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Games that failed to launch a new franchise
- Thread starter JinjoUnchained
- Start date
EYEL1NER
Member
These were the first two that came to my mind when I read the thread title and fit the bill completely (unlike some other suggestions ITT that are games that definintly did get sequels, games that were one-offs and were never intended to be a franchise, or games from this gen that haven't been out long enough to determine if no sequel will come out).This is the one that I think of the most since there was a ton of Hullabaloo around it, being a sci-fi epic trilogy and all that stuff. Obviously crashed on the runway.
Too Human comes to mind, for similar reasons and with similar results.
![CSI.jpg]](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-osgvkayZokA/TaSibpxfKYI/AAAAAAAAACI/dKQG0TF9F5M/s1600/CSI.jpg])
Orson Scott Card is pretty scummy but I remember being excited for the Advent Rising franchise. They defininlty intended for it to be big, judging by the huge ad campaign, that million dollar contest that was advertised on every magazine ad for the game, the PSP spin-off that was already mentioned ITT, the comic mini-series. I remember seeing a lot about it on various G4 shows as well (probably owes a bit to Tommy Tallarico working on it). Then the game came out and I ended up never even playing it.
Theanine3D
Member
Beyond Good & Evil 
This is a good one. The game had flaws, but I really enjoyed it. Gameplay was fun and the world was pretty interesting. I wish someone would've scooped up the franchise
I think it's a little too early to say Evolve, Sunset Overdrive, even The Order won't have followups. Give it some time.
The big one that comes to my mind is Fuse. Overstrike had potential but Fuse just totally fell flat.
ArkkAngel007
Member
IIRC The Order 1886 was intended to be a trilogy, so that and Too Human are probably the big ones.
Yikes, didn't think about the money spent on the proprietary engine. Hopefully they can make use of it for future games.
punkmaggit
Member
Absolutely. There is a lot of untapped potential for that series. I, like others, enjoyed The Order for what it was, but do agree that there were some missteps along the way. I would love Ready at Dawn to take another stab at the game, maybe with the help of a more senior studio like Naughty Dog or Sucker Punch.
Comrade Crunch
Member
People Can Fly bought the IP back, so I doubt they'll just sit on it after going through the trouble of getting it back.
Before Perfect Dark Zero, PD had tons of potential to become a major franchise. But for some reason Rare decided to take what made Perfect Dark such a great game and throw it out in the prequel.
If rare makes another Perfect Dark they need to make it play similar to Goldeneye and the original PD so it can remain it's own thing.
D
Deleted member 102362
Unconfirmed Member
There's a part of me that hopes and believes Rage 2 will happen someday, but I can accept the reality of that never happening.
themagicalkitsune
Member
You realize you just contradicted yourself right?
Anyway,
Maybe Jet Force Gemini could've been a franchise.
Isn't SoM2 well into development?
My list:
Alpha Protocol
Prey
DriveClub
Rage
Haze
The Odor 1886
ViewtifulJC
Banned
Advent Rising I think is the poster-boy for this, because they were sooooooo sure it was gonna be huge. They really thought they had Mass Effect on their hands. They hyped up Orson Scott Card and Cameron Dayton, sci-fi writers, doing the script. They had a big orchestral soundtrack from Tommy Tallerico and Emmanuel Fratianni. They had PSP spin-offs planned, novel tie-ins, a comic book series. There were promotions in movie theaters, which at the time was saved for big stuff like Halo 2. There was even a million dollar contest advertised on the box! None of that came to fruition however.
Unfortunately, the game was met with a big shrug from critics and audiences alike, and it become a trivia question ever since.
Unfortunately, the game was met with a big shrug from critics and audiences alike, and it become a trivia question ever since.
grosvenor_92
Member
Alan Wake. Although I think that could change
Alpha Protocol. It was so damn good too despite the bugs
edit: beaten
Alpha Protocol. It was so damn good too despite the bugs
edit: beaten
The newest release of Sega Rally (Revo). I suspect Sega had big hopes for the reboot of that franchise, but never did well enough
I'd still kill for a new Bulletstorm title. It's as if Platinum were actually American, rather than just heavy-handed on American tropes/culture.
