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Stopping The Sequel Slander: Why More Of The Same Isn't Necessarily A Bad Thing

Call of Duty, Assassin's Creed, Mario, Halo—these are just a handful of the many franchises that get slammed by gamers for receiving a new entry on a relatively consistent basis. Now I know that new IPs are absolutely essential in moving the industry forward, but at the same time I can't help but find myself annoyed by how often a game gets trashed simply because it has a number at the end of its title.

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insertcoin4216d ago

Annual franchises don't bother me as much as a lack of innovation and enhancements between installments.

dirthurts4216d ago

But how much can a company change their game without being accused of abandoning their fan base?
I would hate to be in that position, trying to appease the old fans, yet rejuvenate the game at the same time. You can't please everyone (anyone?).

BitbyDeath4216d ago (Edited 4216d ago )

inFamous 2, Motorstorm 2, Uncharted 2 and LBP 2 each made some pretty big enhancements without changing the franchise.

More devs should look towards them.

EDIT: Should include Borderlands 2 as well from what i've heard but am yet to play it.

isarai4216d ago

If people keep wanting it, why not keep making it? as long as improvements and additions are med throughout the series i don't see the harm

alexcosborn4216d ago

Absolutely. You don't need a brand-new IP to usher in innovation.

Adolph Fitler4216d ago

Medievil 3 please then....Why do they keep making TOO many sequels of the same title, with little to no innovation or need to upgrade to the next years installment, when they could be making say, a Mirrors Edge sequel, as opposed to a COD rip off that simply is not as good (yeh, I played the Warfighter beta).

The proof is in the pudding.....Idiotic consumers are the blame for too many sequels, as opposed to new IP's & old ones that were awesome, but didn't sell.
Consumers are so dumb, they just keep buying the new Fifa's, Madden's, NBA's, NHL's, etc, etc, over new, awesome IP's.
I mean, I will be buying Dishonered on Thursday (along with Rugby League Live 2...yes, there have "criminally" only been 1 & now this, Rugby League games this gen.....make more League games Australian, English & New Zealand game developers).......
But watch as Dishonered sells like balls & fails to get a sequel, while Black Ops 2 sets sales records alight, whilst being almost identical to the last 3 or 4 COD games.
It's a disgrace how many great new IP's get wasted, while samely sequels plague sales charts.

I am not one of these anti-sequel people, but I do think somethings amiss when Ubisoft don't even make direct sequels anymore & instead make 2 sequels for the AC franchise that are too gutless, & innovation free, to have a sequel number at the end of there titles. I mean, only now are Ubisoft making a true AC sequel.....So why release the 2 yearly fillers, instead of a new IP.....because they are too scared nobody will buy a new IP.....and rightly so, as people flock to the same crap repeatedly, like brainless sheep.

Even great IP's like Resistance get overloooked & fade from decent sales with the 1st iteration, to dismal sales for part 3 which was the best in series & an awesome game....then either developers drop them, as Insomniac did with Resistance & EA with Mirrors Edge, or the developers go broke.
Games that are awesome that should get sequels like Bayonetta, Vanquish, Heavenly Sword, etc, are ignored by the sheep & thus never get sequels, but are bought more after the fact & put on a pedestool too late in the generation or even a gen after, & end up getting better sales numbers & a cult status when it's too little, too late for the either, out of business broke developers, or moved on & burnt, understandably overly cynical developers that just make games to sell to the masses.

The herd/sheep mentality of the majority of gamers is a huge part of the reason we are & will continue to lose scary ammounts of development studios & developers to huge yearly franchises, & the ever growing IOS market.

