History ExecutiveMeddling / VideoGames

* ''VideoGame/PostalIII'' was affected badly by this. When Running With Scissors partnered with Akella for development and production, Akella ''immediately'' began meddling, forcing a Russian release to take priority over western release, demanding that the much touted Free Roam mode be axed (only allowing it to be put back in via patch after a ''lot'' of back and forth), and cutting corners at every chance they got, most infamously ''refusing to let the ESRB rate the game'', just to save money (this consequently meant they also refused to let it be sold ''anywhere'' outside of Russia except through the RWS website until three months after it had actually come out). Running With Scissors has even ''apologized'' to the fans over this, now referring to the game as "Russian Postal" or "Akella's Postal spin-off" and disowning it.

*** In an interview leading up to ''VideoGame/StrangerOfParadiseFinalFantasyOrigin'', Nomura admitted that Disney would very frequently step in to prevent Sora from undergoing any kind of noticeable redesigns, character development and personality shifts as they wanted him to remain a marketable and easily recognizable protagonist. This is the reason why Sora's growth over the course of the series remains fairly understated while every other character developed drastically around him because Disney didn't care to exercise the same control over the other Keyblade Wielders or Organization members (and was part of the reason Nomura made Jack in ''Strangers of Paradise'' so angry, with the intent to give him a proper character arc to vent his frustrations about this trope with Sora).

* ''VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay'' was a rather infamous example of executive meddling:
** Originally, the premise of the [=N64=] ''Conker'' game was supposed to be vastly different: playing out to be like a more childish ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'', or in-series, ''Conker's Pocket Tales''. However, the executives at Rare started to become fearful that fans may not like the platformer because it was too childish, and after a very negative critique during the testing stages, Rare retooled the game, causing it to be aimed at a more mature crowd, including sex references, alcoholic beverages, and lewd behavior - which resulted in poor sales. This was not at all helped by Nintendo of America's response to the change, either, refusing to advertise it (outside of men's magazines) and [[{{Unperson}} outright refusing to let Nintendo Power even admit the game existed]].

** At one point, there were plans for a GaidenGame similar to ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'', taking place in the same setting as ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' and reusing a lot of assets, but doing its own thing story-wise. However, Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto was enamored with the Wii Zapper at the time, and so [[TechDemoGame demanded that they focus the game on it instead]]. After he made them throw together an early prototype which the focus-testers seemed to like, Miyamoto took control of production; he vetoed the idea of any kind of story elements or longer stages, and was even against the game featuring ''boss fights''. The game was eventually released as ''VideoGame/LinksCrossbowTraining'', which did include two boss fights but almost none of the initial planned concepts otherwise made it in.

* ''VideoGame/KirbySuperStar'': The Spring Breeze mode was not intended to include copy abilities, which would have made it a more faithful remake of ''VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand''. Director Creator/MasahiroSakurai reluctantly added them at the request of one of Nintendo's producers. Sakurai revealed in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkeETXCSn5M&t=332 an episode]] of ''WebVideo/MasahiroSakuraiOnCreatingGames'' that he still believes Spring Breeze should lack copy abilities (at least on the first playthrough), feeling that copy abilities make it too similar to the second game in the compilation, Spring Breeze.

** ''Sonic 06'' was originally going to be released on the Platform/{{Wii}} as well, with Sega expecting the Wii to be on par with the Platform/PlayStation3 and Platform/Xbox360 in terms of technology. But when Sega learned about the Wii's limitations compared to the other two consoles and the Wii Remote controller's capabilities, they instead decided to make an original title for the Wii based on the Wii controller's capabilities. This resulted in Sonic Team being split up in two groups, with the newly formed group starting work on what would become ''VideoGame/SonicAndTheSecretRings'' and the other group continuing work on ''Sonic 06''. So ''Sonic 06'' and ''X-treme'' also shared the same team management problem in a sense-though at least in ''X-treme''[='=]s case, the two teams were still working on the same project from the start-''Sonic 06'' saw ''half'' of its development team yanked from the project well into the game's development.

** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil1'' originally wasn't going to have much of a story other than "the mansion is haunted and you must find a way out to survive". Shinji Mikami wanted players to be engaged by the horror and fear alone, but Capcom told that he had to include a detailed story to make the game more engaging. The overturned decision paved the way to the Resident Evil franchise everyone knows today.

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'':

* It's suspected that this trope was responsible for the inability to name Pals and the PlayerCharacter in the console version of ''VideoGame/{{Palworld}}'' until the 0.1.5.0 update as well as the swear filter on both PC and console versions introduced at the same time.

