10 Major Controversies That Killed Great Video Games

8. Being Released Despite Not Being Ready - BattleCruiser 3000

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GameTek

First released back in September 1996, Take-Two Interactive's Battlecruiser 3000AD is a game that has established a legacy for its long and troubled development that ultimately killed what potential it might have had.

Set far in a future where humanity has managed to fashion together intergalactic spaceships, Battlecruiser features three unique modes: free flight, advanced campaign mode and xtreme carnage combat simulator, all of which feature players strapping in to these ships and fighting through hordes of oncoming enemies.

Development for the game began in 1992 after Three-Sixty Pacific acquired the rights, but it would be shelved when the company went bust just a year later. That was the first warning sign of the poisoned chalice reputation the game would garner before its final release hit the shelves, with Battlecruiser 3000AD going through a whopping three more companies: Mission Studios, Intracorp and finally Take-Two Interactive.

Reports and files from Take-Two revealed that Battlecruiser 3000AD made up over 14% of the company's entire budget for 1996, with certain sources saying they had spent north of $618,000 for the title. With this being just one of the companies stung by the title over the 1990s, it's safe to say that all of these development controversies ensured that fans weren't too focused on the gameplay when Battlecruiser 3000AD was finally let loose.

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Horror fan, gamer, all round subpar content creator. Strongly believes that Toad is the real hero of the Mario universe, and that we've probably had enough Batman origin stories.