Making video games is hard, you guys. A lot can be forgiven, but that doesn't mean we have to forget. With Bonus citation power!
These games had launch issues so bad as to make the game outright or borderline unplayable, for a multitude of users on their platform of choice.
(Sorry list item links aren't live, but they work in the comments. If at all possible, please include relevant article links with your suggested additions. Thanks!)
2012, 360. Taken offline during launch day for server issues. Put back later the same day. http://www.giantbomb.com/news/hybrid-launches-unlaunches-as-developers-deal-with-server-issues/4319/
2012, PC. What if... Big Rigs was on *rails*, and made by some guys called *Pantera*? /chinstroke. http://www.giantbomb.com/quick-look-roller-coaster-rampage/17-6289/
2012, PC. Rootkit vulnerabilities? Nobody learnt from Sony's troubles, eh? http://www.theverge.com/2012/7/30/3201421/ubisoft-uplay-drm-security-hole-tavis-ormandy
2012, PC/360. Framerate issues patched on PS3, Konami refused to update on 360. http://www.giantbomb.com/news/konami-not-patching-silent-hill-hd-on-xbox-360-because-well-its-hard/4320/
2012, PC. ThreeandahalfMILLION copies on the first day, with no PVP, no Auction House, and no way to play offline. So it's either a neutered MMO, or a broken single player game. Either way, it was successful. http://www.forbes.com/sites/gregvoakes/2012/06/05/the-numbers-behind-diablo-3-opening-day/
2012, 360. Needed to fix a ton of glitches, but the patch corrupted endgame save files. The update was pulled offline for weeks. Then Polytron refused to patch the patch. http://www.giantbomb.com/news/maybe-go-ahead-and-download-that-fez-patch-after-all/4281/
2011, PS3. Had some serious memory leaks. But it's all because it's a "brand new" engine, right? http://www.giantbomb.com/news/skyrims-ps3-lag-getting-addressed-this-month/3902/
2011, PC. Carmack apologised during his 2012 keynote for how poor the PC launch was, among other aspects. http://www.tomshardware.com/news/John-Carmack-Doom-4-RAGE-PC-Gaming-QuakeCon,16610.html He wasn't taking the blame at the time though. http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/10/09/rage-patch/
2011, PC. The wrong code was pushed out to the Steam servers. http://www.giantbomb.com/news/not-broken-version-of-dead-island-now-apparently-on-steam/3644/
2010-2011. Halo did pretty well with Bungie.net. CoD tried to go bigger with Elite, and broke its own ankles. http://www.giantbomb.com/news/activisions-hyped-call-of-duty-elite-continues-to-stumble-updated/3806/
2010, PS3. PS3 version was a bad port job of PlatinumGames' codebase by Sega. So bad that Sony fixed it for them. http://www.ps3center.net//news/4281/bayonetta-ps3-patch-made-by-sony-not-sega/
2010, PC. Always-on DRM doesn't work out when the DRM servers get knocked out. http://pc.ign.com/articles/107/1075124p1.html
2010, 360. When you make a game that has graphics glitches, and then the glitches have glitches, are you doing it right? http://www.giantbomb.com/kane-lynch-2-dog-days/61-26394/reviews/?review_id=309
2010, PS3. It's all... Obsidian's doing, right?
2008, PS3. It's all... uh... Gamebryo's doing, right?
2008, 360. "There's also a well-known bug in Castle Crashers that can annihilate any of your character progress, something I experienced firsthand." http://www.giantbomb.com/castle-crashers/61-20733/reviews/
2004, PC. Broken quests: http://www.lucasforums.com/showthread.php?t=141517 and excised content: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2009/10/after-four-years-volunteers-restore-missing-kotor-ii-data/
2003, PC. The Rig. The Myth. The Legend. http://www.gamespot.com/big-rigs-over-the-road-racing/reviews/big-rigs-over-the-road-racing-review-6086528/
1998, PC. The Myth. The Myth II. The Legend. http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/1999/01/06/
1998, PC. See comments below.
TBD, NES. Ok, so it didn't *exactly* ship, but it's hella broken, and there's a kickstarter for a do-over. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/343248998/cheetahmen-ii-the-lost-levels
1991, NES/GEN. $199 of broken. No citation needed.
