10 Video Game Cash-grabs We Can't Believe They Tried
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00:00Like any business, every gaming exec's top priority is to make money, and generally gamers
00:05don't mind emptying their wallet if they're getting bang for their buck.
00:08If an open-world title keeps you enthralled for over 100 hours, you're probably fine with
00:13paying full price. And when a DLC gives you as much content as the main campaign, you'll have
00:17no qualms about splashing out more cash. However, certain games aren't coy with their intent to rob
00:22you blind. Sometimes they don't just hide the best goodies behind a paywall, they hide half
00:27the content. We understand developers and publishers need to keep the lights on,
00:31but when you bear witness to the tactics they use to sell some of these products,
00:34it just screams cash grab. I'm just from WhatCulture and Tier 10 video game cash grabs,
00:39we can't believe they tried.
00:4110. Prince of Persia Epilogue
00:44To the disappointment of many, 2008's Prince of Persia wasn't as awe-inspiring as we'd hoped.
00:49But this reboot did get a lot of people talking, since it ended with a massive cliffhanger.
00:54As the unnamed prince does battle with Ahriman, Elika gives up her life to seal
00:59away the devilish deity. Ever the hero, the prince uses the Tree of Life's power to resurrect her.
01:04But by undoing Elika's sacrifice, Ahriman returns,
01:08blanketing the area in darkness, including our heroic duo.
01:12Because of this abrupt ending, gamers weren't sure what to make of it.
01:15Was Elika's sacrifice in vain? Did Ahriman take over the world? Are our heroes even alive?
01:20Well, the good news is, all these questions were answered, kind of, in the expansion pack,
01:24Epilogue. The bad news is, Ubisoft expected gamers to pay for it.
01:29Just to reiterate, gamers who'd already bought Prince of Persia had to pay more to see the ending.
01:34Although the DLC came equipped with new areas, combat maneuvers, and enemies,
01:38it wasn't worth it since it's done and dusted after just a measly 90 minutes.
01:43At least you get that ending, right? Well, not really.
01:47When the credits roll, Ahriman is still alive and preparing to exact his revenge on the prince.
01:51So, if you purchased Epilogue, you paid extra money to see pretty much the same non-ending.
01:579. Super Mario Run
01:59After maintaining an iron grip on the handheld market for decades, Nintendo seemed to be the
02:03last company to release products on mobile devices, which is their central competitor.
02:08To the surprise of everyone, Ninty joined forces with Apple in 2016 to create their first mobile
02:13title, Super Mario Run. Thanks to the addictive gameplay, variety of challenges, and Nintendo's
02:19charm, Run stood out compared to the deluge of auto-runners littering the App Store.
02:24More importantly, Super Mario Run was completely free, for the first three levels.
02:29If you want to play the side-scroller fully, you'll need to get your credit card details ready.
02:33If you're not willing to pay, you'll have to settle with the demo.
02:36But it gets worse. Rather than spending 99p, you're expected to pay 10 pounds.
02:41But why? Nintendo is worth nearly 100 billion, they're not strapped for cash.
02:46Also, you'd assume the gaming giant would lower the price after all these years,
02:50especially after seeing the success of their follow-up, Mario Kart Tour, which is actually free.
02:55But no, after six years, Run's retail price still stands.
02:59Although the game has been successful, it feels like Nintendo shot themselves in the foot.
03:03Considering how many casual gamers dismissed Super Mario Run the instant they saw how much it cost,
03:09the company would have made far more purchases if it cost far less.
03:128. Sonic Origins
03:14It's no secret the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise has been widely inconsistent recently.
03:19But after 2017's Sonic Mania put the blue furball back on the map,
03:23gamers were hoping Sega would release a new Sonic collection, which contained the original anthology.
03:28Because of copyright issues, this took much longer than expected.
03:32But after five long years, we got Sonic Origins,
03:35a compilation composed of the four main Sonic the Hedgehog installments on the Genesis,
03:40as well as Sonic CD. It also featured a boss rush mode,
03:43challenges, new animated cutscenes, and a museum.
03:46Upon reviewing Origins' content, all anyone could think of is,
03:50is that it? There hasn't been a Sonic collection in 12 years, and this is the best Sega could do?
03:56Sonic Mega Collection, which released 20 years ago, contained twice as much material.
04:00Where's Sonic Drift, Sonic Chaos, Sonic Labyrinth, Knuckles Chaotix, or the Sonic Advance Trilogy?
04:05Sonic 3D Blast, Dr. Robotnik's meme collection, and Sonic Spinball came with Sega Genesis Classics,
04:12which is available on the same platforms as Origins. So why weren't they added?