So START BUYING NEW IP'S PEOPLE. Forget the latest Fifa, Madden or COD's, you boring, 1 dimensional f%$ks, give the Dishonered's, & other new IP's that are scoring great a go. It's not hard go to GT, GS & IGN to check a games score, go to all three sites & then make your own opinion of a game. You don't have to be a hardcore gamer nerd to jump on the net & research a tiny ammount about games. It is quite fun looking them up & watching reviews & & gameplay footage of them...& especially when you click on & watch something on an unknown quantity.....I mean, who had heard of Watch Dogs before E3, & we see that gameplay footage & who wouldn't be impressed & psyched about this game.
Same when I seen Dishonered footage all that time ago, it looked brilliant....now it is nearly here & this Thursday I will be buying the game.

dbjj120884216d ago

tl;dr version please. This feels like some manifesto you've been working on.

Adolph Fitler4216d ago

It is tragic & horrible seeing great games cause developers to sink, or have to abandon all thoughts of original ideas & IP's, because consumers do not support them. Beyond Good & Evil, Ico, SOTC, Psychonauts, Okami, Godhand, are but a few of the best, most innovative, awesome, games to come out of last gen., yet they all failed to sell well enough....Hell, Clover Studios went broke from terrible Okami & then Godhand sales.
People need to start buying these great games, by great developers now, instead of waiting until it's too late & awesome developers suffering because we can't get ourselves informed, &/or buy games that stray from a overly milked aaa series.

What kind of gamer are you, if you wouldn't want to be playing Godhand 2 over Super Duper Pushin Pooper Streetfighter 4 Ultimately Ultimate Special Deluxe Aeon Flux Dux Nuts Edition....or Killswitch 2 over Gears 3.5, or Pyschonauts 2 over Super Mario + Wario + Luigi In Mushroom Park Dancing 2 Da Beats In a Mariokart While Playing Super Smash Bros Tennis Part 2, or Okami 2 over insert long winded sequel name here, or Resistance 4 over COD:MW 94, or Dishonered 2 over BF6, & the list goes on.

ShaunCameron4216d ago (Edited 4216d ago )

Most new IP's fail all the time. And it's often because of either poor marketing, lack of interest and/or the game is a cheap knock-off of the more popular IP's of the day.

<People need to start buying these great games, by great developers now, instead of waiting until it's too late & awesome developers suffering because we can't get ourselves informed, &/or buy games that stray from a overly milked aaa series.>

How about developers and publishers start marketing their games so people can become aware of them and ultimately decide whether or not they're worth giving a chance to?

<What kind of gamer are you, if you wouldn't want to be playing Godhand 2 over Super Duper Pushin Pooper Streetfighter 4 Ultimately Ultimate Special Deluxe Aeon Flux Dux Nuts Edition....or Killswitch 2 over Gears 3.5, or Pyschonauts 2 over Super Mario + Wario + Luigi In Mushroom Park Dancing 2 Da Beats In a Mariokart While Playing Super Smash Bros Tennis Part 2, or Okami 2 over insert long winded sequel name here, or Resistance 4 over COD:MW 94, or Dishonered 2 over BF6, & the list goes on.>

I'm more of a casual gamer but most of my collection consist of niche games. The popular games I own are:

Super Mario
The Legend Of Zelda
Mario Kart
Super Smash Bros.
Halo
Gears Of War
Grand Theft Auto
Resident Evil
Madden
Uncharted
Metal Gear Solid

And for the record, I would still take some of popular the popular IP's over most of what you just listed not because they're merely popular but because they tend to impress me more with their overall presentation.

Blastoise4216d ago

I think its more the fact people are not getting the sequels they want (Or atleast for me it is). Where is Dark Cloud 3? Timesplitters 4? Star Wars Battlefront 3? A New Knights of the old Republic

Noooo we get Final Fantasy XIII-2 and yet another Assassins creed...

alexcosborn4216d ago

Fair enough. I certainly would like a Dark Cloud 3...

Sgt_Slaughter4216d ago (Edited 4216d ago )

You can include Donkey Kong 64 2, Banjo Threeie, Super Mario Bros 4 (8-bit retro), and Half Life 3/ 2 Episode 3.

SnotyTheRocket4216d ago

XII-2, yeah, I agree, Not needed, but another Assassin's Creed? How can that be a bad thing? And have you seen the gameplay?

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