What is the biggest gaming bag fumble of the 21st century?
- Thread starter chaobreaker
- Start date
Microsoft tanking their Xbox 360 momentum by going all in on the limited/flawed Kinect and having a badly architected Xbox One go against a cheaper and stronger PS4. JUST as digital adoption was starting to take off.
This feels like this was becoming the next Pokémon or something and then it disappeared
Refused Street Fighter V because of Killer Instinct and dropped the COD marketing for Halo
Xbox was on some shit for sure back then that current Xbox would snap take immediately if given the chance.
Xbox One launch is the only answer. 360 had so much momentum (at least in the US) and it was as if MS/Mattrick actively sabotaged that overnight. If it weren't for Nadella + Spencer and game pass they'd probably have exited the console business altogether by this point. And it STILL feels like they're slowly climbing up the mountain again despite all these changes.
By definition if has to be Xbox One. They not only squandered much of what they built with the 360, but their implosion came during the worst possible generation given the 'digital boom' and all that comes with locking consumers into your platform with long-term ecosystem investment.
For a sizeable chunk of gamers, it doesn't matter what Microsoft does, they were never going to leave behind all their games, DLC, saves, etc... for an Xbox.
For a sizeable chunk of gamers, it doesn't matter what Microsoft does, they were never going to leave behind all their games, DLC, saves, etc... for an Xbox.
The Xbox One launch.
Microsoft's terrible marketing and statements made by leadership surrounding the Xbox One made tons of people switch over to the PS4 instead.
View: https://youtu.be/J_JVVUnCWnY
both of those people were 100 percent right tho, maybe just a few years behind?
Yes, they fumbled. They managed only four games in almost a full decade, two of which are basically the same game, one of which is a spinoff of planned DLC for that game, and one that EA didn't even want to make because they were afraid of single player games. This is not the output anyone, including Lucasfilm, was expecting from them. There's a reason Lucasfilm shifted to a variable licensing model and didn't renew exclusivity with EA, and it's not because EA did a great job.
Has to be the Wii U and how miserably it did after the Wii, but obviously there are some other really good candidates.
Gotta be the PlayStation 3. Sony went from selling more than the competition put together x2 - to matching for second place by the end of the 7th gen. They've been building up momentum ever since but still haven't, and maybe will never reach that same level of market dominance.
..Plus they abandoned their cooler branding. Bring it back Sony! The black and white symbol is lame!
..Plus they abandoned their cooler branding. Bring it back Sony! The black and white symbol is lame!
There's still huge parts of rural America that lack proper internet connections that are affordable. I live in an area that didn't get DSL until 2012-2013, before that I used a very slow dial-up connection for over a decade that had max download speeds of 3kbps. Even when DSL became available, the fastest speeds that were available to my area capped at 10mbps until just last year when 240mbps became the fastest.
Having an always online console would eliminate lower income customers.
Big, but not the biggest was Konami not making games or revising old IP's literally right when retro indie and horror game boom started. Konami is playing catch up so bad that they're releasing like 5 Silent Hill games are rereleasing a Suikoden collection. I wouldn't be surprised if we get some sort of Castlevania or Contra announcement within the next year or so.
Doesn't mean it would have translated into a success. There are plenty of marvel games and even previous Spider-Man games that doesn't come anywhere close to insomniacs/sony quality and success. You need the right devs and company to maximize the ip.
I'll echo the Xbox One comments, but that almost doesn't seem like it totally fits the premise of the thread: Microsoft's Xbox division in the Mattrick era didn't so much as fumble the bag as they slammed it to the ground and stomped on it. It almost seemed like purposeful sabotage by executives who despised games, the people who made them, and the people who play them.
