History ScrewedByTheNetwork / VideoGames

* For whatever reason, Bandai Namco is very adamant on screwing over Creator/CyberConnect2's ''Little Tail Bronx'' series, as not only have the games received little to no advertisements, their western launches were also outsourced to other companies like Atlus and XSEED, rather than handling it themselves. They've also repeatedly denied [=CyberConnect2=]'s wishes in making more games in the series, with a Bandai Namco producer reportedly throwing out a pitch for ''Tail Concerto 2'' right in front of Creator/HiroshiMatsuyama without reading it, while refusing to relinquish all rights for the series back to [=CyberConnect2=], preventing ''ViddeGame/TailConcerto'' and ''{{VideoGame/Solatorobo}}'' from seeing any form of re-releases, remakes, or direct sequels. Even when [=CyberConnect2=] were able to work around Bandai Namco and make [[VideoGame/FugaMelodiesOfSteel a third game without their involvement]], it was still screwed over thanks to Bandai Namco holding onto partial ownership of ''Tail Concerto'' and ''Solatorobo'', preventing them from directly referencing past characters and events in ''Fuga''.

* For whatever reason, Bandai Namco is very adamant on screwing over Creator/CyberConnect2's ''Little Tail Bronx'' series, as not only have they received little to no advertisement, their western launches were also outsourced to other companies like Atlus and XSEED, rather than handling it themselves. They've also repeatedly denied [=CyberConnect2=]'s wishes in making more games in the series, with a Bandai Namco representative reportedly throwing out a pitch for ''Tail Concerto 2'' right in front of a [=CyberConnect2=] employee, while refusing to relinquish all rights for the series back to [=CyberConnect2=], preventing ''Tail Concerto'' and ''Solatorobo'' from seeing any form of re-releases, remakes, or direct sequels. Even when [=CyberConnect2=] were able to work around Bandai Namco and make [[VideoGame/FugaMelodiesOfSteel a third game without their involvement]], it was still screwed over thanks to Bandai Namco holding onto partial ownership of ''Tail Concerto'' and ''Solatorobo'', preventing them from directly referencing past characters and events in ''Fuga''.

* When presented with a completely reworked ''Conker's Quest'', now titled ''VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay'', Nintendo of America was reportedly horrified to discover that the formerly [[TastesLikeDiabetes aggressively-cute]], child-aimed ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'' clone had been replaced by something inspired by ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', R-rated movies, and the ''Itchy and Scratchy'' cartoons from ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''. In response, they gave the game very little advertising (sticking mostly to men's magazines, whose target demographic probably wasn't interested in cartoon talking squirrels), and an ugly box with a giant M rating plus a warning stating that it was very clearly "not for anyone under 17". Creator/{{Rare}} was understandably upset with this treatment. The game was similarly screwed over in regards to its UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} remake, ''Live and Reloaded''. Ironically, this version of the game was heavily censored, thereby losing much of its appeal. This wasn't helped by all the multiplayer games being completely replaced with a new mode called "Xbox Live & Co." based heavily around online play.

