80°

Development Hell: The Best Xbox 360 Games They Almost Never Made

OXM Staff:

Speak to any developer for long enough and they'll all end up using the same stock phrase: making games is really hard. And they're right, of course. Hundreds of staff working on dozens of interconnecting systems while publishers yell deadlines, point at budget spreadsheets and say things like 'we love it, but can we have more flying tanks?'. It's no wonder that, from time to time, the whole thing spins wildly out of control and a game emerges from development limbo looking very different from the one that fell in.

Well, here are nine games that changed massively during construction. Some were last minute changes in direction, others lost key licenses or swapped publishers. What they all prove is that while making games is hard, retaining that glorious initial vision is, well, more-or-less impossible.

jdubdoubleu4133d ago

The last best Splinter Cell game they made was Chaos Theory.

pixelsword4133d ago (Edited 4133d ago )

...And Circle Gets The Square.

120°

It's A Crime That There's No Sleeping Dogs 2 Yet

Huzaifah from eXputer: "Sleeping Dogs from the early 2010s is one of the best open-world games out there but in dire need of a resurgence."

LG_Fox_Brazil9d ago

I agree, I consider the first one a cult classic already

isarai9d ago

You say "yet" as if it's even possible anymore. United Front Games is gone, along with anyone that made this game what it is

CrimsonWing698d ago

That’s what happens when games sell poorly. And I’ve seen people wonder why people cry when a game sells badly… this is your answer.

solideagle8d ago

Majority of the time it's true but if a company/publisher is big (in terms of money), they can take a hit or 2. e.g. I am not worried about Rebirth sales as Square will make Remake 3 anyway but if FF 17 doesn't sell then Square might need to look for alternative. <-- my humble opinion

Abnor_Mal8d ago

Doesn’t Microsoft own the IP now since they acquired Activision?

DaReapa8d ago

No. Square Enix owns the IP.

Abnor_Mal8d ago

Oh okay, Activision owned True Crime, but when that didn’t sell as intended it was canceled. Six months later Square Enix bought the rights and changed the title to Sleeping Dogs.*

*As per Wikipedia

boing18d ago (Edited 8d ago )

Sleeping Dogs was a sleeper hit back then. It was fantastic. It actually still is. Would love a sequel to this, or at least a revive of True Crime series.

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520°

Gamer buys 4,000 copies of Alan Wake, none of them work

Alan Wake, from Max Payne and Control creator Remedy, is a horror classic, prompting one player to buy 4,000 copies that don’t even work.

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pcgamesn.com
roadkillers9d ago

Kind of a goody story...

On a serious note, that is why I try activating gift cards asap. It's happened to me where the store didnt scan it right where the card was unusuable. Happened at Wally World.

gigoran89d ago

wait, that place is real? national lampoon wasn't kidding?

Tacoboto8d ago

I just bought two of the MonsterVerse Godzilla movies on 4K - both had digital copies expiring in 2023. Both were actually expired.

I'd be surprised but it's WB, of course they'd actually expire them

Knightofelemia9d ago

Usually most of those redemption card have an expiry date on them. If they expired all buyer did was buy recycled paper. And some of those codes are country locked to certain countries. I buy a card from the States I can't use it in Canada.

Chocoburger8d ago

Dumb and silly story. She wasted her money for no reason.

Is it really that hard to go to Steam or GOG. She spent $240, when its currently 70% off on GOG, and only costs $4.49.

Gee, I wonder, should I spend $240 on eBay, or $4.49 on GOG? 🙄

Rynxie8d ago

Most likely she wanted to resell a few or most of them. However, it was a too good to be true situation.

8d ago
Profchaos8d ago

So in short she paid $240.00 assuming usd for a bunch on unactivated game codes.

I still don't understand why I guess cause there's not a physical version and she wanted something for a collection or art project.

Rynxie8d ago

No, most likely to resell. However, she ended up getting screwed.

Asplundh8d ago

This is Alan Wake 1, it had physical copies.

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60°

The Best Four-Player Original Xbox Games

Remember the days of four-player couch co-op? The Wealth of Geeks team certainly does. This list brings us back to the golden years of the original Xbox with the best four-player games that were available.

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wealthofgeeks.com