04:16Although fans were hoping more Sonic entries would be incorporated at a later date,
04:20nothing suggests that becoming a reality.
04:22There's an expansion pack, but all it includes is bonus music. Yay.
04:26Even though it's great to revisit the classics,
04:28we shouldn't be paying £30 for five decades-old games.
04:32Number 7. Fitness Boxing, Fist of the North Star
04:35As successful as the Switch has been, its exercise repertoire has failed to match the Wii selection,
04:41most notably Wii Sports. In 2019, Imagineer hoped to turn things around,
04:46with the punch-to-the-rhythm title Fitness Boxing.
04:48Unfortunately, Fitness Boxing wasn't intense enough, impairing players' ability to work up
04:53a sweat. Worse still, it was branded as uncreative and tedious.
04:58Two years later, Imagineer released a sequel, which received the same harsh criticisms.
05:03At this point, it would have been sensible for the creators to go back to the drawing board
05:07and revise the gameplay, so the inevitable follow-up would meet the criteria. Instead,
05:12Imagineer devised a spin-off based on the beloved manga series, Fist of the North Star.
05:17Since the hero, Kinoshiro, is among the greatest fighters in all of storytelling,
05:21this seemed like a smart move. But because the developers didn't revise the core mechanics,
05:26this installment was plagued with the same problems as before. In a way, it's worse,
05:31since the source material doesn't gel with the gameplay. Fist of the North Star is ludicrously
05:36violent, with characters being reduced to blood fountains in every issue. Since the game contains
05:41no gore, the Fist of the North Star motif was wasted. If Imagineer thought gamers would fork
05:47over the money for this lazy spin-off just because it's barely connected to a popular brand,
05:52they were sadly mistaken.
05:536. Apex Legends Season 2
05:56When a game is expected to be a hit, it's customary for the publishers to promote the
06:00hell out of it before launch. So when EA Sports dropped Apex Legends with no song and dance,
06:05the gaming community was justifiably dubious. And yet, the free-to-play shooter received
06:10universal love on all consoles. Except the Switch. Don't know what happened there.
06:15Thanks to the wonderful ping system, innovative mechanics, and awesome gunplay,
06:19Apex Legends suitably became the apex of the Battle Royale subgenre.
06:23Then, Season 2 introduced the bane of modern gaming, loot boxes. This was the worst kind
06:29of reward system, since certain items could only be obtained through this infernal mechanic.
06:34Because such rewards would only be available for a certain length of time,
06:37players bought these cosmetics in a panic, worried they wouldn't get another chance.
06:41Worst of all, one legendary called The Raven's Bite couldn't be unlocked unless you obtained
06:47all 24 crowns, which cost the equivalent of $160. Once you do this, you have to pay an extra $35
06:54to actually buy the weapon. Diehard gamers were so disgusted, many quit soon after,
06:59despite EA's best efforts to amend the issues.
07:025. Ghost Recon Breakpoint
07:04Ghost Recon Breakpoint was massacred before release, when early access users revealed how
07:09every item could be purchased with real money. Now, most gamers don't mind if certain weapons
07:14and upgrades require microtransactions, but turning this Tom Clancy adaptation into a
07:19pay-to-win game isn't fair for anyone. As hard as it is to believe, the shooter was actually
07:24meant to have MORE microtransactions. Originally, Breakpoint would have utilized time saves,
07:29much like the Assassin's Creed franchise. Gamers were up in arms about this, encouraging Ubisoft
07:34to remove them, saying they were included by mistake. Sure they were. But to nobody's surprise,
07:39the developers inserted the time savers at a later date, hoping nobody would notice. And they did.
07:44Being the devil's advocate, none of the basic weapons and attachments cost much.
07:49Also, you can obtain these items by using in-game currency. But due to the absurd amount of grinding
07:54required, you'll want to bypass the tedious rigmarole by spending your hard-earned cash
07:58on the best armaments. Unfortunately, buying guns is more complicated than you'd expect.
08:04You have to purchase the weapons, the underbarrels, and the magazines separately. So if you want to
08:09arm yourself with a handful of decent weapons, it'll cost you an arm and a leg.
08:13Number 4. Mass Effect Andromeda's Collector's Edition didn't include the game.
