- 3 months ago
HOW did these games not sell?!
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00:00A little while ago, we made a list of 10 amazing games that barely anybody bought,
00:04and you guys rushed to the comments to tell us a couple of things.
00:07The first of which were the games on the list that you loved that you did actually buy,
00:11and the second was more games that deserved to be on the list.
00:14And so, as is tradition, we've thrown together a whole new list with your picks for incredible
00:18video games that deserve to be played and purchased by far more people than they were.
00:23Some of these games are relative unknowns, while others are huge names that were still
00:27considered commercial failures due to the expectations of their developers and publishers.
00:32Be sure to let us know down in that comment section which of these are your favorites,
00:35or hey, maybe mine the list for a few new favorites that you might never have considered playing.
00:40I'm Jess from WhatCulture, and here are the 9 best video games nobody bought, commenter edition.
00:45Number 9. PsyOps, The Mindgate Conspiracy
00:472004 action-adventure from Midway Games, PsyOps, The Mindgate Conspiracy,
00:52had everything going for it except timing.
00:55You'll alternate between traditional third-person shooter gameplay and utilizing your suite of psychic
01:00powers as protagonist Nick Scryer. Scryer is a soldier who's been recruited by the Mindgate
01:05Corporation and needs to unravel a sinister plot, driven by the baddies who are an organization
01:10called The Movement. Despite reviewing surprisingly well, including scoring GameSpot's award for
01:15Best PlayStation 2 Game of June 2004 and getting plenty of nods for Game of the Year categories,
01:21the game was a commercial disappointment for Midway. Only shifting around 400,000 copies in
01:26its first year of release, PsyOps struggled to compete with the heavy hitters like Fable,
01:31Grand Theft Auto San Andreas, and Half-Life 2, which all launched around the same time.
01:36The game has since garnered a well-deserved cult following, but unfortunately, because of its
01:40commercial failings, any hope for the series to continue has been dashed.
01:44Even though the game does end with a big to-be-continued splash screen that flashes up during
01:49the credits, which certainly stings a little for the fans who did pick this one up.
01:53Number 8. Call of Cthulhu Dark Corners of the Earth
01:56Another cult hit that didn't receive anywhere near the amount of attention that it certainly
02:00deserved, Call of Cthulhu Dark Corners of the Earth was a survival horror game that came out
02:05in 2005. Praised for its faithfulness to the Lovecraft source material, its tense and affecting
02:10atmosphere and compelling psychological horror themes, the game just couldn't get off the
02:15ground commercially. Reports indicate the critically acclaimed game only sold about 60,000 units
02:20across all platforms in its first year of release, resulting in it being branded a commercial failure
02:26by developer Head First Productions. Hold on though, because it gets worse. When Call of
02:30Cthulhu Dark Corners of the Earth was taking its six years in development, two other titles
02:35in the Call of Cthulhu series were being optimistically developed. Unfortunately, when Dark Corners of
02:40the Earth returned disappointing sales figures, both of these games were cancelled when Head
02:45First was unable to secure a publisher for them in 2006. This led to the company declaring
02:50bankruptcy and subsequently liquidating, which is a pretty sad legacy for a cult hit video
02:55game. Number 7. Nier
02:56Now we've got to be clear when we're talking about Nier, as this entry refers to not the
03:01sequel Nier Automata or the remake Replicant version 1.2247 etc, but the original game, titled
03:09Nier Replicant and Nier Gestalt, or simply Nier depending on your region. We're not even into how
03:14complicated the story and mechanics of this game are, and I think I've already lost about half of you,
03:19but let's keep going. Nier originally released in 2010 for the PS3 and Xbox 360, and was created by
03:25Yoko Taro. Despite receiving mounting praise for its soundtrack, voice acting, memorable characters,
03:30and fascinating themes, the game didn't make any special waves commercially. Speaking after the fact,
03:36Taro clarified that they weren't in the red, but the game was hardly a success. The game shifted
03:41134,000 copies within its first year of release, but even now, 13 years on, it's estimated that the
03:47game has only sold about 500,000 copies worldwide. To put that in perspective, the sequel Nier Automata
03:54has shifted over 6 million units between its 2017 release and March of 2021.
04:00Number 6. Muramasa The Demon Blade
04:02Trying to get an action-adventure hack-and-slash game to rise above the already well-saturated
04:07genre in 2009 is already a feat, but putting said game on the Wii certainly didn't make things any
04:13easier. Such was the case for Muramasa The Demon Blade, created for the Wii by Vanillaware.
04:19The game was a hit with critics who adored the beautiful art style, tight, fast-paced combat,
04:24and Japanese folklore-inspired storyline, ultimately scoring the game an 81 out of 100 on Metacritic.
04:30Despite dazzling critics pretty much across the board, the game didn't manage to knock it out
04:34of the park with sales in either Japan or North America. Though at the time, the NPD group reported
04:40that the game sold 35,000 units during its first month on sale, and this sat within expectations,
04:46this would later be revised by the game's publisher, saying sales were low across Japan,
04:51North America, and Europe. This was considered to be in large part due to the fact that at this point,
04:56the Wii was falling out of vogue, and the untraditional nature of the game made it trickier
05:00to market. Despite returning some less-than-impressive sales numbers, the game is beloved by its fans,
05:05and even scored a re-release in 2013 for the PlayStation Vita called Muramasa Rebirth.
