History ExecutiveMeddling / VideoGames

** Banpresto originally planned on bringing back ''Manga/GiantRobo'' (which previously appeared in the first ''Alpha'') and averting the anime's infamous GeckoEnding with an all-new storyline, which saw [[BigBad Big Fire]] managing to usurp the FinalBoss of ''Alpha 2''. However, the death of ''Giant Robo'' creator Mitsuteru Yokoyama caused his estate to raise the licensing fees on his work by an astronomical level, shelving the plans; while Yokoyama's ''[[{{Anime/Gigantor}} Tetsujin 28]]'' later appeared in the ''Super Robot Wars Z'' series, ''Giant Robo'' is unlikely to ever return because it's a MassiveMultiplayerCrossover between practically '''all''' of Yokoyama's works, meaning Banpresto would have to pay licensing fees for all those works on top of the core ''Giant Robo'' license.

* ''VideoGame/{{Solatorobo}}'' spent 10 years in DevelopmentHell due to [[Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment Namco Bandai]] insisting that, if Creator/{{CyberConnect2}} wanted to release a SpiritualSequel to ''VideoGame/TailConcerto'' (which did not sell as well as they'd have liked), then they had to polish and refine the [[WorldBuilding world]] and gameplay. [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools The result truly shines, even if it is late]].

* For a long time, it seemed that ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}'' spin-off games ''VideoGame/{{Judgment}}'' and ''VideoGame/LostJudgment'' would probably [[NoPortForYou not get a PC version]], due to ongoing disputes involving Sega and the talent agency that employed Takuya Kimura[[note]]Johnny and Associates, aka Johnny's, who's known to pull off these kinds of schtick[[/note]], the actor the main character uses [[InkSuitActor the likeliness of]]. Kimura's talent agency is extremely controlling in regards to how their media is distributed, especially online and overseas, going as far as having their talents' appearances censored outside of their own exclusive means of distribution. Because a PC version of the game would mean loosening their grip over their talents' images, they denied Sega from releasing the game outside of consoles. However, Sega's current business plan places importance on the PC market, and if they're forced to make the ''Judgment'' series console exclusive because of their lead actor's talent agency, they are seriously considering [[FranchiseKiller ending the series]] over it. Only time would tell if all of that above will actually happen, and in the end, both games received digital PC ports on September 14, 2022, roughly one year after the initial release of the second title.

* Sony has a standing rule that requires all games released in North America to have an English voice track. Because of this, many popular low-budget games like parts of the ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' Original Generation franchise [[NoExportForYou will never see the light of day in North America]]. Sony seems to have lightened up on this though, with ''Yakuza 2'' being in Japanese with subtitles, and no English voice work in sight.

* ''BMX XXX'' was originally intended to be the third game in the ''Dave Mirra BMX'' series, until Creator/{{Acclaim}} decided to go risqué and controversial by adding nudity and crude sexual humor, which instantly put Mirra off of the project. He demanded, possibly influenced by his corporate sponsors, that his name not be used to advertise the game. Acclaim did it anyway, and was forced to stop via a court order. Adding insult to injury, Toys 'R Us and Wal-Mart, two of the biggest game sellers in the U.S., refused to stock it. The poor sales of ''BMX XXX'' contributed hugely to Acclaim's bankruptcy. There are [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2002/10/18/ other theories]] about how this game came to be.

** Originally Larian was forced to include "seamless drop-in, drop-out co-op" feature in ''VideoGame/BaldursGateIII'' on the Series [=S=], which is why the date is delayed with no release date. [[https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/baldurs-gate-3-will-be-coming-to-xbox-this-year-with-split-screen-removed-for-series-s/ However, the agreement with Phill Spencer allows to drop the split-screen co-op on the Series [=S=], while keeping the promised feature on the Series [=X=].]]

* Due to the developers and publishers aware of the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch emulators like Yuzu and Ryujinx lowing the sales of their games, 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.]]

* ''Creator/{{Disney}}'':

* ''VideoGame/EpicMickey'':
** A case of ''good'' executive meddling: Disney wanted to reinvent Mickey Mouse, so they asked Warren Spector to make a game with him in it. The result? ''VideoGame/EpicMickey'', which aside from some problems, is otherwise ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.
** There is a negative example too. One highly-touted mechanic was Mickey changing appearance depending on his KarmaMeter, changing him into the old-school prankster or the modern heroic Mickey if the player is bad or good respectively. Several test players were upset by early images of an angry-looking, rat-like "Scrapper" Mickey, and in order to not alienate them, Disney asked that Spector remove this aspect of the game.

* The second ''Franchise/SouthPark'' RPG was to be subtitled "The Butthole of Time," but due to retailers refusing the sell a game with such a moniker, Trey Parker was forced to contemplate an alternate name, innuendo still being on his mind, and the result being ''The Fractured but Whole''.

