10 Companies Who Made Their Name With Shoddy Licensed Games

For as long as gaming has been a part of popular culture, developers have been attempting to milk film and TV licences for all they are worth, just to make a quick buck. 

From the earlier days of the medium - when dreck like E.T. almost destroyed the industry - through to more modern efforts that fail to utilise the spectacular technology they have at their disposable in any discernible way, licensed properties have gained a reputation as games to be avoided at all costs.

The likes of the Arkham series and Telltale’s output in recent years have seen something of a reversal of fortunes in this regard, however the fact remains that more often than not these are as forgettable as they are poor. Worse yet, there are some developers who over the years have managed to gain a reputation as being regular purveyors of these interactive atrocities.

Some companies manage to stay the course for years before collapsing, while there are others continuing to soldier on with their failing efforts, looking to take advantage of any given licence in today's more discerning marketplace. 

The common thread is that at one time or another, each of these teams have been amongst the absolute worst offenders when it comes to producing questionable titles that tempt people in with brand name 'value', only to deliver an abysmal gaming experience.

While modern gamers will know them for the rather excellent Prototype series, Radical Entertainment has a long history of taking licensed properties and producing absolutely horrendous results.

The peak of their creative failures came during the early days of the company, where they created shoddy game after shoddy game to capitalise on any licence they could get their hands on.

The company continued to mine the tie-in trough for almost two decades. Unfortunately, for every Simpsons: Hit and Run there was a Hulk, Independence Day or Dark Angel to show that the developer got it wrong way more often than they got it right. The only reason that they aren’t higher on this list is because their recent output seems to indicate a new direction for the company that will hopefully see them redeem themselves for some of their past failings.

The Worst Game - Perhaps the most bizarre title to come from the developer was the side-scrolling Wayne's World title on the SNES and Megadrive. A lazy title by every definition of the word, Wayne’s World was a platformer like most at the time, but it had the misfortune of suffering from average graphics, substandard controls and the sort of gameplay that leads to most players switching off in record time.