10 Games That RUINED Game Companies

There are times that games take so much out of a company...that a company can't exist anymore.

0:00 Intro
0:13 007 Legends
2:29 Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
4:00 Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness
5:23 Haze
6:35 Daikatana
7:59 Nier
9:13 BMX XXX
10:46 APB
11:55 Radical Heights
13:19 Too Human

[yan]

The opposite idea would be cool too, like 10 games that make gaming company wealthy. Great video as always ! 👍

[yobdrzl]

Randomly came across this video, wasn't expecting my old stomping ground to make an appearance (but doesn't surprise me). I'm one of the employees that worked at Eurocom for around 4/5 years until they closed.

To clear some bits up, one of the issues you have with a James Bond game, and going back in time through the previous Bond stories is that you can only LEGALLY use the James Bond that is contracted at the time, which meant we were forced to use Daniel Craig for all of it, which also meant including his version of bond which essentially meant all gadgets out the window. This also tied with the fact Activision were actively getting in the way of development, and essentially pigeon holed us into creating a more "call of duty" experience than a "James Bond" game.

However, the game didn't ruin Eurocom. It was a combination of trying to maintain our own engine, when there was far better engines on the rise (unreal + unity) and Eurocom got in pocket with Activision so when they pulled the plug, we didn't have anyone else who wanted to work with us, which essentially killed us.

I have always maintained that Activision killed Eurocom developments, and it was a massive shame for saying how long they had been about.

[taliesinpotter]

Kingdoms of Amalur was actually such a good game, hugely disappointed that we will never see a sequel because the developers were stupid beyond belief

[EvaluateAssimilate]

I worked at Eurocom for a few years until it was closed. Activision really had them screwed on that project by moving release dates earlier and earlier whilst cutting the budget to be instead spent on primetime advertising.

Relentless efforts - sleeping at the workplace regularly in a number of cases - weren't enough to have the project completed to a good enough standard. If the deadlines weren't reached, they choked the financial supply they as publishers provide for the project. More and more the game became a carbon copy of call of duty, at which point it became a tick sheet of comparison. It had character initially, but fell apart massively.

Loved the people there, such a great place to work. It's a shame how it turned out in the end.

[natecw]

Can we just stop for a moment and appreciate they actually filed a Trademark for "Suck it down."? Someone at the trademark office had to process that paperwork. They probably went home that night and had to rethink their life.

[paradsecar]

You’re right about one thing: the original DOOM is still fun to play in 2022. I bought it for my Switch and it’s one of those games that you always keep installed and just keep playing it forever, like Diablo and Into The Breach.

[n]

I always get happy hearing about comeback stories like NiER, its such an excellent game that just didn't vibe with people at the time but its now a once forgotten and now found classic.

[coling]

there's a whole ton of videos on Tombraider - angel of darkness. the staff were exhausted, the game was rushed and it WAS half finished. nothing like the game intended. it would be an interesting project for someone to actually complete the game and present it as it was intended.

[jordank]

the first two Dave Mirra games ruled so hard and had great sound tracks. I was super bummed when he passed, RIP Dave

[kana-kun]

I adored APB. I was in the alpha, then the beta. On release day, I called into work and showed up at Gamestop before they opened and as soon as it did, the clerk (a friend of mine) knew exactly what I was there for. I burnt through my initial 24 hours of open (whatever the time you had in the open world was called) 40 hours later. I LOVED that game. But, nobody else did. I felt like I was in that city and an actual part of a larger thing. I played Crims so of course I was going around causing problems.

People bitched about the microtransactions but they were nothing compared to modern day. It was a creator's paradise as you could fully customize stuff however you wanted. I had a Scooby Doo van, a Joy Division T-Shirt (I actually made that one), and all sorts of other neat crap. Gosh, I wish games allowed stuff like that now.

They shitcanned it and I got a free copy of Mass Effect 2 (the only reason I played that game) out of it. I miss being 18.

From what I hear, GTA Online is the same experience only better (but without the customization). I couldn't get it into it. Maybe it's an age thing.

[hiddengemgamers]

One game you should mention is Raven Software's Singularity. While Raven Software is technically still around, the Soul of the studio has long left. Singularity was a great game, but Activision didn't want them to succeed so they didn't advertise for it and it sold poorly. Ever since then Raven has been stuck in the Call Of Duty mines.

[Guardsman_Shaxx]

Oh man, I knew Too Human would be on here. I love that game with all its faults, I still own a physical copy of it. The idea for the world it takes place in is just fun.

[Dlnqntt]

The development cost for APB clearly went into the character and vehicle customization options. There has never been a customization system as deep before it, or since. The ability to customize all of your characters clothes, tattoos, and cars with items you personally made. And you could go into a studio to design your own custom music that played each time you killed a player. All of that stuff was where the money clearly went instead of actually developing the game. Yet I still loved APB and made some life long friends from there because we Role Played our characters instead of just doing missions and such.

[mcboomsauce]

It's cool to see that it was never the "games" fault, but bad business practices that led to these failures for the most part

big takeaway:
never rush a huge complicated project

[takeafkinchance]

I had a pirated PS2, so I only have 2 original games. Those games are Turok: Evolution and Shadow Man: 2econd Coming. Both by Acclaim. What a lucky man I am

[ATozz-]

Too Human made me so sad. The whole DLC tab never had a single option and the game AND idea was SO good. Even today I still love that game.

[peoplez]

Eternal Darkness was a masterpiece for its time, and still is worth playing today. But the best way to play it is to not look up any hints or game guides if you get stumped. Back when it was released, most people didn't have computers or the internet and the main way you got a game guide was to go to the store and buy one. With less access to that stuff, when you got stumped in the game you had to actually figure out how to progress. From knowing which spells to use, to figuring out how to beat bosses, the game was frustrating at times but also extremely rewarding when you had that eureka moment of figuring it out. Those surprise insanity effects were also unique and fun, especially when you didn't even know about them, they'd actually get you or make you go "WTF is going on?!". Getting the full ending was also satisfying, as the game generally played the same through each playthrough, but you had different benefits and handicaps against enemies.

[joshuacope]

Gotta love seeing this crew succeeding. Thanks for all the videos

[JoshTheArtist]

Gameranx videos are always giving entertaining lists, full of info about the industry, that I wouldn't know about otherwise. Of the many video game channels on YouTube, this is one of my favorites.

[OberstFeldwebel]

I must be one of the only people that loved the hell out of Too Human (and still has their OG disc). I was so excited for the next two games in the trilogy and was just heartbroken when the studio shuttered.