10 Critically-Acclaimed Video Games That BOMBED
4. Beyond Good And Evil (GAMECUBE, XBOX, PS2)
Given how prevalent photography modes have become in videogames, it's not a crazy assumption to suggest Beyond Good And Evil may well have fared far better in today's gaming landscape - which is probably why we're getting the sequel real, real soon, right?
Right?
Following as the floating camera behind our heroine Jade, players can finally experience what it's like to fail to pay an electricity bill and be forced to take a second job (wow, what a fantasy!). When the orphanage she tends to with her disgruntled anthropomorphic pig pal (disgruntled, eh? Eh?) becomes vulnerable after they struggle to pay for power for their shielding bill, Jade takes on a job as a nature photographer before being pulled into a twisty plot full of subterfuge, spies, and propaganda (... just a bit).
Contributing heavily to Beyond Good And Evil's lack of commercial success was Ubisoft's utterly baffling choice to release it alongside their own Prince Of Persia: Sands Of Time, and up against big name IP releases such as Mario Kart Double Dash!!, Final Fantasy X-2, and Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King.
It's no surprise, then, that the subsequent re-release on Xbox 360 and other platforms fared fairly well, but the damage of that poorly-timed initial release window had already been done.