Battlecruiser 3000AD List of commercial failures in video gaming

one of notorious pc gaming failures, battlecruiser 3000ad (shortened bc3k) hyped decade before disastrous release in u.s. , europe. game brainchild of derek smart, independent game developer renowned lengthy , aggressive online responses perceived criticism. concept behind bc3k ambitious, giving player command of large starship requisite duties, including navigation, combat, resource management, , commanding crew members. advertisements appeared in gaming press in mid-1990s hyping game as, last thing ll ever desire. computer bulletin boards , usenet groups abuzz discussion game. time wore on , numerous delays announced, excitement turned frustration in online community. smart exacerbated negative air posting liberally on usenet. posts ignited 1 of largest flame wars in usenet history. during development cycle, smart refused let other programmers have full access code , continued change directions new technology became available, causing game in development on 7 years.

in november 1996, take-two interactive released game, reportedly on protests smart. game buggy , partially finished, outdated graphics, midi music, cryptic interface, , no documentation. critics , gaming community reacted poorly release. eventually, stable, playable version of game released battlecruiser 3000ad v2.0. smart released bc3k freeware , went on create several sequels under battlecruiser , universal combat titles.