10 REAL Reasons Your Favourite Video Games Never Came Back

Wish all you want, they aren't coming back.

By Greg Hicks /

As with most things, sequels normally depend on the success of their predecessors before they go ahead. That's why we keep getting painful amounts of Terminator movies: people inexplicably go and watch them, ergo, they make money.

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Yet it's not always that easy, as there're all sorts of behind-the-scenes goings on that have to be accounted for. It's the same in video games too, when you'd think putting a sequel out would be easy when it's everything but.

You'd be right in thinking that studio in-fighting would be one of the main reasons, but it can sometimes spread between publisher and developer too.

Or perhaps you haven't seen your favourite game remastered yet and are wondering why. How many of us are so familiar with the soundtracks that we don't consider the game the same without them? Well, that'll be why: expired song or property rights halt any hope of seeing a return more often than you'd think.

There can be more sinister reasons too, like a volatile developer quitting and taking their IP with them, or a once proud (and somewhat ambitious) studio ruining a concept with "free to play" mechanics.

So brace yourself, as I'm about to remind you of some classic games before disappointing you with why they're not coming back anytime soon.

I'm not even sorry.

10. Def Jam: Fight For New York - Pop A Cease And Desist In Yo' Ass

Def Jam: Fight for New York will, for me, always hold title of "Fighting Game You Least Expected to Be Amazing". Who'd have thought beating Busta Rhymes into a pulp with Henry Rollins or throwing Snoop Dogg out of a windizzle (that's a window to you or I) would be so much fun.

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So why haven't we had a snifter of remaster or remake? We had Icon, but that didn't cut it.

Well, rappers and hippity hop artists are forever swapping contracts, igniting feuds and trashing each other in their songs. As a result, many of the artists in the game are no longer on the Def Jam label, which meant re-releasing the game would be a logistical nightmare.

For you see, artists have realised it's less mess and potential jail time to sue someone than it is to shoot them. I don't think EA want to run the risk of being sued by artists that have run out of money, nor reprogram an entirely new version of the game with different artists.

And let's not even talk about song rights...

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