Games can stimulate players' minds, test their reflexes, and provoke a wide range of emotions, but all of that is meaningless to the bean counters if they don't manage to move units. It probably doesn't need to be said that the amount of profit a game accumulates is not a reliable metric of its overall quality.

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There have been plenty of quality titles that bombed financially and poorly made dreck that flew off shelves. Some games had all the makings of a blockbuster, but because of some steep competition, just didn't find an audience during its initial release.

10 The Family Friendly Viva Piñata Might Have Alienated Microsoft's Base

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While other Xbox exclusives tasked players with taking the lives of others, Rare's Viva Piñata tasked them with creating and sustaining it. It was a game about bringing color and beauty to a once populated garden that had become neglected. By meeting the proper criteria, players could attract the local wildlife to their garden, raise them as their own, and breed them. It featured Rare's trademark presentation bolstered by a wonderful orchestral score. Unfortunately, sales of the game fell well below Microsoft's expectations. The more family-oriented title might have alienated the console's target demographic who were busy playing Gears of War, Oblivion, and Dead Rising.

9 Bayonetta Was Bewitched With Stiff Opposition

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Hideki Kamiya's Bayonetta was a stylish and over-the-top hack and slash title that managed to elevate the very genre he helped introduce with the first Devil May Cry in 2001. One of the game's most ingenious innovations was its witch time mechanic – a risk-reward system where players could freeze time if they dodged an attack at the last second. The game had every right to rake in the numbers of Dante's first adventure, but consumer attention was vastly overshadowed by Assassin's Creed II, Batman Arkham Asylum, and even Capcom's Resident Evil 5.

8 Conker's Bad Fur Day Pushed the N64 To Its Limits During Its Dying Days

Conker with cash wads in Conker's Bad Fur Day.

After years of troubled development, Director Chris Seavor took what was originally a kiddie platformer in a new subversive adult direction with Conker's Bad Fur Day. The game gleefully satirized tropes from a genre that oversaturated the Nintendo 64. Rare pushed this cart to its absolute limits with peerless facial animations, fully voiced cutscenes, and amazingly detailed textures. Had the game been shipped in its initial release schedule, it might have gotten the mature audience it craved. However, by 2001, most of its target demographic was focused on the PlayStation 2 with titles like Grand Theft Auto III, Metal Gear Solid 2, and Devil May Cry.

7 Grim Fandango Was A Great Swan Song To A Dead Genre

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Grim Fandango marked Tim Schafer's final game at LucasArts and the last graphic adventure he worked on until Broken Age. The game mixed his trademark humor and writing with a film noir story set in a Mexican afterlife. The competition was steep in 1998, seeing the releases of heavy hitters such as Half Life, Resident Evil 2, The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time, Metal Gear Solid, and Fallout 2. If that wasn't bad enough, the adventure game market was suffering a death of a thousand cuts. According to Schafer, developers told him that the game's financial failure is what led to many publishers rejecting pitches for another adventure game.

6 Beyond Good & Evil Was Ignored In A Sea Of Action Adventure Titles

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Visually striking, touching, and downright eerie in its commentary on manufactured consent, Ubisoft's Beyond Good & Evil is widely regarded as one of the company's finest achievements. Director Michel Ancel was heavily inspired by the works of Hayao Miyazaki, Tim Schafer, and the world's reaction to the World Trade Center attacks on September 11th, 2001.

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Jade is still regarded as one of the finest examples of female representation in the medium. However, the game was unfortunately released in a year filled with competing action-adventure titles, including Jak 2, Ratchet & Clank Going Commando, and The Legend of Zelda Wind Waker.

5 Psychonauts Suffered From A Publisher Change And A Late Release

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Psychonauts' development hit a snag when a regime change at Microsoft led to them withdrawing support. Fortunately, Double Fine managed to negotiate a publishing deal with Majesco, who was desperate for a hit. Tim Schafer's action platformer debut had every right to be that hit.

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Unfortunately, the competition was steep in 2005 with Conker Live and Reloaded, Peter Jackson's King Kong, and Half Life 2 gracing the original Xbox that year. Not only that, most gamers were focusing their attention on the Xbox 360, which was slated to come out holiday season of that year alongside launch titles Call of Duty 2, Condemned, and Perfect Dark Zero.

4 Panzer Dragoon Saga Exceeded Final Fantasy VII In Almost Everything But Sales

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Panzer Dragoon Saga is widely considered the swan song for Sega's 32-bit console, alongside titles such as Burning Rangers and Mr. Bones. It proved more technologically ambitious than Final Fantasy VII, boasting more CG movies, environments rendered in real-time, and full voice acting years before Final Fantasy X. This was all the more impressive considering how underpowered the Saturn was in comparison to the PlayStation. However, by 1998, nobody cared about the Saturn – least of all Sega of America who was focusing most of their attention on the upcoming Dreamcast.

3 Ico Demonstrated That Games Could Be Art

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There are some games that manage to transcend the expectations of the medium and truly explore the possibilities in both mechanics and storytelling. Fumito Ueda's Ico for the PlayStation 2 is definitely one of those titles. The game put players in control of a young boy who forms a bond with a mysterious young girl as they attempt to escape a misty castle. Its art direction was breathtaking, the quality of its animation was unparalleled, and its narrative managed to prove simultaneously minimalist and emotionally powerful. However, ask any gamer what they were playing in 2001, and they'll most likely say Grand Theft Auto III.

2 Earthbound Might Have Been Held Back By Its Own Marketing Campaign

An image from EarthBound.

Years before Undertale, Earthbound was a subversive JRPG that tickled players' funny bones one minute and tugged at their heartstrings the next. It brilliantly satirized the genre's tropes while providing unique mechanics, endlessly entertaining dialogue, and a genuinely compelling narrative. Unfortunately, dismal sales might have killed any chance of its sequel ever releasing stateside. Many laid the blame on a marketing campaign that featured scratch & sniff print ads that literally said, "This game Stinks." The fact it was released in the same year as Final Fantasy VI, Donkey Kong Country, and Sonic 3 probably didn't help matters.

1 Okami Was A Majestic Sendoff To Clover Studio

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Widely regarded as Hideki Kamiya's masterpiece, Okami was a phenomenal swan song for the Clover Studios division in Capcom. The game was an action-adventure in the same vein as classics such as The Legend of Zelda. In contrast to the ostentatious and flashy presentation of Devil May Cry and Viewtiful Joe, Okami boasts a regal and majestic atmosphere bolstered by a striking cel-shaded Sumi art direction and fascinating interpretations of figures from Japanese folklore. Unfortunately, the game came out when everyone was focused on the next-gen systems such as the Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Wii.