Videos
(41)Screenshots
(41)Cheats and Walkthroughs
Videos
(130)Screenshots
(88)Cheats and Walkthroughs
Videos
(48)Screenshots
(93)Cheats and Walkthroughs
Videos
(138)Screenshots
(55)Cheats and Walkthroughs
(210)
Videos
(139)Screenshots
(55)Cheats and Walkthroughs
(216)
Videos
(2)Screenshots
(10)Cheats and Walkthroughs
(37)
Videos
(126)Screenshots
(33)Cheats and Walkthroughs
Videos
(111)Screenshots
(33)Cheats and Walkthroughs
Videos
(120)Screenshots
(33)Cheats and Walkthroughs
News
(21)Previews
Review
Videos
(10)Screenshots
(13)Cheats and Walkthroughs
Videos
(74)Screenshots
(41)Cheats and Walkthroughs
Videos
(72)Screenshots
(41)Cheats and Walkthroughs
Videos
(72)Screenshots
(41)Cheats and Walkthroughs
Videos
(84)Screenshots
(76)Cheats and Walkthroughs
Videos
(81)Screenshots
(76)Cheats and Walkthroughs
Videos
(86)Screenshots
(76)Cheats and Walkthroughs
Videos
(61)Screenshots
(29)Cheats and Walkthroughs
Videos
(67)Screenshots
(31)Cheats and Walkthroughs
(127)
Videos
(67)Screenshots
(35)Cheats and Walkthroughs
(24)
Videos
(67)Screenshots
(35)Cheats and Walkthroughs
Videos
(67)Screenshots
(35)Cheats and Walkthroughs
Videos
(103)Screenshots
(117)Cheats and Walkthroughs
Videos
(102)Screenshots
(117)Cheats and Walkthroughs
Videos
(102)Screenshots
(117)Cheats and Walkthroughs
Videos
(51)Screenshots
(31)Cheats and Walkthroughs
Videos
(51)Screenshots
(31)Cheats and Walkthroughs
Videos
(51)Screenshots
(31)Cheats and Walkthroughs
Videos
(16)Screenshots
(49)Cheats and Walkthroughs
(48)
Videos
(78)Screenshots
(245)Cheats and Walkthroughs
Videos
(22)Screenshots
(17)Cheats and Walkthroughs
Videos
(39)Screenshots
(142)Cheats and Walkthroughs
Videos
(38)Screenshots
(139)Cheats and Walkthroughs
Videos
(33)Screenshots
(113)Cheats and Walkthroughs
(27)
Videos
(32)Screenshots
(113)Cheats and Walkthroughs
(30)
Videos
(29)Screenshots
(143)Cheats and Walkthroughs
Videos
(18)Screenshots
(56)Cheats and Walkthroughs
By Blake Snow
For better or worse, this year has been dubbed by many in the gaming community as "the year of the sequel.” Indeed, a sampling of most-anticipated game lists quickly confirm the trend; up to 90% of said lists (and no fewer than 70%) are comprised of sequels.
In other words, only 10-30% of the games you play this year will be entirely new. Of course, popular games don’t account for all releases. And last year’s most-wanted lists were mostly numbered by sequels as well. Nevertheless, is this a problem?
Not according to Electronic Arts, one of the largest producer of games. “Fans don’t actually complain about sequels – editors do,” says Tammy Schachter, vice president of public relations for EA. “Besides, they do the same for Hollywood movies,” she defends. But, there's more. A lot more. Read on for more about the sequelitis in the industry.
It’s true. Some of the most anticipated movies this year are sequels to Pirates of the Caribbean, Transformers, Cars, and Harry Potter to name a few. People obviously like returning to familiar themes. But movie, TV, and even music sequels are no where near the number, frequency or intensity of annualized video game sequels.
Consider some of this year’s biggest names in games: Resistance 3, Gears of War 3, Zelda 18 Skyward Sword, Mortal Kombat 9, Pokemon 23 (“Black/white" version), Mass Effect 3, Elder Scrolls 5, Battlefield 3, Uncharted 3, Metal Gear 9, Deus Ex 3, Call of Duty 8: Modern Warfare 3, Saint's Row 3, SOCOM 4, Diablo 3, Forza 4, Final Fantasy 14 and Madden 20. And that’s excluding nearly 50 “Such-and-Such 2” games planned as well.
This isn’t to say the above games are bad. I’m sure and know from experience that some of them are wonderful. But it’s a bit obscene to see so many at such high numbers, especially when you consider the upcoming list of highly publicized all-new games being overshadowed: The Last Guardian, Homefront, Rage, LA Noire. That’s about it.
For Nintendo’s part, they say it doesn’t matter if a game name is familiar or not, so long as the experience is unique. “When it comes to popular franchises like Pokémon or The Legend of Zelda, that means continually evolving those experiences to give longtime fans and newcomers alike fresh surprises,” a company spokesman offers.