"Nobody wants video games anymore! You know what they do want? A cable box that spies on them. Also, cancel almost all our exclusive games or else retrofit FMV into them! And now we're also producing TV shows for some reason! Also, fuck Rare fans, lock up Rare in the Kinect/Avatar dungeon! Also, no used games allowed! And make it more expensive and less powerful than the competition! And bigger! And let's chase after that Wii market that's already pretty much totally collapsed! Wait, have we already stopped all of our fantastic Xbox Live Arcade promotions people loved during the 360 era? Good, fuck that shit and fuck indie developers, too!"
It all felt not just stupid, but straight-up malicious toward the audience that had made the 360 successful.
"Nobody wants video games anymore! You know what they do want? A cable box that spies on them. Also, cancel almost all our exclusive games or else retrofit FMV into them! And now we're also producing TV shows for some reason! Also, fuck Rare fans, lock up Rare in the Kinect/Avatar dungeon! Also, no used games allowed! And make it more expensive and less powerful than the competition! And bigger! And let's chase after that Wii market that's already pretty much totally collapsed! Wait, have we already stopped all of our fantastic Xbox Live Arcade promotions people loved during the 360 era? Good, fuck that shit and fuck indie developers, too!"
It all felt not just stupid, but straight-up malicious toward the audience that had made the 360 successful.
I think the clear winner is everything surrounding the Xbone run up and launch. Just unforced error after unforced error. They were off of a pretty successful generation that had lots of positivity and just squandered it.
My pick for a close 2nd would be Battlefield 2042. This game had it all. They were coming into an 'off' COD year. A return to 'modern combat' that people had been clamoring for for years. They pulled developers off Battlefront and BFV and ended their support early to be 'all hands on deck' for 2042. It was PRIMED to take the entire shooter crown for at least a year. Every person I know that is into shooters was hyped for it.
Then they released an utter disaster of a game, after a truly awful beta. It was a unfinished, janky mess, with huge unnecessary changes to the classic Battlefield formula that were divisive and unbalanced.
The maps were SO BAD that they are still reworking them to this day. Let that sink in, they have spent over A YEAR reworking all the maps from the original launch to be in a playable state.
While it is admirable they didn't just drop the game and have been updating it into being a half decent battlefield game, no one should forget the way the game launched and the fact that if they didn't do this they would basically never be able to market or sell a Battlefield game again.
My pick for a close 2nd would be Battlefield 2042. This game had it all. They were coming into an 'off' COD year. A return to 'modern combat' that people had been clamoring for for years. They pulled developers off Battlefront and BFV and ended their support early to be 'all hands on deck' for 2042. It was PRIMED to take the entire shooter crown for at least a year. Every person I know that is into shooters was hyped for it.
Then they released an utter disaster of a game, after a truly awful beta. It was a unfinished, janky mess, with huge unnecessary changes to the classic Battlefield formula that were divisive and unbalanced.
The maps were SO BAD that they are still reworking them to this day. Let that sink in, they have spent over A YEAR reworking all the maps from the original launch to be in a playable state.
While it is admirable they didn't just drop the game and have been updating it into being a half decent battlefield game, no one should forget the way the game launched and the fact that if they didn't do this they would basically never be able to market or sell a Battlefield game again.
It has to be the Xbox One announcement. A next gen Xbox was such an easy sell and they did everything they could to fuck it up. And unlike the PS3 or Wii U Microsoft still haven't recovered from it.
Stadia is a close runner up. From day one it was clear that Google had no idea what they were doing outside of the tech, and the announcement presentation was almost as bad as the Xbones.
Runners up include:
The Wii U name and confused concept
$599 US Dollars
PSP to Vita
And of course, the Ouya
Stadia is a close runner up. From day one it was clear that Google had no idea what they were doing outside of the tech, and the announcement presentation was almost as bad as the Xbones.
Runners up include:
The Wii U name and confused concept
$599 US Dollars
PSP to Vita
And of course, the Ouya
Microsoft having Videogame rights to Shadowrun and doing nothing with those. Cyberpunk 2077 + D&D + Game of Thrones = Shadowrun = holy fuck would that be a giant hit or what!!!
