9 Best Video Games Nobody Bought
HOW did these games not sell?!
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TVTranscript
00:00 A little while ago we made a list of 10 amazing games that barely anybody bought, and you
00:04 guys rushed to the comments to tell us a couple of things.
00:07 The first of which were the games on the list that you loved that you did actually buy,
00:11 and the second was more games that deserved to be on the list.
00:14 And so, as is tradition, we've thrown together a whole new list with your picks for incredible
00:18 video games that deserve to be played and purchased by far more people than they were.
00:23 Some of these games are relative unknowns, while others are huge names that were still
00:26 considered commercial failures due to the expectations of their developers and publishers.
00:31 Be sure to let us know down in that comment section which of these are your favorites,
00:35 or hey, maybe mine the list for a few new favorites that you might never have considered
00:39 playing.
00:40 I'm Jess from WhatCulture, and here are the 9 best video games nobody bought, commenter
00:44 edition.
00:45 Number 9, PsyOps - The Mindgate Conspiracy.
00:47 2004 action-adventure from Midway Games, PsyOps - The Mindgate Conspiracy had everything going
00:53 for it except timing.
00:55 It'll alternate between traditional third-person shooter gameplay and utilizing your suite
00:59 of psychic powers as protagonist Nick Skryre.
01:02 Skryre is a soldier who's been recruited by the Mindgate Corporation and needs to unravel
01:06 a sinister plot, driven by baddies who are an organization called The Movement.
01:11 Despite reviewing surprisingly well, including scoring GameSpot's award for best PlayStation
01:16 2 game of June 2004 and getting plenty of nods for Game of the Year categories, the
01:21 game was a commercial disappointment for Midway.
01:24 Only shifting around 400,000 copies in its first year of release, PsyOps struggled to
01:28 compete with the heavy hitters like Fable, Grand Theft Auto San Andreas, and Half-Life
01:32 2, which all launched around the same time.
01:36 The game has since garnered a well-deserved cult following, but unfortunately, because
01:40 of its commercial failings, any hope for the series to continue has been dashed.
01:45 Even though the game does end with a big-to-be-continued splash screen that flashes up during the credits,
01:50 which certainly stings a little for the fans who did pick this one up.
01:53 8.
01:54 Call of Cthulhu Dark Corners of the Earth
01:56 Another cult hit that didn't receive anywhere near the amount of attention that it certainly
02:00 deserved, Call of Cthulhu Dark Corners of the Earth was a survival horror game that
02:04 came out in 2005.
02:06 Praised for its faithfulness to the Lovecraft-sourced material, its tense and affecting atmosphere,
02:11 and compelling psychological horror themes, the game just couldn't get off the ground
02:15 commercially.
02:16 Reports indicate the critically acclaimed game only sold about 60,000 units across all
02:21 platforms in its first year of release, resulting in it being branded a commercial failure by
02:26 developer Headfirst Productions.
02:28 Hold on though, because it gets worse.
02:30 When Call of Cthulhu Dark Corners of the Earth was taking its six years in development, two
02:34 other titles in the Call of Cthulhu series were being optimistically developed.
02:38 Unfortunately, when Dark Corners of the Earth returned disappointing sales figures, both
02:43 of these games were cancelled, when Headfirst was unable to secure a publisher for them
02:47 in 2006.
02:48 This led to the company declaring bankruptcy and subsequently liquidating, which is a pretty
02:53 sad legacy for a cult-hit video game.
02:55 7.
02:56 Nier
02:57 Now, we've got to be clear when we're talking about Nier, as this entry refers to not the
03:01 sequel Nier Automata or the remake Replicant version 1.2247 etc, but the original game,
03:08 titled both Nier Replicant and Nier Gestalt, or simply Nier, depending on your region.
03:13 We're not even into how complicated the story and mechanics of this game are, and I think
03:17 I've already lost about half of you, but let's keep going.
03:20 Nier originally released in 2010 for the PS3 and Xbox 360 and was created by Yoko Taro.
03:26 Despite receiving mounting praise for its soundtrack, voice acting, memorable characters
03:30 and fascinating themes, the game didn't make any special waves commercially.