Did we get Bulletstorm (kinda) with Doom?
I'd still kill for a new Bulletstorm title. It's as if Platinum were actually American, rather than just heavy-handed on American tropes/culture.
The way this game also ended on a cliffhanger...
Yeah, this is easily the most notable example I can think of.
I'm pretty sure a sequel is in development. People Can Fly are independent again and are working on two projects, one being a AAA shooter for which they have a publisher, and, like mentioned above, they retain the IP.
LukasTaves
Member
Ms thread? As much as I like their games, they are the master of one hit games that never get the deserving sequel.
Just on the top of my head:
- Azurik
- Stubbs the Zombie
- Advent Rising
- Blue Dragon
- Lost Odyssey
- Phantum Dust
- Crimson Dragon
- D4
- Too Human
- Jade Empire
- Crimson Skies
- Kameo
- Infinite Undiscovery
- N3
- Sudeki
Edit: Advent Rising wasn't an MGS game? I remember they hyping that shit like the new Halo back in the day. My memory must be fuzy.
Just on the top of my head:
- Azurik
- Stubbs the Zombie
- Advent Rising
- Blue Dragon
- Lost Odyssey
- Phantum Dust
- Crimson Dragon
- D4
- Too Human
- Jade Empire
- Crimson Skies
- Kameo
- Infinite Undiscovery
- N3
- Sudeki
Edit: Advent Rising wasn't an MGS game? I remember they hyping that shit like the new Halo back in the day. My memory must be fuzy.
infinit777
Member
R.I.P
They have been working on a great sequel all these years, it's not dead #Can'tStopTheSignal #PleaseDon'tBeDead
ElBoxyBrown
Banned
I don't think this was ever suppose to be a franchise.
Ristar. Next Sonic they said. Shame.
Rhythm Thief is another Sega one. The game having a tagline and ending on a cliffhanger made it look like they were hopeful it'd be a franchise.
That always felt like a standalone game to me. I don't think it needs a sequel
Rhythm Thief is another Sega one. The game having a tagline and ending on a cliffhanger made it look like they were hopeful it'd be a franchise.
Ghost Trick ?
That always felt like a standalone game to me. I don't think it needs a sequel
This is the one that I think of the most since there was a ton of Hullabaloo around it, being a sci-fi epic trilogy and all that stuff. Obviously crashed on the runway.
Too Human comes to mind, for similar reasons and with similar results.
I actually rather enjoyed Too Human. It was such a shame that all the nonsense happened and everything just fell apart. The lore and story of the game was so fascinating.
Oh god....if Bulletstorm 2 happens I will totally lose my shit and go into excitement meltdown.
Goose_Se7en
Banned
I may be mistaken but I'm pretty sure that Insomniac owns the IP.
Add Heavenly Sword to the list. I think Sony envisioned this title spurring on a Goddess of War like franchise and it didn't.
ElBoxyBrown
Banned
Doesn't Swery own the IP to D4?
MaverickHunterX
Member
Would the splatterhouse remake (or other reboots) count in this?
Not a Jellyfish
but I am a sheep
Blinx The Time Sweeper
It seemed like Microsoft was pushing Blinx to be a mascot in the vein of Mario and Sonic. The game was incredibly mediocre and never garnered the success they wanted to. It received a sequel, but by then no one really cared.
This...and then they failed once more trying to establish a mascot.
And who could forget...
Auxiliary Bro
Member
I was gonna say Spore, but I remembered that had spin-offs. I was surprised how many games were in that franchise after looking it up actually, though it never felt like it was the Sims-like success that the devs really wanted it to be (at least from my outside amateur view).
So instead uh... I always felt like Revengeance was meant to have a sequel. I suppose it was more like it was 'open-ended' rather than left on a cliffhanger, but still.
So instead uh... I always felt like Revengeance was meant to have a sequel. I suppose it was more like it was 'open-ended' rather than left on a cliffhanger, but still.
disappeared
Banned
prawnmatic
Member
I'd go with Lair. Factor 5's first project after the acclaimed Rogue Squadron series and it fell so flat, so hard.