Square Enix not knowing what to do with the Tomb Raider IP. I get it California is stupid expensive and America's tech salaries are like double or triple that of japans but why should TR be attached to Crystal Dynamics? There is no reason why a Japanese studio couldn't make an amazing Tomb Raider.
Square Enix not knowing what to do with the Tomb Raider IP. I get it California is stupid expensive and America's tech salaries are like double or triple that of japans but why should TR be attached to Crystal Dynamics? There is no reason why a Japanese studio couldn't make an amazing Tomb Raider.
A few come to mind:
1) Xbox One press tour & launch: It was a spectacular train wreck to watch. Sony responding w/ cheeky quips and videos was just perfect.
2) Wii U: I loved it for a few games, but how you go from the highest-selling console in history to one of the worst, is simply incredible. Nintendo came back w/ the Switch and exceeded the success of the Wii, so it's ultimately seen as a speedbump in the end. Things felt dark for sure, though.
3) Dark Souls II: Dark Souls was still a cult hit at the time of DS2's release, but Namco went hard on the paint with the marketing around DS2. Choosing to focus solely on the difficulty of the game in all aspects of media, plus showing footage of the game running on hardware that was nowhere close to what the PS3 or Xbox 360 could handle, made for a frustrating to play, visually downgraded, muddy looking game in the end. Had it not been for Bloodborne being a masterpiece system-seller on PS4 the next year, there would have been a lot more apprehension about Dark Souls III in 2016.
4) PS3 launch: Sony's marketing was....odd for the PS3, but definitely hyped up the console in a good way. It cost $500 or $600, depending on if you wanted a bigger hard drive and wifi, which was a huge price tag compared to the Wii ($249, which launched 2 days after the PS3) or Xbox 360 ($299 or $399, depending on if you wanted a hard drive, and it launched a full year earlier). Additionally, stores got as little as 1 or 2 units on launch day, making it near impossible to find for the holidays. People thought the PS5 had a short supply? You have no idea what a unicorn the PS3 was for the first couple months. Once people realized there was barely anything to play on it, and the system started overheating like crazy (cue the George Forman Grill memes), the PS3 had a really rough go until several years in.
1) Xbox One press tour & launch: It was a spectacular train wreck to watch. Sony responding w/ cheeky quips and videos was just perfect.
2) Wii U: I loved it for a few games, but how you go from the highest-selling console in history to one of the worst, is simply incredible. Nintendo came back w/ the Switch and exceeded the success of the Wii, so it's ultimately seen as a speedbump in the end. Things felt dark for sure, though.
3) Dark Souls II: Dark Souls was still a cult hit at the time of DS2's release, but Namco went hard on the paint with the marketing around DS2. Choosing to focus solely on the difficulty of the game in all aspects of media, plus showing footage of the game running on hardware that was nowhere close to what the PS3 or Xbox 360 could handle, made for a frustrating to play, visually downgraded, muddy looking game in the end. Had it not been for Bloodborne being a masterpiece system-seller on PS4 the next year, there would have been a lot more apprehension about Dark Souls III in 2016.
4) PS3 launch: Sony's marketing was....odd for the PS3, but definitely hyped up the console in a good way. It cost $500 or $600, depending on if you wanted a bigger hard drive and wifi, which was a huge price tag compared to the Wii ($249, which launched 2 days after the PS3) or Xbox 360 ($299 or $399, depending on if you wanted a hard drive, and it launched a full year earlier). Additionally, stores got as little as 1 or 2 units on launch day, making it near impossible to find for the holidays. People thought the PS5 had a short supply? You have no idea what a unicorn the PS3 was for the first couple months. Once people realized there was barely anything to play on it, and the system started overheating like crazy (cue the George Forman Grill memes), the PS3 had a really rough go until several years in.
Ugh, don't remind me. Absolutely loved their output in the PS2/PSP era (and even a bit beyond) it felt like they could do no wrong. These days when I see them attached to a game it's a pretty easy pass.
