10 Failed Video Games That Had So Much More Potential
From Aliens: Colonial Marines to No Man's Sky, here are some games that were bitter disappointments!
The video game industry takes a lot of flak, doesn’t it?
There are debates over excessive violence, over gaming addiction, pay-to-win money-making strategies on the developer and publishers’ parts, microtransactions, on-disk DLC, dastardly season passes… the list goes on and on.
This hostile environment has made it harder and harder for certain titles to thrive, as studios are less willing to take risks. We’re seeing more and more remakes, remasters and ports these days because it’s an easy option: The nostalgia factor will bring in a heaving helping of money. Even so, you can never quite tell whether a game is going to succeed or fail.
Some games are a little ahead of their time. Others brought a great idea to the table but couldn’t execute it well. Still others are a little obscure and just didn’t get the attention they deserved, while some rode the wave of hype all the way to their release date but then didn’t deliver on that promise.
Here are just a few games that didn’t perform nearly as well as they probably deserved to.
10. Final Fantasy XIV
Now, it’s certainly true that the creators of huge franchises like Final Fantasy have a huge advantage when it comes to grabbing attention. When a new release is on the horizon, all gamers need to know is that… well, a new Final Fantasy is on the horizon. Fans eagerly follow its progress, secure their pre-orders quite early on and await the release date with bated breath.
All of this attention is a double-edged sword, however. As we all know, when long-time fans feel that a beloved franchise has dropped the ball in some way, they do not take it well. There’s so much more at stake, as Final Fantasy XIV found out when it first launched.
An ambitious new Final Fantasy MMORPG is certainly an enticing prospect, but players diving in on PC and PS3 in 2013 were less than impressed by the game. The initial release was marred with issues, affecting everything from the servers to the combat mechanics.
So unsalvageable was the project that Square Enix followed up with Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, an entirely new take on the game (utilising a different engine and everything) seeking to address its many flaws.
A Realm Reborn did do the concept and the Final Fantasy name justice, but the original release is best forgotten.