03:34 Speaking after the fact, Taro clarified that they weren't in the red, but the game was
03:39 hardly a success.
03:40 The game shifted 134,000 copies within its first year of release, but even now, 13 years
03:46 on, it's estimated that the game has only sold about 500,000 copies worldwide.
03:51 To put that in perspective, the sequel Nier Automata has shifted over 6 million units
03:56 between its 2017 release and March of 2021.
04:00 6.
04:01 Muramasa - The Demon Blade Trying to get an action-adventure hack and
04:04 slash game to rise above the already well-saturated genre in 2009 is already a feat, but putting
04:11 said game on the Wii certainly didn't make things any easier.
04:14 Such was the case for Muramasa - The Demon Blade, created for the Wii by Vanillaware.
04:19 The game was a hit with critics who adored the beautiful art style, tight, fast-paced
04:23 combat and Japanese folklore-inspired storyline, ultimately scoring the game an 81 out of 100
04:29 on Metacritic.
04:30 Despite dazzling critics pretty much across the board, the game didn't manage to knock
04:34 it out of the park with sales in either Japan or North America.
04:38 Though at the time, the NPD Group reported that the game sold 35,000 units during its
04:42 first month on sale, and this sat within expectations, this would later be revised by the game's
04:48 publisher, saying sales were low across Japan, North America and Europe.
04:53 This was considered to be in large part due to the fact that at this point the Wii was
04:56 falling out of vogue, and the untraditional nature of the game made it tricky to market.
05:01 Despite returning some less-than-impressive sales numbers, the game is beloved by its
05:05 fans and even scored a re-release in 2013 for the PlayStation Vita called Muramasa Rebirth.
05:10 5.
05:11 El Shaddai - Ascension of the Metatron
05:13 Ignition Tokyo released the 2011 action game El Shaddai Ascension of the Metatron for the
05:18 PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.
05:21 The single-player adventure that was inspired by the Book of Enoch was praised for its interesting
05:26 art style, compelling combat system and curious and mysterious story that blended fantasy
05:31 and science fiction.
05:33 Despite impressing critics across the board, it's believed that the game didn't sell
05:36 particularly well, shifting only 58,000 units in Japan at launch and 220,000 units worldwide
05:44 that classed El Shaddai as a commercial disappointment for publisher Ignition Entertainment.
05:48 This extended to the publisher being hit with a round of layoffs due to a series of commercial
05:53 failures.
05:54 Fortunately, there's a bit of a happy ending for this one, as the game's cult following
05:57 helped along a spiritual successor called The Lost Child.
06:01 The game was neither a commercial success, nor did it achieve the same critical acclaim
06:05 as its predecessor, but it was a nice treat for fans of the original.
06:08 Number 4.
06:09 Gladius
06:10 Tactical role-playing game Gladius was published and developed by LucasArts in 2003.
06:15 The game lets you create a school of gladiators and square up against opposing schools from
06:19 different regions all over the game world.
06:22 In keeping with our list, the game was actually rated as one of the quote "best Xbox games
06:26 most people never played" by the official Xbox magazine.
06:30 Even though the game impressed critics with its engaging tactical combat, satisfying progression
06:34 and character development systems, and strong narrative throughline in its campaign, it
06:39 fell far beneath sales expectations.
06:41 Reports indicated the game sold less than 100,000 copies in its first month of release
06:46 in North America, deeming it a commercial failure for the studio even in the face of
06:51 its impressive review scores.
06:52 Though it may not have struck enough of a chord to invite a continuation of the series,
06:56 Gladius is still a cult hit among fans.
06:59 Number 3.
07:00 Vampire The Masquerade - Bloodlines
07:02 Although just about every RPG and vampire media enthusiast has tried their hand at Vampire
07:07 The Masquerade - Bloodlines by now, the game massively fell under the radar when it first
07:11 came out in 2004.
07:13 Suffering from exactly the same steep competition that caused PSYOPs to struggle in the very
07:17 same release window, there was simply no competing with Half-Life 2, Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake
07:23 Eater, Halo 2 and Fable for the spotlight.
