Eventually, even the best things have to come to an end. Video games that were once popular may not be quite as popular 5 years from now, and with so much oversaturation in the market, more genres are failing every day.

In the past, we have seen video game genres that decline and then make an amazing comeback. Our tastes change and evolve, and sometimes we come back in a full circle. Here are 5 video game genres in danger of disappearing.

Racing Games

Racing games have been around since a lot of us were kids in the 80’s and 90’s. You race cars, wave runners, boats, or other heavy machinery, and sometimes you even steer with a steering wheel. The trouble is sales have seriously declined in the past few months, leading to a lowered interest in producing these games. Black Rock Studios and Bizarre Creations, two companies that once produced extremely popular racing games, have shut down, leaving gamers grasping for new ideas.

Obviously, these companies did not evolve with the times.

There are some racing games that still pop up. We still love games such as Nintendo’s Mario Kart and Sony’s Gran Turismo. In general terms though, these types of games just don’t get the attention that they used to.

Music Games

Music games had a brief stint of popularity. We danced, we sang, and then we got bored. Maybe these games could have lasted longer, especially with musicians signing onto new projects such as the Aerosmith Guitar Hero and the Beatles edition. We just feel that this particular industry has been vastly oversaturated, and you can only cut the pie so many ways. Sales for just about everybody have been marginal at best.

Adventure Games

There was a time when games such as the Curse of the Monkey Island and Sierra-On-Line were extremely popular. The popularity was relatively short lived, but we loved while it lasted. Most gamers and game makers gave up on this genre of games long ago. We suspect that these games will basically disappear within the next few years, if this genre lasts that long.

Extreme Sports Games

It wasn’t that long ago that games like Tony Hawk Ride were popular. You couldn’t look right or left without seeing something Tony Hawk. The X-Games were on the rise, and every kid in America wanted to be that athlete. Since then, sales have tapered off and even Tony Hawk has lost its initial edge.

Mascot Platform Games

I used to play Sonic the Hedgehog when I was a kid, and it was the shit. Mario was the next best thing, and every year, there was a new character to play with. Donkey Kong was by far one of the best. It seems though that these games have plateaued. Mario is still somewhat strong, but these crazy critters just aren’t what they used to be. Developers don’t want to come up with new ideas, because why invest in a dying plan? It doesn’t make sense. Don’t expect more sequels of games like Crash Bandicoot. You will just have to stick to the older versions. We wouldn’t bet on this genre coming back any time soon.

Typos and misspellings come with every company and every product. In this digital age, you would think people would be better about it. We have computers that are designed to catch these types of things, and for the most part, our programmers are pretty freaking intelligent. In some ways, we take the mentality of don’t sweat the small stuff. However, while one word can be a “small” thing, we wouldn’t consider this one to be one of those things that is easily overlooked.

To some degree, we feel bad for the poor copy editor who let this one slip, but really? Thousands of games have been distributed reading, Resident Evil Revelaitons. We joke about Engrish, and with all of the talk about Apple, Xbox, and other similar products being manufactured in China, this just feeds the fire.

Advance copies have been sent to multiple media conglomerates such as Yahoo! Games, and so far, the word is that this is an unapproved variant of the game’s subtitle. To be fair, the name on the face of the package is correctly spelled, but why didn’t they just copy it over? Was it really that hard?

Capcom acknowledged the problem, stating:

”We apologize for the mistake, which will be corrected for subsequent productions of the game. We are working on a solution to provide affected customers with the correct packaging. Please visit Capcom-Unity for updates.”

As far as we’re concerned, this may be a collector’s item in the future. It’s bad, but we would also hope that this is a once in a lifetime blunder. It’s possible that one day, people will be paying thousands for a memory of this joke along with other big game releases such as the game that misnamed their game, Lynyrd Skynrd. Really?

Is this typo really serious enough to justify a company recall designed to replace faulty covers? Sure it’s embarrassing, but somehow we think that Xbox will get past this…..eventually.

Call us crazy, but usually we think of crazy cults and extreme churches who drink some kind of magical koolade when we think of mass suicides. According to unconfirmed reports though, 300 Chinese workers at an Xbox 360 factory threatened mass suicide. Yes, just like everything else these days, the Xbox is actually manufactured in China.

Apparently the Chinese just don’t handle payment and other often union related disputes the way the rest of us do. According to reports, employees threatened to throw themselves off the roof of the factory, recorded in Record China and Want China Times.

Employees officially requested a raise on January 2, and frankly, maybe they deserved a raise. However, employees were told to quit with compensation or keep their jobs and just settle for no raise. Most ended up quitting and did not actually get the promised compensation, which ruffled some serious feathers, even among the Chinese, who generally seem to put up with a lot from their government. Maybe that’s just the breaking point.

Microsoft did not officially confirm or deny any of this, and the official spokesperson refused to confirm whether or not this particular location even manufactured Xboxes at all. They generally do not list products by manufacturing location.

A Microsoft representative has been quoted as saying,

”Microsoft takes working conditions in the factories that manufacture its products very seriously, and we are currently investigating this issue. We have a stringent Vendor Code of Conduct that spells out our expectations, and we monitor working conditions closely on an ongoing basis and address issues as they emerge. Microsoft is committed to the fair treatment and safety of workers employed by our vendors, and to ensuring conformance with Microsoft policy.”

Foxconn Technology Group is currently the world’s largest electronics manufacturer and has built products for Apple, Dell, and HP among others. This is the company that actually produces the iPhone. As far as records go, 17 Foxconn workers have committed suicide in the past 5 years alone. We wouldn’t consider those numbers to be great. Sources say:

”Workers always have excessive and forced overtime in order to gain a higher wage. Workers are exposed to dust from construction site and shop floor without adequate protection. Even worse, they are threatened by potential harm of occupational diseases in various departments. Additionally, military-styled management is still in practice, characterized by ‘military training’ for new workers.”

Is this the kind of company and the kind of standards Microsoft, Apple, and other technology based companies expect?