History GenreKiller / VideoGames

* As mentioned in the trope description, ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'' [[TropeCodifier codified so many tropes]] that most people don't even realize how utterly it killed off any FightingGame, especially 2D ones, that didn't largely adhere to them.[[note]]It got to the point that Capcom famously sued Data East over their ''VideoGame/FightersHistory'' game, which they saw as plagiarism of ''SFII'', but Capcom lost simply because the ripped-off elements were considered ''scenes a faire'' (i.e. '''commonplace''' to the genre - emphasis ours) by the time it came out.[[/note]] Game mechanics we take for granted nowadays such as being able to attack before completing a walk cycle, having all of your basic moves available from the outset, lack of stage obstacles or crowd interference, or even just being able to jump high into the air, weren't always standard features of fighting games. Today, it's considered noteworthy if a fighting game breaks just two or three of the rules that ''SFII'' placed down, such as ''VideoGame/{{Bloodstorm}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Divekick}}'', and ''VideoGame/{{ARMS}}''. The few popular fighting games that don't adhere to ''Street Fighter''[='s=] formula usually belong to smaller subgenres, like "spectacle" fighters (codified by ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' and its [[BloodierAndGorier copious amounts of violence]]), 3D "arena" fighters (codified by ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter'', but popularized by ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}''), and {{platform fighter}}s (codified by ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'', though it was [[OlderThanTheyThink not the first]]). Games by developers like Creator/ArcSystemWorks and Creator/{{SNK}} still remain popular, but rarely ever to the extent of ''Street Fighter'', ''Mortal Kombat'', ''Tekken'', and ''Smash''.

* As mentioned in the trope description, ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'' [[TropeCodifier codified so many tropes]] that most people don't even realize how utterly it killed off any FightingGame, especially 2D ones, that didn't largely adhere to them.[[note]]It got to the point that Capcom famously sued Data East over their ''VideoGame/FightersHistory'' game, which they saw as plagiarism of ''SFII'', but Capcom lost simply because the ripped-off elements were considered ''scenes a faire'' (i.e. '''commonplace''' to the genre - emphasis ours) by the time it came out.[[/note]] Game mechanics we take for granted nowadays such as being able to attack before completing a walk cycle, having all of your basic moves available from the outset, lack of stage obstacles or crowd interference, or even just being able to jump high into the air, weren't always standard features of fighting games. Today, it's considered noteworthy if a fighting game breaks just two or three of the rules that ''SFII'' placed down, such as ''VideoGame/{{Bloodstorm}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Divekick}}'', and ''VideoGame/{{ARMS}}''. The few popular fighting games that don't adhere to ''Street Fighter''[='s=] formula usually belong to smaller subgenres, like "spectacle" fighters (codified by ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' and its [[BloodierAndGorier copious amounts of violence]]), 3D "arena" fighters (codified by ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter'', but popularized by ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}''), and {{platform fighter}}s (codified by ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'', though it was [[OlderThanTheyThink not the first]]). Games by developers like Creator/ArcSystemWorks and Creator/{{SNK}} still remain popular, but rarely ever to the extent of the "big four" of ''Street Fighter'', ''Mortal Kombat'', ''Tekken'', and ''Smash''.

* As mentioned in the trope description, ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'' [[TropeCodifier codified so many tropes]] that most people don't even realize how utterly it killed off any FightingGame, especially 2D ones, that didn't largely adhere to them.[[note]]It got to the point that Capcom famously sued Data East over their ''VideoGame/FightersHistory'' game, which they saw as plagiarism of ''SFII'', but Capcom lost simply because the ripped-off elements were considered ''scenes a faire'' (i.e. '''commonplace''' to the genre - emphasis ours) by the time it came out.[[/note]] Game mechanics we take for granted nowadays such as being able to attack before completing a walk cycle, having all of your basic moves available from the outset, lack of stage obstacles or crowd interference, or even just being able to jump high into the air, weren't always standard features of fighting games. Today, it's considered noteworthy if a fighting game breaks just two or three of the rules that ''SFII'' placed down, such as ''VideoGame/{{Bloodstorm}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Divekick}}'', and ''VideoGame/{{ARMS}}''. The few popular fighting games that don't adhere to ''Street Fighter''[='s=] formula usually belong to smaller subgenres, like "spectacle" fighters (codified by ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' and its [[BloodierAndGorier copious amounts of violence]]; 3D "arena" fighters (codified by ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter'', but popularized by ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}''), and {{platform fighter}}s (codified by ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'', though it was [[OlderThanTheyThink not the first]]). Games by developers like Creator/ArcSystemWorks and Creator/{{SNK}} still remain popular, but rarely ever to the extent of the "big four" of ''Street Fighter'', ''Mortal Kombat'', ''Tekken'', and ''Smash''.

