Do readers of videogame magazines - Future Gamer included - actually heed the advice of reviewers? Is a score of any real consequence? Why do some great games never see the dizzy heights of stardom they so richly deserve? We rounded up 15 victims of shockingly poor sales figures and got them to sell us their (sob) stories...
James Price

Throughout videogame history, a surprising number of great and good games have disappeared without trace. Lauded by critics, they arrive on game store shelves nationwide where, mysteriously, no-one wants to buy them. Some end up in bargain bins; others are returned to the publisher; some are even repackaged and released as budget games within months.

The following 15 games - five each for PlayStation, PC and N64 respectively - are titles that you, as an erudite, discerning Future Gamer reader, should own. But, we'll be willing to wager, you don't.

Future Gamer isn't expecting you to make a paradigm shift in your buying practices. If you don't like tennis games, for example, it will be of little consequence that Smash Court Tennis is an ignobly low-profile classic. But these games, in their own individual ways, are titles that are worth every penny of their often reduced RRP. In most instances, they are titles that have garnered review scores of over 90%.

Looking for a game to see you through the weekend (and far, far beyond)? You really should consider one of the following...