10 Reasons Behind Why Your Favourite Video Game Franchises Died

7. Tony Hawk Went Back To Basics And Failed Miserably

After a string of Tony Hawk games that mind-bogglingly thought that making players buy a cheap plastic skateboard was a good idea, the classic skateboarding series was put on hiatus while the suits at Activision decided on a way to recapture the success they used to enjoy with their once-great franchise.

Inspired by a remaster of the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Activision promised to move away from the wacky humour and dodgy add-ons of the later games and return to the core skateboarding that made the series famous in the first place, announcing a true sequel to their Pro Skater franchise.

The heart seemed to be in the right place, but when Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 released it was marred by bugs, horrible graphics and sluggish gameplay. Instead of rejuvenating the franchise by returning it to its roots, this fifth game was one final middle-finger to fans who had given Activision the benefit of the doubt.

Even worse, after the game released it was rumoured that the real reason the sequel was so catastrophically poor was because Activision had to quickly push it out the door before the company lost the rights to the series completely, sacrificing what should have been Tony Hawk's grand return to relevancy in the process.