* As mentioned in the trope description, ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'' [[TropeCodifier codified so many tropes]] that most people don't even realize how utterly it killed off any FightingGame, especially 2D ones, that didn't largely adhere to them.[[note]]It got to the point that Capcom famously sued Data East over their ''VideoGame/FightersHistory'' game, which they saw as plagiarism of ''SFII'', but Capcom lost simply because the ripped-off elements were considered ''scenes a faire'' (i.e. '''commonplace''' to the genre - emphasis ours) by the time it came out.[[/note]] Game mechanics we take for granted nowadays such as being able to attack before completing a walk cycle, having all of your basic moves available from the outset, lack of stage obstacles or crowd interference, or even just being able to jump high into the air, weren't always standard features of fighting games. Today, it's considered noteworthy if a fighting game breaks just two or three of the rules that ''SFII'' placed down, such as ''VideoGame/{{Bloodstorm}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Divekick}}'', and ''VideoGame/{{ARMS}}''. It's worth noting that the only fighting games that have been able to match or surpass ''Street Fighter'' in the sales department and mainstream attention nowadays are ''Franchise/MortalKombat'', which is more notable for [[BloodierAndGorier copious amounts of violence]]; ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'', which uses a 3D plane instead of a 2D plane; and ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'', a MassiveMultiplayerCrossover PlatformFighter with no playable [[OriginalGeneration original characters]]. Games by developers like Creator/ArcSystemWorks and Creator/{{SNK}} still remain popular, but rarely ever to the extent of those four juggernaut franchises.

* ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' can itself also be linked to the death of WWII shooters and the shift to modern/near-future settings, due to the extreme popularity of the ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' sub-series, ''Call of Duty 4'' (2007) in particular spawning a notable amount of [[FollowTheLeader linear FPS games with dramatic scripted setpieces.]] The ''Modern Warfare'' style modern-military shooter craze eventually died down after 2012, and games started moving towards 'near future'/sci-fi territory with ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyAdvancedWarfare'' and ''VideoGame/{{Titanfall}}''. Arguably, the combination of the failures of ''VideoGame/{{Homefront}}'' and ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor Warfighter'', rising sentiment against the US military's involvement in the Middle East, {{deconstruction game}}s such as ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'', and a backlash from gamers towards [[FollowTheLeader obviously-derivative modern day shooters]], has led to this shift in subject. [[HereWeGoAgain After the near-future movement of games gained some serious backlash]] with ''VideoGame/CallofDutyInfiniteWarfare'', the [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyWWII entry]] after that [[RevisitingTheRoots returned to World War II.]] Which, to put it lightly, [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps4 didn't really change that much]] in the [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2019 long run]].

** Creator/BenCroshaw (who has created a number of adventure games himself, most notably the ''VideoGame/ChzoMythos'') postulated that the adventure game genre was killed by advancements in technology. The inventory-management puzzle was a simple vehicle to drive gameplay and lengthen content that didn't consume much in the way of processing power, which made it easy for games like ''VideoGame/KingsQuest'' or ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland'' to squeeze in high-quality visuals and storytelling for their time. This was especially notable when many adventure games were computer-based, which gave them a niche over consoles. When technology evolved to the point that games could fit both decent faster-paced gameplay ''and'' decent visuals and story, and developers created or codified other dedicated genres like RealTimeStrategy (''VideoGame/DuneII'') and FirstPersonShooter (''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D''), adventure games suffered badly by comparison by [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny suddenly appearing much less advanced]].

