Nice FPS Video games That Offered Poorly

Whereas the style has slowed down a number of late, again within the late 2000s and early 2010s, first-person shooters had been all the fashion. They had been in all places, dabbling in each style, and doing all the pieces from recreating iconic World Struggle 2 battles to sending troopers into outer house. Inevitably, a few of these video games offered nicely, and lots of extra underperformed financially.

Nevertheless, not all of these underperforming video games are dangerous. In reality, a handful of them are actually nice video games, however as a result of components each identified and unknown, they failed to seek out an viewers. These are the video games we’re celebrating right here. These FPS video games offered poorly, however they’re nonetheless nice video games. Perhaps they’re even price testing right now, or at the least holding their place in gaming historical past so {that a} remaster or remake is in the future potential.

Resistance 3

Ended With A Bang, Offered To A Whimper

• Offered simply 180,000 items in its first month, lower than one-third of Resistance 2’s first-month efficiency.

Resistance 3 was a sufferer of circumstance. It was the end result of a PS3-exclusive trilogy from Insomniac Video games that was, in some ways, a response to the success of Halo on the Xbox. Nevertheless, Resistance 3 had one thing on each main FPS franchise of the time. It was grittier than Halo, extra fantastical than Name of Obligation, with extra fascinating weapons than Battlefield and extra fascinating enemies than Killzone. Resistance 3 is a really particular sport, nevertheless it could not have been launched at a worse time.

Launching in 2011, the identical yr as Battlefield 3, FEAR 3, Crysis 2, Duke Nukem Eternally, Killzone 3, Rage, and Name of Obligation: Fashionable Warfare 3, the unlucky fact is that Resistance 3 was buried below a sea of comparable titles with extra hype behind them. A lot of these aforementioned titles did not carry out all that nicely both — critically or financially — however their phrase of mouth was a lot stronger. Couple that with Resistance 3’s adherence to extra old-school FPS mechanics, like well being packs as a substitute of regenerating well being and a weapon wheel as a substitute of a primary-secondary roster, and despite how great its campaign is, it just never took off.

Titanfall 2

Retroactively Elevated To Basic Standing

• Offered 385,000 items in its first week, about 75% lower than the primary sport regardless of being a multiplatform launch.

Hindsight is 20/20, and boy, is that true with Titanfall 2. A sport that, right now, is taken into account one among the best single-player FPS campaigns of all time struggled rather a lot at launch. Very like Resistance 3, it was a sufferer of circumstance, releasing smack in the midst of Name of Obligation: Infinite Warfare and Battlefield 1. An FPS would must be the second coming of Half-Life to carry out nicely in that launch window, and nearly as good as Titanfall 2 is, it isn’t that good.

Regardless of nice phrase of mouth and constant reductions aimed toward encouraging gamers to offer it a shot, Titanfall 2 nonetheless underperformed its predecessor, which is probably going why a 3rd sequel has but to materialize regardless of vocal and protracted curiosity from the gaming neighborhood. There’s nonetheless time for that to alter, however with Respawn’s consideration break up between Apex Legends and the Star Wars: Jedi sequence, the franchise could also be on the shelf for some time but.

Bulletstorm

A Enjoyable-Centered Arcade Shooter That Was Poorly Marketed

• Took two years to achieve 1 million gross sales, and failed to interrupt even financially.

One other FPS casualty of the stacked 2011 launch lineup, Bulletstorm had hassle conveying what it was about. Its world was loosely harking back to Borderlands, nevertheless it had a extra melee-focused fight system, and the writing was overtly goofy. In the meantime, gameplay had high-score numbers coming out of enemies and a slew of environmental kill choices, drawing the “shooter” side of its first-person shooter label into query.

Then there was the Fox News controversy, the place a Fox reporter (baselessly) linked Bulletstorm to a rise in sexual assault cases two weeks earlier than the sport’s official launch, damaging its popularity earlier than it was even out there for buy. With a slew of different FPS video games launching that yr (together with Killzone 3 on the identical day), Bulletstorm by no means stood an opportunity, nevertheless it does deserve a second probability when you’re on the lookout for an over-the-top shooter to check out.

