10 Beloved Gaming Franchises That Just Disappeared

7. Shenmue

Something of a forgotten classic, Shenmue and its only sequel Shenmue 2 were trailblazers for multi-faceted gameplay, open-world exploration and non-linear storytelling in video games when first released on the Dreamcast in the late '90s and early '00s. Both games follow hero Ryo Hazuki on the hunt for his father's killers - first in Japan, then Hong Kong - and players enjoyed exploration, detection and action set-pieces in the main story with almost endless side quests to keep them occupied, from hauling crates for minimum wage and participating in arm wrestling contests to playing fully integrated arcade games like Afterburner for hours on end. There was certainly a lot to keep gamers occupied. In fact, there was more than either game could actually contain, as both end on a cliffhanger with many story threads left unresolved. At least for the first instalment some of those threads are dealt with in Shenmue 2, but the unfortunate coincidence of the creators wanting to finish the story in a third game and Sega not wanting to spend more money on what was at the time a critically-acclaimed financial failure meant that we're unlikely to find out the conclusion to Ryo's story any time soon.