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. Jake Simpson's thread, stating that EA had gone over budget on the title, used bonus from Sims 2 to cover funding, dated late 2004.

The Godfather was first announced 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 changed and cut from the final game. Watch on YouTube

• At 5:55 we can see some of the original game flowchart. Some of the Corleone family are unavailable in the living world, the "Tom Is Still Missing" mission is noticeable, there is a cut favor from Clemenza present called "Clemenza Caps A Thug" which he gave after the first family rendezvous meeting in the Falconite Club, the earlier name for the Intensive Care mission was called "A Hospital Ain't No Place To Get Well" and after completing the mission, some of the Corleone family are in the living world and can be interacted with.
• At 6:50 we can see more of the original game flowchart. After completing the Don Is Dead mission that Paulie Gatto was in the living world and could be interacted with, after completing the Sleeping With The Fishes mission Sergeant Galtosino was in the living world and could be interacted with, Sollozzo would appear in the "Tom Is Still Missing" mission, a side character called Willie Rizzo is present and he gave Aldo a favor called Repo Shakedown after the first family rendezvous meeting in the Falconite Club but these were both cut entirely, a reenactment of the Michael and Enzo outside the hospital scene from the film was supposed to happen, a cut side mission called "You Can't Pick Your Friends" is visible and Paulie Gatto gave the mission, Willie Rizzo was a crew member for it and Sergeant Galtosino was trying to stop you, Bruno Tattaglia is in Brooklyn, there were two cut favours given after the second family rendezvous meeting in the tailor shop, one from Clemenza and the other from Francis Malone, Michael Corleone and Tom Hagen are available in the living world and can be interacted with and Willie Rizzo was supposed to be in the Fireworks mission.
• At 7:44 we can see the entire original game flowchart.
• At 8:20 we can see the Creating The Mission Structure slide. Aldo could originally rob NPCs which was cut, favors were planned for the original version but was cut for time and carried over to the next gen versions, fight clubs was the earlier name for prize fights, digging up dirt and follow the clues are an allusion to a scrapped rumor system.
• At 10:20 we can see the Comic pages for Missions slide. Bonfire Night was a cut side mission from Sonny Corleone, there is some information given for Repo Shakedown and we can see Willie Rizzo was again involved in the Fireworks mission and that it's different from the final game.
• At 10:59 we can see the earlier name for the A Recipe For Revenge mission which was "Michael's Revenge". We can also see the earlier mission objectives for it. The Bronx was a neighborhood planned to be in the game along with an airport in Queens which was an additional neighborhood but were both cut for time.
• At 11:56 we can see the earlier names for the A Grave Mistake mission which were "Grave Beatdown" and "A Grave Situation". The comic page also shows an earlier version of what the mission originally looked like.
• At 12:55 we can the Design Techniques Don Is Dead slide. This is quite different from the final game.
• At 13:23 we can see more of what the cut Bonfire Night side mission was about along with internal artwork.
• At 14:40 we can see the Building the Interactive World slide. The racket chains and the decade of change systems were cut. The racket chains would be implemented in the sequel.
• At 15:19 we can see an internal map dated 2004 and the Bronx, Upper West Side, East Harlem, Queens and Downtown are visible. These were neighborhoods ALL planned to be in the game but were cut for time. Downtown was an earlier version of the Little Italy Loop. Some landmarks can be spotted on it which were also cut such as Ellis Island, Governors Island and Rikers Island. The Corleone Compound was in Brooklyn, the Barzini Compound was in Queens and the Cuneo Compound was in the Bronx. The airport can be spotted in Queens. Beside the internal map is the earliest internal map design for Brooklyn. There were more buildings planned for it such as a railyard, Bruno's house, a library, a railyard, Farragut Houses, a construction yard, a commandant's house, a power plant and a subway station.
• At 15:26 we can see the internal pre-production world map from 2003. We can see the cut neighborhoods and landmarks again. The Corleone Compound was in New Jersey and there were more buildings planned for it such as docks, ferry terminal, dump and a train station. A docks and dump was planned for Brooklyn. There were ferry ports planned for Downtown. A university, museum and dump was planned for Midtown.
• At 16:23 we can see a pencil drawing of the world map from 2004. We can again see the cut neighborhoods.
• At 17:20 we can see a Midtown landmark map from 2005. There are some businesses mentioned on it that were cut. Beside that is a Downtown drawing showing what it was supposed to look like.
• At 18:20 we can see location maps from very early 2004. We can see the cut neighborhoods and buildings again but also spot additional neighborhoods which are Harlem and Upper East Side that were also cut. In the second map are districts such as Garment, Flatiron and Turtle Bay. There was supposed to be docks, factories and railway stations too. Beside the maps is a Hell's Kitchen map from 2005. A lot of businesses for it were cut.
• At 20:16 we can see the Modular Architecture slide. Emilio's Butchers, the Warehouse and the Police Station had different designs.
• At 21:58 we can see the Building Playgrounds slide. The Continental Club, Molsenni's Club and the Alley had different designs.
• At 23:42 we can see the Rackets slide. There were MANY MORE businesses planned for Little Italy, vacant's and music stores were also planned, the cut neighborhoods can be seen and there were special buildings planned.
• At 34:16 we can see the Family Hierarchy slide. Children were planned to be in the game and Aldo along with Monk had very different designs.
• At 38:04 we can see the internal design wall from 2004. LOTS of stuff on it was going to be in the game but was cut for time.
• At 38:48 we can see a summary of the internal design wall. Negotiate/Intimidate system, World customization and Aldo's own crew system were planned but cut.