Rage 2

Harm By A Lack Of Identify Recognition

• Solely managed to match 25% of the unique sport’s first-week gross sales.

There was a number of hype surrounding the primary Rage. It was a brand new IP from id Software program, the studio that every one however created the FPS style with Wolfenstein, Doom, and Quake, and it boasted a number of the most detailed graphics that anybody had ever seen (on the time) and a few impressively reactive enemy AI. The ultimate product was… a bit lackluster; not dangerous, however a bit repetitive and missing in selection. Rage 2, launched 8 years later, sought to amend that, and it largely succeeded.

This sequel addressed nearly each grievance about Rage. The world was too brown and grey? Rage 2 is an explosion of coloration, with shiny purples and blues in all the pieces from the setting to fight talents. Fight was too same-y? Rage 2 is sort of an influence fantasy, with fight talents that encourage aggression and motion over cowl capturing and ammo administration. Exploration was too empty? Rage 2 encompasses a huge open world the place automobile fight and racing can occur at any time and aspect content material is hidden in all places. The problem was, not like the primary sport, which had a large hype wave behind it, nobody was all that excited for Rage 2’s launch virtually a decade later, and with out that momentum, it failed to fulfill expectations.

Singularity

The Coolest Time-Journey Shooter You’ve got By no means Heard Of

• Launched in the midst of summer time with virtually no advertising from Activision, and offered lower than 400,000 items in consequence.

Singularity is a kind of video games you could have heard of in passing, or under no circumstances, however only a few folks really performed it. It is an over-the-top shooter that provides you time-travel talents for each fight and narrative functions. It actually would not rewrite the e-book on FPS video games, nevertheless it’s a enjoyable and distinctive sport that not sufficient folks performed.

“It is higher than you anticipate it to be” was a standard sentiment amongst critics, who had been usually fairly happy with Singluarity and reviewed it as such. Nevertheless, Activision despatched this sport out to die, with essentially the most barebones advertising marketing campaign you may think about and a launch date proper in the midst of the dry summer time months. That is largely what did Singularity in. It isn’t clear why Activision gave up on it, nevertheless it’s price a revisit right now, as a result of there’s nonetheless nothing prefer it.

Battlefield Hardline

A Departure For The Collection Led To A Departure By Customers

• Regardless of being the best-selling sport of March 2015, it’s nonetheless thought of a monetary failure.

Cease me when you’ve heard this one earlier than. A serious writer purchases an up-and-coming studio with some hit video games below its belt and a transparent specialization in a selected style. Then, the writer faucets that studio to develop a sport in a totally totally different style. When that sport performs poorly, the writer closes the studio. Cue: Battlefield Hardline, an entry within the storied Battlefield franchise developed for EA by Visceral Video games, the group behind the online game adaptation of The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, the GTA-like duology primarily based on The Godfather, Dante’s Inferno, and, of course, the Dead Space trilogy.

That checklist of video games is to emphasise the place Visceral Video games was profitable prior to now and the way none of these video games bear any similarity to a Battlefield sport. Not solely that, however Battlefield Hardline was a serious departure for the sequence itself. As a substitute of a army shooter, it was a cops-and-robbers story set in Miami. Briefly, it wasn’t going to lure in Visceral Video games followers, and it did all the pieces potential to show off Battlefield followers as nicely. It is unlucky, as a result of when performed by itself phrases, Battlefield Hardline is nice. The story is participating, the stealth is superb, and the multiplayer is on par with every other sport within the sequence. None of that labored to spice up its gross sales although, and in consequence, Visceral Video games was closed down simply two years later.

Medal Of Honor: Warfighter

A Comeback Try A Few Years Too Late

• First-week gross sales had been lower than half of its 2010 predecessor’s, successfully sunsetting the Medal of Honor franchise.