* While motion-controlled minigame collections were despised by many hardcore gamers from the get-go, they at least generally sold very well for most of the seventh console generation. ''Kinect Star Wars'', however, is in retrospect widely seen as the game that put the genre beyond the point of no return. Heavily hyped up as the KillerApp for the UsefulNotes/Xbox360's Kinect add-on, the game received a ''massive'' backlash when it turned out to be yet another collection of cheesy, poorly-designed minigames, implemented in a way that was seen by many to be outright insulting to the franchise, and was the point where even most casual gamers finally realized the genre was never going to significantly evolve. Microsoft tried to persevere with the Kinect 2.0 that was initially included with the UsefulNotes/XboxOne, but both the add-on and the motion-controlled game genre in general were widely seen as dead-on-arrival by the time the console launched, contributing to its early struggles. Games with motion controls as optional extras remain a thing to this day, but even Nintendo, who popularized the genre, have to date only bothered releasing a very small number of titles based entirely around motion controls (most prominently ''VideoGame/{{ARMS}}'', ''VideoGame/OneTwoSwitch'', and ''Nintendo Switch Sports'') on the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch.

* UsefulNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983 is called that for a reason: Caused chiefly by an [[SturgeonsLaw overabundance of competitors]] in a fledgling market and competition from superior micro-computers,[[note]]the [[{{Misblamed}} much maligned]] ''Pac-Man'' PortingDisaster and ChristmasRushed ''E.T.'' game were merely [[TheLastStraw final straws]] by comparison,[[/note]] it killed the home console market in the United States for about two years. Perhaps more importantly, it effectively wiped out North American game/console development, to the point where it took over two decades to fully regain the ground that had been lost to Japanese competitors. There wasn't a successful game console from an American company between the UsefulNotes/{{Atari 2600}}, which died around 1983, and the Microsoft UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}}, released in November of 2001, ''eighteen years'' later. That's how badly it crashed.

** In the UK, meanwhile, it didn't even make as much of an impact as two years. Brits started using 8-bit microcomputers as the main way of playing home videogames in 1982, which would last until the late 80s/early 90s when consoles started taking off (with the [[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Mega Drive]] and UsefulNotes/{{S|uperNintendoEntertainmentSystem}}NES). This may also be related to why [[AmericansHateTingle Nintendo consoles tend not to sell especially well in the UK]] even if it's one of their more popular systems elsewhere such as the NES, UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}, or UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch; there wasn't the same market vacuum for them to fill as there was in the United States.

* The Anthropomorphic MascotWithAttitude platformers that sprang up in the wake of ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' started petering out after ''VideoGame/{{Bubsy}}'' and the ''VideoGame/{{Battletoads}}'' dipped their toes into [[AnimatedAdaptation the world of multimedia franchising]] and [[WesternAnimation/{{Bubsy}} saw incredibly]] [[WesternAnimation/{{Battletoads}} disastrous results]]. When Bubsy subsequently underwent a VideoGame3DLeap with the infamous ''Bubsy 3D'', the resulting backlash more or less exterminated every radical mascot that was not the {{Trope Maker|s}} himself[[note]]And even then, as many could tell you, he's not exactly had a good time of it either, at least since 2002[[/note]]. Thankfully, the general acclaim and quality of throwback platformers such as ''VideoGame/FreedomPlanet'' and ''VideoGame/SparkTheElectricJester'' could hopefully spark the return of such "Sonic-lite" games. And by some miracle, even Bubsy’s been getting more games as of late.

* ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' can itself also be linked to the death of WWII shooters and the shift to modern/near-future settings, due to the extreme popularity of the ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' sub-series - nearly every shooter released since ''Call of Duty 4'' (2007) has been, in effect, [[FollowTheLeader a Call of Duty 4 clone.]] The ''Modern Warfare'' style modern-military shooter craze eventually died down after 2012, and games started moving towards 'near future'/sci-fi territory with ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyAdvancedWarfare'' and ''VideoGame/{{Titanfall}}''. Arguably, the combination of the failures of ''VideoGame/{{Homefront}}'' and ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor Warfighter'', rising sentiment against the US military's involvement in the Middle East, {{deconstruction game}}s such as ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'', and a backlash from gamers towards [[FollowTheLeader obviously-derivative modern day shooters]], has led to this shift in subject. [[HereWeGoAgain After the near-future movement of games gained some serious backlash]] with ''VideoGame/CallofDutyInfiniteWarfare'', the [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyWWII entry]] after that [[RevisitingTheRoots returned to World War II.]] Which, to put it lightly, [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps4 didn't really change that much]] in the [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2019 long run]].

