Video and computer game software failures List of commercial failures in video gaming

1 video , computer game software failures

1.1 apb: points bulletin
1.2 battlecruiser 3000ad
1.3 beyond & evil
1.4 brütal legend
1.5 daikatana
1.6 dominion: storm on gift 3
1.7 duke nukem forever
1.8 epic mickey 2: power of two
1.9 e.t. extra-terrestrial
1.10 grim fandango
1.11 jazz jackrabbit 2
1.12 last express
1.13 madworld
1.14 Ōkami
1.15 pac-man (atari 2600)
1.16 psychonauts
1.17 shenmue , shenmue ii
1.18 sonic boom: rise of lyric , sonic boom: shattered crystal
1.19 sunset
1.20 uru: ages beyond myst

video , computer game software failures

the following incomplete list of software have been deemed commercial failures industry sources.

apb: points bulletin

apb: points bulletin multiplayer online game developed realtime worlds in 2010. game, incorporating concepts previous title crackdown , past work lead developer david jones, had helped create grand theft auto series, set around idea of large-scale urban battle between enforcers , criminals; players able partake in large-scale on-going missions between 2 sides. game set both microsoft windows , xbox 360 title , realtime worlds flagship title release in 2008, instead company set developing crackdown first, , later focused apb windows-only title, potentially porting game xbox 360 later. upon launch in june 2010, game received lukewarm reviews, hampered existence of week-long review embargo, , did not attract expected number of subscribers maintain business model. realtime worlds, suffering commercial failure of game, sold off second project, project myworld, , subsequently reduced operations administration , skeleton crew manage apb servers while attempted find buyer, including possibly epic games had expressed interest in title. however, without acceptable offers, company forced shut down apb in september 2010. eventually, game sold k2 network, company has brought other asian massive-multiplayer online games western markets free-to-play titles, , similar changes occurred apb when relaunched k2.

battlecruiser 3000ad

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.

beyond & evil

although critically acclaimed , planned first part of trilogy, beyond & evil (released in 2003) flopped commercially. former ubisoft employee owen hughes stated felt simultaneous releases of internationally competing titles tom clancy s splinter cell , prince of persia: sands of time , in europe, xiii (all 3 published ubisoft , of had strong brand identity in markets), made impact on beyond & evil s ability achieve interest public. game s commercial failure led ubisoft postpone plans subsequent titles in series. sequel announced @ end of ubidays 2008 opening conference, , hd version of original released xbox 360 , playstation 3 via download in 2011. alain corre, ubisoft s executive director of emea territories, commented xbox 360 release did extremely , considered success late make difference in game s poor sales. despite this, beyond & evil 2 announced @ ubisoft s press conference @ e3 2017, fourteen years after release of original game.

brütal legend

brütal legend double fine productions second major title. game set in world based on heavy metal music, includes hundred-song soundtrack across numerous metal subgenres, , incorporates celebrity voice cast including jack black, lemmy kilmister, rob halford, ozzy osbourne, lita ford, , tim curry. game published vivendi games via sierra entertainment prior merger activision. following merger, activision declined publish brütal legend, , double fine turned electronic arts publishing partner, delaying game s release. activision , double fine counter-sued each other breach of contract, settling out of court. game designed action adventure/real-time strategy game similar herzog zwei; games in real-time strategy genre not perform on consoles, double fine told both vivendi , electronic arts avoid stating fact , emphasize other elements of game. despite positive reviews critics, game got criticized real-time strategy elements not mentioned within pre-release marketing, making difficult game sell players. furthermore, late-year release in october 2009 buried title among many top-tier games, including uncharted 2, batman: arkham asylum , call of duty: modern warfare 2. sold 215,000 units within first month, making retail failure , , though double fine had begun on sequel, electronic arts cancelled further development. according tim schafer, president , lead developer of double fine, 1.4 million copies of game had been sold february 2011.

daikatana

one of more infamous failures in modern pc gaming daikatana, drastically hyped due creator john romero s popular status 1 of key designers behind doom. however, after being wrought massive over-spending , serious delays, game launched incredibly poor critical reaction because of bugs, lackluster enemies, poor gameplay, , terrible production values, of made worse heavy marketing campaign proclaiming next big thing in first person shooters.

dominion: storm on gift 3

the first title released ion storm, dominion real time strategy title similar command & conquer , warcraft, based spin-off g-nome canon. game developed 7th level, purchased ion storm us$1.8 million. project had budget of us$50,000 , scheduled finished in 3 months 2 staff members. due mismanagement , ion storm s inexperience, project took on year, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. dominion released in july 1998. received bad reviews , sold poorly, falling far short of recouping purchase price, let alone cost of finishing it. game divided employees working on ion s marquee title, daikatana, arguably leading walkout of several key development team members. put strain on ion storm s finances, leading once well-funded startup scramble cash daikatana s development extended on several years.