** After the success of Bioware's ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'', EA mandated that Bioware continue using the aforementioned Frostbite UsefulNotes/GameEngine. However, the engine's over-specialization and lack of technical support contributed to the game's tumultuous development cycle. Not helping matters is that the Bioware management and leadership gave conflicting direction and a lack of vision for the final product.

* Lammy, a character from the ''VideoGame/PaRappaTheRapper'' universe, was originally meant to be younger and actually resemble a lamb/sheep. Sony's higher-ups did not approve, so they forced the developers to radically alter her design to make her sexy and older, and remove all sheep-like traits except for the antlers, pointy ears, and round nose. [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools The end result turned out to be a success]], as her final design got lots of praise from critics, gamers, and the UsefulNotes/FurryFandom.

* Although it's a lot less known than [[Platform/{{SNESCDROM}} Nintendo's aforementioned ordeal with the company]], Sega of America held a short-lived yet strong partnership with Sony when the latter, [[EnemyMine after being left at the wayside by Nintendo]], approached the former to help each other develop a CD-based video game console. This partnership culminated in Sony proposing the jointly-marketed "[[WhatCouldHaveBeen Sega/Sony hardware system]]" that presumably would have gotten off the ground had it not been for the head of Sega of Japan, who outright said partnering with Sony, who he believed was incapable of producing video game-related software or hardware, [[ItWillNeverCatchOn was a stupid idea]]. HilariousInHindsight doesn't even begin to describe the [[HumiliationConga aftermath]]: Sony's Platform/PlayStation not only bested [[Platform/SegaSaturn their own effort at a CD-based console]] ''and'' dominated [[UsefulNotes/TheFifthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames the fifth video game generation]], but also laid the foundation of Sega [[CreatorKiller admitting defeat and pulling out of the console wars]] [[UsefulNotes/TheSixthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames at the start of the next generation]] - despite Sega trying their best to WinBackTheCrowd with the Dreamcast, distrusting gamers reserved their cash for the highly anticipated Platform/PlayStation2, leading to the Dreamcast underperforming and Sega, in order to stay in business, discontinuing the Dreamcast and going third party well before Nintendo's [[Platform/NintendoGameCube GameCube]] and Microsoft's Platform/{{Xbox}} hit shelves!

* There've been way too many [[TheProblemWithLicensedGames movie-based games reduced in quality]] due to a rush to release them in synch with the release of the actual movie, and video games in general being rushed to meet the holiday shopping crunch. The most memorable has to be ''Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial'', whose final fate in a New Mexico landfill and subsequent contribution to UsefulNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983 resulted from such a push. Creator/{{Atari}} previously produced several times too many cartridges, even for a successful game.[[note]]They ordered 4-5 million copies of ''E.T.'' produced. It only sold 1.5 million of them and many were returned as well.[[/note]]

* In the early 1980s, Nintendo was poised to bring [[Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem their new video game console]] over to the United States but were not willing to do it themselves, as they felt it was too risky a venture, so they sought out an established American company to provide support. Enter Atari. By 1983, everything was in place and Nintendo sent a team of representatives to the Consumer Electronics Show with contracts in-hand to be signed. During their tour of the show floor and its exhibits with Atari execs, the group came across Coleco demonstrating a prototype of ''Donkey Kong'' for the Coleco Adam computer. The Atari reps were ''furious'', claiming there was an arrangement in place where the only version of ''Donkey Kong'' that was to be shown at CES was theirs, and accused Nintendo of doubledealing.[[note]] The truth is actually a bit more complicated, but in the simplest terms: back in those days, console and computer publishing rights for games were separate things, and negotiated and sold as such. While Coleco had the ''console'' rights to ''Donkey Kong'', Atari had the ''computer'' rights, so Coleco were actually operating the demo outside of their contract.[[/note]] Shouting and cursing ensued (this was later recalled as one of the few times then-Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi, normally a very stoic man, ''completely lost'' his cool, tearing into both Atari CEO Ray Kassar and the Coleco delegation for their accusation and breach of contract, respectively) and the Nintendo group, shocked at what was happening, quietly left the show. Nintendo would attempt to keep the deal afloat, but - even if Atari hadn't been trying to tie up the deal in red tape for as long as possible to save face rather than admit they didn't have the money for it, as was later revealed - by that point Atari's president was ousted and Atari itself, along with the rest of the American industry, was [[UsefulNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983 in free-fall]]. Nintendo would go on to release the Nintendo Entertainment System in America themselves, and the rest is history.