08:18Since Mass Effect Andromeda was broken at launch and wasn't a particularly good game overall,
08:23you'd think that would be enough to justify this dud being labeled a cash grab. But this
08:27bumbled sequel committed a far more grievous sin. When a franchise becomes hugely popular,
08:32it's not out of character for the developers to toss out a special edition,
08:36just to bring in a little extra money. And since Andromeda is a follow-up to BioWare's biggest IP,
08:42it wasn't shocking when it received a Collector's Edition, packaged with a steelbook and a die-cast
08:47model of the Nomad vehicle. And by paying a bit more, you could purchase a remote-controlled
08:52Nomad. But not only did the Collector's Edition contain no in-game bonuses,
08:56it didn't include the game. Look, I know we shouldn't make assumptions, but if I purchased
09:01the Mass Effect Andromeda's Collector's Edition, I would presume a copy of Mass Effect Andromeda
09:05would be in tow. As such, many gamers spent £200 on the bundle, oblivious that they had
09:10to hand over an additional £50 for the flipping game. But it wasn't all bad. In EA's defense,
09:16the remote-controlled Nomad worked a lot more than Andromeda did.
09:19Number 3. Pepsi Man. When product placement is utilized in video games,
09:23the developers usually try to be a bit coy about it. Even when the product in question is directly
09:28referenced, it might only be mentioned briefly. I mean, Darkened Sky was created purely to sell
09:33skittles, but at least the creators had the decency to keep the branding out of the title.
09:37Then there's Pepsi, who didn't try to be subtle with their PlayStation platformer,
09:41shamelessly called Pepsi Man. Taking control of the ridiculously named mascot, you must run
09:47through the streets and houses to collect Pepsi cans, while dodging construction workers,
09:51billboards, and Pepsi trucks. Even the obstacles are self-promotions.
09:55There's also one section where our colorful hero is chased by a Coca-Cola truck.
09:59The company obviously haven't forgiven their competitor for making Pepsi invaders.
10:03As blatant as the product placement is, Pepsi Man could get away with it if it was at least
10:08decent. Although the gameplay is surprisingly fun, there are only four levels, meaning you
10:12can complete the whole shebang in half an hour. Unsurprisingly, the PlayStation exclusive didn't
10:17sell well, since gamers saw Pepsi Man was nothing more than a cash grab. Honestly,
10:22it would've been weird if they didn't.
10:242. Street Fighter Duel
10:26At a glance, Crunchyroll Games' Street Fighter Duel looks like the full package.
10:30This mobile title's got beautiful art, a terrific soundtrack, daily and weekly missions,
10:35challenges, events, puzzles, perks, a campaign, a versus arena, a training center,
10:40and a colossal roster filled with dozens of new and familiar faces. But that's not all.
10:45There are gems, cash, crystals, fragments, fighter XP, arcade coins, and breakstones to win,
10:50which can be used to unlock equipment, upgrades, and characters. Because of this onslaught of
10:55content, you'd think that any Street Fighter fan would be playing Duel relentlessly,
10:59hurling harukens and sonic booms 24-7. That's why it's disappointing and deeply ironic how
11:05Street Fighter Duel falls apart when it comes to… the street fighting. You don't have to worry
11:10about parries, blocks, counters, combos, and special moves, since the brawls involve no real
11:15strategy. Since your team fight automatically, you can win without pressing a button. Because
11:20each fight is only a few seconds long, you spend more time on the menu screen collecting gems and
11:25coins than fighting. Worse still, the game eventually gets so hard, you need to grind
11:30or rely on microtransactions to get the best upgrades. Not only are these methods frustrating,
11:35they're pointless. After all, why would anyone spend money on a game that plays itself?
11:401. Diablo Immortal
11:42Do you guys not have phones? When Blizzard designer Wyatt Cheng uttered those infamous
11:46words at BlizzCon 2018 while promoting Diablo Immortal, you could feel all interest for the
11:51mobile spin-off shrivel away in an instant. Now, let's try really, really, really hard to
11:56break this situation down fairly. The BlizzCon crowd were understandably disappointed, since
12:01they assumed the announcement was for a Diablo sequel on the PC. But does that mean Diablo
12:06Immortal was going to suck purely because it was a mobile title? Of course not.
12:09So, is it good? Hell no. Immortal's microtransactions are more relentless than a
12:14Terminator. While describing this deeply flawed reward system, critics used words like malicious,
12:20manipulative, and predatory. If any mechanic is called predatory, the developers should take that
12:26as a sign they screwed up big time. If you thought such terms were hyperbolic, it's anything but.
12:30One YouTuber calculated it would take a decade to fully upgrade one character,
12:35without relying on purchases. If you wished to bypass this barbaric level of grinding,
12:40you could upgrade the character to the max by spending $100,000.
12:44Although Blizzard promised to deliver, gamers made it clear how disgusted they were with the
12:48final result, giving Diablo Immortal a Metacritic user score of 0.2 out of 10,
12:54the lowest rating any games received in the site's history.
12:58That's the end of our list, but let me know down in the comments if you can think of any
13:01video game cash grabs you can't believe actually exist.