As with anything worth striving for in this world, success often comes with a price, and this is most certainly the case for the video game industry. Companies invest more money than they ever have before into bigger and more complex games, all in an effort to become the next critically lauded hit or billion dollar franchise. Those few games that are lucky enough to reach these milestones usually have to face their own set of challenges, for better or worse. After all, success leads to greater expectations and more intense levels of scrutiny from both fans and the media. It means building on that success and preserving a quality formula, while at the same time changing things just enough to remain fresh. And most importantly, it means maintaining high standards of consumer satisfaction, which, as you'll see, isn't always the case. The following are games that have suffered in some form as a result of their success; some unfairly, others justifiably so. Some handled themselves better than others, but all serve as an example of the dangers that can come with hitting the big time.
10. World Of Warcraft
If you were to throw out the term MMORPG to any gamer, chances are the first game to pop into their mind would be World of Warcraft. At the height of its popularity it had nearly 12 million active subscribers, and despite large drop offs since, it remains the biggest MMORPG of all time. But of course, such a monumental level of success doesn't exist in a bubble. The profits made from World of Warcraft fundamentally changed Blizzard Entertainment going forward. It merged with Activision a few years after the game launched, and as is the case with any merger, significant changes could be felt by the community. Blizzard became larger and more monolithic, and many players feel like World of Warcraft, along with other beloved Blizzard franchises, has declined in quality and customer support as a result. It may be debatable whether this is actually the case, but there are plenty of examples these days of large publishers using shady tactics and mistreating their consumers in their prioritisation of the bottom line, Activision Blizzard included. World of Warcraft may have remained the most successful MMORPG for over a decade now, but its financial achievements have forever changed the business model that supports it, and not necessarily for the better of the game, nor the millions who play it.