Schachter takes solace in likening games to other forms of perpetual entertainment, like watching the sixth season of Lost or rooting for football year after year. “Like returning to the new season of Battlestar Galactica, fans want to return to the story and adventures of their favorite games year after year,” says the EA executive.
Scott Steinberg, whose covered games as an insider for the better part of two decades, says that’s besides the point. “It's not that people don't want to revisit their favorite universes and characters as much as possible. It's that they don't want to tarnish their memories, or replay the same near identical adventures 14 times in one year.”
For example, it’s telling that one of the hottest series in the last five years was abruptly canceled last month, having been exposed to a previously unheard of number of sequels. In just five years, Guitar Hero was published 11 times, spun-off three times, and portibalized a half dozen more.
Looking back, rhythm games in general were a fad. But so were fighting games, which still enjoy niche acceptance today, two decades after they were popularized by Street Fighter II. One can only wonder what kind of future Guitar Hero, and rhythm games in general, might have enjoyed had Activision and others showed restraint in the number of sequels and spin-offs.
What’s more, might there have been fewer studio closures, consolidations, canceled games, and thousands of layoffs had publishers embraced more original ideas instead of updating old ones?
“We can't really blame the economy anymore, like we've been doing the past 4-6 years,” argues Jack Loftus, an outspoken gamer and contributing editor at Gizmodo. “We might as well dub this ‘The year we've accepted the fact that what we do no longer grows the industry.’”
Why so many sequels then? “Unlike film, there's typically no huge secondary market for video games, such as DVD or cable TV sales,” writes tech columnist Dan Ackerman. “So big initial sales are key, which leads to an abundance of caution and an over reliance on sequels.”
Is there a better way? Steinberg says yes. “Publishers could use a fixed number of annual or biannual releases of popular series to generate ongoing revenue, then siphon profits away to bet on a few original releases in between,” he surmises. “That way you offset risk, give players more of what they want, and give yourself flexibility to experiment with new types of games and gameplay experiences without betting the farm on them.”
Loftus says that won’t happen until designers are more diversified. “Enthusiasts probably shouldn't be determining the direction of the industry, but they are,” he believes. “Then they become designers, and then we get more sequels and FPS games with guns, and none of them really require any kind of cognitive thought because they have this weird fascination with games that don't involve a lot of interaction or independent thought.”
Whatever side of the argument you’re on, it’s safe to say we all agree there could be more balance when it comes to the frequency and intensity of game sequels. As the fictional Anton Ego once said, “the new needs friends.” Right now in games, they don’t have many.
About the author: Blake Snow is a freelance journalist and editorial consultant covering male-interest topics—yeah, baby! He lives alongside the Wasatch Mountains with his family. High praise and hate mail can be sent from his website.
Comments are Closed
Comments
Displaying 1–20 of 73
12342
TheFeedMack
The problem is that core gamers want more of the same for example call of duty if it aen't broke dont fix it is a term most recognizable in the gaming community .
With these sequels filling up the slots that new IP's would have we see less and less unique games that are not so great and more great sequels that everyone knows are going to be great gears of war , god of war, halo,dead space, zelda, pokemon, mario, the list goes and on and with these sequels they always seem to leave a couple things out that would make the game absolutely perfect so they make a threequel but they take out what made the original two great.
Its the same story over and over which has to do with are smaller attention spans and thats why we keep trying to make games look more and more visually striking to a point where some games abandon looks entirely and focus on core gameplay and mechanics aka Borderlands which is not a bad thing.
Now we are seeing reboots of old games on the download market place in hd(serious sam)
For once i wanna see more games like mirror's edge and limbo but thats not gonna happen with a video game that is 60 freaking dollars the economy isnt right for it and thats why we see so many sales in sequels because the gamer knows what he or she is buying instead of taking a chance on a horrible game
Malcontent_Ronin
Oh, and like Nintendo is apparently saying, you can still provide unique experiences within sequels. They certainly do it all the time. We need to consider long running series like FF, RE, Nintendo games etc. wherein you may have a number on the box but each new game is only a sequel in name.
Malcontent_Ronin
It's an exceedingly simple answer unfortunately. Good luck marketing a new IP without focusing on one aspect to the point that it starts to feel like nothing more than a gimmick. Reusing things is good as it lets us focus on making new things as it were, since a lot of work has to go into making games. After all, how much new stuff can one create in 2 years?
I could go on for much longer than our guest writer did already, but let me just ask one thing. When's the last time you were excited for a new, unproven IP what with so many guaranteed hit sequels out there? They are only giving us what we ask for.
lowkevmic
This would only be a good argument if there were a bunch of completely new games that were really good but was overlooked by the sequeal of another good game in the same genre. But that's not the case. Because a lot of the new games that came out were either carbon copies of some popular franchise, or just wasn't that good. If more developers became a little more creative with the new unknown games that are released, gamers wouldn't be making such high demands for franchises to continue or come back for the next gen consoles.
