Game series that were once popular but gamers lost their interest

GE:

It can be a sad thing to see a franchise lose it verve and vibrancy. A franchise that brought you untold amounts of joy in your younger years, fades away into complacency or obscurity. In this article we look at some of gaming’s most popular franchises that lost their luster as they grew older.

[Snookies12]

Final Fantasy didn't lose its luster, it's just that Enix is run by a moron who can't do things right. Sorry to say that, but anyone who moves their company on the advice of a fortune teller needs to be replaced quickly.

[Relientk77]

Can't they just go back to Squaresoft

:-/

[PoSTedUP]

tomb raider, spyro, n4s, pokemon'. should be in that list imo

[guitarded77]

@ PoSTedUP

I think Tomb Raider is a perfect example. It looks like the franchise is getting ready to be a major player again with the new Tomb Raider... can't wait to check it out.

@ Snookies12

I also agree that FF hasn't lost people's interest. Any series that runs as long as FF has will have its ups and downs, but fans are always excited when a new FF game comes out. If a new FF XIII Vs trailer was released today, it's be the number one story on n4g right now.

[Gaming101]

This should say "games I personally lost interest in". I don't think any one personc an speak for the games industry as a whole, I mean look at all the hype that's being generated by FF 13-2, if it were a dead franchise you wouldn't see an ounce of excitement from the fans, but there they are, rabid fans as per usual.

[pixelsword]

@ Gaming 101:

I agree, especially since even the submitter (possibly also the writer) put it down as an opinion piece.

[DrJones]

They should have Mass Effect on the list. The third installment was lackluster. It sold out to appeal to the more casual market.

[gaffyh]

I never lost interest in Final Fantasy as a series, Square just messed it up. I'm hoping someone can still fix the series as a whole, and that Versus XIII will redeem it.

[MAiKU]

Hahaha I didn't know the company moved for that reason. That's pretty real haha.

I have hope they will get back on track.

[Ranma1]

Yoichi Wada moved Square Enix's Headquarters (where 2000+ ppl worked) based on advice from fortune teller called Pau, video evidence here: http://www.neogaf.com/forum...

Its one of reason why Uematsu and Sakaguchi have beef with Yoichi Wada.

Why cant they just make FF turnbased again, so we can control all characters like in old FF's?

[HarryMasonHerpderp]

Never seen that video before.
That's really depressing lol Wada is a douche bag.

[BitbyDeath]

Agreed, i'm playing FFVI right now.
Still awesome.

[ReservoirDog316]

Haha, yeah I just traded a few of my games to get FFIV, V, VI, VIII, IX and Chrono Trigger on PS1 and can't wait to play them. I already played FFVII before so I'll finally play the original Square classics.

/r/gameswap on reddit is amazing.

[Kamikaze135]

What is Final Fantasy doing in that list? Lol....it isn't doing as good as it used to, but it isn't doing nearly as bad as the other games on that list. Plus, they took a step in the right direction with XIII-2 by taking in and incorporating player feedback and XIV is being completely remade from the ground up....Versus XIII is also still being hyped.

[Menashe]

Because people used to be hyped like crazy for every FF release, wait-six-hours-in-line-for-mid night-launch style.

Nowadays it doesn't command nearly as much respect or excitement as it used to. Yeah, some of the games are good, some are less so. Gamers aren't nearly as hyped about Final Fantasy as they used to be.

[Kamikaze135]

You're missing the entire point of the article. Did you even bother clicking on it?

[Blastoise]

Taking in and incorporating feedback would have been to not make a sequel to what is probably the most hated Final fantasy game ever...

[SnipeySnake]

Took a step in the right direction...by having the usual groundbreaking plot and the same yet slightly different ff-like battle system we all know and love...yeah

In case you didnt get that, it was sarcasm.

[Relientk77]

Just stop with Final Fantasy XIII and we dont want XIII-3

I want Final Fantasy XV and make it like the older FF games

Final Fantasy VI, VII, VIII, IX, and X

[MAiKU]

I think they should go with another Final Fantasy like IX. It's style wasn't realistic and the the realm of character designs and settings were amazingly creative and more reflective on fantasy.