05:11Number 5. El Shaddai – Ascension of the Metatron
05:13Ignition Tokyo released the 2011 action game El Shaddai – Ascension of the Metatron for the PS3,
05:19Xbox 360, and PC. The single-player adventure that was inspired by the Book of Enoch was praised
05:25for its interesting art style, compelling combat system, and curious and mysterious story that
05:31blended fantasy and science fiction. Despite impressing critics across the board, it's
05:35believed that the game didn't sell particularly well. Shifting only 58,000 units in Japan at launch,
05:41and 220,000 units worldwide, that classed El Shaddai as a commercial disappointment for publisher
05:47Ignition Entertainment. This extended to the publisher being hit with a round of layoffs due
05:51to a series of commercial failures. Fortunately, there's a bit of a happy ending for this one,
05:56as the game's cult following helped along a spiritual successor called The Lost Child.
06:01The game was neither a commercial success, nor did it achieve the same critical acclaim as its
06:05predecessor, but it was a nice treat for fans of the original.
06:09Number 4. Gladius – Tactical role-playing game Gladius was published and developed by LucasArts
06:14in 2003. The game lets you create a school of gladiators and square up against opposing
06:19schools from different regions all over the game world. In keeping with our list, the game was
06:23actually rated as one of the quote, best Xbox games most people never played by the official
06:29Xbox magazine. Even though the game impressed critics with its engaging tactical combat, satisfying
06:34progression and character development systems, and strong narrative throughline in its campaign,
06:39it fell far beneath sales expectations. Reports indicated the game sold less than 100,000
06:44copies in its first month of release in North America, deeming it a commercial failure for
06:49the studio, even in the face of its impressive review scores. Though it may not have struck
06:53enough of a chord to invite a continuation of the series, Gladius is still a cult hit among fans.
06:59Number 3. Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines – Although just about every RPG and vampire
07:04media enthusiast has tried their hand at Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines by now, the game
07:09massively fell under the radar when it first came out in 2004. Suffering from exactly the
07:14same steep competition that caused PSYOPs to struggle in the very same release window,
07:19there was simply no competing with Half-Life 2, Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater, Halo 2, and Fable for the
07:25spotlight. Even though Bloodlines impressed critics with its fascinating game world, mature themes,
07:30supernatural powers, and intriguing story, not enough people gave it a shot when it first came out.
07:35This was in some part due to the game's technical issues and bugs, but it's sort of just accepted
07:41that the end of 2004 was just not kind to non-AAA games. The initial release stood at a modest 72,000
07:48copies in its first three months on sale, firmly solidifying what would become the cult classic RPG
07:53as a commercial disappointment. Dedicated fans ensured the game would not fade out of the spotlight
07:58though, as it has stayed firmly in the gaming zeitgeist and is still considered a must-play for RPG fans.
08:04The game even established a legacy where it's been cited as one of the major influences contributing
08:09to the resurgence of vampire-themed stories across all mediums. The fan-created patches that address
08:15technical issues and missing content from the original also helped the game from fading into
08:20obsolescence. Game director Leonard Boyarski even voiced his appreciation for the patches,
08:25saying while they'd hoped the game would be more successful at launch, it felt more worthwhile to
08:30see how it stood the test of time and continues to inspire modders and fans.
08:34Number 2. Darksiders 2. This will seem like a weird one, since Darksiders 2 is far and away the
08:39highest-selling game on this list. The action-adventure sequel was reviewed very well,
08:44impressing critics with its compelling story that followed the journey of death and its genuinely fun
08:49combat mechanics. Even so, publisher THQ had to file for bankruptcy just a few months after the game
08:55released. Of course, this wasn't all due to the commercial failure of Darksiders 2, but THQ did
09:00state that the game didn't perform to their expectations. Even though, at 247,000 units sold
09:06in its release month, it stood as the best-selling game in August of 2012. The game quickly lost steam,
09:12and the eventual 1.5 million units moved that year wasn't enough to keep the flailing company above
09:18water. Developer Vigil Games also went under as part of the company disbanding.
09:22In happier news, though, the game was eventually remastered into the definitive edition by Nordic
09:30Games, who purchased the IP when THQ's assets were sold off.
09:34Number 1. Enslaved Odyssey to the West. Another perfect example of a game that both fans and
09:39critics loved, but inexplicably sold very little, is 2010's Enslaved Odyssey to the West. Developed by
09:45Ninja Theory and published by Namco Bandai Games, it was no surprise when the action-adventure turned out
09:51to be a slam dunk. Unfortunately, it was a slam dunk that nobody bought.
09:55Loosely based on the book Journey to the West, the game was praised for its interesting post-apocalyptic
10:00story and emphasis on narrative and character development. You take a stroll in the shoes of
10:05protagonist Monkey, who fights using a staff and must solve puzzles, explore the environment,
10:10and complete platforming challenges. The graphics were deemed to be stunning, the cutscenes
10:15understated and narratively impressive, and the soundtrack was described as elevating the gameplay
10:20experience even further. Despite scoring 8s and 9s out of 10 pretty much across the board,
10:25very few people picked it up. Though Namco had hoped that sales would pass 1 million copies,
10:30after 4 months they'd only managed to sell 460,000, and then after a full year they'd only hit
10:36730,000 copies sold. These figures were deemed too lacklustre to justify the continuation of the
10:42franchise or the planned sequel, which was ultimately abandoned. Namco later blamed the
10:47game's busy release window for its commercial failure. Game director Tamim Montaniades later
10:52reflected, I'm not sure if the fantasy elements were a turn-off, the gameplay mix, or the lack of
10:57visibility. It was probably a mix of all three. That's the end of our list, but let me know down in
11:01that comment section if you can think of any other great video games nobody bought that deserved to
11:06be on this list. As always, I've been Jess from WhatCulture. Thank you so much for hanging out with
11:11me. If you like it, you can come say hi to me on my Twitter account where I'm at JessMcDonnell,
11:15but make sure you stay tuned to us here for plenty more great gaming lists.
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