List of commercial failures in video games

However, at the suggestion of Sega of America research and development head Joe Miller, the console was converted into an add-on to the existing Mega Drive/Genesis and made more powerful, with two 32-bit central processing unit chips and a 3D graphics processor.

[5] In part because of this, and also to rush the 32X to market before the holiday season in 1994, the 32X suffered from a poor library of titles, including Mega Drive/Genesis ports with improvements to the number of colors that appeared on screen.

Though it supported a vast library of games including many exceptional third party releases,[8] a refusal to reduce its price of US$699.95 (equivalent to $1,480 in 2023) until almost the end of the product's life hampered sales.

The CPC+ range fared little better, as 8-bit computers had been all but superseded by similarly priced 16-bit machines such as the Amiga, though software hacks now make the advanced console graphics and sound accessible to users.

Reasons for the console's poor reception include that most of the games were simply enhanced versions of those played on its predecessor[15] and the awkward design of the controllers, which themselves were also prone to breaking down.

[41] The Gizmondo, a handheld video game device featuring GPS and a digital camera, was released by Tiger Telematics in the UK, Sweden and the U.S. starting in March 2005.

With poor promotion, few games (only fourteen were ever released), short battery life, a small screen, competition from the cheaper and more reputable Nintendo DS and PSP, and controversy surrounding the company, the system was a commercial failure.

[42] It is so far the world's worst selling handheld console in history, and due to its failure in the European and American video game markets, it was released neither in Australia nor in Japan.

[64][65] Eventually on June 13, 2000, Aruze decided to quit the North American and European markets, marking the end of SNK's worldwide operations and the discontinuation of Neo Geo hardware and software there.

The PC-FX was severely underpowered compared to other fifth generation consoles and had a very low budget marketing campaign, with the system never managing to gain a foothold against its competition or a significant part of the marketshare.

[93] GamesIndustry.biz attributed the Vita's failure to a number of factors, including competition from smartphones and Nintendo's rival 3DS platform, its design being too conceptually similar to the PSP, and a general lack of support from Sony and other developers.

[91] Built upon the PlayStation 2, the PSX enhanced multimedia derivative was touted to bring convergence to the living room in 2003 by including non-gaming features such as a DVD recorder, TV tuner, and multi-use hard drive.

[102] In September 2022, Google announced they were shuttering Stadia as a consumer product, with the service going offline in January 2023 and supplying refunds for those that purchased equipment, subscriptions and games.

[105] The uDraw GameTablet is a graphics tablet developed by THQ for use on seventh generation video game consoles, which was initially released for the Wii in late 2010.

[110][111] Though its independent monitor could display only monochrome visuals, the console's vector-based graphics and arcade-style controller with analog joystick[citation needed] allowed developers to create a strong games library with faithful conversions of arcade hits and critically praised exclusives.

[112] This red monochromatic 3-D "virtual reality" system was widely panned by critics and failed due to issues related to players getting eye strain, stiff necks, nausea, and headaches when playing it, along with the console's price and lack of portability.

Instead of a free to play model, Artifact was released at a premium cost, and encouraged players to buy new booster packs and trade and sell individual cards on the Steam Marketplace.

[136] At launch, the game was found to be overly complex and relied too much on random number generation mechanics in gameplay, and the monetization approach was considered as "pay to win", requiring players to invest in new cards as to be able to compete.

Alain Corre, Ubisoft's Executive Director of EMEA Territories, commented that the Xbox 360 release "did extremely well", but considered this success "too late" to make a difference in the game's poor sales.

[165] Furthermore, its late-year release in October 2009 buried the title among many top-tier games, including Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Batman: Arkham Asylum and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

[175] While it is visually similar to Rare's previous games like Banjo-Kazooie and Donkey Kong 64, Conker's Bad Fur Day is aimed at mature audiences and features profanity, graphic violence, and off-color humor.

One of the more infamous failures in PC video games was Daikatana, which was drastically hyped due to creator John Romero's popular status as one of the key designers behind Doom.

The game divided employees working on Ion's marquee title, Daikatana, arguably leading to the walkout of several key development team members.

It put a strain on Ion Storm's finances, leading the once well-funded startup to scramble for cash as Daikatana's development extended over several years.

Though heavily advertised and being released on multiple consoles, only 270,000 copies of Epic Mickey 2 were sold in North America, barely a quarter of the original's sales of 1.3 million.

[192] However, the game's sales appeared to be crowded out by other titles released during the late 1998 season, including Half-Life, Metal Gear Solid and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

The game is favorably compared to a Zelda-type adventure, and is based on the quest of the goddess-wolf Amaterasu using a "celestial brush" to draw in magical effects on screen and to restore the cursed land of ancient Nippon.

[235] These factors have led for Ōkami to be called the "least commercially successful winner of a game of the year award" in the 2010 version of the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition.

They wanted to make Sunset a "game for gamers" while still retaining their arthouse-style approach, and in addition to planning on a commercial release, used Kickstarter to gain funding.

[300] It also had gameplay that rewarded planning and stealth as much as reflexes and trigger speed, and included a non-game mode called "Doodle City", where players could make artwork using the polygons.