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. Watch on YouTube

• The opening is completely different.
• The car the assassins drive is different.
• Most of the cinematic camerawork and shot positions for the cutscene are very different from the final game.
• The barbershop window texture is different.
• Francis saying "You coming to supper on Sunday" to Marty is noticeable. That line of dialogue is strangely faded out in the final version.
• The barbershop has a vastly different exterior and interior design.
• Aldo Trapani and Marty Malone have placeholder voice actors.
• Aldo Trapani and Marty Malone have different models and clothes.
• There is a truck present at 1:29. This is removed in the final version.
• Aldo says "What the hell?!" at 1:35. This is removed in the final version.
• Fredo drops his gun like he does in the film at 1:40. This was bizarrely cut from the final version.
• Don Corleone's assassins and Marty's gun sound effects are different.
• The dramatic music plays out under Don Corleone as opposed to Marty Malone in the final version.
• The end of the cutscene is different.

German Little Italy Launch Party Coverage#

This is German footage of the game's official launch party that took place in Little Italy back in February 2005. Approximately around 15% of the game was complete at this point. It has a TON of differences when compared to the final version. Watch on YouTube

• Sergeant Galtosino can be seen in the alleyway of Emilio's Butchers at 0:46 along with some newspaper boxes. We can see this again properly at 1:26. This is actually from the earliest version of the Enforcer mission according to internal EA assets.
• Aldo Trapani has a different model at 1:05.
• DeMartini's Barbers has a different design at 1:05.
• The bum's model looks MORE high quality at 1:08 than he does in the final version.
• A large icebox can be seen in the alleyway as the bum stumbles out of it.
• There is a sign on the lamppost near the barbers in Little Italy at 1:09.
• The Bribe UI, font and textbox at 1:26 is different.
• The pause screen's design is completely different at 1:44. Resume Play turned into Resume, Missions turned into Objectives, Rap Sheet turned into Toms Report and The Books turned into Career Progress in the final version.
• The Don is Dead mission was more of a montage of cutscenes than gameplay which can be seen throughout the video. This is actually the earliest version according to internal EA assets.
• The enemy's health bar UI was completely different at 3:08.
• DeMartini's Barbers racket interior was very different.
• The Blackhand system used placeholder sound effects.
• Marty Malone had a placeholder voice actor.
• The Extort UI, font and textbox was different at 4:42.
• There was more dialogue options when extorting in this phase of development. Aldo could negotiate, intimidate or walk away. This can be seen at 4:48. According to earlier builds and internal EA assets, negotiate/intimidate options were planned but cut.
• Aldo could point his gun at Emilio the Butcher at 5:08.

