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, and you
00:04guys 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 favourites,
00:35or hey, maybe mine the list for a few new favourites that you might never have considered
00:39playing.
00:40I'm Jess from WhatCulture, and here are the 9 best video games nobody bought, commenter
00:44edition.
00:45Number 9.
00:46PsyOps The Mindgate Conspiracy
00:472004 action-adventure from Midway Games, PsyOps The Mindgate Conspiracy, had everything going
00:53for it except timing.
00:55You'll alternate between traditional third-person shooter gameplay and utilising your suite
00:59of psychic powers as protagonist Nick Skryre.
01:02Skryre is a soldier who's been recruited by the Mindgate Corporation and needs to unravel
01:07a sinister plot, driven by baddies who are an organisation called The Movement.
01:12Despite reviewing surprisingly well, including scoring GameSpot's award for best PlayStation
01:162 game of June 2004 and getting plenty of nods for Game of the Year categories, the
01:21game was a commercial disappointment for Midway.
01:24Only shifting around 400,000 copies in its first year of release, PsyOps struggled to
01:28compete with the heavy hitters like Fable, Grand Theft Auto San Andreas and Half-Life
01:332, which all launched around the same time.
01:36The game has since garnered a well-deserved cult following, but unfortunately, because
01:40of its commercial failings, any hope for the series to continue has been dashed.
01:45Even though the game does end with a big-to-be-continued splash screen that flashes up during the credits,
01:50which certainly stings a little for the fans who did pick this one up.
01:53Number 8.
01:54Call 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
02:04came out in 2005.
02:06Praised for its faithfulness to the Lovecraft-sourced material, its tense and affecting atmosphere
02:11and compelling psychological horror themes, the game just couldn't get off the ground
02:15commercially.
02:16Reports indicate the critically acclaimed game only sold about 60,000 units across all
02:21platforms in its first year of release, resulting in it being branded a commercial failure by
02:26developer Headfirst Productions.
02:28Hold on though, because it gets worse.
02:30When Call of Cthulhu Dark Corners of the Earth was taking its six years in development, two
02:34other titles in the Call of Cthulhu series were being optimistically developed.
02:39Unfortunately, when Dark Corners of the Earth returned disappointing sales figures, both
02:43of these games were cancelled, when Headfirst was unable to secure a publisher for them
02:47in 2006.
02:49This led to the company declaring bankruptcy and subsequently liquidating, which is a pretty
02:53sad legacy for a cult-hit video game.
02:557.
02:56Nier
02:57Now, 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,
03:09titled both Nier Replicant and Nier Gestalt, or simply Nier, depending on your region.
03:13We're not even into how complicated the story and mechanics of this game are, and I think
03:17I've already lost about half of you, but let's keep going.
03:20Nier originally released in 2010 for the PS3 and Xbox 360 and was created by Yoko Taro.
03:26Despite receiving mounting praise for its soundtrack, voice acting, memorable characters
03:30and fascinating themes, the game didn't make any special waves commercially.
03:35Speaking after the fact, Taro clarified that they weren't in the red, but the game was
03:39hardly a success.
03:40The game shifted 134,000 copies within its first year of release, but even now, 13 years
03:46on, it's estimated that the game has only sold about 500,000 copies worldwide.
03:51To put that in perspective, the sequel Nier Automata has shifted over 6 million units
03:56between its 2017 release and March of 2021.
04:006.
04:01Muramasa The Demon Blade
04:03Trying 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
04:13things any easier.
04:14Such 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
04:23combat and Japanese folklore-inspired storyline, ultimately scoring the game an 81 out of 100
04:29on Metacritic.
04:30Despite dazzling critics pretty much across the board, the game didn't manage to knock
04:34it out of the park with sales in either Japan or North America.
04:38Though at the time, the NPD Group reported that the game sold 35,000 units during its
04:43first month on sale, and this sat within expectations, this would later be revised
04:48by the game's publisher, saying sales were low across Japan, North America and Europe.
04:53This was considered to be in large part due to the fact that at this point the Wii was
04:57falling out of vogue, and the untraditional nature of the game made it tricky to market.
05:01Despite returning some less-than-impressive sales numbers, the game is beloved by its
05:05fans, and even scored a re-release in 2013 for the PlayStation Vita called Muramasa Reaper.
05:115.
05:12El Shaddai Ascension of the Metatron
05:14Ignition Tokyo released the 2011 action game El Shaddai Ascension of the Metatron for the
05:19PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.
05:22The single-player adventure that was inspired by the Book of Enoch was praised for its interesting
05:26art style, compelling combat system, and curious and mysterious story that blended fantasy
05:32and science fiction.
05:33Despite impressing critics across the board, it's believed that the game didn't sell
05:37well.
05:38Shifting only 58,000 units in Japan at launch, and 220,000 units worldwide, that classed
05:44El Shaddai as a commercial disappointment for publisher Ignition Entertainment.
05:49This extended to the publisher being hit with a round of layoffs due to a series of commercial
05:53failures.
05:54Fortunately, there's a bit of a happy ending for this one, as the game's cult following
05:57helped along a spiritual successor called The Lost Child.
06:01The game was neither a commercial success, nor did it achieve the same critical acclaim
06:05as its predecessor, but it was a nice treat for fans of the original.
