Some of these were actually solid
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00:00Now it's always disappointing to see a breathtaking video game unable to turn a profit,
00:04despite its reception being unanimously positive. Grim Fandango, Psychonauts, Beyond Good and Evil,
00:09and many other iconic titles failed because there was little buzz surrounding them at the time of
00:14release. But every once in a while, a game will tank despite it being hyped beyond measure.
00:19Even though the gaming community seemed giddy to get their hands on certain titles,
00:23you would never have guessed it after seeing the sales count.
00:25And that's what we're here to talk about today as I'm Jules, this is WhatCulture.com,
00:29and these are 10 Video Games We All Wanted But Nobody Bought.
00:3210. Prince of Persia The Lost Crown
00:35After Prince of Persia The Forgotten Sands failed to impress, it was no surprise when
00:39the chrono-platformer went into hibernation. However, nobody expected the franchise to lay
00:43dormant for 14 years, so when 2024's Prince of Persia The Lost Crown was announced,
00:48excitement was in the air. Although the trailer was initially met with hostility,
00:52there were plenty of P.O.P. lovers dying to revisit the classic IP. The 2.5D side-scroller
00:58was lavished with glowing reviews, proving the naysayers wrong. Due to its innovative combat and
01:03impeccable level design, The Lost Crown deserves its place among the best modern metroidvanias.
01:07But the Prince of Persia series didn't get the comeback it deserved. Firstly,
01:11selling the title at full price was a bad move. With the best metroidvanias costing under 20 quid,
01:16customers balked after seeing this hefty price tag. On top of that, and as painful a truth as
01:21this may well be, Prince of Persia doesn't actually carry the same weight that it once did,
01:25despite its dedicated fanbase. As a result, the bulk of its potential audience didn't gravitate
01:30towards it. Despite every critic singing The Lost Crown's praises, it only sold 300,000 units in
01:36its first two weeks. Although Ubisoft lowered the price soon after, it merely softened the damage
01:41instead of reversing it. If the company priced The Lost Crown more reasonably from the get-go,
01:46it probably would have sold significantly better.
01:489. Mirror's Edge Mirror's Edge came out in a time where
01:52the industry was oversaturated with first-person titles. Focusing more on acrobatics rather than
01:57blasting everything in sight, DICE's game-changer breathed new life into the genre. Mirror's Edge
02:02may have underperformed, but it didn't stop the parkour-themed title being elevated to cult status,
02:07and when that happens, it isn't long before the masses demand a follow-up. Though fans had to
02:11wait an eternity, DICE eventually got around to greenlighting a reboot. Rather than creating a
02:16carbon copy of the original with enhanced graphics, Mirror's Edge Catalyst reworked
02:20everything from the ground up. On top of that, this instalment focused on online multiplayer,
02:24which fuelled the hype train even further. Though this reimagining had its problems,
02:28it sold well enough to make a sizeable profit. Sadly though, Catalyst was swallowed up almost
02:33immediately by the billion-dollar Titan Overwatch, which released the previous month.
02:37In the end, it sold an underwhelming 2.5 million copies, the same amount as its predecessor.
02:42Catalyst never recovered, which led to its servers being closed down for good in 2023.
02:47Although the main campaign is still playable, it's a shame that the multiplayer was deactivated,
02:51considering it was among the game's biggest selling points.
02:548. Viewtiful Joe 2
02:57Twenty years after its release, Clover Studios' Viewtiful Joe is still one of the most innovative
03:01platformers ever. The titular star uses movie mechanics like close-ups, fast-forward, and
03:06slow-mo to battle enemies, solve puzzles, and open new pathways. Coupled with its cell-shaded
03:11graphics and cheeky meta-humour, there hasn't been a 2D side-scroller like this before, or since.
03:16Viewtiful Joe looked like it had a slim chance of success, since it was so difficult to market.
03:21Though sales fell short of expectations, the luscious platformer scraped up enough
03:25to warrant a sequel. As solid as the first entry was, Viewtiful Joe 2 was shaping up to be better,
03:31boasting two characters to play as, more variety in combat, and less of a punishing difficulty curve.
03:36Since the first entry had proven this brand had legs, the sequel should have been a winner.
03:41But too bad high praise doesn't translate into high sales. Despite getting a thumbs up from
03:46critics, VJ 2 sold abominably worldwide, resulting in another planned sequel's cancellation.
03:51Though two spin-offs were released, Viewtiful Joe 3 never actually materialized. After the
03:56dissolution of Clover Studio, it's likely that a third installment will ever come to fruition.
