Gamesradar has posted a list of 123 games with untapped franchise potential.
The list includes several favorites, and kicking it of is Primal Rage from the
mid-90's. (Boy do I miss eating cave people for a quick health up) We've taken
the top 3 games and displayed them here, for the full list visit the Gamesradar
Top 123 untapped franchise potential list.
Here's a snippet from the
original article from Gamesradar:
Store shelves are littered with sequels to crappy games and franchises that
have no right to exist. Hello, Dynasty Warriors! What Faustian covenant keeps
you alive?? Meanwhile, videogame history is teeming with amazing, innovative
titles that were mercilessly trampled underfoot when the balance sheet didn’t
add up. This is our ode to games with unrealized franchise potential.
Some of the games on this list are no-brainers, others are diamonds in the
rough. Yet others may have had sequels only in Japan, or have been out of
circulation since the 16-bit era. Whatever their backstory, we’re picking them
up and dusting them off in hopes that whoever owns the rights will heed our call
and get cracking on follow-ups.
1. Primal Rage
Arcade, PSone, 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, Sega 32X, Atari Jaguar CD, Sega
Saturn, Amiga, Mega Drive/Genesis, SNES, Sega Game Gear, Game Boy and PC CD-ROM
(Atari, 1994)
This gore-drenched 2D fighter featured a cast of ferocious postapocalyptic
monsters divided into two camps, Virtuous and Destructive. Work on Primal Rage
2, which was to feature a ginormous dragon-skeleton beastie named Necrosan, was
cancelled by Atari in 1995. However, the plot was kept alive in the form of the
novel Primal Rage: The Avatars. Books are great and all, but what we really want
is a proper videogame sequel brimming with high-definition dino-gods and
ape-beasts ripping the shit out of each other for the fate of mankind.
2. Base Wars
NES (Ultra Games/Konami, 1991)
This falls in the same territory as Primal Rage – why did it take game devs
decades to come up with this super-basic, supremely awesome concept, and why the
hell isn’t it an annual fixture? We already see seven or eight thousand sports
games a year, most of which only appeal to a very specific audience. Killer
Robot Baseball, on the other hand, is an idea any red-blooded American can get
behind. Want to steal second? Hover on over there and beat the bolts out of that
stupid tank-treaded baseman and take it by force. Don’t like your pitcher? Shred
him down and buy a new one. Add in season play, a build-a-bot warehouse for
drafting and a couple of new player designs and we’d be the first to step back
up to the plate.
3. Jade Empire
PC, Xbox (Microsoft Game Studios/BioWare, 2005)
Since 2005, BioWare has been talking about the possibility of a Jade Empire
sequel. And back in January of 2008, a shadowy rumor leaked onto the interwebs
that code for Jade Empire 2 “exists.” The original game had all the trappings of
franchise material with engrossing characters, magnificent settings, and a
unique take on martial arts-fueled RPG combat. But until hard evidence of a
sequel’s existence materializes, we’ll continue yearning for BioWare’s one-off
hit to attain franchise status.
To see the list in its' entirety check out the
Top 123 untapped franchise potential list!