Within the mid-2000s, Medal of Honor was the top dog in the military shooter genre, whereas Name of Obligation was the extra area of interest franchise. MoH had the large-scale spectacle, whereas CoD was extra life like. How the tables have turned. Following the success of Name of Obligation 4: Fashionable Warfare, Medal of Honor tried to pivot to a extra cinematic, narrative-driven formulation with an expansive on-line element. The primary sport, 2010’s Medal of Honor, offered moderately nicely. Its sequel, Medal of Honor: Warfighter, didn’t.

It is nonetheless a enjoyable sport, one which any fan of Name of Obligation who could also be disillusioned with the franchise’s current single-player endeavors ought to take a look at. It is a linear, cinematic marketing campaign with stable capturing mechanics, wonderful visuals, and many action-packed set items. It even has an official soundtrack composed by Ramin Djawadi of Recreation of Thrones fame. Might it compete with Name of Obligation on the top of its energy? No means, nevertheless it’s nonetheless a stable army FPS that, sadly, seems like the tip of the Medal of Honor franchise.

Prey (2006)

A Bizarre Sci-Fi Shooter That Was Profitable, However Not Profitable Sufficient

• Initially a business success, however not sufficient to protect its sequel.

2006’s Prey is an fascinating case as a result of, by all accounts, it was a monetary hit, promoting over 1 million copies in its first two months and contributing to the early success of the Xbox 360. It is a bizarre little sci-fi shooter starring an Indigenous protagonist that even featured portal tech a yr earlier than Portal’s ​​​​​​debut. The sport was in growth for a very long time, courting again to 1995, and its eventual launch was praised by critics and followers alike. This success shortly led to a greenlit sequel shortly earlier than Bethesda acquired the rights to the franchise in 2009.

Regardless of the thrill generated by Prey 2’s reveal at E3 2011, Bethesda selected to cancel the sequel just some years later, citing growth troubles. It is truthful to say that, if Prey (2006) had been a large success, extra effort would have been put into rescuing its sequel. As a substitute, Bethesda repurposed the franchise title and launched 2017’s Prey, which, regardless of sharing a title, had no connection to the 2006 sport. As for Prey 2017’s success…

Prey (2017)

Similar Identify, New Franchise, Similar Gross sales Points

• Offered considerably lower than Dishonored 2 at launch, which was itself thought of to have underperformed financially.

The repurposing of Prey into a brand new franchise did not repay. Arkane’s Prey from 2017 is an immersive sim within the vein of Dishonored and Deus Ex, however with a sci-fi horror spin. Those that performed it, cherished it, together with the critics, nevertheless it by no means discovered a mainstream viewers. One cause for this was that evaluate copies had been solely supplied to shops the night time earlier than Prey’s launch, which considerably delayed evaluate scores and certain scared off some day-one consumers.

Nevertheless, it is also only a area of interest sport. It is an FPS with out a number of capturing, an open-world sport the place the “world” is only a massive house station, and a horror sport the place the horror is extra delicate than in-your-face. The naming conference most likely induced a number of confusion as nicely. Prey is an sadly maligned “sequence,” one which options two stellar video games that each struggled to seek out constant success within the gaming market.

System Shock 2

The Best Monetary Failure Recreation Of All Time?

• Offered simply 60,000 copies in its first eight months.

Contemplating its pedigree right now, the gross sales numbers for System Shock 2 are jaw-dropping. It offered simply 60,000 copies within the eight months following its launch. That is much more shocking given the almost unanimous reward it acquired from reviewers. Trying Glass Studios, which was stored afloat by the modestly disappointing gross sales of the primary System Shock, probably could not have imagined the sequel performing even worse, and but that is precisely what occurred.

Typically, creations which can be forward of their time do not carry out nicely at first blush. The identical could be stated for traditional movies like Blade Runner and The Factor, and System Shock 2 may be very a lot in that very same realm. Not solely is it a cult traditional right now, however it is usually thought of massively influential on the course of the FPS style within the years that adopted. It was a formative sport for the immersive sim subgenre and is commonly ranked as one of many best video games of all time. The sport’s important villain, SHODAN, is equally ranked as an all-time nice villain in gaming. This sci-fi horror shooter has a stellar popularity right now, and made the careers of creative icons like Ken Levine, however in its period, it was a virtually catastrophic failure.