With so many great games out
there, it's a sad truth that most of us are going to miss out on a
large number of truly excellent ones. Sure, you might be a wealthy recluse with a Steam
account, unlimited funds, and no other hobbies, but for most of us, when considering a new
purchase, it's far safer to stick with a genre or series that we're already familiar
with. Why risk wasting our hard-earned cash on something we haven't heard of when there's another
Assassin's Creed right next to it on the shelf? Well, friends, it's that kind of attitude
that leads us to situations like this, with great games receiving a fraction of the sales
and recognition they deserve. We've already done a video about great games that sold poorly, but
that was just scratching the surface. There are many more games that deserve our attention and,
when it comes to their commercial performance, our pity. Here’s hoping you decide
to give a few of these a second look. I'm the always underappreciated
Ben from TripleJump, and here are 10 More Great Video Games That Sold Poorly 10. Conker's Bad Fur Day Alright, here it is, the game with the
singing poo. Originally intended to be another kid-friendly platformer for the Nintendo
64, British developer Rare realised that that market was kind of oversaturated already.
The solution was simple and ingenious, if a little risky. To differentiate
the game from the plethora of other animal mascot adventures out there, including
Rare's own Banjo Kazooie, they decided to take out the kid-friendly bit and give gamers
something their mums wouldn't approve of. Yes, gone was the clean-cut, cutesy
squirrel seen in 1997's Diddy Kong Racing, replaced with the foul-mouthed, beer-swilling,
pill-popping deviant we all know and love. I wonder what tipped Conker over the edge, though?
Maybe his kart racing career took a downturn, he got involved with a gambling ring, was
disgraced for throwing races, and quickly turned to drink and debauchery. I feel like
there's a Netflix series there, somewhere. Anyway, despite being a cult classic today,
Conker's Bad Fur Day didn't shift many copies when it was released. Maybe its adults-only status
on Nintendo's sprog-friendly console did it in, though releasing in 2001, towards the
end of the Nintendo 64's life-span, likely didn't help. Either way, it performed
poorly at retail, and mint copies nowadays are rarer than the actual red squirrel upon
which Conker is based. Sad times all round. 9. Vanquish Shooting games starring action heroes in snazzy
futuristic armour aren't exactly a rarity, but when Platinum Games released their 2010 shooter
Vanquish, they threw a few unique features into the mix, too. Gameplay reminiscent of 2D bullet
hell shooters, stylish sliding attacks and, weirdly, smoking being incorporated
into the gameplay all helped to set main character Sam Gideon apart from the likes of Master Chief and … Crysis guy. Whose
name, for all I know, is Guy Crysis. Vanquish enjoyed a positive
reception from the gaming press, with reviewers praising the fast-paced gameplay,
outrageous action, and sleek visual style. It also had a fair few awards
thrown its way, including Gamespot's "Best Game No One Played" award. Sounds
like a good fit for this list, then. It's not entirely clear what stopped Vanquish
from meeting its sales potential. It's not as though third-person shooters are a particularly
hard sell to the buying public, so I'm stumped. Hold on, it says here that it was also awarded
and praised heavily for its innovation. There's your issue, Platinum Games; you tried to
do something new and interesting. Classic mistake. 8. Grim Fandango Grim Fandango definitely had style, with
high-quality voice acting, a clever script, a unique theme that combines film noir stylings
with Aztec beliefs regarding the afterlife, and indeed a front cover that made it
look like Casablanca with skeletons. There really wasn't anything else quite like it. While not strictly controlled using the point
'n' click method (not until the 2015 remaster, anyway), Grim Fandango definitely had
all of the trappings of that genre. You’d explore compelling locations,
converse with unusual characters, and pick up items that you'd later use to
solve tricky puzzles. Where it differed from other adventure games was in the bleakly quirky
setting, in which main character Manny Calavera is a travel agent helping lost souls on their
final journey through the Land of the Dead. Reviewers lavished praise upon this quirky
title, and creator Tim Schafer (who we'll be seeing again on this list) was quite
the legendary figure, but the game just didn't get the sales it deserved. It wasn't a