duke nukem forever

duke nukem forever entry in successful duke nukem series, announced in 1997, spent fifteen years in development, , listed piece of vaporware video game software. initial development quake ii engine began in 1996, , final game developed gearbox software , released in 2011. game heavily criticized , named several sites disappointing game year. because of tangled development process, hard know companies made , lost money on game. according gearbox head randy pitchford, game cost 3d realms head george broussard us$20–30 million of own money. sales poorer expected, causing take-two reduce profit estimate quarter, though later in 2011 stated duke nukem forever prove profitable company.

epic mickey 2: power of two

a sequel successful wii-exclusive platformer epic mickey, epic mickey 2: power of 2 developed junction point studios , published disney interactive studios wii, wii u, xbox 360, playstation 3, playstation vita , microsoft windows. despite being heavily advertised , being released on multiple consoles, epic mickey 2 sold 270,000 copies in north america, barely quarter of original s sales of 1.3 million. game s failure led shutdown of junction point , cancellation of future entries in epic mickey series.

e.t. extra-terrestrial



excavated copies of e.t., centipede , other atari games burial site in new mexico

based on steven spielberg s popular 1982 movie of same name , reportedly coded in 5 weeks, atari 2600 game rushed market 1982 holiday season.

despite selling 1.5 million copies, sales figures came near atari s expectations; had ordered production of 5 million copies, , many of sold games returned atari refunds consumers dissatisfied game. had become urban legend atari had dumped unsold cartridges of e.t. , other games in landfill in alamogordo, new mexico; confirmed in 2014 when site allowed excavated, former atari personnel affirming had dumped 800,000 cartridges total including e.t. , other poorly-selling (and best-selling) games. financial figures , business tactics surrounding product emblematic of video game crash of 1983 , contributed atari s bankruptcy. atari paid $25 million license produce game, further contributed debt of $536 million (equivalent $1.33 billion today). company divided , sold in 1984.

grim fandango

known being first adventure game lucasarts use three-dimensional graphics, grim fandango received positive reviews , won numerous awards. thought game sold during 1998 holiday season. however, game s sales appeared crowded out other titles released during late 1998 season, including half-life, metal gear solid , legend of zelda: ocarina of time. based on data provided pc data (now owned npd group), game sold 95,000 copies 2003 in north america, excluding online sales. worldwide sales estimated between 100,000 , 500,000 units. developer tim schafer along others of grim fandango development team leave lucasarts after project begin new studio (double fine productions). grim fandango s relatively modest sales cited contributing factor decline of adventure game genre in late 1990s, though title s reputation flop extent case of perception on reality, schafer has pointed out game turned profit, royalty check received being proof. perspective adventure genre did not lose audience fail grow while production costs continued rise. made adventure games less attractive investment publishers; in contrast, success of first-person shooters caused console market boom. emergence of new distribution channels did not rely on traditional retail model re-empower niche genre. double fine has since remastered game high definition graphics , re-released through these channels.

jazz jackrabbit 2

although reviews jazz jackrabbit 2 positive, sales insufficient , resulted loss publisher gathering of developers. prevented developers finding publisher, leading cancelation of jazz jackrabbit 3 have been franchise s first 3d game.

the last express

released in 1997 after 5 years in development, $6 million adventure game brainchild of jordan mechner, creator of prince of persia. game noted taking place in complete real-time, using art nouveau-style characters rotoscoped 22-day live-action video shoot, , featuring intelligent writing , levels of character depth not seen in computer games. despite rave reviews, brøderbund, game s publisher, did little promote game, apart brief mention in press release , enthusiastic statements brøderbund executives, in part due entire brøderbund marketing team quitting in weeks before release. released in april, game not success, selling 100,000 copies, million copies short of breaking even.

after release of game, mechner s company smoking car productions quietly folded, , brøderbund acquired learning company, interested in brøderbund s educational software, putting game out of print. mechner later able reacquire rights game, , in 2012, worked dotemu release ios port of title, before making android well.

madworld

madworld beat em title wii developed platinumgames , distributed sega in march 2009. game purposely designed extremely violent video game. game features distinctive black-and-white graphic style borrows both frank miller s sin city , other japanese , western comics. monotone coloring broken blood comes attacking , killing foes in numerous, gruesome, , over-the-top manners. though there had been violent games available wii day launched (e.g. red steel), many perceived madworld 1 of first mature titles system, causing initial outrage concerned consumers family-friendly system. madworld received critics, did not translate commercial sales; 123,000 units of game sold in united states during first 6 months on market. sega considered these sales disappointing .