* The Anthropomorphic MascotWithAttitude platformers that sprang up in the wake of ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' started petering out after ''VideoGame/{{Bubsy}}'' and the ''VideoGame/{{Battletoads}}'' dipped their toes into [[AnimatedAdaptation the world of multimedia franchising]] and [[WesternAnimation/{{Bubsy}} saw incredibly]] [[WesternAnimation/{{Battletoads}} disastrous results]]. When Bubsy subsequently crashed into the PolygonCeiling with the infamous ''Bubsy 3D'', the resulting backlash more or less exterminated every radical mascot that was not the {{Trope Maker|s}} himself[[note]]And even then, as many could tell you, he's not exactly had a good time of it either, at least since 2002[[/note]]. Thankfully, the general acclaim and quality of throwback platformers such as ''VideoGame/FreedomPlanet'' and ''VideoGame/SparkTheElectricJester'' could hopefully spark the return of such "Sonic-lite" games. And by some miracle, even Bubsy’s been getting more games as of late.

** The more immediate hit was the release of Relic's ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}: VideoGame/DawnOfWarII'' and ''VideoGame/CompanyOfHeroes'', which popularized RTS games with less focus on strategy, base-building, and long-term resource management and more on micro-management and unit survival (typically referred to as a "Real Time Tactics" game). This directly led to EA [[ExecutiveMeddling meddling in]] the development of ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer''. Namely, they first mandated the creation of a GaidenGame aimed at Asian markets and internet cafes in particular, in the RTT mold, then partway through said game's development, decided to make it the GrandFinale for the [[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberium first and most iconic universe]] of ''Command & Conquer'', one of the progenitors of the classic base-building RTS, rebranding the game ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianTwilight'', despite it being a Real Time Tactics game instead of a Real Time Strategy game. When this inevitably flopped, EA [[FranchiseKiller pulled the rug out from under the entire franchise's feet]], claiming there was a "lack of interest in RTS games" (despite that what they released was not one), thus removing one of the two main series from the competition. Meanwhile, Blizzard had left their own followup RTS after the well-received ''[[VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos]]'' sit on the backburner for over a decade, instead chasing [[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft its own much more successful MMO spinoff]], with the only acknowledgement of the RTS series in fifteen years being an HD remake of ''Warcraft III'' that, to put it lightly, wasn't well-received either. With effectively no big-name triple-A titles and publicity, the entire genre sunk into relative obscurity, shrinking its market.

* ''VideoGame/DiscoElysium'' gives us an InUniverse example. Encyclopedia, the ExpositionFairy skill, will mention in an off-hand comment that Disco in hindsight died as music genre in the year of '38, and what was considered the death-knell was when the single "Et Puis Du Sang" failed to crack the International Top 20. The fact that 38' was the same year where a major scandal surrounding Disco superstar, Guillaume le Million, and his accidental death from EroticAsphyxiation rocked the music industry probably also played a role.

** When Creator/{{Nintendo}} debuted the UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem in 1985, they bundled it with a light gun and [[VideoGame/RoboticOperatingBuddy battery-operated robot peripheral that only worked with two games]] primarily to disguise the fact that it actually was a ''video game'' console. [[CrazyEnoughToWork It worked]], and the rest is history.

** The more immediate hit was the release of Relic's ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}: VideoGame/DawnOfWar'' and ''VideoGame/CompanyOfHeroes'', which popularized RTS games with less focus on strategy, base-building, and long-term resource management and more on micro-management and unit survival (typically referred to as a "Real Time Tactics" game). This directly led to EA [[ExecutiveMeddling meddling in]] the development of ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer''. Namely, they first mandated the creation of a GaidenGame aimed at Asian markets and internet cafes in particular, in the RTT mold, then partway through said game's development, decided to make it the GrandFinale for the [[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberium first and most iconic universe]] of ''Command & Conquer'', one of the progenitors of the classic base-building RTS, rebranding the game ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianTwilight'', despite it being a Real Time Tactics game instead of a Real Time Strategy game. When this inevitably flopped, EA [[FranchiseKiller pulled the rug out from under the entire franchise's feet]], claiming there was a "lack of interest in RTS games" (despite that what they released was not one), thus removing one of the two main series from the competition. Meanwhile, Blizzard had left their own followup RTS after the well-received ''[[VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos]]'' sit on the backburner for over a decade, instead chasing [[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft its own much more successful MMO spinoff]], with the only acknowledgement of the RTS series in fifteen years being an HD remake of ''Warcraft III'' that, to put it lightly, wasn't well-received either. With effectively no big-name triple-A titles and publicity, the entire genre sunk into relative obscurity, shrinking its market.

