10 Potentially Great Video Games That Were Dead On Arrival

5. SimCity

A seemingly thankful return to form for the series, 2013's SimCity was released early to critics with high praise. Despite the much more limited space to construct buildings, the way each city could supply one another and the server based regions was seen as a dynamic addition. As the days drew closer to its release, feedback consisted of nothing but glowing remarks of its ingenuity and brilliant design. The moment it was truly released all hell broke loose. Despite preventative measures, SimCity€™s always-on DRM system crippled the title just as it had Diablo III mere months before. The anti-piracy system required players to have online access and sign in to various company servers and verify the copy before allowing access. The servers were overloaded in minutes, with Maxis forced to disable multiple features to cope with the strain. Even as they fought to try and free up the servers enough to let players access their new purchase, tens of thousands found themselves completely locked out of the game. If this crippling problem were not bad enough, major flaws were soon found not long after release. Cities were concentrated into such a small areas that it was impossible to be self-sufficient, constantly lacking certain vital facilities. The game€™s balance also proved to be so inept that many players found easy ways to get cities with the happiness maxed out, albeit with no power, water or basic infrastructure. Between the inability to simply access the game they had purchased and a torrent of corporation-backed DLC turning the game into an advertising platform, SimCity was soon left barren. What was promised to be a booming community quickly died down to a comparatively small number of devotees, leaving regions of abandoned metropolises in their wake.