9 Genre-Defining Video Game Franchises That Died While You Weren't Looking
Here today, gone tomorrow.
Not all fledgling ideas - good or otherwise - are meant to be; cancellations and pitch rejections happen on a daily basis without the world ever knowing of their existence. But how on Earth - in our always-online age, no less - do genre-defining classics with established fan bases and proven success fall off the radar without so much as an epitaph to mourn their demise?
Genre-defining, best-in-class, critically acclaimed; you'd think such complimentary terms would smother any franchise awarded those honors with eternal protection from harm, but nope - just one hiccup is all it takes to trigger the irreversible destruction of a much-loved property.
Konami's Silent Hill - a horror landmark - has been MIA since the former's business relationship with Hideo Kojima went caput, and despite it promising otherwise, we've not heard a peep about a potential replacement for Silent Hills in over two years.
And that's a recent example. So many of these genre-defining greats live on in the memory of those that grew up with them, which is more than can be said for their caretakers.
Never forget.
9. Guitar Hero
We have Harmonix to thank for the rhythm action renaissance of the mid-noughties. Hobbyists, partygoers, music lovers, you name it, the cheap-looking-but-surprisingly-sturdy peripherals of Guitar Hero's earliest iterations became a permanent fixture in homes, bars and SU bars across the land.
Sales and popularity rose with each subsequent sequel; we lapped it up and Activision kept churning them out, even after Harmonix departed to start work on Rock Band. Drums, DJ turntables and microphones became part and parcel of the ever-growing kit until finally... the bubble burst. Sales nosedived.
After Warrior of Rock's launch in 2010, the rhythm scene went silent for half a decade - Activision's attempt to let market saturation subside, no doubt.
FreeStyleGames made an earnest attempt to reboot the franchise in 2015 with Guitar Hero Live. Critical praise followed, but nobody was buying the revival. Literally. Activision once again sent the series into hibernation after that and we've not heart a peep since. Figures.