20 Recent Video Games That Were Sent Out To Die
18. Sonic Racing CrossWorlds
While it was easy to take one look at Sonic Racing CrossWorlds and dismiss as a low-effort Mario Kart knock-off, the racer ultimately released to firmly positive reviews from critics, who praised its addictive gameplay loop and inventive CrossWorld track-switching mechanic.
Despite this and the game selling over a million copies in its release month, Sega revealed in November that CrossWorlds failed to meet their sales expectations, and more recently spoke of their wider struggle to translate critical acclaim into strong sales.
The real problem with Sonic Racing CrossWorlds was obvious to many pre-release, though - the price.
Sega launched the game with a $70 price tag - the very same figure players typically expect to pay for a bigger-budget AAA blockbuster nowadays.
To all but the Sonic die-hards, the content on offer simply didn't justify the asking price, with many feeling that $40-50 would've been more appropriate.
And so, in an especially budget-conscious era for gaming where players have so many more affordable options at their disposal, Sega didn't give Sonic Racing CrossWorlds much of a chance to succeed.