The 80s and 90s were the heyday of video games. This is because a boom occurred immediately after the NES was released in North America in 1985. After that, everyone wanted a piece of the gaming pie, which led to some games that almost no one remembers today. It's hard to imagine a company thinking this would be a good idea in the modern environment.The same goes for digital platforms.
Some of these games may have been released on Steam. This is because Steam is a more open platform. But it's better to think more positively. From explicit content to educational content, these types of games will barely exist in 2025 and they certainly won't be released now.
BMXXXX
Teens Love Nudity
- developer: Z axis
- publisher: Acclaim Entertainment
- release date: November 15, 2002 (Xbox version)
- platform: Gamecube, PS2, Xbox
later grand theft auto 3Many developers have tried to trace what made the game successful, but it was more salacious. One big example is BMXXXXThis game started out as an official Dave Mira game. After the game took a more raunchy turn, Mira stepped down, but the game was still released as an open-world sandbox game with bike riding at its core.
The bike-based gameplay was fine for an extreme sports game, but it added some nudity if players were good enough to unlock it. Fortunately, developers have become more mature since this era, and big titles that show off nudity would never be released anywhere else on Steam in the modern era.
Conker's Bad Fur Day
no more edgelords
Conker's Bad Fur Day Another example of a game trying to push boundaries, but in a different direction than nudity. Nintendo was known for clean-cut platforming heroes like Mario, so Rare wanted to add something a little grittier to the N64.
There was foul language, talking piles of shit, and rampant violence. Although Microsoft owns the IP along with Rare, they probably won't greenlight any other IPs. conker I won't be playing a game anytime soon, or at least not one this vile. The gaming environment is different now, so I don't think it will be welcome. Conker's Brand of humor.
Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure
and all toy life games
that Skylanders The series was the first major toy game to kick off the genre in 2011. Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure. It was a novel idea where players could purchase the base game and then unlock the heroes they wanted to play by purchasing them in action figure form.
This led to more sequels and imitators, including: disney infinity, lego dimensionsand Starlink: Battle for Atlas. Most retailers today are shrinking their physical gaming spaces. Not only does this mean development costs are very high, but it's impossible to keep everything from toys to actual games in stock. No company will ever want to invest that much money again.
Boktai: The sun is in your hands
maybe with a phone app
Boktai: The sun is in your hands It is the first game in the series and was released for the Game Boy Advance. The cartridges had solar panels attached to encourage players to go outside to get some sunlight. This was how players could charge their solar-based guns in-game to defeat enemies, and even the Big Boss Vampire had to be exposed to direct sunlight to be killed outright.
It was a complex and novel idea that only Hideo Kojima could come up with, and like the real-life example of the toy seen above, no modern publisher would greenlight a game that required a physical copy to play.
PlayStation All-Star Battle Royale
I can't hang out with the king
PlayStation All-Star Battle Royale It was Sony's attempt to create a platform fighter. Super Smash Bros.But not everything went as planned. There were some good characters on the roster, like Kratos, Nathan Drake, Raiden, Ratchet, and Clank, among others, but unlike Nintendo's extensive catalog, there weren't many significant series.
Fans were also left unsatisfied by the omission of some iconic characters closely associated with the PlayStation, such as Cloud Strife and Crash Bandicoot. All platform fighter chasing the king smash bros It usually fails, and Sony won't take that same risk again with a platform like the PS5.
I Am a Teacher: Super Mario Sweater
leave mario alone
- developer: Royal Kogyo
- publisher: Nintendo
- release date: August 27, 1986 (Japan)
- platform: Famicom (Japanese NES)
Super Mario Bros. That's a big reason why the NES was so successful when it launched in North America. As a character, Mario quickly became an icon of the '80s and '90s, so much so that Nintendo used him in many spinoffs and merchandising opportunities to keep the momentum going.
One of the strangest examples of this is: I Am a Teacher: Super Mario Sweater; It was released for the Japanese Famicom. It was essentially software that creators could use to attach patterns to clothing. I doubt they'll ever make a Mario sweater game for the Switch or Switch 2, as Nintendo's handling of Mario is strange these days.
Sneak King (Burger King Game)
AdverGames currently exists online.
secretly king
- released
-
November 19, 2006
AdverGames is a nickname given to product-based gaming spin-offs that attempted to promote popular brands, and dates back to the Atari 2600. AdverGames' last bastion of release on console was probably 2006's Burger King game, which Xbox players could purchase at associated restaurants.
Big Bumpin' It was a bumper car game. pocket bike racer It was a cartoonish racer. The strangest of the bunch is secretly kingPlayers took on the role of Burger King and had to sneak around and give burgers to other characters, which was pretty creepy. These days, AdverGames exists in browsers and mobile apps, and they're not releasing any consoles again, at least not physically.
Captain Novolin
Educating children through substandard gameplay
Captain Novolin
- released
-
November 1, 1992
- ESRB
-
all e10+
- developer
-
sculpted software
Captain Novolin is an example of an educational game that tries to disguise itself as a fun platformer for the SNES. The 80s and 90s were full of these kinds of edutainment games, most of which exist today as apps or web browsers, like AdverGames.
Captain Novolin When trying to teach kids about the dangers of diabetes, it wasn't the best game. Investing money into edutainment games released on consoles, even digital ones, doesn't sound like something developers will be doing in 2025.