GameSpot Pre Alpha Little Italy Launch Party#

These are never before seen pieces of footage of the launch party that was recorded by Gamespot which were discovered on the Tiscali website through the wayback machine a few years ago. These mind-blowing pieces of footage show off new differences whilst having most of the same differences from the previous launch party footage. Watch on YouTube

• The notepad for your objectives is present on screen whilst you play as opposed to pressing a button to read them in the final version.
• A newspaper boy and a street sweeper can be seen on Mott Street. The newspaper boy only appears in two scripted cutscenes in the final version. He was planned to be in the neighborhood and could be interacted with during gameplay but was left unused.
• DeMartini's Barbers had a drastically different design.
• A police chief can be seen at 0:38.
• The environment and character models look noticeably more high quality in this build when compared to the final version.

GameSpot Pre Alpha Little Italy Launch Party Footage 2#

More intriguing footage with very noticeable differences. Watch on YouTube

• The mini map was drastically different.
• The time and day text was part of the minimap and not in the objectives menu like in the final version.
• The dialogue that Aldo and Monk express to each other are for the Don Is Dead mission and earlier takes. Some of it would become unused audio in the final version.

GameSpot Pre Alpha Little Italy Launch Party Footage 3#

Even more intriguing footage with striking differences. Watch on YouTube

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

GameSpot Pre Alpha Little Italy Launch Party Footage 4#

Brand new footage of the alleyway at Emilio's Butchers. Watch on YouTube

• Sergeant Joe Galtosino never says that dialogue to Aldo in the final version.

Very Early Trailer#

This trailer dates around the game was showcased at E3 2005. It shows off the Dons Is Dead mission along with some miscellaneous gameplay footage that can be seen in later videos. Many differences seen here will pop up in future videos. Watch on YouTube

• Clemenza has a placeholder voice actor at 0:32.
• Aldo Trapani has a placeholder voice actor at 0:36.
• Emilio had a placeholder voice actor at 0:41.
• The till prop had a different damage sound effect at 0:43.
• Marty Scaleri, Donnie Marinelli, the Cuneos and Bobby Marcolini all had placeholder voice actors.
• The Blackhand system sound effects were completely different.
• All the gun sound effects were just stock gun sounds at this stage of development.
• A cut ceremony cutscene can be seen at 1:09.

E3 2005 Preview Footage#

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

• The yes/no choices font and textboxes were a different design at 0:36.
• The hit list mission from Clemenza was drastically different. Bobby Marcolini's rank was different, this mission takes place in a different location, and he kills a guy instead of a girl in the final version.
• The garage shutters are open for the racket truck at the Global Trading Company at 0:52. This is closed in the final version.
• The Cuneo henchmen had placeholder voice actors.
• The bribe font and textbox was different at 1:07. The button to press for this is also different.
• The music that plays after Aldo bribes the Cuneo guard is completely different.
• Vendetta had a different sound effect at 2:00.
• There is no aiming reticle.
• The Blackhand wall slam sound effect was different at 2:45.
• The camera follows a falling npc when they are thrown off high places at 2:55.
• The truck and car for the Don Is Dead mission are present at 3:08. They were cut from the final version.
• Francis's kidnapper has dialogue at 3:16 and 3:21. These would become unused audio in the final version.

