(WORK IN PROGRESS)
For more info about the subject, check the Meme Research Thread

Origin

Bio Force Ape is a game developed for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991 by the japanese developer SETA Corporation. Although the game was showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show in June of 1991 and even previewed at a Nintendo Power issue, the game was eventually cancelled in 1992.
This game, along with other unreleased titles were usually discussed on online gaming fansites and message boards. Although many of these games were discovered by collectors, Bio Force Ape remained in mystery since no copies were ever found.

The Hoax

In 2005, user Paul Brown posted a thread on thevideo game collectors forum Digital Press claiming that he found a Bio Force Ape cartridge and even shared some pictures as well ^[1]. However, after a debate on the digitpress thread unfolded as to whether Brown should have "dumped" the game (i.e., to take a game from a game cartridge and make it into a ROM to be played on an NES emulator) to make it available for play online, but reducing the cartridge's sale value, or to treat the cartridge as a collectible item but preventing many video game enthusiasts from ever playing the game. Brown ended the debate by showing the cartridge supposedly containing Bio Force Ape shattered into pieces.

In this post, he typed:

Having seen the anger that revealing this game's existence has caused, I have decided to destroy the cartridge. It is too powerful like that ring some midgets had to throw in a volcano. Please everyone calm down now. It was just a game.

The Actual Prototype

A cartridge with the prototype of Bio Force Ape eventually surfaced and was dumped. A full playthrough can be found on YouTube, and a ROM of the game is available online. Research is ongoing to confirm the actual dates of the release of the prototype.

(WORK IN PROGRESS)

External References

^[1] Digital Press – Bio Force Ape / 10-26-2005