total flop, but by Mr. Schafer's own admission, it didn't exactly recoup much of its budget
either. Maybe gamers were put off by the fact that none of the characters had any skin. Open your
minds, guys; there's a skeleton inside all of us. 7. Jet Set Radio Jet Set Radio (or Jet Grind Radio in
America, for no good reason) came out for the Dreamcast in 2000, giving players the
unique opportunity to join a gang of stylish, in-line-skating youths as they rolled through
the streets, performed tricks, avoided the authorities, and left graffiti tags in their
wake. Pretty much what I do in my spare time, really. Players are tasked with beating
rival gangs by spraying over their tags, which is a totally gnarly and disrespectful
act, as you would know if you were as cool and streetwise as me. Sorry, “as I am.” Grammar
is still important on the streets, kids. Jet Set Radio was applauded by critics,
becoming one of the Dreamcast's killer apps, and its gameplay, soundtrack, and
visual style were all praised highly. It's also recognised as one of the
first games to use cel shading, an innovation whose effects are
still seen in AAA titles to this day. Alas, it was not a commercial success, which,
as with most Sega exclusives of the period, was likely more due to the company's decline in
the console market than the quality of the game. There just weren't that many Sega faithfuls left
to purchase the darned thing. Don't worry though; it did actually manage a sequel with the Xbox
exclusive Jet Set Radio Future which came out in 2002. That game was also great, and it also
sold poorly. True to the spirit of the original. 6. Brütal Legend Oh, he's back! Tim Schafer was at
it again in 2009 with Brütal Legend, a love letter to classic heavy metal. Not
the modern stuff; there are no punk or rap influences here. We're talking real old-school
heavy metal, written and performed by extremely hairy men and full of lyrics about demons,
dragons, and the big red horny boy himself. Jack Black provided the voice and likeness for
Eddie Riggs, a disillusioned roadie transported to a mystical land that's basically one big
metal album cover, as he embarks on a mission to save rock 'n' roll. Jack Black also appears
in person in the intro, inviting the player to accompany him as he seeks out a legendary album
in the local vinyl store. It's adorably metal. While Brütal Legend is certainly a
great game with a spectacular setting, there was one aspect of its gameplay that
caused a few critics to take issue. You see, Brütal Legend was an open-world action adventure
with surprisingly out-of-place RTS sections. It was a jarring gameplay change that probably didn't
do the title any favours. Kudos to Mr. Schafer for trying something new but, as we all know by now,
interesting ideas don't always translate to sales. 5. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars What do Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
and Conker's Bad Fur Day have in common? They're both adult-orientated games that came
out for primarily kid-friendly consoles, and they suffered for it. As surprising as it is to
see GTA on a list of games that didn't sell well, Chinatown Wars underperformed
despite currently being the highest-rated Nintendo DS game of all
time on Metacritic and GameRankings. Visually, the game harkens back to
those oft-forgotten early days of GTA, where the violence and carnage were presented from
a top-down vantage point that makes it so much easier to disassociate ourselves from the murder
and bedlam below. The story, as you might expect, focuses on the Chinatown district of Liberty
City, and players take on the role of Huang Lee, a young triad member tasked with
delivering a valuable heirloom. Players can also enjoy such wholesome
side-activities as finding and destroying security cameras, drawing tattoos on
Triad initiates with the touchscreen, and dealing in hard narcotics. Sell the right
drug in the right district at the right time, and make a tidy profit! It's good, clean fun,
and I'd just like to take this moment to remind you that this is a Nintendo DS game. It was a
good 'un, though. Just not a good-selling ‘un. 4. Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy Those of you out there with latent psychic powers
can probably identify quite well with Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy’s lead character,
Nick Scryer. That feeling of being different, supernatural abilities that you neither
asked for nor fully understand, government officials sniffing around, all that kind of
stuff. It's okay, we see you. They see you. Honestly, we feel bad for those who
got into this 2004 telekinesis-em-up. It had all the makings of a fantastic new