E3 2005 Demo Build Showcase#

This is footage of the E3 2005 Demo Build from an old GameSpot E3 DVD. We can see a lot more of what the game offers at this point in development. (Only the first 10 minutes is what you need to look at.) Watch on YouTube

• The mini-map has a different design at 0:50.
• The mini-map icons are also different.
• The face to face arrow above npcs is a different design and colour at 0:56.
• The press to open notepad textbox and font is different at 1:33. The button to open it is also different.
• The notepad has a very different design at 1:40.
• The Don Is Dead mission opening cutscene has been updated and almost matches the final version apart from Fredo dropping his gun.
• Aldo, the enemies and Frankie's healthbar UI is very different at 3:59.
• The picked up pistol text and textbox is different at 4:39.
• The weapon ammo UI is different at 4:42.
• The weapon reticle is different at 4:52.
• The interrogate text and textbox UI is different at 5:31.
• The Don Is Dead mission middle cutscene is very different from 6:20 to 6:39.
• Vendetta increased text be seen at 7:52.
• The push over ledge and walk to ledge text and textbox is different at 10:02.

Little Italy Story Mission Trailer#

This is dated July 12th 2005. It is gameplay from The Don Is Dead mission. It has the same differences as the previous videos. Watch on YouTube

• The mini-map and it's icons are different.
• The health bars for everyone are completely different.
• The weapon ammo UI and textbox is very different.
• Frankie's kidnapper voice acting is a placeholder.
• The weapon reticle is different.
• The interrogate text and textbox is different at 0:36.
• The face to face arrow above npcs is a different design and colour.
• Aldo's voice acting is still a placeholder.

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 Demo Build footage. It has many of the same differences as previous trailers. Watch on YouTube

• The mini-map and its icons are different.
• The talk text and textbox are different.
• Clemenza's voice acting is still a placeholder.
• Aldo's voice acting is still a placeholder.
• The weapon reticle is different.
• The target detected text at 0:41 is different.
• The healthbars are different.
• The push over ledge and walk to ledge text, font and textbox at 0:41 is different.
• The controls to perform moves were different.
• The Cuneo's voice acting is a placeholder.
• Bobby's voice acting is still a placeholder.

Emilio's Butchers Trailer#

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

• Emilio's voice acting is still the same as the very early trailer.
• The talk text, font and textbox is different.
• The sound effects for breaking business objects are different.
• The racket extortion dialogue is quite different. Emilio's last line of dialogue is actually left unused in the final version.
• Respect increased text, its colour is different and is visible at 0:47.

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. Watch on YouTube

• The garage door is open at Global Trading Company.
• The Cuneo's voice acting is a placeholder.
• Vendetta increased text is different and just visible at 0:23.
• Crimewatch increased text is different and visible very briefly at 0:24. The symbols for this wasn't created yet so this was used as a placeholder during this phase of development.
• The weapon reload sound effect was different.
• Bobby's voice acting is still a placeholder.
• The push over ledge and walk to ledge text, font and textbox was different.
• The mission complete text, font and textbox was different and can be seen very briefly at 1:17.
• The camera moves back over to Aldo after Bobby falls to his death.

Emilio's Butcher Racket Trailer#

This trailer is dated 11th November 2005. It shows off the upstairs racket in Emilio's Butchers. It has some interesting differences. Watch on YouTube

• The upstairs racket has a completely different design to what it is in the final version.
• The discovered racket text, font and textbox is different at 0:39.
• The discovered racket sound effect is different at 0:39.
• The racket boss is completely different to what he is in the final game.
• The Negotiate text, font and text box is different at 0:49.
• The racket dialogue from the racket boss is different.
• The Blackhand sound effects are still the same as previous videos.
• The pressure bar is different.