06:094.
06:10Gladius
06:11Tactical role-playing game Gladius was published and developed by LucasArts in 2003.
06:16The game lets you create a school of gladiators, and square up against opposing schools from
06:20different regions all over the game world.
06:22In keeping with our list, the game was actually rated as one of the quote, best Xbox games
06:27most people never played by the official Xbox magazine.
06:30Even though the game impressed critics with its engaging tactical combat, satisfying progression,
06:35character development systems, and strong narrative throughline in its campaign, it
06:39fell far beneath sales expectations.
06:42Reports indicated the game sold less than 100,000 copies in its first month of release
06:46in North America, deeming it a commercial failure for the studio even in the face of
06:51its impressive review scores.
06:53Though it may not have struck enough of a chord to invite a continuation of the series,
06:57Gladius is still a cult hit among fans.
06:593.
07:00Vampire The Masquerade – Bloodlines
07:02Although just about every RPG and vampire media enthusiast has tried their hand at Vampire
07:07The Masquerade – Bloodlines by now, the game massively fell under the radar when it
07:11first came out in 2004.
07:13Suffering from exactly the same steep competition that caused PSYOPs to struggle in the very
07:18same release window, there was simply no competing with Half-Life 2, Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake
07:23Eater, Halo 2, and Fable for the spotlight.
07:26Even though Bloodlines impressed critics with its fascinating game worlds, mature themes,
07:31supernatural powers, and intriguing story, not enough people gave it a shot when it first
07:35came out.
07:36This was in some part due to the game's technical issues and bugs, but it's sort
07:40of just accepted that the end of 2004 was just not kind to non-AAA games.
07:45The initial release stood at a modest 72,000 copies in its first three months on sale,
07:50firmly solidifying what would become the cult classic RPG as a commercial disappointment.
07:56Dedicated fans ensured the game would not fade out of the spotlight, though, as it has
07:59stayed firmly in the gaming zeitgeist and is still considered a must-play for RPG fans.
08:05The game even established a legacy where it's been cited as one of the major influences
08:09contributing to the resurgence of vampire-themed stories across all mediums.
08:13The fan-created patches that addressed technical issues and missing content from the original
08:18also helped the game from fading into obsolescence.
08:21Game director Leonard Boyarsky even voiced his appreciation for the patches, saying while
08:26they'd hoped the game would be more successful at launch, it felt more worthwhile to see
08:30how it stood the test of time and continues to inspire modders and fans.
08:342.
08:35Darksiders 2
08:36This'll seem like a weird one, since Darksiders 2 is far and away the highest-selling game
08:40on this list.
08:41The action-adventure sequel was reviewed very well, impressing critics with its compelling
08:46story that followed the journey of death and its genuinely fun combat mechanics.
08:50Even so, publisher THQ had to file for bankruptcy just a few months after the game released.
08:56Of course, this wasn't all due to the commercial failure of Darksiders 2, but THQ did state
09:01that the game didn't perform to their expectations.
09:04Even though at 247,000 units sold in its release month, it stood as the best-selling game in
09:09August of 2012.
09:11The game quickly lost steam, and the eventual 1.5 million units moved that year wasn't
09:16enough to keep the flailing company above water.
09:19Developer Vigil Games also went under as part of the company disbanding.
09:23In happier news, though, the game was eventually remastered into the definitive edition by
09:30Nordic Games, who purchased the IP when THQ's assets were sold off.
09:351.
09:36Enslaved Odyssey to the West
09:37Another perfect example of a game that both fans and critics loved, but inexplicably sold
09:41very little, is 2010's Enslaved Odyssey to the West.
09:45Developed by Ninja Theory and published by Namco Bandai Games, it was no surprise when
09:49the action-adventure turned out to be a slam-dunk.
09:52Unfortunately, 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.
10:04You take a stroll in the shoes of protagonist Monkey, who fights using a staff and must
10:08solve puzzles, explore the environment, and complete platforming challenges.
10:12The graphics were deemed to be stunning, the cutscenes understated and narratively impressive,
10:17and the soundtrack was described as elevating the gameplay experience even further.
10:21Despite scoring eights and nines out of ten pretty much across the board, very few people
10:26picked it up.
10:27Though Namco had hoped that sales would pass one million copies, after four months they'd
10:31only managed to sell 460,000, and then after a full year they'd only hit 730,000 copies
10:38sold.
10:39These figures were deemed too lackluster to justify the continuation of the franchise
10:43or the planned sequel, which was ultimately abandoned.
10:46Namco later blamed the game's busy release window for its commercial failure.
10:50Game director Tamim Antoniades later reflected,
10:52I'm not sure if the fantasy elements were a turn-off, the gameplay mix, or the lack
10:57of visibility.
10:58It was probably a mix of all three.
10:59That's the end of our list, but let me know down in the comments if you can think of any
11:03other great video games nobody bought that deserve to be on this list.
11:07As always, I've been Jess from WhatCulture, thank you so much for hanging out with me.
11:11If you like it, you can come say hi to me on my Twitter account, where I'm at Jess
11:14McDonnell, but make sure you stay tuned to us here for plenty more great gaming lists.