04:017. Onimusha Dawn of Dreams
04:03Since there hasn't been a new Onimusha for almost 20 years, it's easy to forget how impactful the
04:08original was. Onimusha Warlords was championed for its fluid swordplay, astounding soundtrack,
04:14and impressive graphics, causing the Samurai Saga to become the first PS2 game to sell a
04:19million copies. Despite the fact that Onimusha was planned as a trilogy, fans were hungry for
04:23more after the third installment seemingly wrapped things up, urging Capcom to work on another title.
04:29Rather than churning out more of the same, Capcom made Onimusha Dawn of Dreams more
04:32action-oriented by implementing similar mechanics as Shadow of Rome,
04:36which was released the previous year. Since Dawn of Dreams was made for a particular demographic,
04:40the developers expected the project not to make as much money as the previous installments.
04:44Nevertheless, Dawn of Dreams made significantly less than Capcom hoped. Although the original
04:49Onimusha sold over a million copies in Japan alone, this sequel barely managed to get a
04:53third of that amount. Onimusha Dawn of Dreams was far from perfect, but it was nowhere near
04:58the disaster that one would expect while looking at this rather diabolical sales record.
05:026. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
05:05Being a reboot of one of the most beloved RPGs ever, Square's ever-gestating Final Fantasy VII
05:10remake was pretty much a guaranteed hit. Sure enough, the ambitious reimagining sold over 3
05:15million copies within three days, making it the fastest-selling PS4 exclusive. However,
05:20Final Fantasy VII Remake only covered the first act of the original. With Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
05:25covering the bulk of its story, it was primed to be a bigger success. And yet, the second chapter
05:30only sold half the amount of the first entry, despite being adored by critics and fans.
05:35Although RPGs often do well in Japan, Rebirth fared worse there, bringing in a third of its
05:39predecessor. Just to be clear, this Final Fantasy instalment isn't tanking by any stretch of the
05:44imagination, but according to industry analyst Daniel Ahmad, there's no question that it's
05:48underperforming. The reason behind Rebirth's less-than-stellar performance isn't actually
05:52certain, but there are several theories. Remake was released during the lockdown, when the gaming
05:56industry was booming. The fact that Rebirth is only available on the PS5 was definitely sure
06:01to hurt its sales as well, and since some Final Fantasy VII devotees weren't on board with the
06:05retcons of Remake, it's likely they didn't bother with the follow-up, which took further liberties
06:10with the source material. Even though Final Fantasy Rebirth's sales are good, it hasn't
06:14filled Square's pockets the way that anyone anticipated.
06:175. Max Payne 2 – The Fall of Max Payne
06:20The first instalment in Remedy's hard-boiled shooter was praised for its over-the-top shootouts,
06:25noir atmosphere, and bullet-time mechanics. And since Max Payne made a killing in sales,
06:30the sequel was sure to sell just as well, if not better, right? Well, although The Fall of Max
06:34Payne wasn't as revolutionary, it improved nearly every aspect of the original, offering a tighter
06:39story, better voice acting, smoother graphics, and more intense action. Also, leaping through
06:43the air with slow-mo guns blazing has never felt more satisfying. And that's why it was baffling
06:48when Max Payne 2 absolutely tanked. In fact, it sold so abysmally, it's one of the central reasons
06:54why Take-Two Interactive was shut down. In hindsight, The Fall of Max Payne was surprisingly
06:58prophetic. Stranger still, there's no concrete explanation why MP2 failed. It was available on
07:04PS2, Xbox, and the PC, so accessibility wasn't a problem. It garnered rave reviews across the
07:09board. It didn't get swallowed up by a bigger brand released around the same time. It's just
07:13a mystery. And most importantly, it was a game that the fanbase wanted to play. 20 years later,
07:19it's still a mystery why Max Payne 2 didn't pan out as well as it should have.
07:234. Chrono Cross
07:25Chrono Trigger hasn't endured as a series like Final Fantasy, but its legacy sure has.
07:30Being one of the most beloved games ever, a sequel to the time-traveling RPG just couldn't
07:34come soon enough. Although the hype seemed insurmountable, Chrono Cross was an utter
07:39triumph, capturing the spirit of the original without imitating it. In fact, it improved on
07:44Chrono Trigger in several departments. The combat was more tactical, making every victory all the
07:48more satisfying. Although the first installment had players take control of seven characters,
07:52Cross allowed our hero to recruit a whopping 45 members, each with their own distinctive
07:57personality and fighting style. With another beautiful world to explore, sensational bosses
08:02to battle, and an epic story to fall in love with, players should have shown up in droves
08:06when Chrono Cross debuted. But tragically, Cross had the misfortune of coming out a month after
08:11Square's other epic roleplayer Final Fantasy 9. Being a more recognizable brand, Final Fantasy
08:17cleaned shop while Chrono Cross was kind of left in the lurch. Due to the shoddy sales,
08:21Square didn't even bother to release Cross in Europe. For this reason, many European gamers
08:25were pining for a Chrono Trigger sequel at the time, oblivious that Chrono Cross even existed.