How do you know Lucasfilm was disappointed with EA making the three most successful SW games in history, and their billion dollar mobile game? They also have six games in their catalogue not four. EA was the one that rejected Battlefront 3 due to stretching DICE too thin and licensing costs.
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Based on the definition of the term provided by the OP, it's really difficult to argue against Avengers taking the crown in this category.
They had the biggest Hollywood IP at the time to produce a game, yet are delisting it just three years after launch without ever managing to post a profit on it. A textbook example of an easy win going sideways.
They had the biggest Hollywood IP at the time to produce a game, yet are delisting it just three years after launch without ever managing to post a profit on it. A textbook example of an easy win going sideways.
totally understandable, that being said, lower income customers weren't going to get a 500 dollar game machine either?
you said you didn't get dsl until 2013, which is when the xbox launched...
I forgot about the Ouya. The Ouya had one of the worst console launches and press tour in the history of gaming. There are videos of angry fans pissing on their ouyas. There was a press interview where the CEO said nothing was really special about the console, couldn't come up with a game when asked about a killer app, and forgot the Dualshock 4 also has a TouchPad.
not just that
early xbox 360 was getting exclusives left and right, fun games that the og xbox wished it could have had, better versions of multiplatform games on the ps3... then after they got final fantasy 13 it felt like they gave up and the library slowly got more and more boring.
then the xbox one happened and they really gave up on getting anything exclusive
This will be nowhere near as big as other examples, but if I can add a smaller one, I really have no idea what Bandai Namco are doing with Soulcalibur and it's clear they have no idea either. It's just a weird collection of nonsensical decisions.
- Soulcalibur was very successful for releasing on a console that died very quickly
- Soulcalubur II was HUGE as a multiplatform game, so they're on the right track
- ...SCIII is back to exclusive for some reason and it was released kinda broken? this one flew under the radar and gets rarely mentioned since, weird
- IV makes up for that though, it released on both HD consoles with high profile guest characters, reviewed well and sold really well, things are finally back and track and... why did they break up the dev team at this point??
We all know how the series went after this. I just really don't get why.
- Soulcalibur was very successful for releasing on a console that died very quickly
- Soulcalubur II was HUGE as a multiplatform game, so they're on the right track
- ...SCIII is back to exclusive for some reason and it was released kinda broken? this one flew under the radar and gets rarely mentioned since, weird
- IV makes up for that though, it released on both HD consoles with high profile guest characters, reviewed well and sold really well, things are finally back and track and... why did they break up the dev team at this point??
We all know how the series went after this. I just really don't get why.
maybe not at full price, but yes poor people do buy things for entertainment
same with going to the movies, or going to theme parks, poor people just save up their money or budget even harder, but they need entertainment just as much as anyone else
Epic was making millions per day from Fortnite on iOS, they tried to get a bigger cut, then got kicked off the platform.
I know the Wii U is a bigger financial flop, but honestly the original marketing campaign for the Xbox One was so tonedeaf it bordered on offensive. Like, the Wii U feels like an honest mistake while the disastrous Xbox One launch was essentially karmic retribution.
So I think that's my answer.
So I think that's my answer.
Halo imo, I loved 1, 2,3 and even ODST were all absolute gold, but since it's been a gradual slide into absolute trash.
Daikantana was released in 2000, huge flop (only sold 40k copies) and totally destroyed John Romeros reputation. Guy was unstoppable before then.
The Xbox One rollout has cost Xbox tens of millions in console sales over the years and they still haven't fully recovered from it; it has to be that.
The problems with the Mass Effect series (which I see as more a story of toxic fandom than anything) amounted to...not even killing off one franchise?
The problems with the Mass Effect series (which I see as more a story of toxic fandom than anything) amounted to...not even killing off one franchise?
EA's handling of the NBA Live franchise.