*** ''VideoGame/SonicXTreme''. The game was already stuck between a rock and hard place with its [[TroubledProduction troubled development]], but arguably the point when the development of the game fell apart was when the head representatives of the company [[TaintedByThePreview arrived at STI's headquarters to check on the game's progress]]. Long story short, the team that worked on the engine for the game's main levels saw their work thrown out the window [[PoorCommunicationKills because of the representative's negative impressions of an outdated engine]] (the head of the staff even pleaded them to wait as the team was almost done polishing the current engine, but they refused); while another team that worked on the engine for the boss levels were ordered to use their engine as the basis for the entire game and complete it in nine months in time for the holiday season. A HopeSpot appeared when the company allowed the developers use the game engine of ''VideoGame/NightsIntoDreams'' for the game so the developers could reach the deadline, [[PoorCommunicationKills but because the company didn't secure permission from the creator of the engine]]--''Sonic'' creator Yuji Naka, who then threatened to leave the company on grounds of plagiarism--[[YankTheDogsChain the development team was told to stop using it after they had grown accustomed to the engine for about two weeks)]]. Not surprisingly, the lead programmer of the remaining ended up overworking himself to the point of falling ill with pneumonia shortly afterwards, which subsequently led to [[{{Vaporware}} the game's cancellation]] and developer Sega Technical Institute's disbandment.
** ''Videogame/ValkyriaChronicles'' was hit by this in America. While the first game came out with some success, the sequel suffered from reduced graphics due to the jump from [=PS3=] to PSP and a change of from Pseudo-World War II to a [[AcademyOfAdventure lighthearted military academy]]. ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChroniclesII'' was not well received in America and as such, the third game, which returns to the first game's wartime setting, [[NoExportForYou was not ported across]]. Even more so, games such as ''[[VideoGame/SegaSuperstars Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed]]'' tend to forget the franchise's existence.
*** Continuing series tradition, the fourth game and spinoff, ''VideoGame/ValkyriaRevolution'', had a public demo pushed out hastily while development was still in a pre-Alpha stage in order to push copies of Valkyria Chronicles Remastered using the Azure Revolution demo as a pack-in similar to Crackdown's Halo 3 beta, despite the game clearly not being ready for primetime. [[TaintedByThePreview Fan reactions to the demo in the state it released in were... Adverse at best.]] Rather than salvage the situation, the game's budget was slashed and the target platform of the game was shifted to the UsefulNotes/PlaystationVita, with the final retail product on [=PS4=] being visually downgraded compared to what was initially playable, and gameplay that was little better, if not worse than the initial demo, topped off with the majority of the game's cutscene direction being generally lifeless scenes of characters standing in place motionless reading off lines of dialog for minutes on end with nothing in the way of expression or animations beyond their idle breathing.

* As a meta example, the most important marketing tool for video games is their name; a franchise may be remembered for years or even decades thanks to a quirky name or memorable franchise. So producers may buyout a hyped title that has been in DevelopmentHell, hire new staff, throw out the original code and development assets, build an entirely different game from scratch with abnormal constraints to make it look like the original demo but play very differently, and slap on the title as a means of luring in every diehard fan who has waited and googled the game title every week. Some people theorize that for game titles which were almost completed but scrapped in the end, only to be replaced with a lackluster and sloppy yet complete and detailed game that clearly took years to develop, this tactic is a means of [[WhatCouldHaveBeen burying any recognition the original games could have garnered for the original designers by giving the fans a completely different game for the title they anticipated for years, alienating the fanbase]]. (In other words, ''VideoGame/DukeNukemForever''.)
** ''Prey 2'' was originally dreamed up as a space bounty hunter simulator, but was never released. The producers claim the game was simply too rough and bland to sell well, but the developers and some coders claim the game was practically finished and worth a try, but that the cancellation was a 'political' matter. Years later, the same company released ''VideoGame/{{Prey|2017}}'' as a reboot, still featuring aliens hunting the protagonist but in more of a ''VideoGame/SystemShock'' setting involving horror elements and paranoia. No references or Easter eggs to the original ''Prey'' or its intended sequel were ever integrated into the final game.
** ''Hunt Horrors of the Gilded Age'' was also a hunting game about a co-op team of 1900's American bounty hunters trying to kill supernatural monsters and fiends using near-WWI-era tech and rudimentary magics. By the E3 demo three years later, the game was now called ''VideoGame/HuntShowdown'' and had undergone a radical change: instead of working together, pairs of hunters are hunting each other to claim the bounty for themselves. It's also first person, the enemies move rigidly, the graphics are dark, and the map is open-spaces instead of linear.

** Even Sega's CashCowFranchise ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' franchise is not immune to this, as the much-reviled ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006 Sonic '06]]'' is a more visible example of this trope in action. The game, meant to highlight Sonic's fifteenth anniversary, was ChristmasRushed due to said anniversary, and [[ObviousBeta it shows]]. Inconsistent camera, long load times, and incomplete game mechanics (to the point where many of the things in the manual are incorrect) were only a few of the problems the game suffered from due to its rushed release. Decisions such as taking half the development team off the project to start work on ''VideoGame/SonicAndTheSecretRings'' and outright ignoring the quality assurance staff's reports of the game's numerous glitches didn't help matters.