07:26 Even though Bloodlines impressed critics with its fascinating game worlds, mature themes,
07:30 supernatural powers and intriguing story, not enough people gave it a shot when it first
07:35 came out.
07:36 This was in some part due to the game's technical issues and bugs, but it's sort of just accepted
07:40 that the end of 2004 was just not kind to non-AAA games.
07:45 The initial release stood at a modest 72,000 copies in its first three months on sale,
07:50 firmly solidifying what would become the cult classic RPG as a commercial disappointment.
07:55 Dedicated fans ensured the game would not fade out of the spotlight, though, as it has
07:59 stayed firmly in the gaming zeitgeist and is still considered a must-play for RPG fans.
08:04 The game even established a legacy where it's been cited as one of the major influences
08:08 contributing to the resurgence of vampire-themed stories across all mediums.
08:13 The fan-created patches that addressed technical issues and missing content from the original
08:18 also helped the game from fading into obsolescence.
08:21 Game director Leonard Boyarsky even voiced his appreciation for the patches, saying while
08:26 they'd hoped the game would be more successful at launch, it felt more worthwhile to see
08:30 how it stood the test of time and continues to inspire modders and fans.
08:34 2.
08:35 Darksiders 2
08:36 This'll seem like a weird one, since Darksiders 2 is far and away the highest-selling game
08:40 on this list.
08:41 The action-adventure sequel was reviewed very well, impressing critics with its compelling
08:45 story that followed the journey of death and its genuinely fun combat mechanics.
08:50 Even so, publisher THQ had to file for bankruptcy just a few months after the game released.
08:55 Of course, this wasn't all due to the commercial failure of Darksiders 2, but THQ did state
09:00 that the game didn't perform to their expectations, even though at 247,000 units sold in its release
09:07 month, it stood as the best-selling game in August of 2012.
09:10 The game quickly lost steam, and the eventual 1.5 million units moved that year wasn't
09:16 enough to keep the flailing company above water.
09:19 Developer Vigil Games also went under as part of the company disbanding.
09:23 In happier news, the game was eventually remastered into the "Definitive" edition by Nordic
09:30 Games, who purchased the IP when THQ's assets were sold off.
09:34 1.
09:35 Enslaved Odyssey to the West
09:36 Another perfect example of a game that both fans and critics loved, but inexplicably sold
09:41 very little, is 2010's Enslaved Odyssey to the West.
09:45 Developed by Ninja Theory and published by Namco Bandai Games, it was no surprise when
09:49 the action-adventure turned out to be a slam dunk.
09:52 Unfortunately, it was a slam dunk that nobody bought.
09:55 Loosely based on the book Journey to the West, the game was praised for its interesting post-apocalyptic
10:00 story and emphasis on narrative and character development.
10:04 You take a stroll in the shoes of protagonist Monkey, who fights using a staff and must
10:08 solve puzzles, explore the environment, and complete platforming challenges.
10:12 The graphics were deemed to be stunning, the cutscenes understated and narratively impressive,
10:17 and the soundtrack was described as elevating the gameplay experience even further.
10:21 Despite scoring 8s and 9s out of 10 pretty much across the board, very few people picked
10:26 it up.
10:27 Though Namco had hoped that sales would pass 1 million copies, after four months they'd
10:31 only managed to sell 460,000, and then after a full year they'd only hit 730,000 copies
10:37 sold.
10:38 These figures were deemed too lackluster to justify the continuation of the franchise
10:42 or the planned sequel, which was ultimately abandoned.
10:46 Namco later blamed the game's busy release window for its commercial failure.
10:50 Game director Tamim Antoniades later reflected, "I'm not sure if the fantasy elements were
10:54 a turn-off, the gameplay mix, or the lack of visibility.
10:58 It was probably a mix of all three."
10:59 That's the end of our list, but let me know down in the comments if you can think of any
11:03 other great video games nobody bought that deserve to be on this list.
11:07 As always, I've been Jess from WhatCulture, thanks for hanging out with me.
11:11 If you like it, you can come say hi to me on my Twitter account @JessMcDonald, but make
11:15 sure you stay tuned to us here for plenty more great gaming lists.