12 Video Games Too Big To Fail (That Did Anyway)

3. Spore

Why It Was "Too Big"

Another God game from Maxis, the geniuses behind The Sims, allowing players to develop a civilisation from the most microscopic organism to a hyper-complex, space-faring society, with an emphasis on procedural generation elements.

With The Sims being the most successful PC franchise of all time - currently boasting 200 million units sold - there was absolutely no reason to doubt Spore being another stonking hit for the company.

Why It Failed Anyway

Spore's development process was so arduous it even has its own damn Wikipedia page. The game was in production for roughly 8 years, during which scope and focus constantly shifted, with a larger array of evolutionary phases eventually being scaled back to just a few, while the rigorous scientific aesthetic was re-designed to look more "cute".

The end result was a shockingly hollow and superficial game compared to what was initially promised, and not really fun for more than a few hours. The phases were basically simplistic mini-games loosely appended together, and replay value was depressingly scant.

The Damage

Spore actually reviewed relatively well and its 84 Metascore remains one of the most bafflingly generous scores given to any game from the last decade-plus.

Sales were meanwhile solid out of the gate but quickly plateaued and sat at only 2.8 million units after 8 months on release.

Little has since been said about Spore's commercial performance - never a good sign - while a sequel has yet to materialise and announced plans for a feature film adaptation quietly entered development hell.

Spore is largely remembered as a monument to failed promise these days: an intriguing yet ultimately hugely underwhelming effort.