*** ''VideoGame/SonicXTreme''. '''Good lord, where do we even''' '''''begin??''''' The game was already stuck between a rock and hard place with its [[TroubledProduction troubled development]], but arguably the point when the development of the game fell apart was when the head representatives of the company [[TaintedByThePreview arrived at STI's headquarters to check on the game's progress]]. Long story short, the team that worked on the engine for the game's main levels saw their work thrown out the window [[PoorCommunicationKills because of the representative's negative impressions of an outdated engine]] (the head of the staff even pleaded them to wait as the team was almost done polishing the current engine, but they refused); while another team that worked on the engine for the boss levels were ordered to use their engine as the basis for the entire game and complete it in nine months in time for the holiday season. A HopeSpot appeared when the company allowed the developers use the game engine of ''VideoGame/NightsIntoDreams'' for the game so the developers could reach the deadline, [[PoorCommunicationKills but because the company didn't secure permission from the creator of the engine]]--''Sonic'' creator Yuji Naka, who then threatened to leave the company on grounds of plagiarism--[[YankTheDogsChain the development team was told to stop using it after they had grown accustomed to the engine for about two weeks)]]. Not surprisingly, the lead programmer of the remaining ended up overworking himself to the point of falling ill with pneumonia shortly afterwards, which subsequently led to [[{{Vaporware}} the game's cancellation]] and developer Sega Technical Institute's disbandment.

*** ''Sonic X-treme''. '''Good lord, where do we start??''' The game was already stuck between a rock and hard place with its [[TroubledProduction troubled development]], but arguably the point when the development of the game fell apart was when the head representatives of the company [[TaintedByThePreview arrived at STI's headquarters to check on the game's progress]]. Long story short, the team that worked on the engine for the game's main levels saw their work thrown out the window [[PoorCommunicationKills because of the representative's negative impressions of an outdated engine]] (the head of the staff even pleaded them to wait as the team was almost done polishing the current engine, but they refused); while another team that worked on the engine for the boss levels were ordered to use their engine as the basis for the entire game and complete it in nine months in time for the holiday season. A HopeSpot appeared when the company allowed the developers use the game engine of ''VideoGame/NightsIntoDreams'' for the game so the developers could reach the deadline, [[PoorCommunicationKills but because the company didn't secure permission from the creator of the engine]]--''Sonic'' creator Yuji Naka, who then threatened to leave the company on grounds of plagiarism--[[YankTheDogsChain the development team was told to stop using it after they had grown accustomed to the engine for about two weeks)]]. Not surprisingly, the lead programmer of the remaining ended up overworking himself to the point of falling ill with pneumonia shortly afterwards, which subsequently led to [[{{Vaporware}} the game's cancellation]] and developer Sega Technical Institute's disbandment.

** A minor case of "malice" possibly applies when Bethesda was rumored to have ordered Obsidian to stop releasing official patches for ''New Vegas'' when ''VideoGame/{{Skyrim}}'' came out, because they didn't want their big in-house hit overshadowed by FNV, in addition to [[ChristmasRushed cutting their development time from 2 years to 18 months]] which contributed to the amount of bugs present in the first place. As New Vegas is an example of "[[FanNickname Bugsidian]]"'s virtues and flaws at their best, this has essentially left further patching up to the mod community.

* After EA bought them, ''every'' Creator/OriginSystems game that wasn't ''VideoGame/UltimaOnline''. According to Richard Garriott, the many bugs and plot holes in ''VideoGame/UltimaVIII'' and ''[[VideoGame/UltimaIX IX]]'' were due to EA insisting the games be released at the scheduled date. ''IX'' was the most egregious because by then EA dropped support for everything but Online, drove out many of the game's developers [[WhatAnIdiot and still demanded the game be released on time]]. When ''IX'' bombed EA threw Origin under the bus - they cancelled all further projects including ''Ultima Online II'', drove out Garriott and laid the groundwork for shutting down Origin in 2004. The final insult is that EA decided when launching their online distribution program, that they would call it ... ''EA Origin''.

** Even Sega's CashCowFranchise ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' franchise is not immune to this, as the much-reviled ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006 Sonic '06]]'' is a more visible example of this trope in action. The game, meant to highlight Sonic's fifteenth anniversary, was ChristmasRushed due to said anniversary, and [[ObviousBeta it shows]]. Inconsistent camera, long load times, and incomplete game mechanics (to the point where many of the things in the manual are incorrect) were only a few of the problems the game suffered from due to its rushed release. Decisions such as taking half the development team off the project to start work on ''VideoGame/SonicAndTheSecretRings'' and [[WhatAnIdiot outright ignoring the quality assurance staff's reports of the game's numerous glitches]] didn't help matters.