* Continuing the trend, ''VideoGame/KirbysEpicYarn'' was originally going to be an original title starring Prince Fluff, but the execs noticed that the player character looked similar to Kirby and made the developers turn it into a ''Kirby'' game. Similarly to Krystal in the Star Fox example, Prince Fluff was still kept, but demoted to a secondary character. This is why the title plays so differently from the rest of the games in the series, with Kirby even missing his signature ability of sucking enemies and stealing their powers.
* Phillips CD-i system:
** The notorious ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDiGames Legend of Zelda]]'' and ''VideoGame/HotelMario'' games on the Phillips CD-i system were a result of several years' worth of executive meddling. During the early '90s, just as NEC and Sega were coming out with CD-ROM add-ons for their consoles, Nintendo decided to develop [[Platform/{{SNESCDROM}} one for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System]] with Sony, one that would be able to play new, 32-bit CD-based games in addition to the original SNES library. A while into their co-operation, however, Nintendo realized that letting just anyone develop games for the CD add-on meant that Nintendo would lose their absolute control over the games released on their systems. More importantly, they also realized that the contract with Sony contained a clause that the latter would own the rights to all games developed for the add-on. Nintendo decided to give Sony the cold shoulder and, completely by surprise, announced that they were going to work with Phillips on the CD add-on from there on. Nintendo's CD add-on never saw the light of day. To compensate Phillips, Nintendo gave the former the rights to publish four games based on Nintendo characters for the [=CD-i=]. The worst part for Nintendo? [[CreateYourOwnVillain Sony continued the project by themselves]], eventually creating the Platform/PlayStation. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero This would put Nintendo into a slump]] from which they wouldn't completely recover from until the Wii was released.

* ''VideoGame/KirbySuperStarUltra'' was originally intended to be a straight-forward VideoGameRemake of ''Kirby Super Star'', until Masayoshi Tanimura, then-president of Creator/HALLaboratory, asked for the scope to be expanded, leading to extra sub-games being added. A beneficial move, as it allowed Shinya Kumazaki, director of the remake, to establish his directorial style for the series going forward, including using the new Revenge of The King sub-game to give Dedede a HeelFaceTurn that stuck from then on.

* When Creator/{{Bethesda}} announced that console versions of ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' would have mod support added after release, Sony blocked user created content for the Play Station 4 version of the game, meaning while anything users could imagine can be added to the Xbox and PC versions, any user created mods must use only assets already in the game.

* After the success of ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', EA pushed Creator/{{BioWare}} to release ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' much sooner than the game's development team expected, due to the ''Star Wars'' MMO ''VideoGame/TheOldRepublic'' missing its projected deadline. The game's composer, Inon Zur, [[http://kotaku.com/5780870/ever-wonder-why-dragon-age-ii-came-out-so-soon later admitted]] in an interview that the score was a rush job and that the game was pushed hard for a March 2011 release, while [=BioWare=] lead designer Brent Knowles (who had been with the company for over a decade) [[http://blog.brentknowles.com/2010/08/15/bioware-brent-year-10-fall-2008-summer-2009/ quit the company]] over the decision to rush development. There have also been rumors that the game was released in an "[[ObviousBeta alpha]]" version, and that the game was a standalone title for a completely different concept that was repurposed as the sequel due to production problems. Later on, a planned expansion pack for the sequel (that apparently resolved the story arc set up by the game itself) was cancelled unceremoniously.

* Creator/Level5's president Akihiro Hino saw ''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonAndTheCuriousVillage'' as something in the AdventureGame tradition, and promoted it as such, something Nintendo of America respected. Nintendo of Europe however saw the opportunity to market it as a simple puzzle compilation for casual players, to Level-5's objections. This ultimately worked out for the best however: The Nintendo DS' huge casual owner base bought the game up on the premise that it would be in the same vein as ''VideoGame/BrainAge'', after which they stayed for the deeper character-driven adventure game elements. Europe became ''Professor Layton'''s biggest market by far thanks to this initial bit of clever marketing.

* Nintendo and Website/YouTube subscribers have quite a history. For years, Nintendo didn't say or do anything in regards to people using Nintendo's [=IPs=] in their own videos nor was anything said about making money off of them. Around 2014, Nintendo decided to claim the rights to ''any'' video that contains Nintendo's properties, but they also chose to simply just take the ad revenue from the user rather than completely block the video in order to have some good faith with the community. The [=YouTube=] community was extremely livid and many popular [=YouTubers=] stated their incomes would be in jeopardy due to the loss of funds while other users refused to create any more videos with Nintendo's products out of protest. Nintendo eventually backed down, but not before they created a program where anyone who signs up for it can still make money off of Nintendo's games in their videos, except Nintendo would still take a cut of the revenue as stated in the agreement. People didn't like the program, stating that they would still be losing quite a bit of money since [=YouTube=] already takes a cut of the revenue. It wasn't until near the end of 2018 that Nintendo finally gave up on that program, implicitly recognizing it would impede the launch of the newest ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' title.

