10 Video Games Delisted For Insane Reasons
2. To "Increase The Value" Of The Franchise - Every Bad-To-Mediocre Sonic Game
In October 2010, Sega announced that any Sonic game with an "average" Metacritic score would be pulled from physical retail catalogues and any digital storefronts in an attempt to "increase the value" of the then-flagging franchise.
The likes of 2006's Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic and the Secret Rings, Sonic and the Black Knight, Sonic Unleashed, and Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity - which posted terrible-to-underwhelming Metascores ranging from 43 to 69 - were pulled out of circulation to make way for new Sonic games Sonic Colors, Sonic Free Riders, and Sonic the Hedgehog 4.
The idea, ironically, was to avoid oversaturating the brand, and in Sega's defense both Sonic Colors and Sonic the Hedgehog 4 went on to become critical and commercial hits.
Even so, pulling bad games off the market in an attempt to rescue an ailing brand was basically unheard of up to this point, and it was a number of years before Sega relented and restored the maligned Sonic titles.