* Due to the develoeprs and publishers aware of UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch emulators like Yuzu and Ryujinx lowing the sales, future Switch games now forced to include [[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.]]

* Games developed on UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesXAndS must have all the features for both Series [=X=] and [=S=], as found out the latter console's technical issue for the split-screen co-op in ''VideoGame/BaldursGateIII''.

* Sony has a standing rule that requires all games released in North America have to an English voice track. Because of this, many popular low-budget games like parts of the ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' Original Generation franchise [[NoExportForYou will never see the light of day in North America]]. Sony seems to have lightened up on this though, with ''Yakuza 2'' being in Japanese with subtitles, and no English voice work in sight.

* 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 [[Creator/TravellersTales the developers]] of ''Rascal'' into implementing them into this game as well, apparently thinking that the series' success was solely due to its control scheme. 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.

** 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.

* ''VideoGame/{{Solatorobo}}'' spent 10 years in DevelopmentHell due to [[Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment Namco Bandai]] insisting that, if Creator/{{CyberConnect2}} wanted to release a SpiritualSequel to ''VideoGame/TailConcerto'' (which did not sell as well as they'd have liked), then they had to polish and refine the [[WorldBuilding world]] and gameplay. Thankfully, [=CyberConnect2=] has a bit of a reputation for DoingItForTheArt, and [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools the result truly shines, even if it is late]].

* Accounts from developers on the much-hyped ''VideoGame/NickelodeonAllStarBrawl'' following its release suggest that the developers and publisher, [[DoingItForTheArt while still clearly caring about the game and giving it their all]], were held on a very tight creative leash by Nickelodeon:

** Sega decided that it was a good idea to release ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'' [[ObviousBeta without thoroughly bug testing it]][[note]][[http://www.giantbomb.com/sonic-the-hedgehog/3030-20584/ Reports exist]] that Sonic Team, in their haste to get the game finished by its deadline, ''ignored reports'' of the game's technical problems found by their Quality Assurance team[[/note]] and not editing the manual to remove mentions of half-finished game mechanics they had taken out so that the game could be [[ChristmasRushed released around Christmas]] ([[MilestoneCelebration and in time for the series's 15th Anniversary]]) and make a profit (not that there weren't [[CameraScrew other]] [[LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading problems]] with the game. But making it ''work right'' when you made the characters do something could have taken the sting off a little). Say, didn't ''Sonic X-treme'' have the same deadline problem?

** Or the game of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', in which all of the achievements, for the full 1000 gamer points, can be completed in the first 15 minutes in the tutorial mission.
** Some horribly cynical people have suggested that some developers put ridiculously easy achievements in games as a marketing tactic, as there's a small but obsessed group of gamers out there who will buy the game just for a quick boost to their gamerscore. If it's a crappy licensed game that'll sell like hot cakes with kids but otherwise hold no appeal to the "hardcore", then it might just be a worthwhile ploy. Which eventually did end up exploding in popularity, at least with the UsefulNotes/Playstation4. Where there are countless examples of this and multiple serial abusers now, the biggest example is ''Little Adventure on the Prairie''. It has an insane number of owners on trophy tracking sites despite being a zero-effort indie with no advertising, and is universally considered one of the worst games of the generation by people who played it, yet it sold extremely well because it doesn't require any effort to get the platinum trophy on.

** ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' received a [[{{Bowdlerise}} neutering from Nintendo of America]]. The SNES version of ''VideoGame/MortalKombat1'' 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.

** The developers of the GBA version of ''Sonic 1'' were disallowed from using the original game's source code, and had to work with an earlier Java Mobile port. Turns out, using an already bad handheld port of a console game as the basis for ''another'' handheld port is ''not'' a good idea, as the final product ended up being a PortingDisaster.

** When the first trailer for ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'' featured Chris Redfield, a white character, mowing down a sea of black Majini (zombies), cries of [[UnfortunateImplications racism]] ensued, led by ''Newsweek'' game reviewer N'Gai Croal. While producer Jun Takeuchi and Capcom claimed not to be influenced by the moral panic, the following trailer depicted a more racially diverse Majini, and a female African sidekick.

** Activision is as of this writing, still releasing ''Call of Duty'' games on an annual basis, rotating between three internal Activision studios: Treyarch, Infinity Ward, and (for a time) Sledgehammer Games.

* On a lighter note, the reason there hasn't been a ''Call of Duty'' movie yet is not because no studios want a go at it, but rather because Activision, fearful of the usual reputation video game-based movies have and how that would affect the franchise, has shot down every offer.

*** When casting voices for the game, characters from the opposing companies were not allowed to be voiced [[TalkingToHimself by the same actor]]. For example, since Creator/LauraBailey was already set to voice Black Widow, she wasn't allowed to reprise her role as Chun-Li. This also likely explains why, despite a lot of the Avengers' voice actors coming from ''WesternAnimation/AvengersAssemble'', including Bailey, Creator/RogerCraigSmith who reprises his ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' role as Chris Redfield ''didn't'' reprise his ''Assemble'' role as Captain America.

* ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures'' is the result of this. Originally, the game was to be titled ''VideoGame/DinosaurPlanet'' and had no ties whatsoever with the ''Star Fox'' franchise. Krystal and a male wolf named Sabre were the main characters. However, after Star Fox creator and Nintendo's creative head Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto saw a likeness between Sabre and Fox [=McCloud=], he gave the idea to Creator/{{Rare}} of turning it into a ''Star Fox'' title, despite the game and its gameplay having no relation or similarities with the series beyond that and some scifi elements, with Rare ultimately agreeing because of the increased sales potential of using the Star Fox brand. Sabre was axed, with his role being given to Fox. Also, a rushed release date due to Microsoft buying out Rare during production caused characters and plot to be changed around to get the game out before the deadline, including Krystal to become aged up and a DistressedDamsel instead of a {{Deuteragonist}} and what could have been a climactic boss fight with General Scales to be completely cut.

** Showing that Administrivia/TropesAreNotBad, the original ''[[VideoGame/XCOMUFODefense X-COM]]'' was planned to be a ''Lazer Squad'' sequel. The publisher, Microprose, wanted a game on a grander scale, so they asked that the game incorporate elements from ''{{VideoGame/Civilization}}'' like research and the [=UFOPaedia=], requested the addition of the game's overarching planetwide strategic gameplay and a number of additional layers to the tactical gameplay and, because Pete Moreland was a huge fan of ''{{Series/UFO}}'', change the setting to an alien invasion.

* ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}'' spin-off games ''VideoGame/{{Judgment}}'' and ''VideoGame/LostJudgment'' will probably [[NoPortForYou not get a PC version]], due to ongoing disputes involving Sega and the talent agency that employed Takuya Kimura[[note]]Johnny and Associates, aka Johnny's, who's known to pull off these kinds of schtick[[/note]], the actor the main character uses [[InkSuitActor the likeliness of]]. Kimura's talent agency is extremely controlling in regards to how their media is distributed, especially online and overseas, going as far as having their talents' apperances censored outside of their own exclusive means of distribution. Because a PC version of the game would mean loosening their grip over their talents' images, they denied Sega from releasing the game outside of consoles. However, Sega's current business plan places importance on the PC market, and if they're forced to make the ''Judgment'' series console exclusive because of their lead actor's talent agency, they are seriously considering [[FranchiseKiller ending the series]] over it. Only time will tell if all of that above will actually happen.

* It is widely believed that Sony Computer Entertainment America had a policy of rejecting licenses for 2D-based titles on grounds of "low quality", as the head executive there wanted ''only'' 3D titles. This in fact ''was'' the case in the [=PS1=] era, due to the head at the time being the notorious Bernie Stolar (who refused to publish Japanese [=RPGs=] at all until ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' came out and made a lot of money; he was later fired, and took his policies to Sega and onto the Sega Saturn when ''they'' hired him fresh from being fired from Sony - and we all know how well that went), and is part of the reason that Creator/{{Capcom}} made ''VideoGame/MegaManLegends''; Sony would only let them make the 2D ''Mega Man'' games they wanted if they made a 3D installment.
** In addition to the "3D titles only" rule, Sony also has a standing rule that requires all games released in North America have to an English voice track. Because of this, many popular low-budget games like parts of the ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' Original Generation franchise [[NoExportForYou will never see the light of day in North America]]. Sony seems to have lightened up on this though, with ''Yakuza 2'' being in Japanese with subtitles, and no English voice work in sight.
** Sony's stance on 2D games changed (though not fully) when Capcom threatened to not release ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'' on the [=PlayStation=] if Sony didn't allow them to release a 2D ''Mega Man'' game on the console.
** The anti-2D policy is still in slight effect to this day. Not as bad as it was in the 1990s, but Sony will still implement it time to time. Rumor has it that this is one of the reasons the Xbox Live ports of ''VideoGame/GarouMarkOfTheWolves'', ''[[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match]]'', ''The King of Fighters 2002: Ultimate Match'' and SNK's other 2D fighters never made it to the [=PS3=].

* According to Chris "Stormwaltz" L'Etoile, who wrote for ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'' and ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', Legion's fascination with Shepard as well as its salvaged N7 armor was a decision imposed upon him by "someone who got paid a lot more money than him" after he saw the concept art. L'Etoile said that he didn't want AI to have PinocchioSyndrome and that they should want to better themselves rather than change themselves (and that Legion's "obsession" would require emotion, something Geth weren't supposed to have in his words). He was later reassigned, and a plot point he wrote about the Reapers trying to forcibly [[BrainUploading upload the memories of sapient species into their memory banks]] rather than harvesting their DNA was dropped.