* After Retro Studios finished making ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes'', they wanted to move on and make other games outside the ''Metroid'' franchise, but Nintendo wanted them to make a third ''Metroid Prime'' game on the Wii to showcase the console's motion controls.

[[ExecutiveMeddling You have to do what the bossman says sometimes]] or it's GameOver, man.

* The UsefulNotes/PlayStation game ''VideoGame/SpiderMan2EnterElectro'' had the final level originally take place [[http://web.archive.org/web/20070902143554/http://www.game-rave.com/psx/playstation_perfect_guide/features/feature_spiderman3/index.html on the top of the World Trade Center]]. This is confirmed by the original level title, "Top of the World", and dialogue spoken by Peter Parker during the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUrXPnIDkC8 original cinematic]] prior to the final level. After the events of 9/11, the game was pulled from shelves (it had been released in North America in late August) and delayed in territories where it hadn't been released, and the level designers placed a bridge between the two towers to make the comparison to its real life counterpart less obvious. Given the fact that Activision and Vicarious Visions feared the content might have been considered "insensitive", their meddling was obvious.

** [[https://twitter.com/bgolus/status/1230637316764385282 The developers generally weren't allowed]] to include events from [[Literature/HarryPotter the books]] that weren't in [[Film/HarryPotter the movies]]. Peeves appears in the first game only because [[https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/6urjpf/comment/dlvgeba/ Warner Bros. didn't tell the developers he was cut from the movie until the final month of development.]] The UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor games based on ''[[VideoGame/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone Philosopher's Stone]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets Chamber of Secrets]]'' were able to be closer to the books, [[https://www.neogaf.com/threads/rttp-harry-potter-game-boy-rpgs.743011/#post-95347786 since EA paid little attention to them compared to the console and GBA games, and whenever the developers showed their progress EA would just be impressed at what they managed on the GBC hardware.]]

** The ''[[VideoGame/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban Prisoner of Azkaban]]'' UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance game was hit hard by this. EA didn't trust the former GBC team at Griptonite Games to create quality GBA art, and ended up forcing them to completely change the art style halfway through development. With only half the time to complete the game, the developers had to cut many features and work crunch mode for the rest of development, including weekends and holidays.
* As mentioned in the Activision folder, EA acquired the rights to ''VideoGame/BrutalLegend'' after Activision dropped the title. EA didn't meddle with the game development like Activision did, but they only advertised the game's action elements, completely obscuring the RTS elements that make up the core of the game's mechanics, leading to the game receiving some undeserved criticism. Then came the patch Double Fine was going to release for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 version, which would fix the muffled sound effects and the 99% completion glitch, but because EA only likes to support games that sold well, they would not let DF release the patch whatsoever, even though the patch was ''finished''.\\

* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'' was meddled rather thoroughly by [=LucasArts=]. First they rushed the development [[ChristmasRushed to make a Christmas release date]], meaning quite a lot of stuff (including ''the actual ending'') got DummiedOut due to time constraints. Then it turned into straight-up ScrewedByTheNetwork when Obsidian offered to put together a patch to restore the missing content and [=LucasArts=] refused on the grounds that the Xbox version wasn't Xbox Live-enabled and couldn't be patched. Fortunately, the modding community has managed to fix most of it, and the UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} release of the game now has [[GameMod Workshop support]] primarily to allow players easy access to the content-restoration mod.

* The UsefulNotes/{{Xbox 360}} itself suffered meddling from Microsoft during the manufacturing period in late 2005. Microsoft pressured builders to cut corners and skimp on parts in order to rush the console onto the market in time for the Christmas season and to get ahead of Sony's plans to release the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 in 2006. This would bite Microsoft back ''hard'' a year or two later since the infamous Red Ring of Death plagued around 20%-30% of people who owned the console. As a result of the aforementioned corner-cutting and Microsoft's focus on making the outer shell of the console slimmer than the famously bulky UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}}, the initial design of the 360 had a poorly made heatsink and its outer shell couldn't release heat quickly enough, which caused the CPU to quickly fry and cause 3 red rings to light up by the power button to signify there was a hardware error. This particular configuration of lights meant the console couldn't be turned on again without being repaired. Microsoft lost around a billion US dollars replacing all the fried consoles, giving consumers an extended warranty on their new consoles, and then having to manufacture a new design that fixed the issues. The final estimate of affected consoles came to around 50%, indicating that essentially half their first run of Xbox 360 consoles were unintentionally built to last little more than a year, if that. That number got pushed to 64% later on according to Microsoft, as apparently refurbished consoles would fail just as easily.