Ōkami

Ōkami product of clover studios direction hideki kamiya, known work on resident evil , devil may cry series. game favorably compared zelda-type adventure, , based on quest of goddess-wolf amaterasu using celestial brush draw in magical effects on screen , restore cursed land of ancient nippon. released first in 2006 on playstation 2, later received port wii system, brush controls reworked motion controls of wii remote. game received critics, metacritic aggregate scores of 93% , 90% playstation 2 , wii versions, respectively, , considered 1 of best titles 2006; ign named game of year. despite strong praise critics, game sold fewer 600,000 units march 2009. these factors have led Ōkami called least commercially successful winner of game of year award in 2010 version of guinness world records gamer s edition. shortly after release, capcom disbanded clover studios, though many of employees went on form platinumgames , produce madworld , more successful bayonetta. strong fan support of game led sequel, Ōkamiden, on nintendo ds, high-definition remake playstation 3, , remaster playstation 4, xbox 1 , microsoft windows.

pac-man (atari 2600)


pac-man atari vcs

the home version of highly popular pac-man arcade game eagerly anticipated, commercial disappointment atari despite being best-selling game. game rushed make 1981 christmas season. in 1982, atari created 12 million cartridges, though there 10 million atari 2600s sold @ time, in hopes of game boosting system sales. pac-man did sell close 7 million cartridges, consumers , critics alike gave low ratings. high number of unsold units (over 5 million), coupled expense of large marketing campaign, led large losses atari. game , e.t. blamed sparking video game crash of 1983. shortly after disappointment of pac-man, atari reported huge quarterly loss, prompting parent company warner communications sell division off in 1984. atari never regained prominent position in home console market.

psychonauts

despite achieving notable critical success, including gamespot s 2005 best game no 1 played award, psychonauts sold fewer 100,000 copies during initial release. game led troubles @ publisher majesco entertainment, including resignation of ceo , plummeting of company s stock, prompting class-action lawsuit company s stockholders. @ time of release in 2005, game considered poster child failures in innovative games. poor sales have been blamed on lack of marketing. however, today game remains popular title on various digital download services. creator of psychonauts, tim schafer, has cult following due unique , eccentric style. eventually, double fine go on acquire full rights publishing game, and, funding dracogen, created mac os x , linux port of game, sold part of humble bundle in 2012 600,000 bundles sold; according schafer, made more on psychonauts [in 2012] ever have before. in august 2015, steam spy estimated approximately 1,157,000 owners of game on digital distributor steam.

shenmue , shenmue ii

shenmue on dreamcast more notorious overambitious budget poor sales figures. @ time of release in 1999, game had record expensive production costs (over us$70 million), , five-year production time. in comparison, games total sale 1.2 million copies. shenmue, however, critical hit, earning average review score of 89%. game supposed initial installment of trilogy. second installment released in 2001, time dreamcast floundering, game saw release in japan , europe. sega released north american players xbox, poor performance of both titles combined restructuring have made sega reluctant complete trilogy fear of failure return on investment. however, kickstarter campaign has received record support third title, release set 2018.

sonic boom: rise of lyric , sonic boom: shattered crystal

sonic boom: rise of lyric spin-off sonic hedgehog series, released in 2014 , developed big red button entertainment , illfonic sega , sonic team, along handheld counterpart sonic boom: shattered crystal, developed sanzaru games. rise of lyric wii u considered 1 of worst video games of time due many glitches, poor gameplay , weak writing. both games failed commercially, selling 490,000 copies of february 2015, making them lowest-selling games in sonic franchise.

sunset

sunset, first-person exploration adventure game involving housekeeper working dictator of fictional country, developed two-person belgian studio tale of tales, had created several acclaimed arthouse style games , other audio-visual projects such path. wanted make sunset game gamers while still retaining arthouse-style approach, , in addition planning on commercial release, used kickstarter gain funding. sunset sold 4000 copies on release, including kickstarter backers. tale of tales opted close studio after sinking company s finances game, , believed if did release new games in future, shy away commercial release.

uru: ages beyond myst

the fourth game in popular myst series, released in 2003. developed cyan worlds shortly after riven completed. game took cyan worlds more 5 years , $12 million complete , codenamed dirt ( d ni in real time ), mudpie (meaning multi-user dirt, persistent / personal interactive entertainment / experience / exploration / environment ). though had positive reception, sales disappointing. in comparison, first 3 myst games had sold more 12 million units collectively before uru s release. uru s poor sales considered factor in financially burdening cyan, contributing company s near closure in 2005.