10 Biggest Video Game Flops Of All Time

3. Daikatana

Daikatana should have been amazing. What else would you expect from John Romero, one of the minds behind Doom and Quake, two of the greatest shooters ever made? The game was supposed to be the next step, and it was hyped as such, with Romero’s name at the head. People were understandably hyped, even with the constant delays and insider rumbles, which were a sign of things to come.

After a long wait, Daikatana was eventually released in 2000 for Windows and Nintendo 64, and it was anything but revolutionary. The entire game was a significant step behind where game development was at the time. Its gameplay was boring and slow, while the game itself was incredibly ugly. Everything about it was immensely disappointing, and this led to poor sales and terrible review scores.

The commercial and critical failure of Daitkatana was an unpleasant shock for those looking forward to the game. It was a huge blow to developer Ion Storm, of which Romero was a founder, causing it to eventually close down its Dallas office. It’s unquestionably the lowest point in John Romero’s career, and an explicit demonstration that even the best can stumble.