* Games developed on UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesXAndS must have all the full feature parity (excluding graphical options) between Series [=X=] and [=S=], as many developers found out the latter console's technical issue and weaker than the [=X=]. There are exceptions to the rule which developers can drop the features:

* When online gaming was starting to pick up in the early 2000s, Sony jumped on board a bit later with ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'' which made the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 the first console for Sony to have online capabilities. The [[UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast Dreamcast]] and the UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} incorporated online gaming long before Sony. The UsefulNotes/{{Nintendo GameCube}} was designed for online play, but very few games were made with this feature in mind and Creator/{{Nintendo}} had openly stated that they thought that online gaming would be just a passing fad. This resulted in the [=GameCube=] having an Internet connection that would never be used except for as LAN in a couple games.
* The UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} was originally going to have the controllers built with a more complex and accurate motion sensor, but Nintendo ordered that they be simplified to make the controllers cheaper. Cue thousands of complaints from gamers and even developers about how inaccurate and annoying the Wii's motion controls were. Eventually Nintendo released an add-on, the Wii [=MotionPlus=], that restored the original capabilities, but only during the console's final years, resulting in only a handful of Wii games that support it.

** The notorious ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDiGames Legend of Zelda]]'' and ''VideoGame/HotelMario'' games on the Phillips CD-i system were a result of several years' worth of executive meddling. During the early '90s, just as NEC and Sega were coming out with CD-ROM add-ons for their consoles, Nintendo decided to develop [[UsefulNotes/{{SNESCDROM}} one for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System]] with Sony, one that would be able to play new, 32-bit CD-based games in addition to the original SNES library. A while into their co-operation, however, Nintendo realized that letting just anyone develop games for the CD add-on meant that Nintendo would lose their absolute control over the games released on their systems. More importantly, they also realized that the contract with Sony contained a clause that the latter would own the rights to all games developed for the add-on. Nintendo decided to give Sony the cold shoulder and, completely by surprise, announced that they were going to work with Phillips on the CD add-on from there on. Nintendo's CD add-on never saw the light of day. To compensate Phillips, Nintendo gave the former the rights to publish four games based on Nintendo characters for the [=CD-i=]. The worst part for Nintendo? [[CreateYourOwnVillain Sony continued the project by themselves]], eventually creating the UsefulNotes/PlayStation. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero This would put Nintendo into a slump]] from which they wouldn't completely recover from until the Wii was released.
** Furthermore, both this specific event and executive meddling in general had everything to do with Square's falling out with Nintendo, as well. Square was a ''huge'' supporter of the CD peripheral, as they had plans to use it, and loudly criticized Nintendo's decision to drop the project. As a result, Nintendo punished Square by refusing to allow expanded ROM sizes for some of their ambitious projects late in the Super Famicom's life cycle, like ''VideoGame/BahamutLagoon'' and ''VideoGame/RudraNoHihou''. Furthermore, Nintendo was convinced that disc-based game systems were a fad, since the SNES did better than its competitors without one, leading to their next game console, the UsefulNotes/{{Nintendo 64}}, being cartridge-based as well. Square quickly realized that the [=N64=] and its cartridges weren't capable of running the games they wanted to make, so they decided to develop games for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation instead.

** The original North American release of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' had several important scenes inexplicably removed, a falling blade trap changed to a falling metal ball trap (apparently it's ok to get squished to death, but not sliced in half); ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' had a couple of female summoned creatures' sprites altered to show less skin, and both games had religious references removed (changing "Holy" to "Pearl", etc.). In addition, the porno magazines in ''Final Fantasy IV'' and ''VI'' were also both edited out in their initial Western releases.[[note]]The UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance version of ''VI'' lets it stay, but calls it "Bushido in Bed" to avoid any direct references.[[/note]]
** ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' received a [[{{Bowdlerise}} neutering from Nintendo of America]]. The SNES version of ''VideoGame/MortalKombat1992'' had the blood changed to sweat, and the fatalities were severely weakened.[[note]] For example, Johnny Cage punches his opponent's head off in the original version; in the SNES version, he delivers a hefty kick to the chest.[[/note]] The UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis port was technically inferior, but ended up being the most popular because it contained all the gore that made the game popular in the first place. Realizing this, Nintendo of America released ''VideoGame/MortalKombatII'' on the SNES in all its gory glory.