*** ''Sonic X-treme''. '''Good lord, where do we start??''' The game was already stuck between a rock and hard place with its [[TroubledProduction troubled development]], but arguably the point when the development of the game fell apart was when the head representatives of the company [[TaintedByThePreview arrived at STI's headquarters to check on the game's progress]]. Long story short, the team that worked on the engine for the game's main levels saw their work thrown out the window [[PoorCommunicationKills because of the representative's negative impressions of an outdated engine]] (the head of the staff even pleaded them to wait as the team was almost done polishing the current engine, but they refused); while another team that worked on the engine for the boss levels were ordered to use their engine as the basis for the entire game [[WhatAnIdiot and complete it in nine months in time for the holiday season]]. A HopeSpot appeared when the company allowed the developers use the game engine of ''VideoGame/NightsIntoDreams'' for the game so the developers could reach the deadline, [[PoorCommunicationKills but because the company didn't secure permission from the creator of the engine]]--''Sonic'' creator Yuji Naka, who then threatened to leave the company on grounds of plagiarism--[[YankTheDogsChain the development team was told to stop using it after they had grown accustomed to the engine for about two weeks)]]. Not surprisingly, the lead programmer of the remaining ended up overworking himself to the point of falling ill with pneumonia shortly afterwards, which subsequently led to [[{{Vaporware}} the game's cancellation]] and developer Sega Technical Institute's disbandment.

** The similarly-acclaimed sequel ''VideoGame/RaymanLegends'' suffered the same fate, as Ubisoft delayed the (originally UsefulNotes/WiiU exclusive) title from its postponed February date for ''half a year'' so they could make it {{multiplatform}}, despite being already finished. Add to that Legends' inability to rebuild the hype it accumulated prior to its February release and the chosen release month--September--being a month that held [[WhatAnIdiot a handful of big-name releases]], including the highly-anticipated juggernaut that was ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'' effectively meant the game was dead in the water, compounded by ''Grand Theft Auto V'''s [[CurbStompBattle numerous videogame sales records it smashed upon release]]. The sales report of Legends's low sales revealing that [[{{Irony}} the game sold best on the Wii U]] was nothing more than a handful of salt rubbed in the wound. To rub the salt even deeper, the game was ported to [=PS4=] and Xbox One two months after those systems launched, making the multiplatform delay incredibly pointless.

** The Wii U's problems began with the name. Looking to build on the success of the insanely successful ''UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}'', Nintendo resolved to keep that brand going into the [[UsefulNotes/TheEighthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames eighth generation]]. The issue with this is that gamers had already taken the Wii name as being equal to [[CasualVideoGame casual gaming]] by this point, and so were skeptical when told that the system was aimed just as much at them as the vast majority of those who bought the Wii. Meanwhile, naming it the Wii U[[note]]"It's a system we will all enjoy together, but also one that's tailor-made for you" was the marketing angle.[[/note]] instead of Wii 2 meant that casuals thought that it was tablet peripheral for the previous console rather than a new gaming console in its own right. Foregoing regular marketing in favour of ViralMarketing ensured that this information wasn't properly conveyed to the audience that needed to hear it.

*** ''Sonic X-treme''. '''Good lord, where do we start??''' The game was already stuck between a rock and hard place with its [[TroubledProduction troubled development]], but arguably the point when the development of the game fell apart was when the head representatives of the company [[TaintedByThePreview arrived at STI's headquarters to check on the game's progress]]. Long story short, the team that worked on the engine for the game's main levels saw their work thrown out the window [[PoorCommunicationKills because of the representative's negative impressions of an outdated engine]] (the head of the staff even pleaded them to wait as the team was almost done polishing the current engine, but they refused); while another team that worked on the engine for the boss levels were ordered to using their engine as the basis for the entire game [[WhatAnIdiot and complete it in nine months in time for the holiday season]]. A HopeSpot appeared when the company allowed the developers use the game engine of ''VideoGame/NightsIntoDreams'' for the game so the developers could reach the deadline, [[PoorCommunicationKills but because the company didn't secure permission from the creator of the engine]]--''Sonic'' creator Yuji Naka, who then threatened to leave the company on grounds of plagiarism--[[YankTheDogsChain the development team was told to stop using it after they had grown accustomed to the engine for about two weeks)]]. Not surprisingly, the lead programmer of the remaining ended up overworking himself to the point of falling ill with pneumonia shortly afterwards, which subsequently led to [[{{Vaporware}} the game's cancellation]] and developer Sega Technical Institute's disbandment.