** Dance-based Rhythm Games still hold popularity however. The ''VideoGame/JustDance'' series may have been instrumental in killing off the once mighty ''Guitar Hero'' and ''Rock Band'' games. They were a less-expensive alternative, since they didn't require extra peripherals to play (unless you count the non-Nintendo versions which require a motion control sensor or a companion smartphone app, but it's still cheaper). Also, its casual appeal due to its use of both modern and classic pop songs, not just strictly rock, was part of the why it largely supplanted ''Guitar Hero'' and ''Rock Band'' as the go-to game for parties.

* ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' can itself also be linked to the death of WWII shooters and the shift to modern/near-future settings, due to the extreme popularity of the ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' sub-series - nearly every shooter released since ''Call of Duty 4'' (2007) has been, in effect, [[FollowTheLeader a Call of Duty 4 clone.]] The ''Modern Warfare'' style modern-military shooter craze eventually died down after 2012, and games started moving towards 'near future'/sci-fi territory with ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyAdvancedWarfare'' and ''VideoGame/{{Titanfall}}''. Arguably, the combination of the failures of ''VideoGame/{{Homefront}}'' and ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor Warfighter'', rising sentiment against the US military's involvement in the Middle East, {{deconstruction game}}s such as ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'' (wherever or not they were actually ''successful'' at decontructing them), and a backlash from gamers towards [[FollowTheLeader obviously-derivative modern day shooters]], has led to this shift in subject. [[HereWeGoAgain After the near-future movement of games gained some serious backlash]] with ''VideoGame/CallofDutyInfiniteWarfare'', the [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyWWII entry]] after that [[RevisitingTheRoots returned to World War II.]] Which, to put it lightly, [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps4 didn't really change that much]] in the [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2019 long run]].

** Dance-based Rhythm Games still hold popularity however. The ''VideoGame/JustDance'' series may have been instrumental in killing off the once mighty ''Guitar Hero'' and ''Rock Band'' games. They were a less-expensive alternative, since they didn't require extra peripherals to play (unless you count the non [=Wii/Wii U/Switch=] versions which require a motion control sensor or a companion smartphone app, but it's still cheaper). Also, its casual appeal due to its use of both modern and classic pop songs, not just strictly rock, was part of the why it largely supplanted ''Guitar Hero'' and ''Rock Band'' as the go-to game for parties.

* The Tycoon genre died when in 2017, ''VideoGame/RollerCoasterTycoon'' former title owner Frontier Developments, with series creator Chris Sawyer, [[https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-01-03-planet-coaster-dev-frontier-sues-rollercoaster-tycoon-world-maker-atari sued]] later series owner Creator/{{Atari}} for $2.2 million worth of unpaid royalties from unreported ''[=RollerCoaster=] Tycoon 3'' sales. Many other famous companies which made such games going bust around the same time period didn't help. The indie scene somewhat revived this in the 2010s with titles such as ''VideoGame/OpenRCT2'', but a mainstream comeback does not seem likely.

* The InteractiveMovie genre, which emerged in the 80s and saw a ton of notable releases in the 90s, died out due largely to the advancing technology of consoles like the UsefulNotes/PlayStation and the CD format becoming nigh-universal outside of the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64. Much of what made those early games notable was that little could match them graphically, but when you could fit lavish prerendered or pre-filmed cutscenes into a game and still have the space for more substantive game design, they quickly became rather obsolete. It certainly didn't help that, unless you were ''VideoGame/DragonsLair'' or ''VideoGame/TexMurphy'', the common judgment of interactive movies was that the "movie" part was SoBadItsGood at best. InteractiveFiction has seen a rise since then, but the classical "watching a live-action sequence while you occasionally press buttons" format is extremely rare outside of indie titles.