* Due to the developers and publishers aware of the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch emulators like Yuzu and Ryujinx lowing the sales of their games (even in protected PC games, while the Switch version are unprotected), future Switch games now implemented [[UsefulNotes/DigitalRightsManagement Denuvo]] in their games, [[https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/denuvo-security-is-now-on-switch-including-new-tech-to-block-pc-switch-emulation/ to prevent emulators for booting up the games, while forcing players to buy an actual Switch hardware and the legitimate copy of the effected games.]]

* The UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn was plagued with executive meddling that in the end, majorly [[ScrewedByTheNetwork screwed it over outside Japan]] and was a major player to Sega leaving the console business:

* Although it's a lot less known than [[UsefulNotes/{{SNESCDROM}} Nintendo's aforementioned ordeal with the company]], Sega of America held a short-lived yet strong partnership with Sony when the latter, [[EnemyMine after being left at the wayside by Nintendo]], approached the former to help each other develop a CD-based video game console. This partnership culminated in Sony proposing the jointly-marketed "[[WhatCouldHaveBeen Sega/Sony hardware system]]" that presumably would have gotten off the ground had it not been for the head of Sega of Japan, who outright said partnering with Sony, who he believed was incapable of producing video game-related software or hardware, [[ItWillNeverCatchOn was a stupid idea]]. HilariousInHindsight doesn't even begin to describe the [[HumiliationConga aftermath]]: Sony's UsefulNotes/PlayStation not only bested [[UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn their own effort at a CD-based console]] ''and'' dominated [[UsefulNotes/TheFifthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames the fifth video game generation]], but also laid the foundation of Sega [[CreatorKiller admitting defeat and pulling out of the console wars]] [[UsefulNotes/TheSixthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames at the start of the next generation]] - despite Sega trying their best to WinBackTheCrowd with the Dreamcast, distrusting gamers reserved their cash for the highly anticipated UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, leading to the Dreamcast underperforming and Sega, in order to stay in business, discontinuing the Dreamcast and going third party well before Nintendo's [[UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube GameCube]] and Microsoft's UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} hit shelves!

** ''Sonic 06'' was originally going to be released on the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} as well, with Sega expecting the Wii to be on par with the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 and UsefulNotes/Xbox360 in terms of technology. But when Sega learned about the Wii's limitations compared to the other two consoles and the Wii Remote controller's capabilities, they instead decided to make an original title for the Wii based on the Wii controller's capabilities. This resulted in Sonic Team being split up in two groups, with the newly formed group starting work on what would become ''VideoGame/SonicAndTheSecretRings'' and the other group continuing work on ''Sonic 06''. So ''Sonic 06'' and ''X-treme'' also shared the same team management problem in a sense-though at least in ''X-treme''[='=]s case, the two teams were still working on the same project from the start-''Sonic 06'' saw ''half'' of its development team yanked from the project well into the game's development.

** The fragments of known history behind the beleaguered development process for ''[[VideoGame/SonicBoom Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric]]'' indicates that the game's development ended up being thrown under the bus so the game could be released [[ChristmasRushed in time for the holiday season]] and so that Sega could quickly fulfill the Sonic-exclusive Nintendo contract they revealed in 2013 [[note]]The deal had Sega releasing their next three console ''Sonic'' titles exclusively to the UsefulNotes/{{Wii U}}; a deal Sega presumably decided to quickly eject from when the [[VideoGame/SonicLostWorld first two]] [[VideoGame/MarioAndSonicAtTheOlympicGames Sonic games]] of the deal sold below expectations; partially a result of the console's low install base.[[/note]]. This is notable due to the game running on [=CryEngine=] 3, an engine that isn't officially optimized for the Wii U console. Developer videos have shown development kits of the [=PS3=] and 360 in the background-which may have been the originally intended platform development for the game. Despite ''Rise of Lyric'' reportedly going gold in July, the final release [[ObviousBeta most certainly indicates it wasn't ready to see release]].

* When Sony allowed [=NetherRealm=] Studios to include [[VideoGame/GodOfWar Kratos]] in the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 and UsefulNotes/PlayStationVita versions of ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'', it came with the mandate that Kratos could never appear cowardly. This became a positive example, as Kratos' unique reactions to Fatalities, such as swiping at Freddy when shoved into a furnace, or challenging Ermac when reduced to mouse-sized instead of running away, made him stand out from the crowd.