[Relientk77]

Final Fantasy IX is my first FF game, and I truely love it. It's the reason I fell in love with RPGs. So yes I want it like Final Fantasy IX lol if I could choose

[abzdine]

Nice list and i'm glad Sonic is in there :)
For my sake Resident Evil and Pro Evolution Soccer should be there as well.

[Hellsvacancy]

I havnt lost interest in the Final Fantasy games, i am still waiting for a next gen FF game admittedly, if it wasnt for the name i wouldnt of thought FF13 was a FF game at all, it was so stripped back from what i was use to playing

Im still hopeful though for FF-Versus, and the FFX HD thing there doing, im cool with that

Resident Evil should die though, or start over (which they will next gen)

[R_aVe_N]

I actually agree with Final Fantasy being on that list. I remember waiting in line all night to get FF VII and my first Playstation. I would never do that with the current games. I think they lost sight of what made FF games so great. I have kinda lost all faith in the company really. I still have high hopes that one day they will get back to their roots.

[Greyslash]

Myst was so amazing. I love it

[abzdine]

i played it on Sega Saturn and the sequel Riven on PSone. 2 amazing games with extreme realistic graphics.

[DragonKnight]

No one has lost interest in FF. We're waiting for a real FF to show up, but in the mean time we're not getting our hopes up like we used to. Time was, an FF game meant quality unmatched in the JRPG realm. Doesn't mean that any more since Yoichi Wada is an idiot.

[Menashe]

Western RPGs have completely dominated JRPGs lately. People would rather play Skyrim or Mass Effect than whatever they call Final Fantasy these days.

[ShaunCameron]

Mega Man should have made the list. He was my all-time video game character and it just breaks my heart to see how much he fell off over the years.

LOL @ Mario being mentioned. That's the one series that has yet to show any real sign of decline.

[Tzunoy]

others don't bring nothing new i mean it's the same way every year as for final fantasy it tells different stories and i don't think the series lost interest.

[WeskerChildReborned]

No Resident Evil? I use to love Resident Evil until 5 came out but i still like the series, just don' like the direction it's going in :/

[Skateboard]

My favorite FF is made from Square Enix. It's not the name folks its the people who are making the games. The douche who made FFX is a one hit wonder and he is the real problem.

[stuntman_mike]

I'm enjoying FF 3 on my xperia play at the moment. the only thing that's keeping them afloat in my opinion is the acquisition of Eidos and their games, like Hitman, Tomb Raider, Deus Ex ect.

[omarzy]

This is terrible. Final fantasy sells great, but no as well as before. That is expected after 25 years. The fact that it lasted this long is proof enough that gamers have not lost interest. Every installment in a series will sell differently. Ok this is just stupid, Mario? really? mario kart and NSMBW sold 25-31 million copies. I assure you that because you and a group of 5 friends do not like mario, does not mean the rest of the gaming community has lost interest. Tomb raider is being followed more closely than most games at e3. again, the games have to fall off the charts to justify a loss in interest, and this list names some of the most popular games to ever hit gaming.

[belac09]

FF is still my favorite series by far, but it isnt as great as it once was. i have faith though.

[trenken311]

I dont think FF fans just simply lost interest for no reason, it's because many of the people behind the good FF games dont work at Square anymore, so the fans were actually pushed away by multiple bad games in a row.

This series is so far off track from what made it so great in the first place that it could be beyond saving. Another couple bad FF games and the series could tank in sales and actually be final.... finally.

Or just on its strong name alone they'll just keep making crappy FF games and the sheep will keep buying them. Doesnt matter to me, Im done with that franchise until I see one that actually gets great reviews again.

[UnitSmiley]

I don't think people have lost interest in FF at all. I did like FFXIII but i'll admit it was a little underwhelming compared to the other games in the series. But I'm fully convinced when FFVXIII comes out all eyes will be on it, fan and gaming news alike. It's a big deal.