franchise. It even ended on a cliff-hanger, and then ... nothing. Despite positive reviews
and various award nominations, players never really gave the series a chance. To be fair,
2004 was pretty stacked, with the likes of GTA: San Andreas, World of Warcraft, Half-Life 2
and Fable gobbling up gamers' time instead. Psi-Ops deserved more, though, based on
its premise alone. Scryer, after having his memory wiped so that he could infiltrate
a terrorist organisation making use of its own psychic operatives, is captured and loses all of
his powers. Players control him as he gradually reclaims his memory and abilities, helped only by
an enigmatic, telepathic double-agent named Sara. Honestly though, with all these freaky mind powers
going around, you'd think that someone would have been able to foresee the game's eventual
fate and rewritten that cliff-hanger ending. 3. Folklore This PS3-exclusive action-RPG came out in 2007,
when such games were still few and far between on the console. Tokyo-based developer Game
Republic decided to draw from Celtic mythology for the game's setting, going so far as to set
it in an isolated Irish village known as Doolin. This is actually a real village on Ireland's
west coast, where one can find Doolin Cave, north of the Cliffs of Moher. Yeah,
I can see why they chose it... The game's art direction does an excellent
job of presenting this setting to the player, giving Folklore a visual and thematic style
that speaks of mystical forest creatures, ancient village traditions, and even a touch
of spooky folk horror. Reviewers were suitably impressed with the graphics, and also praised
the battle system and gameplay. Players, however, seemed less enamoured, as Folklore's sales
were poor enough to kill off a planned sequel. Likely hampered by its unique setting and
unusual design, the game unfortunately fell short of its sales targets. It was probably also
harmed by the PS3's slow start. The console took a while to find its feet against the instantly
popular Xbox 360, and by the time the user base had grown, Folklore was but a fleeting memory.
Transient, like that shadow that moved in the corner of your eye on a twilit forest
walk. Was it even there? Yes. Yes it was. 2. Psychonauts What? Tim Schafer again? Good god,
we could probably do a whole list of unfairly underperforming games by him
alone! Don't worry, we still love you, Tim. Like Grim Fandango and Brütal
Legend before it, Psychonauts did extremely well with critics, who praised
the gameplay, writing, and innovation. The game earned numerous industry awards but,
yet again, failed to win over the paying public. In the game, which has a unique and eye-catching
visual style, players took control of Raz, a “Psycadet” training to become a psychic spy
called a Psychonaut. Raz delves into the mental worlds of various characters' consciousnesses and
helps them through psychological issues, usually by beating up a boss. Were it always so easy... Unfortunately, Psychonauts was a commercial flop
that failed to capture the psyches of gamers at the time. There is a silver lining, though; since
Mr. Schafer acquired the rights to Psychonauts and released it digitally through Double Fine
Productions, the game has reportedly sold almost 2 million copies and spawned a cheeky
sequel. Well done, Tim. And well deserved. 1. Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem What do Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars and
Conker's Bad Fur Day all have in common? They're…all adult-orientated games that came
out for primarily kid-friendly consoles, and seemingly suffered for it. There's a pattern here
somewhere, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Anyway, this GameCube psychological action horror
game holds the honour of being Nintendo's first M-rated release. It famously indulged in some
innovative mind-flipping antics, doing its level best to convince you that you were losing your
marbles. The game also featured a compelling, bloody, and epoch-spanning story told
through generations, regarding various characters throughout history being tormented
by an unfathomable cosmic entity. Calm down, Nintendo. I know Zelda can get pretty dark
sometimes, but this is next-level stuff. Alas, despite numerous awards, and critics
singing profane hymns of praise from the rooftops of desecrated chapels, Eternal
Darkness didn't sell very well. Still, its legacy is felt in the horror genre even now, with its sanity effects almost certainly
influencing the likes of Amnesia: The Dark Descent and other latter-day spooky efforts. Like
all great horror icons, it'll never truly die. Can’t it at least get a remaster, though? Those
old GameCube copies are getting expensive.