* Sony has a policy for patches on games where developers have to pay a fee to be allowed to upload a patch for everyone to download. The cost ranges in the tens of thousands of dollars, so constant patching can get ''very'' expensive very quickly. On top of that, it is said that Microsoft also restricts how large a patch can be, which means developers are either forced to cut back on what they can push out for patches or don't bother patching at all. The patch fees are likely the reason why many games go unpatched for years and are left in a broken mess while their PC counterparts don't have to jump through the patch fee hurdles. Sony removed patch fees for all developers starting with the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4.

** Conversely, Arika is very stingy about fans making clones of their games to counteract the lack of a proper console ''TGM'' port, due to blaming clones for the cancellation of at least two TGM games (TGM for UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 and [=TGM4=]). If you decide to upload a video of yourself playing the clones ''Heboris'' or ''Texmaster'' on Website/{{YouTube}}, prepare to remove all references to TGM and either game's title unless you want Arika to have your video taken down. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDJQP1xg5EY&fmt=18 This video]] sums up Arika's and the TTC's meddling, and, as a TakeThat to said meddling, showcases a variety of ''Tetris'' clones in a catchy music video. Ironically, people playing ''Tetris'' clones have since then put [[http://tinyurl.com/tgmFLAGGED "this fan game video will be flagged"]] in their videos' tags as a ShoutOut to that video and as a secret handshake to other fans looking for ''TGM'' videos. In May of 2009, Arika asked Youtube to wipe out videos of ''Lockjaw'', another ''Tetris'' clone. Even if said videos are of people playing the "40 Lines" mode, which has almost ''nothing'' to do with Arika or TGM.

* In an interview two months after the release of the ''[[VideoGame/SilentHill2 Silent Hill]] HD [[VideoGame/SilentHill3 Collection]]'' for the UsefulNotes/Xbox360 and UsefulNotes/PlayStation3, Tomm Hulett (the producer) explained that the source code Konami gave to the team wasn't from the final version of the game, as Konami had apparently ''[[https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-05-29-silent-hill-hd-collection-ported-from-unfinished-code lost the source code]]'' from the original release at some point. Despite that, the team was forced to recompile many source files and work around issues that had already been solved by the time the game was originally launched in order to release the new edition.

* Sony and Microsoft have a policy for patches on games where developers have to pay a fee to be allowed to upload a patch for everyone to download. The cost ranges in the tens of thousands of dollars, so constant patching can get ''very'' expensive very quickly. On top of that, it is said that Microsoft also restricts how large a patch can be, which means developers are either forced to cut back on what they can push out for patches or don't bother patching at all. The patch fees are likely the reason why many games go unpatched for years and are left in a broken mess while their PC counterparts don't have to jump through the patch fee hurdles. Sony is attempting to avert this by removing patch fees for all developers with the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4.

* In the early 1980s, Nintendo was poised to bring [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem their new video game console]] over to the United States but were not willing to do it themselves, as they felt it was too risky a venture, so they sought out an established American company to provide support. Enter Atari. By 1983, everything was in place and Nintendo sent a team of representatives to the Consumer Electronics Show with contracts in-hand to be signed. During their tour of the show floor and its exhibits with Atari execs, the group came across Coleco demonstrating a prototype of ''Donkey Kong'' for the Coleco Adam computer. The Atari reps were ''furious'', claiming there was an arrangement in place where the only version of ''Donkey Kong'' that was to be shown at CES was theirs, and accused Nintendo of doubledealing.[[note]] The truth is actually a bit more complicated, but in the simplest terms: back in those days, console and computer publishing rights for games were separate things, and negotiated and sold as such. While Coleco had the ''console'' rights to ''Donkey Kong'', Atari had the ''computer'' rights, so Coleco were actually operating the demo outside of their contract.[[/note]] Shouting and cursing ensued (this was later recalled as one of the few times then-Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi, normally a very stoic man, ''completely lost'' his cool, tearing into both Atari CEO Ray Kassar and the Coleco delegation for their accusation and breach of contract, respectively) and the Nintendo group, shocked at what was happening, quietly left the show. Nintendo would attempt to keep the deal afloat, but - even if Atari hadn't been trying to tie up the deal in red tape for as long as possible to save face rather than admit they didn't have the money for it, as was later revealed - by that point Atari's president was ousted and Atari itself, along with the rest of the American industry, was [[UsefulNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983 in free-fall]]. Nintendo would go on to release the Nintendo Entertainment System in America themselves, and the rest is history.

