Sequels: The Fall of Originality in Gaming?

Quote:
"It is quite amazing to compare how many movies during the summer blockbuster season are original titles. Adaptations, sequels, cookie-cutters and remakes are all the rage nowadays since they promise the studios money. In video games, the same holds true. Sequels have always been an assumed prospect in the video game world. However, sequels may be taking a toll on innovation and creativity in the video game industry."

[Deviant]

MGS say no .....

[LiquifiedArt]

...PixelJunk Eden, Echochrom, The Last Guy, PixelJunk Monsters, Pain, Everyday Shooter. I mean seriously...

Second Word PLAYSTATION...
Originality, User Generated Content, Epic Storys, AAA Blockbusters, Bitesized Casual Content, Offline Multiplayer Content, Online Multiplayer content, HD Videos, Free Online, HOME.

What else could one possibly want... Its all wrapped up in the black box.

Maybe its just an xbox problem, cause I dont see it here at the Sony camp. sorry.

[DTClown]

Plenty of freshness here in PS3 land thank you very much!

[RSX]

..Talented first party devs.

p.s killtheaquitted you shouldn't have used that story image
some may attack you for it

[Fishy Fingers]

Games are following in the Hollywood footsteps. Games (like movies) are seriously big money now, it's difficult to convince an investor to give you a lot for something that isn't guaranteed to make a profit.

Halo, MGS, COD etc etc all offer that little piece of stability that an investor can rest their hat upon.

But thankfully, they are still some development studios taking "risks".

[SmokingMonkey]

was the best Star Wars, so no sequels don't suck, but we certainly could use more ip's. Thank you SONY uncharted, infamous, LBP etc.
and we still haven't seen one Jak and Dax game on PS3, and we still haven't seen Sly Cooper, Twisted Metal etc.

[ginganinja]

With the Wii, XBLA, PSN, DS, etc all encouraging different ways of playing and cheaper routes into the industry to try out new ideas there's probably more originality about than there has been for years.

[Baba1906]

Final fantasy says no!

[Product]

Not many are taking risks.All great franchises are sequel based.

[ItsDubC]

I don't mind sequels, I just think it's hilarious when Nintendo releases a new game that has Mario in it and ppl are like, "zomg ANOTHER Mario game" even tho that particular game may have just a few true prequels (ie the Mario Kart and Mario Strikers series are entirely different, they just share a similar cast of characters), but then these same ppl get hyped about FF13, GTA4 (which is actually the 9th game in the series), the 1,000th FPS w/ no significant gameplay innovations, etc.

[Xi]

In videogames there isn't a clear cut relationship between the game/gameplay/story:

-FF has been different every time, no matter the sequel.

-Banjo Kazooie N&B will have a completely different campaign/story/gameplay even with the same characters.

-Zelda games are yet another title that feature the same characters but an ever evolving story.

Other games are designed before hand to be long running stories and trilogies. Movies like Star Wars 5/6/1/2/3 aren't really sequels but moreso a continuation of a single story drafted over multiple films:

-similarly games like halo, gears and to a lesser extent mgs are all a single story set over a series of games.

Originality still exists, for example below is just a small list of new original and popular IP's that have started up over the last generation of consoles:

-bioshock, crackdown, LBP, too human, mass effect, gears of war, kameo, viva pinata, motorstorm, resistance, lost planet, dead rising, saints row, assassins creed, mirrors edge, etc.

PSN/XBL/VC and specially XNA all offer a less costly way to get new original games and concepts onto the market.

However like any market, money is the primary force, and games that prove successful are more likely to have a base with the income to puchase new titles. Halo/ff/MGS all have a following that would be willing to put cash down on a title, so companys will be happy to use those names to make some extra coin.