The timing also matters, especially when you are making a Video Game and releasing it to the public. Since Video Game Development started, there have been many developers who published video games that were ahead of their time, so much so that they failed entirely. We are in 2023, and we can look back to those games and point out that one mistake. Let’s get to the details on 7 Video Games That Failed Because They Were Ahead of Their Time.
Steel Battalion
Have you seen those crazy setup videos of gamers playing their Truck Simulator or Car Video Game? Well, that is not new, because Steel Battalion was the game that brought it all. Yet, it somehow failed in its time and era. Why?
- The console to play the game costs 200 dollars extra
- It had a ton of buttons and two joysticks
- You had to memorize the boot sequences of the controller
- One of the hardest games in history, because game save erases if not ejected at the right time
We are in 2023 and these things sound kind of familiar, but in 2002, the game was termed as a flaw just because it was a Video Game that was too ahead of its time.
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Jade Empire
You might be known for one of the best games in existence, Mass Effect. The first complete space journey game where you could literally do a million things. It could be termed as a real space-simulator.
But guess what? There was a game known as Jade Empire from Bioware, that they were working on, having the same exact Karma System, Combat, and Unique Settings. But why did it fail?
Honestly, we don’t even know why it failed, but it could be;
- Game was complex
- Had millions of things to look out for
- Far ahead of its time
Sleeping Dogs
While most OG gamers know this game existed, they never got to witness its sequel. I, myself, am a big fan of Sleeping Dog, as it combines martial arts, GTA-style open world, Watch Dogs, and so on.
It has vibrance, potential, style, and a personality of its own. But guess what? Sleeping Dogs came in an era where players couldn’t understand all of these things in a single game. Also, it was competing with GTA at the time, so it was bound to fail.
Evolve
Sometimes the hype gets to you instead of giving you popularity. One notable game that dropped down from the 40th floor was Evolve. It has a spectacular concept of one person playing as a monster and there were 4 others who were hunting that monster. It was a game of 5 basically.
There were various things that the hunters could utilize to get the monster in the game including traps, tracks, and weapons. While the Monster had to consume other Monsters to get more strength in the game. Then, why did it fail?
- Evolve was hyped but failed to be up there
- Games of 5 players where you had to play 4v1 weren’t a trend
- Marketing for the game wasn’t that good
We can assuredly say that Evolve was ahead of its time and failed because of the same exact reason. It is 2023 and we have games like Dead by Daylight similar to Evolve and players are down for that.
Galleon
Have you played Assassins Creed Black Flag or the fourth one in the series? Well, Galleon was a similar comic-style pirate game that came in 2004. The style and the concept were something that players couldn’t fathom, reviewed bombing it, and finally, it dropped off. 2 Years later, we got to experience Tomb Raider, which carried its legacy.
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Shenmue
A real-life open-world game that was down to dominate the gaming industry, but unfortunately didn’t. The plan was to make a series of 12 games in total, but the first one didn’t do so well.
Why? Shenmue revolves around a boy who is going to take revenge for his father, but the process is slow and real-life-like. In the early days of gaming, gamers usually loved the games that put them in a fantasy world. Now, it is becoming a trend for real-life try-hard games in which you go through as if you are living a real life.
In Shenmue, you had to earn your living, get a job, have an apartment, pay the rent, and so on. You had to do extra hours on arm wrestling by night to earn some extra, while you had all day taking crates from one place to another.
The progress was quite slow, but the game had meaning. You were a boy who was taking revenge for his father. But, you had to live as if in real life as well, earning your way to the top, grinding.
Shenmue was released way back in 1999, but the second part was released in 2001, and later we got Shenmue 3 in 2019. So, that was also a reason for the drop in Shenmue’s Reputation.
Jet Set Radio
Before the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, we had the Jet Set Radio. It was an open-world game where the boy had roller skates and could travel around the city, doing stunts and earning points. Your job was to actually do graffiti on the targets indicated by the game and earn points through it
The start of the game went flying, as it got rewards and recognition, but suddenly it got review bombed and dropped in rating. Later, more games came and people forgot about this masterpiece.