Play TV Late 2005 Build Preview Footage#

This originally came from a German gaming website and it focuses on the PlayStation 2 version. It has A TON of differences. Watch on YouTube

• The opening cutscene of Don Corleone before it goes to the prologue was cut before release!
• The MobFace Menu had a very different design at 0:35.
• The grabbing text, font and textbox UI in the Alley tutorial is different at 0:54.
• Aldo's UI was starting to match the final versions.
• The enemy AI's health bar UI was different at 1:00.
• The money pick up symbol UI was in a different position at 1:10.
• The Map was drastically different at 1:27.
• The five families had different insignias in Tom's Report.
• "Family Strength" is present in the Rival Families section in Tom's Report. This was present in earlier builds but was cut before release.
• The npc interaction arrow is different and a different colour.
• The pressure meter for extortions is different at 1:30.
• The Y Button command prompts are different.
• The minimap has been updated but is still unfinished.
• The business floor text is in a different position.
• The taken control of a new business text, font and textbox is different.
• The pause menu design was completely different at 1:40. We also barely see the build date!
• Skills and Upgrades menu was originally just called Skills.
• Rap Sheet is surprisingly present here.
• Pressure would continuously increase itself after hitting someone or using the environment on them just once at 2:20.
• Strangely, the car driving music is used when attacking the owner up until you nearly kill a Tattaglia.
• The Respect text and sound effect is different at 2:35.
• The shotgun ammo text is visible, different and in a different position at 2:36.
• The gun ammo textbox has been updated and almost matches the final version but is a different colour.
• The execution text is different.
• Street texts are in a different position at 3:03.
• The heat symbol was completely different.

Brooklyn Hit List Mission Trailer#

This trailer is dated 23rd January 2006. It is a hit list mission from Tessio. It has many of the same differences as the previous video. Watch on YouTube

• The street text is in a different position.
• The npc interaction arrow is different and a different colour.
• 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 has been updated but is still unfinished.
• There is no weapon text.
• The execution text and sound effect is different.
• The vendetta sound effect is different.

PC Games REPORTER January 2006 Footage#

This is preview footage from the German gaming magazine PC Games Reporter. It covers the Xbox version. It has many of the same differences as the previous two videos but also has its own differences. It focuses on the Don Is Dead story mission. Watch on YouTube

• The police protection meter is a different colour.
• The HEAT text is in a different position at 0:11.
• The wall cover action button is different as its the B button. It's the X Button in the final game.
• Rank text is visible when you kill the Tattaglias at 0:34 and 0:43.
• There is no money UI icon when picking up money as it just uses text at 0:44.
• The Don is Dead mission music is surprisingly different.
• Frankie's kidnapper design has been changed.
• The business textbox has extremely intriguing and important text such as difficulty and extortion potential. These were cut from the final version!
• There are two barbers in DeMantagnas.
• The Mobface menu looked very different at 1:36.
• The mission arrow design is different at 1:42.
• The cinematic shot of Sonny and Fredo at the hospital is different at 2:38.
• Clemenza at the hospital has different dialogue which is from the E3 2005 Demo at 2:49.
• Aldo's suit from the E3 2005 Demo is present at 2:57. This was cut from the final game!

Gamekings January 2006 Preview Coverage#

This is preview footage of the game presented by the Dutch game reviewers known as Gamekings that was uncovered in a Gamekings 2006 DVD. It shows off the Alley, the Enforcer, Grave Situation, Sleeping With The Fishes and Don Is Dead missions along with miscellaneous gameplay footage. Watch on YouTube

• Mission timer was different at 0:25.
• Mobface was different at 0:34.
• The answer phone text, font and textbox UI was different at 0:46.
• The mission objective text and textbox was different at 0:48. It can be seen again at 1:24.
• The NPC healthbar started to resemble the final game's at 2:07.
• The slam text and textbox UI are different at 2:21.