[310dodo]

Alot of people are still in denial about Final Fantasy

sad...the fan base dictates the games they make

[Oh_Yeah]

open world and real time combat would save final fantasy...at least real time combat...id start buying them again.

[andibandit]

Yeah i cant really stand turn based combat either. For the same reason i skip 99% of JRPG's i dont know what it is with japanese love for Turn Based Combat.

[mochachino]

Guitar Hero probably had the biggest fall, it went from top seller to nothing in one gen.

[abzdine]

that's what happens when they milk things too much.. CoD's turn will come soon (i hope)

[mochachino]

Also, casual gamers love a something one day then ignore it the next.

[izumo_lee]

The sad part with Final Fantasy is that before with the series there was no hesitation if you were gonna buy the game or not. People did not care about reviews or anything about the series, it was like 'A Final Fantasy game is out i am so gonna buy it!!'.

Now with the series there is that hesitation or feelings of doubt whether the game will be good or not. We did not have those feelings before we just knew in our hearts that the game was going to be epic. That feeling is for the most part gone in the new direction & games the series is heading.

For me Final Fantasy has become the Twillight of the game industry. It will continue to sell a lot (cause fans are just HOPING the series will turn around) but that sometimes does not mean it is gonna be good.

[AIndoria]

Uh..I'm still like that :P I still buy the Final Fantasy games and personally, I enjoy them, just like I enjoyed XIII.

[Hicken]

Same. I enjoyed XIII quite a bit, regardless of what the haters say.

[izumo_lee]

Look i was not being negative at all to the series. I played over 100 hrs on FF 13 & is only missing one trophy for my plat (91%), the find every item one. I would have finished FF 13-2 but Tales of Graces F was the better game & took priority, i am now going back to 13-2 to complete it.

I own every single console Final Fantasy game except the SNES ones cause i have the anthology & chronicle versions on the PS1 for those games. I am still a fan of the series. However in the past i did not hesitate to buy a Final Fantasy game when it launched. There is no question the hype is still alive with the series. To be honest i did not buy 13 & 13-2 on day one....to me personally that was a little sad.

My argument is that for the most part when a new Final Fantasy game is announced or released there are some of us that question it now. That use to NEVER happen.

Can the series return to the glory days where it ruled the world? Definitely but i believe it will not with Toriyama & Wada at the helms.

[StreetsofRage]

TONY HAWK! End of discussion.

[Rashonality]

excuse me but why is final fantasy here
yes XIII was underwhelming but it wasn't that bad not to mention they improved it in XIII-2, yes they are considered two of the worse FF but still they are fun, and i'm sure they will treat the next final fantasy with more c
the only thing that changed is peoples taste, nowa days the only games that sell are games that have sweaty men with guns, yet they call other games gay.

and another thing, i don't see why people attack Square-Enix, they are not bad, in fact they're pretty good, i mean they brought back Deus Ex and Hitman, rebooted Tomb raider and picked up Sleeping Dogs after Activision dropped it cuz it's not a shooter.

S-E is doing pretty good, not as good as they used to be but still better than alot of other companies.

[tweet75]

what about battle toads? that was popular once

[Kos-Mos]

Another "I hate Final Fantasy so bad I need to make a stupid article about it, but it`s very important I bring other games in as well to cover my hate" article.

[undeadmagic]

Speak for yourself.

BTW, Final Fantasy 13 was a GREAT game.

[AIndoria]

THAT! Final Fantasy didn't lose its luster. At least not with some gamers. Sure, most of you were disappointed by the linearity of FFXIII, but some of us actually enjoyed the gorgeous graphics and music.

[DrJones]

Vanilla was a bitch. Annoyed the hell out of me. If you can put up with that kind of sub standard writing and acting, then you have well.. In my opinion, really low standards. Maybe you love manga? That would maybe explain a thing or two.

[DNAbro]

vanilla? you mean vanille?