* Much like ''Guitar Hero'' and ''Rock Band'' before it, the Toys to Life genre was killed by a combination of over-saturation and over-dependence on peripherals. Following the success of the first ''VideoGame/{{Skylanders}}'' game in 2011, many other companies jumped on the bandwagon with titles such as ''VideoGame/DisneyInfinity'' and ''VideoGame/LegoDimensions''. However, the growing number of competitors, along with the games tendency to [[CapcomSequelStagnation release yearly sequels, often with minimal changes or improvements]] in spite of their dependency on the purchase of figurines, resulted in consumer fatigue after just a few years. Retailers also started balking at the large amount of space required for the ever-increasing amount of figurines. Disney ended up pulling the plug on ''Infinity'' in mid-2016, the last ''Skylanders'' game also released later that year, and ''Lego Dimensions'' ceased updating the following year. The last attempt at the genre, Ubisoft’s ''VideoGame/StarlinkBattleForAtlas'' ended up being a disappointment, and no publisher has made an attempt at the genre since.

** The more immediate hit was the release of Relic's ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}: VideoGame/DawnOfWar'' and ''VideoGame/CompanyOfHeroes'', which popularized RTS games with less focus on strategy, base-building, and long-term resource management and more on micro-management and unit survival (typically referred to as a "Real Time Tactics" game). This directly led to EA [[ExecutiveMeddling meddling in]] the development of ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer''. Namely, they first mandated the creation of a GaidenGame aimed at Asian markets and internet cafes in particular, in the RTT mold, then partway through said game's development, decided to make it the GrandFinale for the [[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberium first and most iconic universe]] of ''Command & Conquer'', one of the progenitors of the classic base-building RTS, rebranding the game ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianTwilight'', despite it being a Real Time Tactics game instead of a Real Time Strategy game. When this inevitably flopped, EA [[FranchiseKiller pulled the rug out from under the entire franchise's feet]], claiming there was [[NeverMyFault a "lack of interest in RTS games" (despite that what they released was not one)]], thus removing one of the two main series from the competition. Meanwhile, Blizzard had left their own followup RTS after the well-received ''[[VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos]]'' sit on the backburner for over a decade, instead chasing [[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft its own much more successful MMO spinoff]], with the only acknowledgement of the RTS series in fifteen years being an HD remake of ''Warcraft III'' that, to put it lightly, wasn't well-received either. With effectively no big-name triple-A titles and publicity, the entire genre sunk into relative obscurity, shrinking its market.

* The Tycoon genre died when ''VideoGame/RollerCoasterTycoon'' title owner Frontier Developments was sued by Chris Sawyer, coupled off with many other famous companies which made such games going bust. The indie scene somewhat revived this in the 2010s.

* The Anthropomorphic MascotWithAttitude platformers that sprang up in the wake of ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' started petering out after ''VideoGame/{{Bubsy}}'' and the ''VideoGame/{{Battletoads}}'' dipped their toes into [[AnimatedAdaptation the world of multimedia franchising]] and [[WesternAnimation/{{Bubsy}} saw incredibly]] [[WesternAnimation/{{Battletoads}} disastrous results]]. When Bubsy subsequently crashed into the PolygonCeiling with the infamous ''Bubsy 3D'', the resulting backlash more or less exterminated every radical mascot that was not the {{Trope Namer|s}} himself[[note]]And even then, as many could tell you, he's not exactly had a good time of it either, at least since 2002[[/note]]. Thankfully, the general acclaim and quality of throwback platformers such as ''VideoGame/FreedomPlanet'' and ''VideoGame/SparkTheElectricJester'' could hopefully spark the return of such "Sonic-lite" games. And by some miracle, even Bubsy’s been getting more games as of late.

** The crash killed off a ''flood'' of maze games, largely inspired by ''VideoGame/PacMan'', as they were found to be too derivative (running around collecting items while avoiding various monsters and hazards), and that technology improved to the point that one can make so much more. Today only the ''Pac-Man'' franchise is known to the general audience, and due to its immense popularity and being so well-done -- it is ''impossible'' to create a maze game anymore without being part of, or inspired by the series.

* The arcade racing genre suffered a decline in popularity and variety during the [[UsefulNotes/TheSeventhGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames seventh generation of consoles]], thanks to the commercial failures of ''VideoGame/{{Blur}}'' and ''VideoGame/SplitSecond'' (both of which lead to [[CreatorKiller the dissolution of their studios]]) as the industry shifted towards realism and how many [[ProductPlacement licenses]] they could get, which led to the dominance of ''VideoGame/{{Forza}}'' and ''VideoGame/GranTurismo'' as the go-to racing games backed heavily by real life racing teams using the aforementioned games as [[IKnowMortalKombat training simulations]]. In the [[UsefulNotes/TheEighthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames eighth generation]], only the fan favorite ''VideoGame/MarioKart'', the free-to-play ''Asphalt'' series, and the long-running ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed'' series remain active.

