Franchises that grossly over-predicted their own popularity

[Burst]

I'm talking about upstart games, movies, TV shows, cartoons, etc that introduced themselves to the world by immediately claiming how they were the next big thing, typically by calling out established names in their given genre and insinuating how much better they were... and then completely failing to set the world on fire, either through plain badness or just being unremarkable.

Best example I can think of is the PS2-era Ty the Tasmanian Tiger. Super late to the mascot-with-attitude party, but nonetheless introduces himself with adverts implying he's beat up Spyro, Crash, and Sonic enough to have them in full-body bandages in hospital, with the TV commercial further implying he unplugs their life support.



And anybody remember Ty at all in 2015? I don't even think the furry fandom does.

In general, calling out your competitors in ads and trailers, especially when you're a completely unproven property, always ALWAYS seems to be a terrible idea.

[Deleted]

I always use that as one of the reasons why Ty the Tasmanian Tiger is one of the worst video game mascots in history. Not to mention that the games weren't that good, Ty's actual animations were really awkward (instead of them animating him moving his snout while talking, they animate just the side of his face, like he's talking as Edward G. Robinson), and Ty's developers were like TNA where they kept bouncing from producer to producer for each game.

I'd also mention Blur and their bashing of Mario Kart, which essentially doomed them.

[wallabylikeyou]

You mean like "It's like Netflix, only better!"?

[xCompackx]

WWE certainly comes to mind just based on how they market themselves. For example, "WWE 2K16 is the most talked about game in the world" is one of the most laughably bullshit claims I've heard in a while. Fallout 4? Call of Duty: Black Ops 3? Metal Gear Solid V even after being out for a couple of months? No, it's WWE 2K16 that's getting everybody talking.

[baracklesnar]

[Citizen Snips Has Left]

A sort-of example would have to be U2 just assuming everyone would bow at their smug feet for forcing their latest album onto everyone's iTunes account.

[ERON]

Cheetahmen. The makers of this craptacular bootleg NES game actually thought they had the next TMNT on their hands and were promising a cartoon, action figures, t-shirts, etc.

I know it's not really a franchise per se, but how about that band Odin from the Decline of Western Civilization, Part 2 documentary? They were like, "We're going to be bigger than Motley Crue and Aerosmith. We're going to be up there with Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin." And when the interviewer asked them what they would do if that didn't end up happening, they were like, "We refuse to even consider that possibility." 25 years later, they don't even have a Wikipedia page.

[Brandon Walsh is Insane.]

Dec 6, 2015 19:28:27 GMT -5 @jdogindy said:

I always use that as one of the reasons why Ty the Tasmanian Tiger is one of the worst video game mascots in history. Not to mention that the games weren't that good, Ty's actual animations were really awkward (instead of them animating him moving his snout while talking, they animate just the side of his face, like he's talking as Edward G. Robinson), and Ty's developers were like TNA where they kept bouncing from producer to producer for each game.

I'd also mention Blur and their bashing of Mario Kart, which essentially doomed them.

Blur was insanely fun in multiplayer. Loved that aspect on XBOX Live. I wish they didn't put other games down though, to bring themselves up. Bad marketing.

[BorneAgain]

No Mac & Me, no you won't.

[Raskovnik]

Dec 6, 2015 19:46:40 GMT -5 Citizen Snips Has Left said:

A sort-of example would have to be U2 just assuming everyone would bow at their smug feet for forcing their latest album onto everyone's iTunes account.

I completely missed this debacle because I don't really use iTunes or give a shit about U2, but a couple weeks ago I went to see if I could somehow put files onto my iPad so I had to install iTunes. I just saw this weird picture of topless men hugging that I'd never seen before in my life floating with my other albums. I thought it was porn or something. I was wondering where on Earth this gayness emanated from before realizing they got me like a year after the fact.

[Deleted]

Dec 6, 2015 20:10:52 GMT -5 BorneAgain said:

No Mac & Me, no you won't.

I have a twisted parody in my mind where Mac is a drunk that wanders around in his underwear, and the movie ends with the entire family driving off a cliff and the car explodes.

There was nothing likable about these E.T. ripoffs.

[CMWaters]

At least Pokémon knew there were sequels coming when it called its first movie "The First Movie"

[Lupin the Third]

Dec 6, 2015 20:39:56 GMT -5 CMWaters said:

At least Pokémon knew there were sequels coming when it called its first movie "The First Movie"

Doug should've ended when the Nickelodeon ended the series on their network. The Disney spinoff was not the greatest.

[ToyfareMark]

In terms of video games, it has to be this...

[wildojinx]

True, Sailor Moon was pretty popular in the US, but this makes it look like it would be taking over the world. In my market, Sailor Moon aired at around 6:30 am, so much for record-breaking ratings.

[James Fabiano]

Bubsy the Bobcat. What could possibly go wrong indeed?

The Narnia series of movies too...Disney didn't even want to finish the series.

[CMWaters]

Dec 6, 2015 22:11:36 GMT -5 wildojinx said:

True, Sailor Moon was pretty popular in the US, but this makes it look like it would be taking over the world. In my market, Sailor Moon aired at around 6:30 am, so much for record-breaking ratings.

It could have been much, MUCH worse.

[fw91]

American Idol? Only Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood "made it." Everyone else found modest success at best. And as for the show itself, nobody's given a shit in a decade.

[Sponsored by Groose Wipes]

Toonami's Cartoon Network run with Naruto. They put all of their hype on that show and even went as far to say "The best show they have ever had" (yes even beyond DBZ in its prime). However they put all of their eggs in one basket and it bit them in the ass when Naruto's legendary bad filler arc started. I think this is what killed Toonami for awhile.

[SAJ Forth]

Not quite it, but the Star Wars prequels put too much stock in some of the more annoying ones being hits.