7 Worst PlayStation Franchises in History

Since Sony launched the PlayStation 1 in 1994, the publisher has created tons of beloved franchises. That said, no one has a perfect track record, and PlayStation has had some absolute stinkers over the years.

Below, I’ve put together a list of the seven worst franchises in PlayStation history. That said, it’s important to note that I’m skipping most of the sports series. I’m not saying this list would exclusively be from 989 Sports, but I can make a spicier list if I drop NCAA Gamebreaker. Here are the seven worst series in PlayStation history, listed in alphabetical order.

1) Arc the Lad

Let me be clear, the second Arc the Lad game is beloved, but everything else is middling at best. The tactical RPG was a huge hit in Japan, but didn’t come to the West until Arc the Lad Collection was released in 2002. That packaged the first three games, giving fans plenty of content to dive into.

From there, the series fell into decline. Outside of the 2018 VR game, the most recent Arc the Lad game is End of Darkness, which was a widely panned PlayStation 2 game. It’s a series that could make a comeback and recapture the magic of Arc the Lad 2, but for now, it’s one of the more disappointing series in PlayStation’s catalog.

2) Buzz! and Buzz! Junior

The Buzz! and Buzz! Junior games are relatively simple quiz games that use a special controller featuring a large, red buzzer. It’s not necessarily a bad series, but it’s definitely a boring one.

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There’s something to be said about having a game you can easily turn on at a party that anyone can have a good time with. Buzz! absolutely ticks that box, but it’s far from revolutionary. Plus, PlayStation ran the brand into the ground, releasing 19 games over five years. Those numbers would make Neversoft blush even at the peak of Tony Hawk’s popularity.

3) Cool Boarders

Cool Boarders was a middling snowboarding game at its peak, and games like 1080 Snowboarding, SSX, and Snowboard Kids quickly came along and ate its lunch. While Cool Boarders might’ve been one of the first snowboarding games on the market, it’s far from the best.

On top of that, the series consistently got worse after the first game. Even Cool Boarders 2001, which received solid review scores, couldn’t compete with the likes of SSX. At the end of the day, developer Idol Minds couldn’t keep up, and the series hasn’t been revisited since.

4) Invizimals

Invizimals is notable for using augmented reality on PlayStation Portable and PS Vita, so if you’re a fan of gimmicks, there’s something here. However, the series varies from forgettable to bad, and the PS3 game The Lost Kingdom ended things on a particularly depressing note with a 50% Metacritic score.

The series was popular enough to get a 26-episode animated spin-off and quite a bit of merch. That said, popular doesn’t always equate to quality.

5) Knack

PlayStation really wanted Knack to be its new mascot, but the first game lacked the juice needed to turn players into fans. It did some nifty things graphically, but missed the mark on the all-important fun factor.

Knack 2 was an improvement, though it’s worth wondering who, outside of Mark Cerny, wanted a second Knack game. And with dreadful sales numbers, it’s unlikely we’ll ever see Knack get a third game anytime soon.

6) SingStar

In the mid-aughts, everyone needed their version of Guitar Hero. Between DJ Hero, Rock Band, Def Jam Rapstar, and countless other games in the genre, nearly every type of music and instrument was covered. PlayStation’s version of the craze was SingStar, which brought karaoke to a console near you.

The first game in the series was a hit. Then, before fans knew it, there were dozens of SingStar games between the PS2 and PS3, many of them dropping off in quality. Like Cool Boarders, there was something here, but a combination of oversaturation and other games doing the same gimmick better led SingStar to quickly fall off. That said, it remained popular in Europe and Australia throughout its run.

7) Spyro the Dragon

Like Arc the Lad, I need to start by saying the first three Spyro games on PS1 are great mascot platformers. If you were a youngster in the late ’90s with a PlayStation, Spyro the Dragon, Ripto’s Rage, and Year of the Dragon were must-buy games.

Everything else? Not so much. Even if we don’t count the mediocre Game Boy Advance games, every Spyro game on PS2 was a far cry from the series’ former highs. And The Legend of Spyro games were arguably even worse. Thankfully, the Spyro Reignited Trilogy remake reminded players how good those first three games were, but it can’t wash off the stains from the PS2 and PS3 era. Perhaps that’s why Sony never attempted to outright acquire Spyro and it later was purchased by Activision.