Valkyr1983
Banned
EA, now that Pandemic went under.
EA bought out Pandemic and Bioware around the same time, if I'm not mistaken.
They were well into Mercs 3 development before closing:
With pretty good reason lol
Dragon's Dogma Online, and even Capcom suggested they'd consider a full fledged sequel to the original.
Not really. The order is perfect at what it sets out to do. People just had a certain style of game in their minds and let expectations get the best of them
If you want a super breezy simple AAA ride it's a blast. Best looking game on consoles too, and setting is interesting
Would have loved a sequel
I think it ended up with a meta critic score in the high 70s or low 80s. Unfortunately it was a game that had a steep learning curve that most people played incorrectly. Which tended to tank its review scores. Those who love it. love it. But many were unable to engage with it. Sort of like The Wonderful 101 another great candidate for this list
agreed. i really liked the game a lot including the combat and loot system. it screwed up my not focusung on 4 player like they originally intended for party roles in combat. they really needed to make it like PSO with a huge online hub world imo
The game was buggy as fuck, which was the death knell. The actual gameplay mechanics at the time were a lot of fun though and they did have a solid base of a game. For whatever reason though, they didn't put any polish on it.
I'm still salty though because the game was a lot of fun and the story was good.
Nostremitus
Member
I thought this was going to be a franchise when I saw the first reveal trailer.
sturgboski
Member
Iriscomeback
Member
Man I would have loved a Kameo sequel.
One of my favorite 360 games.
One of my favorite 360 games.
WickedLaharl
Member
There will never be a sequel to the world ends with you.
peanutbutterlatte
Member
Jesus christ what is that thing, kill it and put it out of its misery
I thought this was going to be a franchise when I saw the first reveal trailer.
PhantomZhu
Banned
Holy shit! didn't know about this. Thanks
Amazon, here i come
PhantomZhu
Banned
Corronchilejano
Member
Does Dead Space count? They got one cool concept that didn't do that well and then tried twice to make it a big seller and couldn't. All of its games happened in the same generation, and there seems to be no particular interest to follow them up.
The Last Remnant hurt. A lot. A completely new Ip with a very interesting combat system in a well fleshed out world (even if the story was as generic as they come). They drop the ball on the 360 version, and low sales with technical flaws doom the sequels. Literally DOA.
The Last Remnant hurt. A lot. A completely new Ip with a very interesting combat system in a well fleshed out world (even if the story was as generic as they come). They drop the ball on the 360 version, and low sales with technical flaws doom the sequels. Literally DOA.
Codename: S.T.E.A.M.
It's actually a pretty good game, and nice that they listened to feedback and patched in a fast forward option for enemy turns. That was 90% of the complaints about it, and despite fixing it fairly quickly, no one cared anymore. Even before the fix, the game was kind of sent out to die. Nintendo made a big deal out of it at it's E3 reveal, but then completely dropped the ball on marketing for it. It amazes me they they really screwed up with Codename S.T.E.A.M., but within the same year absolutely knocked it out of the park marketing Solution. It's a damn shame, because this Intelligent Systems game that isn't Fire Emble!, Paper Mario, or Advance Wars will live in obscurity.
It's actually a pretty good game, and nice that they listened to feedback and patched in a fast forward option for enemy turns. That was 90% of the complaints about it, and despite fixing it fairly quickly, no one cared anymore. Even before the fix, the game was kind of sent out to die. Nintendo made a big deal out of it at it's E3 reveal, but then completely dropped the ball on marketing for it. It amazes me they they really screwed up with Codename S.T.E.A.M., but within the same year absolutely knocked it out of the park marketing Solution. It's a damn shame, because this Intelligent Systems game that isn't Fire Emble!, Paper Mario, or Advance Wars will live in obscurity.
zackmorris
Member
Did RaD basically say as much tho? They said they are working on a few titles and none of them have the do with The Order isn't one a rift exclusive? Also they are announcing there new game next week and all indications are that it is a new IP