In 2003, Capcom reached out to Steel Battalion fans, giving them the option to apply to beta test the game, Steel Battalion: Line of Contact. The beta was launched on November 24 that year.
At the end of 2021, footage from the beta was recovered.[1] In April 2023, the beta was made playable again by a group around RazorStoJ.[2] At the end of April 2023, a deep look into the beta was presented by the same user and "TheBestMasta"[3]
Details required[]
The following details
- First Name
- Last Name
- Age Address
- City
- State
- ZIP Code
- Daytime Telephone Number
- Evening Telephone Number
- Do you have the original Steel Battalion and controller?
- Do you have a Xbox Live account?
- Xbox Live Username
- Who is your Internet Service Provider?
- What kind of connection do you have?
- What equipment do you have connected to your modem (routers, switches, etc.)?
- What games do you play on Xbox Live?
- What time are you usually available for testing?
- Have you participated in a beta test before?
- If so, what games?
- Are you willing to provide feedback and report bugs?
- Are you a member of the press? If so, what is your press site URL?
- Do you work for a gaming company? If so, what company?
- Do you run a fan site? If so, what is the URL?
Capcom then chose 1000 people to be beta testers. 800 (JP) 100 (NA) 100 (EU)
They would receive a copy of the Beta and a personalised letter by Capcom.[4]
Where are these copies now?[]
A handful of copies have surfaced on the Internet.
- Xbox Collector Jason Orrell got his hands on a sealed copy.
- Another copy is in the hands of Reddit user RazorStoJ.
- Jon Cox
- assemblergames user andynumbers
- vgcollect user currykitten.
- A Discord user named Duck on the Steel Battalion Discord server.
- Instagram User defaultgen
- Instagram User nattyb0hman (sealed copy inc. Letter by Capcom)
- Twitter User F_ASTAT
- Instagram user gamebox_ukv (sealed copy)
- Facebook User Richhard Halford (including the Capcom letter)
- Reddit User Sqashed19 (sealed copy)
- Game store - Classic Game Junkie (sealed copy)
Trivia[]
- Due to the NTSC and PAL format on the disc, the beta version will work on any Xbox console in the world.
Gallery[]
Videos[]
Steel Battalion LoC Pilot Beta Demo
Razor StoJ with a video about the beta while the CD is running on original hardware.