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. And that's what we're here to talk
00:26about today as I'm Jules, this is WhatCulture.com, and these are 10 video games we all wanted,
00:31but nobody bought. 10. Prince of Persia The Lost Crown
00:35After Prince of Persia The Forgotten Sands failed to impress, it was no surprise when the Chrono
00:40platformer went into hibernation. However, nobody expected the franchise to lay dormant for 14 years,
00:45so when 2024's Prince of Persia The Lost Crown was announced, excitement was in the air. Although
00:51the trailer was initially met with hostility, there were plenty of P.O.P. lovers dying to revisit the
00:55classic IP. The 2.5D side-scroller was lavished with glowing reviews, proving the naysayers wrong.
01:01Due to its innovative combat and impeccable level design, The Lost Crown deserves its place among
01:06the best modern Metroidvanias. But the Prince of Persia series didn't get the comeback it deserved.
01:11Firstly, selling the title at full price was a bad move. With the best Metroidvanias costing under
01:1520 quid, customers balked after seeing this hefty price tag. On top of that, and as painful a truth
01:21as this may well be, The 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 its
01:36first two weeks. Although Ubisoft lowered the price soon after, it merely softened the damage instead of
01:42reversing it. If the company priced The Lost Crown more reasonably from the get-go, it probably would
01:46have sold significantly better. 9. Mirror's Edge
01:50Mirror's Edge came out in a time where the industry was oversaturated with first-person titles.
01:55Focusing more on acrobatics rather than blasting everything in sight, DICE's game-changer breathed
02:00new life into the genre. Mirror's Edge may have underperformed, but it didn't stop the parkour-themed
02:05title being elevated to cult status, and when that happens, it isn't long before the masses demand a
02:10follow-up. Though fans had to wait an eternity, DICE eventually got around to greenlighting a reboot,
02:15rather than creating a carbon copy of the original with enhanced graphics, Mirror's Edge Catalyst
02:20reworked everything 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 sizable profit. Sadly, though, Catalyst was swallowed up almost
02:33immediately by the billion-dollar Titan Overwatch, which released the previous month. In the end,
02:37it sold an underwhelming 2.5 million copies, the same amount as its predecessor. Catalyst never
02:43recovered, which led to its servers being closed down for good in 2023. Although the main campaign
02:48is still playable, it's a shame that the multiplayer was deactivated, considering it was
02:52among the game's biggest selling points. 8. Beautiful Joe 2
02:56Twenty years after its release, Clover Studios' Beautiful Joe is still one of the most innovative
03:01platformers ever. The titular star uses movie mechanics like close-ups, fast-forward, and slow-mo to
03:07battle enemies, solve puzzles, and open new pathways. Coupled with its cel-shaded graphics and cheeky
03:12meta-humor, there hasn't been a 2D side-scroller like this before, or since.
03:16Beautiful 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, Beautiful 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 critics,
03:46VJ2 sold abominably worldwide, resulting in another planned sequel's cancellation.
03:51Though two spin-offs were released, Beautiful 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 original
04:09was. 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 million
04:19copies. Despite the fact that Onimusha was planned as a trilogy, fans were hungry for more after the
04:24third installment seemingly wrapped things up, urging Capcom to work on another title. Rather than
04:29churning out more of the same, Capcom made Onimusha Dawn of Dreams more action-oriented by
04:33implementing similar mechanics as Shadow of Rome, which was released the previous year.
04:38Since Dawn of Dreams was made for a particular demographic, the developers expected the project
04:42not to make as much money as the previous installments. Nevertheless, Dawn of Dreams
04:45made significantly less than Capcom hoped. Although the original Onimusha sold over a million copies
04:50in Japan alone, this sequel barely managed to get a third of that amount. Now, Onimusha Dawn of
04:55Dreams was far from perfect, but it was nowhere near the disaster that one would expect while
05:00looking at this rather diabolical sales record. 6. 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 million
05:16copies within three days, making it the fastest-selling PS4 exclusive. However, Final Fantasy VII Remake
05:21only covered the first act of the original. With Final Fantasy VII Rebirth covering the bulk of its
05:26story, it was primed to be a bigger success. And yet, the second chapter only sold half the
05:31amount of the first entry, despite being adored by critics and fans. Although RPGs often do well
05:36in Japan, Rebirth fared worse their bringing in a third of its predecessor. Now, just to be clear,
05:41this Final Fantasy installment isn't tanking by any stretch of the imagination, but according to
05:45industry analyst Daniel Ahmad, there's no question that it's underperforming. The reason behind
05:50Rebirth's less-than-stellar performance isn't actually certain, but there are several theories.
