for the testing of battery life. 

The iPod Apple Demo got their hands on was non-functional at first but they managed to revive it by translating its internal hard drive into a functional second-generation iPod.

Out of the games available, the folks at Apple Demo only showed Stacker in action. And as mentioned earlier, it’s a Tetris knock-off. 

The channel even contacted Tony Fadell, the former Senior Vice President of Apple’s iPod division, to understand why Stacker didn’t make it to the final product. Fadell’s response, however, offered little insight.

He simply mentioned in 2022 that “we added games with later software release,” leaving the specific reason for Stacker’s exclusion a mystery.

Years later, Apple did release a licensed Tetris game for the “Classic” iPod models, allowing users to purchase additional titles through the iTunes Store.

Stacker uses the iPod’s click wheel for basic gameplay. Users could move the falling blocks left and right, while the center button dropped them instantly. 

Mirroring Tetris, the goal was to score points by completing and clearing lines of bricks, avoiding a pile-up that would reach the top of the screen.

Although the uncovered game wasn’t entirely polished – there’s a bug where a rotated brick overlapped another and got stuck – it still operated as intended.

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