PlayZone March 2006 Preview#

This is preview footage of the game that was present in the PlayZone March 2006 DVD. It has many of the same differences as the previous videos but also has new ones. Watch on YouTube

• The cut opening of Don Corleone lighting the candle is present here!
• The thugs that take Johnny into the alleyway at 1:37 in the prologue cutscene 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 at 2:40.
• The Mobface was different at 2:52.
• Heat text is in a different position at 3:03.
• The Crimewatch symbol was different and worked differently as it flashes from 3:03 to 3:07. It can be seen again at 4:43 and 4:54.
• Aldo is wearing a different shirt than what he wears in the final version at 3:11.
• The money text size is very small.
• The respect level number doesn't have its own box.
• Controlling text is present when entering the Corleone Compound at 4:00.
• Answering phone text and textbox UI is different and in a different position at 4:30.
• Mission objective text and textbox UI is different at 4:32.
• Blue Halo and Corleone Mission text and textbox UI is different at 4:35.
• The wall cover button is the circle button at 4:39 but in the final version it's the square button.
• The 38.Pistol can hold 266 bullets at 4:43 but in the final version its less than 40.
• Mission and Hit Target symbols on the mini-map are very different at 4:44.
• The Destroy Property Racket bonus in Emilio's Butchers doesn't work at 5:38.
• There is meat and poultry models missing in Emilio's Butchers. Text for them is used as a placeholder instead.
• The pressure meter increases drastically when Aldo hits Emilio multiple times.
• The you applied enough pressure text, font and textbox UI is different and in a different position at 6:03.
• The Bribing Cops text, font and textbox UI is different at 6:23. The tutorial video for Heat isn't present.
• The pistol ammo collected text is different and in a different position at 6:37.
• The Notepad for objectives text, font and textbox UI is different and in a different position at 7:03.

February 2006 Debug Build B-Roll Footage#

This footage shows off the February 2006 Debug Prototype in action. It pretty much matches the final game but has some notable differences. Watch on YouTube

• Gun ammo number text is different.
• The words "stagger it" can be seen very briefly at 0:27.
• Mob War timer is different at 0:31.

GamePro February 2006 Preview Footage#

This preview footage comes from a GamePro Magazine DVD from February 2006. It has many of the same differences as previous videos whilst having new differences. Watch on YouTube

• The Controlling text and textbox is visible for entering buildings.
• The Baseball Bat text is different and in a different position.
• Mission objective text, font and textbox UI is different.
• The business difficulty text is visible at 1:38. It can be seen again at 3:17.
• There is meat and poultry models missing in Emilio's Butchers. Text for them is used as a placeholder instead.
• The destroy property text, font and textbox UI is completely different at 1:58.
• The you applied enough pressure text, font and textbox UI is different and in a different position at 2:05.
• The punk doesn't drop money when killed at 2:41 as Aldo gets heat instead.
• The Crimewatch symbol appears very briefly at 2:43.
• The rank killed text seems to have been removed.
• There is black screen text used as a placeholder for the loading screen.

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. Watch on YouTube

• Another Don Corleone opening with the reveal trailer audio is used before starting the prologue from 0:08 to 0:22.
• A Barzini has white clothing as opposed to green at 0:51.
• The Mobface background images are different at 1:58.
• The Gun tutorial text, font and textbox UI is different at 3:14.
• The police protection meter is different at 3:14.
• Error text is used for some subtitles during cutscenes from 4:00 to 5:09.
• There are no oranges falling for the Don is Dead opening cutscene.
• The business racket text, font and textbox UI is in a different position at 5:17.
• Controlling family and difficult text is present at 5:18.
• The Grave Situation tutorial text, font and textbox UI is different at 7:34 and 8:04.
• The taken control of a new business text, font and textbox is different at 8:57.

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. Watch on YouTube

• The collected weapon ammo text is different at 1:03.
• The location and floor text is different at 1:03.
• There is no money increase sound when doing physical threats.

Play TV Early March 2006 Review#

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

• Mobface had a different design at 0:23.
• The police protection meter now matches the final versions at 3:14.

Blackhand Trailer#

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

• The lighting of the Sonny's War cutscene is different.