05:54Remake was released during the lockdown, when the gaming industry was booming. The fact that
05:58Rebirth is only available on the PS5 was definitely sure to hurt its sales as well. And since some
06:03Final Fantasy VII devotees weren't on board with the retcons of Remake, it's likely they didn't
06:07bother with the follow-up, which took further liberties with the source material. Even though
06:11Final Fantasy Rebirth's sales are good, it hasn't filled Square's pockets the way that anyone
06:16anticipated. 5. Max Payne 2 – The Fall of Max Payne
06:20The first installment 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
06:34Max Payne wasn't as revolutionary, it improved nearly every aspect of the original, offering a
06:38tighter story, better voice acting, smoother graphics, and more intense action. Also, leaping
06:43through the air with slow-mo guns blazing has never felt more satisfying. And that's why it was
06:47baffling when Max Payne 2 absolutely tanked. In fact, it sold so abysmally, it's one of the
06:53central reasons why Take-Two Interactive was shut down. In hindsight, the fall of Max Payne was
06:58surprisingly prophetic. Stranger still, there's no concrete explanation why MP2 failed. It was
07:03available on PS2, Xbox, and the PC, so accessibility wasn't a problem. It garnered rave reviews across
07:09the board. It didn't get swallowed up by a bigger brand released around the same time.
07:12It's just a mystery. And most importantly, it was a game that the fanbase wanted to play.
07:1820 years later, it'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. Being one
07:30of the most beloved games ever, a sequel to the time-travelling RPG just couldn't come soon
07:35enough. Although the hype seemed insurmountable, Chrono Cross was in utter triumph, capturing the
07:40spirit of the original without imitating it. In fact, it improved on Chrono Trigger in several
07:45departments. The combat was more tactical, making every victory all the more satisfying.
07:49Although 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 role-player Final Fantasy IX. Being a more recognisable brand, Final Fantasy
08:16clean shop, while Chrono Cross was kind of left in the lurch. Due to the shoddy sales, Square didn't
08:21even bother to release Cross in Europe. For this reason, many European gamers were pining for a
08:26Chrono Trigger sequel at the time, oblivious that Chrono Cross even existed.
08:303. LawBreakers
08:32Cliff Blazinski is the brains behind towering IPs like Unreal Tournament and Gears of War. Because
08:38of this, any project he helms should cause quite the stir amongst his dedicated fanbase. So when
08:43he announced that a gravity-defying shooter called LawBreakers would be his new company's launch
08:47title, it was a big deal. The fact Blazinski came out of retirement for this project highlighted
08:52how much he believed in it. The creators spared no expense with marketing, collaborating with
08:57influencers and organising giveaways for this tantalising blaster. But despite the buzz,
09:01the team-based shooter didn't come close to outshining its competition. When it debuted on
09:05Steam, LawBreakers failed to break into the top 100 played games. In its prime, it never generated
09:11more than 7,500 players. Though the ports had better luck, they didn't bring in enough money for
09:16LawBreakers to sustain itself, causing 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 Blazinski.
09:25Despite the heavy promotions and positive reception Bulletstorm received six years earlier,
09:30the 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 as Shadow of the
09:40Colossus. As such, all eyes were on Fumito Ueda's next project. And when The Last Guardian was
09:45presented at E3 2009, everyone was awestruck by the high-res textures and characters' realistic
09:50mannerisms. With The Last Guardian expected to be another showstopper, fans of Ueda's work,
09:55just couldn't wait. Unfortunately, waiting is exactly what everyone was forced to do.
09:59Despite being planned for a 2011 launch, The Last Guardian suffered a nightmarish development.
10:04Just when it looked like the project might see the light of day, it was hit with another delay,
10:08and another, and another. But when The Last Guardian was finally released in 2016,
10:12it seemed like the wait had paid off. It wasn't as groundbreaking as Ueda's previous work,
10:16but the gorgeous graphics, beautiful story, and highly advanced AI were truly something to behold.
10:21But due to the five-year delay, many people who were initially psyched to play The Last Guardian
10:26had given up and moved on to something else. Gamers had been spurred too often to give it a shot,
10:31regardless of what the review said. Despite the overwhelming hype that once surrounded The Last
10:35Guardian, it debuted at number 7 in the UK charts, and struggled to climb any higher.
10:39And number 1, Shenmue 1 and 2, or Shenmue if you're going to be boring about it.
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 going to 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 exclusive.
11:11Although the Sega system was underrated, there's no doubt it was a failure, since it only sold 9
11:15million units. By comparison, the PS1 sold over 100 million during the same period. Since Shenmue
11:21was the most expensive video game ever at the time, it was borderline impossible to recoup the
11:25development costs, even if every Dreamcast owner bought a copy. But Sega wouldn't go down without a
11:30fight. Knowing the IP had potential, they released a sequel with a significantly cheaper budget.
11:36Now that Shenmue was a recognised brand, the follow-up should have had no problem bringing
11:39in the money, especially after it was praised to the nines by critics. Alas, Shenmue 2 barely sold
11:45one-tenth of its predecessor, sending the franchise into a hiatus for nearly two decades. And the less
11:51said about Shenmue 3, the better.
11:53And there we go, my friends. Those were 10 video games we all wanted, but nobody bought. I hope
11:59that you enjoyed that, and let me know what you thought about it down in the comment section below.
12:03As always, I've been Jules, you can go follow me over on Instagram at AX, where it's at
12:07retrojbdeo is a zero. Hope to see you over there, my friend, so you can come check out all the
12:11Warhammer stuff I've been painting. Hope you're treating yourself well, big love to you,
12:14my friend, and I'll speak to you soon. Bye.