10 Amazing Video Games That Killed Franchises
3. Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner
The Hideo Kojima-produced mech combat game Zone of the Enders didn't set the world alight sales-wise, though its commercial performance was likely boosted by releasing with a demo disc for the hugely anticipated Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.
This allowed it sell well enough for a sequel to be produced, then, with Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner landing two years later in 2003.
Though many critics and fans deemed it a solid improvement over the first game, it was a considerable sales disappointment, becoming the 130th best-selling game in Japan in 2003, where it shifted less than 100,000 copies.
Kojima blamed himself for the poor sales, claiming that he picked the wrong release date, and considering that Zone of the Enders 2 released within weeks of more successful franchise titles like Splinter Cell, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Dynasty Warriors 4, and Burnout 2: Point of Impact, he might have had a point.
This killed plans for a third Zone of the Enders, and though Kojima hoped that 2012's HD collection of the first two games might reignite interest, the myriad technical issues on launch stymied its sales and put Zone of the Enders 3 in the grave for good.