** The ''VideoGame/MegaManX Collection'' had several improvements made to the games in it, such as replacing the atrocious dubbing of ''X4'' and smoothing out the BlindIdiotTranslation of ''X6'' along with several gameplay changes. They were removed at the very last minute due to planned remakes for the UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable that never panned out.

* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles'''s initial North American release was sabotaged. Nintendo mistakenly allowed [=GameStop=] to have it as an exclusive. The problem was, [=GameStop=] also sells used games in addition to new games. Thus, since the retailer was able to control almost the entire supply, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lkgUQgjckU GameStop quickly capitalized on this]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHN3oOF2tvg lying about new copies not being in stock]] despite that the used copies being sold for a markup were new copies. Fortunately Nintendo learned from their mistake and did not allow any retailer to have an exclusivity deal for the [=3DS=] version (which also was downloadable), and it received another release on the UsefulNotes/WiiU Virtual Console.

* Creator/EpicGames ended up in a strange, self-inflicted but premeditated version of this that resulted in ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}'' being removed by Creator/{{Apple}} from the [=iOS=] App Store in August 2020. Epic had deliberately violated App Store policy through their Mega Drop release (it contained a significantly discounted in-game {{microtransaction|s}} system that bypassed the 30% cut Apple receives from every in-app transaction), and once Apple removed the game from the App Store in response, Epic sued them, using the incident as precedent to claim Apple was holding a monopoly on distribution of software (including games like ''Fortnite'') through their App Store. As of September 2021, a judge gave a ruling that neither party was happy with[[note]]Apple was deemed in the wrong for their exclusivity of their biased payment system and were requested to henceforth inform customers of alternate payment methods outside of apps, but the App Store itself was not deemed monopolistic, and Epic was forced to pay damages for violating their platform policy[[/note]] and both sought to appeal, and it has yet to be seen if Apple will ever allow ''Fortnite'' or Epic to return to the App Store.

* The UsefulNotes/{{Nintendo 64}} Disk Drive was done in by poor sales of the parent console, not problems with hardware or software as popular belief has oft dictated. In a 1998 interview featured on extremely obscure[[note]]as in, totally nonexistent on the Internet and print copies are hard to come by[[/note]] ''Digital Heroes'', it was said that Nintendo would not release the 64DD until sales of the N64 itself had reached 6 million. Naturally, that never happened, and what was ultimately released as the 64DD at the turn of the millennium was a heavily stripped-down version that only featured software that absolytely required use of the 64DD.

* ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar 3'' was ready for an early summer release, but was forced by Microsoft into a September holiday release, putting it into direct competition with the blockbuster releases of ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield 3}}'' and ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare 3''. While the sales were still strong, the online multiplayer quickly dropped in population due to the competition and hasn't recovered.

* The UsefulNotes/{{Nintendo 64}} Disk Drive was done in by poor sales of the parent console, not problems with hardware or software as popular belief has oft dictated. In a 1998 interview featured on ''Digital Heroes'', it was said that Nintendo would not release the 64DD until sales of the N64 itself had reached 6 million. Naturally, that never happened, and what was ultimately released as the 64DD at the turn of the millennium was a heavily stripped-down version that only featured software that absolytely required use of the 64DD.

** When developing ''VideoGame/StarWarsBattlefrontII2017'', EA outsourced development on the Starfighter Assault mode to Criterion Games while DICE worked on the base game. However, after launching in the November 2017 with the base game, Starfighter Assault received no updates since July 2018 even as DICE added new ground-based maps, modes, and heroes into 2020. Criterion Games was pivoted to ''Battlefield V'''s Firestorm battle royale mode instead of updating Starfighter Assault, leading to players abandoning the mode. Speaking of Firestorm...

