So the recent release and overwhelming success of Rocket League compared to it's predecessor Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars got me thinking about this topic. Both games are nearly identical in terms of game play but the original barely made a blip on the gaming scene.
In the Rocket League thread, TimeEffect asked Psyonix why the original didn't take off and this was their response:
Which pretty much boils down to that the original was before it's time, and needed the gaming community mature a bit in certain aspects before it was welcomed with open arms.
So what other games came out that were perfectly fine, but didn't take off because there was no audience?
In the Rocket League thread, TimeEffect asked Psyonix why the original didn't take off and this was their response:
I asked Psyonix about this in an interview, here is what they said:
"Me:
It's surprising how much bigger Rocket League has become, despite having identical gameplay to Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars. Why do you think Battle-Cars didn't take off as well, and what do you think has made Rocket League so beloved by so many players?"
Jeremy:
Timing is important in just about everything in life, and the timing for the original Battle-Cars wasn't as favorable to the style of game that it was in 2008. Back then, eSports wasn't really a thing, widespread competitive multiplayer was still only limited to shooters or RTS games at that point, streamers were non-existent and YouTube was still finding its footing. PSN was still fairly early as well and the original games on the platform were often not given the sort of attention by the media that are now. Those are all important factors.
But, it should also be noted that we think Rocket League is a better game than Battle-Cars was. We have tried to improve every aspect of the game that we could -- visually, the physics, the customization, the AI, the season mode, dedicated servers, you name it."
Which pretty much boils down to that the original was before it's time, and needed the gaming community mature a bit in certain aspects before it was welcomed with open arms.
So what other games came out that were perfectly fine, but didn't take off because there was no audience?