08:303. Lawbreakers
08:32Now, Cliff Bleszinski is the brains behind towering IPs like Unreal Tournament and Gears of War.
08:38Because of this, any project he helms should cause quite the stir amongst his dedicated fanbase. So
08:43when he announced that a gravity-defying shooter called Lawbreakers would be his new company's
08:47launch title, it was a big deal. The fact Bleszinski came out of retirement for this project
08:52highlighted how much he believed in it. The creators spared no expense with marketing,
08:56collaborating with influencers, and organizing giveaways for this tantalizing blaster.
09:00But despite the buzz, the team-based shooter didn't come close to outshining its competition.
09:04When it debuted on Steam, Lawbreakers failed to break into the top 100 played games.
09:09In its prime, it never generated more than 7,500 players. Though the ports had better luck,
09:15they didn't bring in enough money for Lawbreakers to sustain itself,
09:18causing the servers to be shut down barely a year after release.
09:21What's worse is that this isn't the first time such a tragedy has befallen Cliff Bleszinski.
09:25Despite the heavy promotions and positive reception Bulletstorm received six years
09:29earlier, the over-the-top FPS also bombed spectacularly.
09:332. The Last Guardian
09:35Few games have raised the bar in terms of emotional storytelling on the same level
09:39as Shadow of the Colossus. As such, all eyes were on Fumito Ueda's next project.
09:43And when The Last Guardian was presented at E3 2009, everyone was awestruck by the high-res
09:49textures and characters' realistic mannerisms. With The Last Guardian expected to be another
09:53showstopper, fans of Ueda's work just couldn't wait. Unfortunately, waiting is exactly what
09:58everyone was forced to do. Despite being planned for a 2011 launch, The Last Guardian suffered a
10:02nightmarish development. Just when it looked like the project might see the light of day,
10:06it was hit with another delay, and another, and another.
10:09But when The Last Guardian was finally released in 2016, it seemed like the wait had paid off.
10:14It wasn't as groundbreaking as Ueda's previous work, but the gorgeous graphics,
10:17beautiful story, and highly advanced AI were truly something to behold. But due to the five-year
10:22delay, many people who were initially psyched to play The Last Guardian had given up and moved
10:27on to something else. Gamers had been spurred too often to give it a shot, regardless of what
10:31the reviews said. Despite the overwhelming hype that once surrounded The Last Guardian,
10:35it debuted at number 7 in the UK charts, and struggled to climb any higher.
10:46Despite the fact that Dreamcast had a lacklustre start, Sega hoped one game in particular would
10:51turn everything around. Since Shenmue, I'm just gonna say it normally, boasted unique mechanics
10:56including day and night cycles, weather events, scheduled events for NPCs and quick time events,
11:00the Asian crime brawler looked pretty bloody promising. Though Shenmue met its unrealistically
11:05high expectations, it was facing an uphill battle from the get-go, since it was a Dreamcast
11:10exclusive. Although the Sega system was underrated, there's no doubt it was a failure,
11:14since it only sold 9 million units. By comparison, the PS1 sold over 100 million during the same
11:20period. Since Shenmue was the most expensive video game ever at the time, it was borderline
11:24impossible to recoup the development costs, even if every Dreamcast owner bought a copy.
11:29But Sega wouldn't go down without a fight. Knowing the IP had potential, they released a sequel with
11:34a significantly cheaper budget. Now that Shenmue was a recognised brand, the follow-up should have
11:38had no problem bringing in the money, especially after it was praised to the nines by critics.
11:43Alas, Shenmue 2 barely sold one-tenth of its predecessor, sending the franchise into a hiatus
11:49for nearly two decades. And the less said about Shenmue III, the better. Ugh.
11:54And there we go my friends, those were 10 video games we all wanted but nobody bought. I hope that
11:59you enjoyed that and let me know what you thought about it down in the comment section below. As
12:03always, I've been Jules, you can go follow me over on Instagram and AX where it's at RetroJB
12:08the O is a 0. Hope to see you over there my friend so you can come check out all the Warhammer stuff
12:12I've been painting. Hope you're treating yourself well, big love to you my friend, and I'll speak to you soon. Bye.