* IO Interactive's development of ''VideoGame/Hitman2016'' was a very messy, somewhat confusing one. While it received rave critical success, it was suddenly reported in May 2017 that Square Enix [[http://kotaku.com/square-enix-splits-with-hitman-creators-io-interactive-1795115574 decided to abruptly cut all business ties with IOI]], with the main purported reason being that the game had underperformed commercially, with many citing the biggest factor being the game's [[EpisodicGame episodic format]]. In a surprising twist for this scenario, however, IOI was allowed to keep the rights to the ''Hitman'' franchise, something almost entirely unheard of in a developer-publisher relationship of this sort, allowing them to independently develop and publish future ''Hitman'' games. With the release of ''VideoGame/Hitman2'' and ''VideoGame/Hitman3'' ([[MissionPackSequel effectively the future "seasons" that would've been DLC of the 2016 game]]), fully completing their intended "World of Assassination" trilogy, as well as reports of increasingly solid financial returns, it seems that IOI actually came out the other end fairly well (it's now widely believed that [[ExecutiveMeddling the episodic format was originally Square Enix's idea to begin with]], making their handling of the project look even worse in retrospect).

** ''VideoGame/TabulaRasa'' -- developed by Richard Garriott (of ''VideoGame/{{Ultima}}'' fame) and Destination Games -- launched in 2007 to lukewarm reviews and an uncertain future, but died in 2009 under very dubious circumstances. During November 2008, a series of announcements by [=NCSoft=] claimed that Garriott had parted from the company for other ventures, and that the game would be shuttering in February the following year... except during that time, Garriott was in mandatory quarantine for an upcoming space flight, and in the following year, he sucessfully sued [=NCSoft=] for $28 million as not only did they wrongfully terminate his employment, they also ''forged his resignation and farewell letters'' in a plot to shortchange him of his stock options under the terms of a "willful resignation".

* On August 30th, 2012, the folks at Paragon Studios were working hard and had just solidified plans for content for the next three to five ''years'' for their flagship game, ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes''[[note]]Which is literally as old as World Of Warcraft itself[[/note]] . On August 31, they came into the office to find an official memo that parent company Creator/NCSoft was shutting down the studio and letting everyone go, effective immediately, with the servers getting a final shutdown at the end of November. The official reasons why Paragon was chosen to be the group dropped while [=NCSoft=] got their books in order are varied and often self-conflicting, but the fact that they either outright refused offers for purchase of the IP or set exorbitantly high prices (one claim putting the asking price at ''more than double'' the total value of [=NCSoft=] as a corporate entity), not to mention the game pulling in 2.7 Billion per quarter, and [=NCsoft=] stock literally dropping to half after the shutdown, indicates it was more than just financing.

** When developing ''VideoGame/StarWarsBattlefrontII2017'', EA outsourced development on the Starfighter Assault mode to Criterion Games and while DICE worked on the base game. However, after launching in the November 2017 with the base game, Starfighter Assault received no updates since July 2018 even as DICE added new ground-based maps, modes, and heroes into 2020. Criterion Games was pivoted to ''Battlefield V'''s Firestorm battle royale mode instead of updating Starfighter Assault, leading to players abandoning the mode. Speaking of Firestorm...

** In an attempt to directly with Activision's ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' series that began with ''VideoGame/Battlefield3'', EA released ''VideoGame/Battlefield4'' just two years later. Not only was ''Battlefield 3'' screwed since it will no longer receive further support, but ''Battlefield 4'' was rushed out the gate and riddled many game breaking bugs. While the game improved over time with fixes, its poor launch tarnished the franchise's image and landed EA with multiple lawsuits.

** Downplayed with ''VideoGame/Anthem2019'' according to [[https://kotaku.com/how-biowares-anthem-went-wrong-1833731964 Jason Schreier's insider article]]. While the biggest issues with ''Anthem'' were caused by Bioware's (lack of) decision-making on the project until the final 18 months of development, EA certainly didn't help matters by pushing Bioware to develop the game using the Frostbite engine. Frostbite was designed for more traditional FirstPersonShooter experiences offered by the ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield}}'' series and was ill-suited for the WideOpenSandbox "Looter Shooter" with RPG Elements that Bioware was making with ''Anthem.'' This was further exasperated by EA refusing to send the Frostbite support team to Bioware, opting to send them to help develop the latest entry in the CashCowFranchise that is ''VideoGame/FifaSoccer'' instead. That said, it was ultimately Bioware's, not EA's decision, to make Anthem an always-online shooter in the vein of ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'', a game they vehemently refuse to even learn a thing or two about Looter Shooters.

* ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV'' got hit with this when Capcom thought that it would be a good idea to release the game in an unfinished state (they wanted the game out before their annual EVO tournament in order to give players a chance to master the characters) with promises to patch in the rest of the game later. But this resulted in much lower sales compared to the previous games, as many fans were turned off at the prospect of buying what was essentially an EarlyAccess AAA title, and now even with the features implemented, the game's popularity is relatively low compared to "IV" and sales are still relatively slow. The game also suffered from disconnects and lag for online matches. Capcom also made the decision not to release the game on the UsefulNotes/XboxOne in exchange for taking Sony's money despite them clearly being more then capable of funding SFV themselves.

* Creator/ElectronicArts is particularly bad about this, so much so that it's generally accepted that once they get their hands on a popular franchise, they will proceed to screw it into oblivion, force them to make games outside their expertise, meddle with their franchises and make them lose customers, followed by murdering the development studio.

*** The in-development sequel to the critically-acclaimed ''{{VideoGame/Bayonetta}}'' was cancelled by Sega before it could get anywhere, mainly because they were experiencing a financial crisis at the time. When Nintendo partnered with Platinum for ''VideoGame/TheWonderful101'', they [[NetworkToTheRescue came to the rescue]] by buying the publishing rights from Sega, thus allowing Platinum to finish development so the game could see the light of day, though becoming an exclusive on the UsefulNotes/WiiU. (which might have been the reason of her appearance in ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Smash 4]]'') It is rumored that Sega were the ones responsible for the box art change, however; the ''VideoGame/Bayonetta2'' box art was initially supposed to have Bayonetta in front of a shrouded moon, but the final box art depicts a bright moon instead, a change which Creator/HidekiKamiya has expressed disgust toward.

* When presented with a completely reworked ''Conker's Quest'', now titled ''VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay'', Nintendo of America was reportedly horrified to discover that the formerly [[TastesLikeDiabetes aggressively-cute]], child-aimed ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'' clone had been replaced by something inspired by ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', R-rated movies, and the ''Itchy and Scratchy'' cartoons from ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''. In response, they gave the game very little advertising (sticking mostly to men's magazines, whose target demographic probably wasn't interested in cartoon talking squirrels), and an ugly box with a giant M rating plus a warning stating that it was very clearly "not for anyone under 17". Creator/{{Rare}} was understandably upset with this treatment, likely softening the company up for a buyout by Microsoft. Its UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} remake, ''Live and Reloaded'', not only has a (smaller) warning label, but was also (and ironically) heavily censored, thereby losing much of its appeal. And the shutdown of the original Xbox Live screws the "Live" part of the game over as well.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDiGames'' were screwed at the get go. After Nintendo ditched Sony and partnered with Philips to make CD based games, Nintendo had Philips develop three ''Zelda'' games; ''Faces of Evil'' and ''Wand of Gamelon'' were both developed on a strict one year time limit (one year for each game) and had only a budget of $600,000 per game. Between pressure from Nintendo to get the games out on time and not having enough money to make the games as good as they could, the developers went the cheap route by hiring non union voice actors and several Russian animators that were fresh from graduating college and they were granted visas so they could stay in the United States to work. While the games back in 1993 were seen as average by critics, the discovery of the laughably bad cutscenes led the internet of today creating many WebAnimation/YouTubePoop videos.

** Eventually, late-president Creator/SatoruIwata took the blame and apologize for the console's financial failure, this eventually led to the upcoming ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' being delayed to 2017 to be also released on Nintendo's upcoming console (the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, codenamed "NX") as a launch KillerApp.

When it comes to self-sabotage and mismanagement in the video game industry, Konami has a track record that would put even EA and Capcom to shame. If you want to know how bad their perception among gamers has become, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynl4sIFazmM just ask]] [[WebVideo/{{Jimquisition}} Jim Sterling]], who gave a good look not only into a lot of their worst practices between around 2011 to early 2015, but also why it's not ''surprising'' that they would be [[HairTriggerTemper so quick]] to screw over everyone working for them completely burn bridges over [[FelonyMisdemeanor extremely minor slights]].