ChristianLuce
Too many sequels only becomes a problem when the sequels are rushed and don't deliver a better story, better game play, or better graphics/game engine than the last game in the series.
rayken15
I feel like this question is being asked too late. This feels like a sailor on the titanic asking "Did the iceberg cause our ship to start sinking?" as water races up the deck towards his feet.
DjSkizzo
Remember that all sequels came from a new original game. Call of duty 1- god of war 1- killzone 1- assassins creed 1-
bgtwins15
There is a difference between some of the sequels coming out. I am sick of all the COD games that keep coming out, but the battlefield sequel actually looks good. I think the reason is because most of the games that COD churns out have the same type of gameplay. Games like Mass Effect 3 or Uncharted can get away with the sequels because the stories are different in each game. I am also sick of all the yearly sports games that come out. Majority of the time the only thing that changes is the players and their ratings. Those companies should just release a new game every two or three years instead of every year. When the new season comes they should release a download for the more current roster. Then they can work on changing the game more then they do.
AngelsandDemons
this crappy gray pop up bar at the bottom of the page is the problem
theavenged1027
I think as long as these sequels continue to expand their ideas with new ideas i'm ok with it. But if it's like Gears of War and Call of Duty where there is nothing new and fresh added into the formula, then there is no point in buying the new game when it plays EXACTLY like the old one. And just to give an idea of what i'm ok with im talking about games like GTA and maybe even assasins creed(it had a lot of gameplay improvements in my opinion), where each game brings something new to the series, wether it be a new setting or multiplayer experience.
Knyght
I read all the time editors screaming for the next Zelda, Gears of War, the next big Grand Theft Auto, etc. etc. Now that they're coming in bunches you complain? That makes no sense to me.
Sequels are great because the original is a big success. We've invested a lot of time in it and grown attached to the characters we play, so of course we would want to see more of it. Give me more Lara Croft Tomb Raider 10. Let me kill more gods with Krato's God of War 11.
I don't care if the games are originals or sequels, just bring on the great games and you'll hear no complaints from me. I don't discriminate.
Knyght
I read all the time editors screaming for the next Zelda, Gears of War, the next big Grand Theft Auto, etc. etc. Now that they're coming in bunches you complain? That makes no sense to me.
Sequels are great because the original is a big success. We've invested a lot of time in it and grown attached to the characters we play, so of course we would want to see more of it. Give me more Lara Croft Tomb Raider 10. Let me kill more gods with Krato's God of War 11.
I don't care if the games are originals or sequels, just bring on the great games and you'll hear no complaints from me. I don't discriminate.
JRX75
Like the Saints Row seris,the first one they didnt really give anything but like MOST sequels in the next saints row (Saints Row 2) had everything a gang banger could never have.Then like i herad this months issue of Gameinformer the next saints row (Saints Row:The Third)like i said...had everything a gang banger could never had...
Soo are sequels bad???????????
NOOOOO!!!!!!!1
JeeshusChrist
Why is this such a big deal? I would only see a problem with this if they start cranking out the same game every year because than it will just get old. And thats just Activision. The only game I've seen to do this is CoD and well Treyarch can't make CoD games so really it didn't make a difference to me. This is such an old and stupid topic that gets brought up like every month! Seriously if you are complaining about needing new IPs when there are good ones coming out every year look into the Indie and Arcade space. You got good games for cheap that do things you haven't seen before.
Rhawk187
I suppose it depends on the series. How many Mario games are there? Or Zelda? It's not the number of sequels, it's the notion that you can sell something on name alone. As long as the quality is good, it doesn't matter if it's a new or existing IP.
zengxeng
Oh wow, never thought about it like that. It is a very good point!
www.real-privacy.it.tc
Knives39
still waiting on that beyond good and evil sequel guys....
kungfuj0
Well, I guess the good news for me is that after my most anticipated sequel this year, ME3, there aren't supposed to be any more games in that storyline, so even if something else ME-related comes out, it will HAVE TO HAVE some newness to it, even if it still takes place within that universe.
As for sequels in general, its a double-edged sword, IMO. Sequels are safe. They are almost guaranteed money-makers, depending on the popularity of the original. Sometimes publishers, especially the Activisions and EAs of the world, they just want to go with the safe dollar sequel instead of investing in something new. This might well be even more true for a smaller developer, who, if their game fails, they might well go completely out of business.
Spybreak
The difference between the movie industry and the games industry is that movie sequels exploit what worked as game sequels work on what didn't. More often than not sequels in the games industry take head and improve the gameplay and story.
MrSketchySketch
I agree with Nintendo here, albeit tentatively. If the game provides me with something new for an experience, and hopefully updated graphics and game-play as well, I will enjoy it equally. But one thing Nintendo seems to not do is over-saturate. Zelda doesn't get released once or twice a year nor does Kirby ect. Blizzard only releases games once every 10 years in many cases lol. We never complain about their sequels...but Guitar Hero was not only released rapid fire, but had little change to it every time.
So I guess it depends on the eye of the beholder. If it ever gets to the point where we stop getting innovation and good games out of companies then it might become a problem.
Displaying 1–20 of 73
12342