8 Critically Successful Games that Sold Poorly
- Thread starter ffronw
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They gave away Beyond Good & Evil with cheese!? Really?!
That masterpiece of a game deserved so much more.
I still replay it at least once a year.
I can't help but wonder why it never took off.
That masterpiece of a game deserved so much more.
I still replay it at least once a year.
I can't help but wonder why it never took off.
...Man, this list is depressing. Especially for games like Psychonauts, Beyond Good and Evil and Okami. And yet people barely noticed them? Shame...
I'm a little surprised not to see Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure on the list. At the time, it was considered a poster child for critical-but-not-commercial success. Gaming blogs and news sites kept nagging people to buy it and calling it amazing, and nobody did.
P.S. Thanks
P.S. Thanks
I think Ico may have been passed over for favor of these other games because got a sequel of sorts. It is still a rare gem, to be sure, but I think it's not as big a deal as these other games.Scarim Coral said:
Anyway, it's amazing how most of those games now are talked about in terms of "Awe" by people. They all fell amazingly short in terms of sales, and yet nowadays people are clamoring for sequels for most of them.
I think one reason were the anthropomorphic animals, at least to me it made the game look somewhat childish. I'm still annoyed at myself that I didn't take a closer look at it. I played and bought it a lot later.Vendor-Lazarus said:
The Wii was probably a lost cause for "mature" titles within its first year. Many were starting to see the motion controls were not adding much to the immersion. The 360 and PS3 had plenty of what older players wanted, and many likely didn't have extra cash for another system. Even good kid friendly third party games were lost under the sea of shovelware the Wii shelves collected. It had a few non-Nintendo gems that didn't have the look of a kid's game, but not enough at once to really get noticed by the crowd.
Okami came out at a bad time and probably could have used a better ad campaign. The PS3 (and Wii) was looming over the horizon. A few of my friends dismissed it as "some anime game." The only way I heard about it was the Game Informer review that showered it with praise. The Wii port didn't do well because of reasons I already stated (and it was the only game where the Wii's IR pointer controls felt like a downgrade to me). I wonder if the HD remaster met sales expectations? The DS sequel did better financially, but not by much. Now, if only we could get one last sequel... (Wii U gamepad controls would be great but that system is a curse to good third party games.)
To add another forgotten critically acclaimed, poor selling franchise, Klonoa sure got beat down a lot. Seeing some let's plays of the 2 (er, 3 with the original's remake) console titles had me regretting not trying them out as a kid (not enough money/present allotment). If Namco could make a good compilation, I'd pick them up fast.
Okami came out at a bad time and probably could have used a better ad campaign. The PS3 (and Wii) was looming over the horizon. A few of my friends dismissed it as "some anime game." The only way I heard about it was the Game Informer review that showered it with praise. The Wii port didn't do well because of reasons I already stated (and it was the only game where the Wii's IR pointer controls felt like a downgrade to me). I wonder if the HD remaster met sales expectations? The DS sequel did better financially, but not by much. Now, if only we could get one last sequel... (Wii U gamepad controls would be great but that system is a curse to good third party games.)
To add another forgotten critically acclaimed, poor selling franchise, Klonoa sure got beat down a lot. Seeing some let's plays of the 2 (er, 3 with the original's remake) console titles had me regretting not trying them out as a kid (not enough money/present allotment). If Namco could make a good compilation, I'd pick them up fast.
Played and bought "first hand" (so the publishers make a profit) are two different things. I was an "offender" like that for Okami when it first came out by borrowing it from a friend, before buying a new version release later on.Zontar said:
Sidenote: not saying it's bad but lack of sales doesn't necessarily mean a lack of fans who liked it,just an issue with enough of them buying/owning the game at the same time. What with rentals, trade-ins, friends, family or piracy.
Nice to see there are still fans of VGCats 
anyway, it's super sad that BG&E did so poorly, it's definitely top 5 games I ever played
anyway, it's super sad that BG&E did so poorly, it's definitely top 5 games I ever played
Strangely for an article like this, I've actually heard of every game on this list.
Unfortunately I haven't played most of them, they are mostly games I wanted to play but just never got round to.
Jade Empire & Beyond Good & Evil are two of my favorite games of all time though.
Unfortunately I haven't played most of them, they are mostly games I wanted to play but just never got round to.
Jade Empire & Beyond Good & Evil are two of my favorite games of all time though.
Oh, Binary Domain. Fun shooter, but the campaign made the average playthrough of Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 look like a massive epic by comparison.Itsuki93 said:
No, seriously. I won't even come close to thinking of myself as a top-class video game speedrunner, but I can blaze through BD's campaign in under six hours. SIX HOURS.
I'll confess I never tried the online modes, but I never was much for online multiplayer to begin with...
Still, when someone like me can burn through your game's story mode in that short of a time, something's not right.
It's still a fun little game, though.
one game is missing. the french comic based FPS, XIII. suppose to be a second game but because it sold so poorly, they didnt bother making part 2 to continue the story.
Hmm, that could indeed be a possible reason. Some people also seem to have a thing against Anthro's.Neonsilver said:
Having grown up with ThunderCats, Sonic SatAM, Gummibears, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, DuckTales, Rescue Rangers, Darkwing Duck ...oh..I should probably stop there..
Ahem, having grown up with those shows, I didn't even consider that as something objectionable.
Thanks for enlightening me as to a possible cause!
Some people are put off by the smell of cheese.Vendor-Lazarus said:
OT; I had always wanted to get Jade Empire when it was first released. But I missed that apparently very narrow window. Had to wait until GoG released it.
Interesting... I've played every game and completed most of these except forPanzer Dragoon. I enjoyed them all very, very much and get especially sad when I see 'Okami' and 'No More Heroes' on lists like these. The former is a prime example of a beautifully crafted game with substance, clever ideas and amazing visuals.
And then I remember that I once met a professional game critic that refused to play the game just because of the art style.
And then I remember that I once met a professional game critic that refused to play the game just because of the art style.