** In the UK, meanwhile, it didn't even make as much of an impact as two years. Brits started using 8-bit microcomputers as the main way of playing home videogames in 1982, which would last until the late 80s/early 90s when consoles started taking off (with the [[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Megadrive]] and UsefulNotes/{{S|uperNintendoEntertainmentSystem}}NES). This may also be related to why [[AmericansHateTingle Nintendo consoles tend not to sell especially well in the UK]] even if it's one of their more popular systems elsewhere such as the NES, UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}, or UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch; there wasn't the same market vacuum for them to fill as there was in the United States.

** Thankfully, the advent of Kickstarter and other crowdfunding websites has seemingly restarted the genre, with games like Chris Roberts' ''VideoGame/StarCitizen'', ''VideoGame/EliteDangerous'', and other games like ''VideoGame/StrikeSuitZero'' leading the charge. ''VideoGame/NoMansSky NEXT'', launched in 2018 and being increasingly recognized as an actually good redemption from the terrible flop that was the initial release of ''No Man's Sky'', could slowly but surely spell the return of the space shooter genre, even if space shooting is only half of the game's overall experience. As of summer 2020, the recently announced ''Star Wars: Squadrons'' could very well be a return of the space shooter to public consciousness, provided that EA doesn't drop the ball entirely.
* The unfortunate retail failure of ''VideoGame/UnrealTournamentIII'', backed up by many freeware first-person shooters, has led to the end of commercially released fast-paced deathmatch-centric shooters like the ''VideoGame/{{Unreal}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Quake}}'' series, with team-based and/or "tactical" shooters like ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty''/''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'', the ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield}}'' series, and ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' taking their place. ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' is one of the few "Quake-like" games released in recent years, and while it is still being supported and heavily-played, it was actually first released in 2007; most everything else in its vein that has come out since ''[=UT3=]'' has been free-to-play (''[=TF2=]'' three years after its initial release, ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament4'', ''VideoGame/QuakeChampions'') or an update on a classic game (''Quake Live''). Not too surprisingly, publisher Creator/MidwayGames, who had been marred with financial trouble for years and had hoped ''Unreal Tournament III'' would revitalize their fortunes, [[CreatorKiller declared bankruptcy just a year-and-a-half later]]. The aforementioned ''[=UT4=]'' could have restarted the genre, but then Epic Games made a little game called ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}'' and ''[=UT4=]'' was left in the dust. Even when [[GenreThrowback nostalgic throwbacks to classic shooters]] came into vogue in the mid- to late-2010s, whether new games with old gameplay like ''VideoGame/WolfensteinTheNewOrder'' or the 2016 ''VideoGame/{{Doom|2016}}'', or games that [[{{Retraux}} emulate the old look on top of it]] like ''VideoGame/{{Dusk}}'' or ''VideoGame/IonFury'', they hewed more towards the earlier period of singleplayer-focused shooters [[FromClonesToGenre back when they were]] still called "''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' clones", like ''VideoGame/DukeNukem3D'' or the first ''VideoGame/{{Quake|I}}''.
** It could also be said for true tactical shooters in the vein of the older ''VideoGame/RainbowSix'' and ''VideoGame/GhostRecon'' games, the ones with planning and stealth as major elements where the slightest muckup led to the death of your squad, due to the line being blurred between the aforementioned team-based shooters and the "true" tactical ones taking on more actionized elements. Attempts to bring the genre back have had limited success at best, with only an actual ''Rainbow Six'' game in the vein of its predecessors, ''[[VideoGame/RainbowSixSiege Siege]]'', being particularly well-received (and even then it plays more like ''Videogame/CounterStrike'' as a HeroShooter); other attempts marketed as being in the spirit of those games, like ''VideoGame/TakedownRedSabre'', have met with near-universal negative reactions, mostly due to bad gameplay and [[ObviousBeta little polish]]. ''Videogame/{{ARMA}}'' seems to be an exception, with its third game seeing more than six years of support, although the playerbase is comparatively niche and its focus is on realism so extreme, even compared to other tactical shooters, that its engine has been used as a training simulator for actual armies.
** The only high-profile exception seems to be the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' franchise which, while taking a few elements from ''Call of Duty'', continues to be faithful to its roots. [[http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=88715714&postcount=1 And even then, it's not completely immune when putting its online statistics next to those of its immediate predecessors.]]
* The insane amount of CapcomSequelStagnation for the ''VideoGame/GuitarHero'' franchise did this to the RhythmGame genre in North America and Europe. ''Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock'' and ''Rock Band 3'', released in late 2010, sold less than 1.5 million units combined, and the competition (''VideoGame/{{Power Gig|Rise of the Six String}}'', et al.) outright bombed. While these are respectable figures given that both games come with expensive peripherals, compare this to ''Guitar Hero III'' (15 million units sold) and the original ''Rock Band'' (6 million), both released in 2007, and you can start to see how oversaturation of the market (a possible reason why Harmonix decided to focus more on DLC for the existing games rather than putting out a new title once a year, unlike Creator/{{Activision}}) has destroyed the genre's profitability. Following the commercial disappointments of the latest installments, Creator/{{MTV}} sold ''Rock Band'' developer Harmonix for '''[[http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2011/01/viacom-sold-harmonix-for-50-saved-50-million-on-taxes.html 50 dollars]]''' and Activision briefly pulled the plug on future ''Guitar Hero'' games, and other developers, having bled money from their endeavors, have gotten out of the market. Due to its different audience and "real guitar" street cred, ''VideoGame/{{Rocksmith}}'' seems to be the last man standing. It took five years after their "final" release (or two, considering that ''Rock Band'' DLC had still gone on until 2013) for the two main competitors to come back to the market for the eighth generation, via ''Rock Band 4'' & ''VideoGame/GuitarHeroLive'', the latter of which completely overhauled its guitar controller and outright abandoned the bass guitar & drums. Lukewarm sales, however, suggest that even for the creative strides these games took to distance themselves from their predecessors, it's still for nothing. Activision disliked how the new ''Hero'' game did on the market to the point that they sold the studio that developed the game to Ubisoft, the publisher of the aforementioned ''Rocksmith''. Talk about ironic.