* Creator/TravellersTales: One of the things that infamous UsefulNotes/PlayStation dud ''VideoGame/{{Rascal}}'' was most criticized for were its cumbersome TankControls and poor level design. However, the game was never originally meant to have tank controls, and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHCFMQIzzwo prototypes of the game]] show that the game originally had normal directional controls, so what happened? It turns out the executives saw how successful the ''Tomb Raider'' games were with their tank controls and coaxed Traveller's Tales the developers of ''Rascal'' into implementing them into this game as well, apparently thinking that the success of ''Tomb Raider'' was entirely due to its control scheme and a game that played like it would be an instant success. The problem was that ''Rascal'' was a 3D platformer whose game engine and level design were not designed to feature tank controls or a fixed camera, nor was there any time left to redesign the game to compliment tank controls either. So in the end, what was originally a very promising-looking game with some good ideas was turned into a clunky, poorly-controlling, and frustrating mess due to executives desperately wanting to FollowTheLeader by cherry picking one thing that leader did.

** ''VideoGame/TombRaiderTheLastRevelation'' was supposed to be the final game in the series, signified by Lara's supposed death in the collapsing tomb at the end of the game. Core Design was done with the series, but Eidos still saw the series as a moneymaker and pushed Core to pump out another ''Tomb Raider'' game afterwards called ''VideoGame/TombRaiderChronicles''. This may explain why the appearance of Larson and Pierre and the time period they appeared in with Lara confused many fans on the continuity.

[[folder:Activision]]

** The game's sequel saw the developers being given ''much'' more creative freedom with the characters, including being allowed to create new dialogue, though some meddling was still involved:
*** One of the sequel's [[UnexpectedCharacter more oddball newcomers]], [[WesternAnimation/HeyArnold Arnold's Grandma Gertie]], was revealed by Repiteo to have actually been a roster addition requested by Nickelodeon themselves. Luckily, the devs were more than happy to include Gertie and figure out a moveset for her, with Rep comparing it to "selling blood to a vampire".

* Accounts from developers on the much-hyped ''VideoGame/NickelodeonAllStarBrawl'' following its release suggest that the developers and publisher, while still clearly caring about the game and giving it their all, were held on a very tight creative leash by Nickelodeon:
** Although the developers had few plans to integrate many live-action Nickelodeon properties in the game, wanting it to be more of a celebration of the Nicktoons, one live-action character they ''did'' consider was [[Series/TheSecretWorldOfAlexMack Alex Mack]]. However, Nick said no. A reason was not given, but one theory is that it would have cost too much to pay royalties to Alex's actress Larisa Oleynik.
** The developers were disallowed from inventing new dialogue for the characters, nor giving them original [[PaletteSwap alternate colors/costumes]] (developer at Ludosity Thaddeus "Repiteo" Crews specifically mentioned that they wanted to give [[WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants SpongeBob]] palettes based on Patrick, Squidward, and Mr. Krabs), so the characters' spoken dialogue in the single-player mode's cutscenes consists of canned dialogue they once spoke in their source material while their palette swaps consist entirely of outfits or accessories they wore in their home series. (To drive home how far the developers had to reach because of these restrictions, [[WesternAnimation/HeyArnold Helga's]] first released alternate color was pulled from a miscoloration of her dress on a Nicktoons-themed commerative Christmas cup.) Ironically, a later crossover game, ''Nickelodeon Extreme Tennis'' for Apple Arcade, was released without any of these restrictions, something that did not go unnoticed by the playerbase nor the developers. New dialogue would only be implemented when voice-acting for the characters was added in a later update. Fortunately, voice-acting would be included right out of the gate in the game's sequel, and the developers were allowed more creative freedom in creating new dialogue for the characters.
** The developers practically had to beg Nickelodeon to include some characters in the game's roster, with specific mention going toward [[WesternAnimation/TheWildThornberrys Nigel Thornberry]], [[WesternAnimation/AaahhRealMonsters Oblina]], [[WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow Powdered Toast Man]], and even [[WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse Lucy Loud]] (the last of whom had previously appeared as a playable character in the ''VideoGame/NickelodeonKartRacers'' series without apparent issue). Nick also pushed for the developers to use the 2012 incarnations of the ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' before the developers were able to convince them to let them use the characters' original 1987 incarnations instead.
** A Fair Play dev responded to player complaints about WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom's [[OffModel awkward character model]] by explaining that they ''did'' want to give Danny a better, more show accurate character model, but were only allowed to base it on a 3D sculpt provided by Nickelodeon.