15 Video Game Franchises That Tried Something Wildly Different (And Failed)

Bursting onto the scene in 1996, Crash Bandicoot quickly became a mascot for Sony's PlayStation. He starred in a series of colourful, challenging platforming games that appealed to a wide demographic. Like so many other mascots, Crash Bandicoot's success meant that he inevitably found his way into a plethora of sequels and spin-offs. Some of these were successful. 2001's Crash Team Racing, for example, saw the series briefly transition into an extremely fun cart racer. For the most part though, fans preferred Crash to be doing what he does best: smashing, jumping and belly-flopping his way through levels.

2020 saw the release of Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, a proper sequel to the original 3 PS1 games from the 90s. This new sequel's success had fans excited about the future of the series, as there was clearly still a big appetite for Crash and his platforming adventures.

Instead, the next game would be Crash Team Rumble, a 4v4 online multiplayer game with a full live service model, in a big departure from what fans expected. Despite reviewing fairly well, fans found the game got boring extremely quickly thanks to the limited game modes, and the live service model was heavily criticized due to its pricing and grindy nature.

Post-launch support ended quickly due to the game's lacklustre player count. Today, the servers are still live, but the game's player base has significantly diminished. Many fans are hoping Crash Team Rumble was the series' only foray into the world of live service, with a return to traditional platforming the preferred route back to success.