This iPod prototype hid an unreleased Apple Tetris clone

YouTuber Apple demo found a third-generation iPod prototype containing a game called Stacker that never made it to retail models. In addition to Apple’s own version of Tetris, the engineering iPod also comes with other unreleased titles, including games called Block0 AND Klondike,Ahe noticed Engadget.

Etched on the back of the prototype iPod is a “DVT” (Design Validation Testing) label where the storage capacity would usually be, which, as the Apple Demo explains, indicates that the device was in the middle stages of development. Two songs still saved and a playlist with useful names suggest this device was used to test batteries.

After some tinkering and transplanting the internal demanding drive to a second-generation iPod, the Apple Demo booted the demanding drive as normal, and of the games available, only the Stacker demo was available.

They even contacted former vice president of Apple’s iPod division, Tony Fadell, to find out why the Tetris clone was never released. However, Fadell’s only comment from 2022 is “because we added games in a later version of the software,” leaving Stacker’s internal history a mystery for now. Years later, Apple released a licensed Tetris game for “classic” iPod models that supported up-to-date games purchased from the iTunes Store.

The stacker uses the iPod’s wheel to move falling blocks left and right, and the center button drops them to the bottom of the screen. The goal, like in Tetris, is to get the highest score by completing and clearing lines of bricks, rather than excessive stacking of pieces in advance. The game isn’t completely polished – the video shows at least one glitch where a brick overlapped a stack and got stuck when spinning. But it works!