Now, before you get your pitchforks out, nobody is saying that the Dreamcast's Shenmue is a bad game. In fact, it's one of the best ever made, with a rich open-world that rivals even today's offerings. The complex but compelling plot, huge variety of things to do, and tight combat meant that Shenmue will forever be remembered as one of the greatest games ever released. Unfortunately, while Shenmue was a huge critical success, the scope of its ambition meant that it was technically a commercial failure. The budget was reported as being as high as $70 million (far higher than any title before it), which meant that every Dreamcast owner would have had to purchase Shenmue twice before Sega made a profit. In other words, Shenmue was so ambitious that the budget required to fulfil the ambition made it literally impossible to be a commercial success. What's the most ambitious game you've ever played? Did we miss anything? Join the discussion below!