NBA Elite 11 was going to reinvent the NBA Live franchise. NBA Live 10 wasn't a bad game, but it wasn't as good as NBA 2K10. In order to get the upper hand, Electronic Arts decided to completely change the formula. NBA Elite 11 was set to be the first basketball game to make use of real-time physics. It featured a brand new control scheme that made greater use of the right analog stick. The popular Superstar Mode found in Madden NFL would be adapted for the game. Even the commentary team was going to be replaced to highlight their new partnership with ESPN.
Then the playable demo hit the Xbox LIVE Marketplace and the PlayStation Store:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOsRiYdPek8
It was received so badly that EA ended up delaying the release. Two months later NBA Elite 11 was cancelled all together. The cancellation happened so late that some people still ended up getting their hands on a copy of the (cancelled) PS3 version.
NBA Elite 11 is now the rarest physical game you can get on PlayStation 3.
Electronic Arts tried rebooting the NBA Live franchise in 2012, but NBA Live 13 was cancelled prior to the release.
In 2013 alongside the launch of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 the NBA Live franchise made its return. NBA Live 14 was not well received. Same happened to NBA Live 15 and NBA Live 16. It forced EA to take a year off. There was no NBA Live 17. NBA Live 18 and NBA Live 19 were better games, but still received mix reviews. NBA Live 20 you might ask? Well:
View: https://twitter.com/EASPORTSNBA/status/1189292835385815043
There hasn't been a new NBA Live game ever since.
NBA Elite 11 was going to reinvent the NBA Live franchise. NBA Live 10 wasn't a bad game, but it wasn't as good as NBA 2K10. In order to get the upper hand, Electronic Arts decided to completely change the formula. NBA Elite 11 was set to be the first basketball game to make use of real-time physics. It featured a brand new control scheme that made greater use of the right analog stick. The popular Superstar Mode found in Madden NFL would be adapted for the game. Even the commentary team was going to be replaced to highlight their new partnership with ESPN.
Then the playable demo hit the Xbox LIVE Marketplace and the PlayStation Store:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOsRiYdPek8
It was received so badly that EA ended up delaying the release. Two months later NBA Elite 11 was cancelled all together. The cancellation happened so late that some people still ended up getting their hands on a copy of the (cancelled) PS3 version.
NBA Elite 11 is now the rarest physical game you can get on PlayStation 3.
Electronic Arts tried rebooting the NBA Live franchise in 2012, but NBA Live 13 was cancelled prior to the release.
In 2013 alongside the launch of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 the NBA Live franchise made its return. NBA Live 14 was not well received. Same happened to NBA Live 15 and NBA Live 16. It forced EA to take a year off. There was no NBA Live 17. NBA Live 18 and NBA Live 19 were better games, but still received mix reviews. NBA Live 20 you might ask? Well:
View: https://twitter.com/EASPORTSNBA/status/1189292835385815043
There hasn't been a new NBA Live game ever since.
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I get the structural complaints about BF1, but BF2 and Squadrons gameplay wise were both well received by critics and players. BF2 in particular has ended development for over two and a half years but is still very popular, while the first game barely held its population while dlc was being released.
Lots of Wii U talk in here when it was still profitable and led to the creation of the Switch.
The real answer is PS3. It wiped all the profits from PS1 and PS2 combined. The magnitude of it's failure is unprecedented in gaming.
The real answer is PS3. It wiped all the profits from PS1 and PS2 combined. The magnitude of it's failure is unprecedented in gaming.
Hard to blame anyone for NCAA going away given it was a lawsuit that led the NCAA to be afraid of licensing games that had player likeness in them
It's gotta be The Xbox One unveiling, like the PS3 being expensive and not having great exclusives at launch I feel like was more of a hobbyist complaint and normal people didn't really care as much, whereas it seemed like even people that didn't care about videogames were aware of the new Xbox coming out that wouldn't let you play games offline and had a camera that was always watching you. Just the worst PR campaign I've ever seen.
