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Videogames get canceled all the time, but it seems like massively multiplayer titles suffer this fate more than any other genre. What's sad is that a number of these games had the potential to be great, but for various reasons never ended up being released. Here are eight MMOs that had us excited when they were announced and depressed when we found out we’d never be able to play them.
Firefly MMO
What it was: An MMO based on Joss Whedon's much-loved television series. Fans couldn’t get enough of Firefly’s depiction of space as the Wild West, where new fangled sci-fi tech coexisted comfortably with old timey Western tropes – and rallied their forces to appeal to FOX executives when it was announced that the show would be canceled.
Maybe that’s why there was so much excitement when a Firefly MMO was first announced back in 2006. The game was to be developed by The Multiverse Network, a creator of virtual worlds and MMOs that has released very few virtual worlds or MMOs. Unfortunately, no new information was revealed after the initial announcement - not even a single screenshot. Still, that didn’t stop Multiverse from continuing to take on a number of new projects, including an online version of the film, Titanic.
Above: Firefly fans should be used to being disappointed by now
What happened: When Multiverse announced last year that it had started working on another Whedon property, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it was revealed that development on the Firefly MMO had been put on hold indefinitely. We haven't heard anything since, but by this point in time Firefly fans should be used to cancellation.
Shenmue Online
What it was: Given the incredibly detailed world in the first two Shenmue games on the Sega Dreamcast, an MMO seemed like a logical extension for the franchise. So, in 2004, Sega joined up with Korean developer, JC Entertainment to do just that. According to series creator Yu Suzuki, the game would allow players to join one of three different clans and experience a number of events and interact with some of the major characters from Shenmue II.
Above: Click here for a Shenmue trailer from 2006 that shows all of the gameplay you’ll never experience
What happened: In 2005 JC pulled out of the project, creating a legal dispute over who actually owned the rights to the game. Eventually the issue was settled, and development resumed with new assets being shown as late as 2006. Things went quiet for a while until 2008, when Suzuki explained that the game was on hiatus due to a "situation." Whatever that means.
