Top 10 Video Game Franchises That Might Be Gone Forever

Our favorite hip-hop hero hasn’t been around all that much over the last couple of decades. Sure, the first game was re-released for PSP in 2007 and remastered for PS4 in 2017, but the sequel launched way back in 2002. Sony has changed a lot since then, too, shifting their focus to more cinematic, open world games with emotional storytelling and big budgets. The “PaRappa” games have never been about any of that and always tilted more towards the wacky and absurd. That being said, we won’t be learning more karate or flipping burgers anytime soon. At least both games are available on PlayStation 4.

Agent 007 has had a rather tumultuous career in the realm of video games. Not only has the quality of James Bond games fluctuated, but the IP has been licensed out to several publishers from Electronic Arts to Nintendo to Activision Blizzard. As if re-releasing Bond games couldn’t get anymore troublesome, the rights to our favorite MI6 agent are spread to multiple parties, including film rights owner MGM. Even developers who worked on the legendary original “GoldenEye” have remarked about how difficult it was to secure the license and how they had to cancel a remaster because of it. While IO Interactive is currently developing a 007 game, don’t expect any “GoldenEye” games, remasters, remakes, or ports in the near future.

This third-person shooter was the only game developed by Swingin’ Ape Studios, and it was an explosive and hilarious experience that folks should absolutely try to play. Unfortunately, the first game flopped tremendously hard, and while publisher Vivendi Universal commissioned the studio for a sequel, the plug was pulled three months after the first game launched. It wasn’t long before Swingin’ Ape had to shutdown and liquidate assets. Blizzard wound up buying the IP and still owns it today. So, yeah, don’t expect the corporation to try to revive it when “Diablo”, “Overwatch”, and “World of Warcraft” are the only games they’re focussed on.

“Brütal Legend” was another sleeper hit that sadly suffered from EA’s poor marketing. Still, its status as a cult classic should have been enough to warrant a sequel, right? We hate to say it, but no. Even though the game ends on a somewhat open-ended note, EA wasn’t too impressed by the sales numbers. Surely, Microsoft could have Double Fine develop it now, right? With all that Microsoft money, too? Well, not quite. “Brütal Legend” probably had a meaty bill with all the licensed music it uses. Even with “Psychonauts 2” seeing success as Double Fine’s first game under the Xbox banner, the studio aims to work on something completely new. So, who can say we’ll even see Eddie Riggs before the next decade?
Brütal Legend - Wikipedia

Jason may not have as extensive a career in games as 007, but the few games he’s been featured in have resonated with “Friday the 13th” fans. However, recent events have painted a bleak picture for the masked slasher. Though popular with hundreds of players, “Friday the 13th: The Game” was forced to prematurely cease all expansions and development due to a lawsuit over the rights between franchise director Sean S. Cunningham and Victor Miller, the writer of the original movie. This would result in the immediate cancellation of the highly-requested “Jason X” expansion. While the lawsuit is rumored to have been resolved at the time of recording, we’re not so sure if we’ll be heading to Camp Crystal Lake for quite some time.

We could have picked any NES game, but the sad truth is that many of these titles won’t be getting new games under any circumstance. There aren’t many folks clamoring for a new “Wrecking Crew” or “Clu Clu Land”, and while some of these games resonate with some players, they couldn’t compete with the IPs Nintendo and its competitors shell out every year. On top of that, a few of these titles have found life through other means, such as “NES Open Tournament Golf” arguably being “Mario Golf’s” predecessor due to similar mechanics. So, if you’re wanting to play any of these, you’re better off playing them through the Nintendo Switch Online service.

Poor Conker has found himself by the wayside along with Banjo and Kazooie. The only difference between him and the bear-bird duo is that Microsoft has tried to bring him back a few times. The “Live & Reloaded” remake of “Bad Fur Day” didn’t sit well with fans of the classic, though. Then, there was that weird crossover with the failed “Project Spark”, a sandbox game aimed primarily towards kids. And do we dare speak of the awful “Young Conker”? Whenever the red squirrel has had a new game, it’s been done completely wrong. At this point, it’s best if Microsoft just keeps porting “Bad Fur Day” to modern hardware. Let’s leave the squirrel be and enjoy what was already given to us, eh?

Whereas many of our entries are based on recent events and speculation, “F-Zero” seems to have a more definitive end. Fans have been asking for a new “F-Zero” for years, and the franchise has been absent for THREE console generations! Why has Nintendo not fulfilled the demand? Well, over the years, a handful of Nintendo execs and developers, from Shigeru Miyamoto to former series artist Takaya Imamura, have remarked that “F-Zero” would need to bring something new to the table to warrant a new game. Ah, yes, the classic “do something that hasn’t been done before” approach Nintendo has been famously (and infamously) known for. Yeah, “F-Zero” is dead and gone beyond the Big Blue sky.

If there’s one thing we can say about “Guitar Hero” it’s that it was a product of its time, and an incredibly fun one at that. So, it’s painful to admit that “Guitar Hero” won’t be coming back, but it’s arguably for good reason. For starters, the franchise was widely known for its extensive tracklists, filled with licensed music. Then, you have the specially-made guitar peripherals that cost an exorbitant amount of money for both Activision and gamers. Speaking of, Activision milked the franchise so much that audiences grew sick of it and the quality of the games suffered. Despite trying to revive the IP in 2015, “Guitar Hero Live” sold poorly, resulting in developer FreeStyleGames getting sold off to Ubisoft, becoming Ubisoft Leamington.

How long have we been asking for a new “Mother” game? How long have we been asking for just a port of “Mother 3”!? WAY. TOO. LONG. So long that there’s actually an entire documentary on the fandom! Trust us, we’re right there with the fans and would love to play these games on Switch. The problem is that given the political climate in the West, many of the themes in “Mother”, “Earthbound”, and especially “Mother 3” could spark up controversy around the IP as well as Nintendo. Whether it were to stem from gaming outlets or local news stations, it’s a bear that Nintendo probably doesn’t want to poke. RIP, Ness and company.