* The PointAndClick genre in its inventory management form was practically killed off by the success of ''VideoGame/{{Myst}}'', and was only recently revived via digital distribution as well as the serial format. The failure of the [[AcclaimedFlop critically praised]] ''VideoGame/GrimFandango'' in 1998 was seen as the final nail on the coffin for the genre, even though ''VideoGame/EscapeFromMonkeyIsland'' was released two years later – albeit with considerably less acclaim than prior ''Monkey Island'' games.

* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'', while highly successful and acclaimed both in its time and now, has been [[http://www.gamespot.com/resident-evil-4-hd/videos/great-games-terrible-legacy-resident-evil-4-6402604/ blamed]] for killing, or at least hastening the demise of, the SurvivalHorror genre in the '00s. This is largely due to its status as the FranchiseOriginalSin for the ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' series, introducing many shooter-esque gameplay elements that would take over later games in the series, which other survival horror series would copy until, by TheNewTens, most "horror" games were basically action shooters with creepy-crawlies and gothic atmospheres. However, [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil7Biohazard the seventh game]] as well as ''VideoGame/{{PT}}'' (albeit [[VideoGame/SilentHills its full game]] being canned) and several indie productions (notably ''VideoGame/AmnesiaTheDarkDescent'' and ''VideoGame/{{Outlast}}'') seem to be making a movement of harkening back to the genre's roots.

* ''VideoGame/DiscoElysium'' gives us an InUniverse example. Encyclopedia, the ExpositionFairy skill, will mention in an off-hand comment that Disco in hindsight died as music genre in the year of '38, and what was considered the deathknell was when the single "Et Puis Du Sang" failed to crack the International Top 20. The fact that 38' was the same year where a major scandal surronding Disco superstar, Guillaume le Million, and his accidental death from EroticAsphyxiation rocked the music industry probably also played a role.

* ''VideoGame/DiscoElysium'' gives us an InUniverse example. Encyclopedia, the ExpositionFairy skill, will mention in an off-hand comment that Disco died out as a music genre in the year of '38, and what was considered the deathknell was when the single "Et Puis Du Sang" failed to crack the International Top 20.