How come books don't have numbered sequels? (with the exception of manga/comic books)

[FaustianBargain]

I think game makers nowadays realize that if they called it Mass Effect: Case of the Disappearing Colonies, we would still call it mass effect 2 or just me2. And with a lot of video games hype is being generated very early on in the development, so early that there may not be a working title and people are only calling it "Halo 2" or the like, now it becomes a good marketing move to simply put "Elder Scrolls V" on the box because that's the title that you've been reading everywhere.

Books are also written by a single person who has a lot of personal thought and work devoted in the story so they went the whole nine yards and wrote a creative title.

 

[Thespian]

Actually, I think books are often numbered, it's just that it's normally something akin to;
Guntworth and Marlow's Fabulous Fishmonging Adventure
Guntworth and Marlow's Fabulous Fishmonging Adventure II: Arrival of the Cheesemonger

So, in other words, with a number and a subtitle. I really could have just said that, but then I would have had no excuse to come up with a whimsical title.

Now, books seem to have recently dropped the number, in most cases, whereas films and other media has decided to (more frequently) drop the subtitle... It being the more creative of the two options.

 

[gigastar]

Harry Potter. The Robert Langdon books.

No and no, Harry Potter is not numbered in any book, game or movie with the exception of the Deathly Hallows (parts 1 and 2)

By 'Robert Langdon [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Langdon]' I assume you mean Dan Browns books 'Angels and Demons' and 'The Da Vinchi Code' and more recently 'The Lost Symbol'

 

[eljawa]

Harry Potter. The Robert Langdon books.

No and no, Harry Potter is not numbered in any book, game or movie with the exception of the Deathly Hallows (parts 1 and 2)

By 'Robert Langdon [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Langdon]' I assume you mean Dan Browns books 'Angels and Demons' and 'Da Vinchi Code' and more recently 'The Lost Symbol'

wow totally misread the quote i responded to, my bad. yeah most books arent numbered

*feels embarrased

 

[Macabre9037]

Technically Harry Potter is numbered. The binding has the school year that the characters are currently in on it, which coincides with the number in the series.

 

[Flig]

Games rely on brand recognition for a lot of their sales.

Also, authors are creative.

 

[dragontiers]

Games rely on brand recognition for a lot of their sales.

As an interesting addition to your point, while books also rely on brand recognition for a majority of their sales, they tend to focus more on recognition of the author's name rather than any particular title. Games don't have that luxury, as there are many people working on them. They can get a little boost from having a particular development team or other recognized figure (like Peter Molyneaux) associated with them, but it doesn't boost sales in the same way an author of a book can. After all, authors tend to stick to one or two genres, while development companies can make varied games from all across the spectrum, and often have personnel changes that can affect the team make-up as well.

 

[Geekosaurus]

Because higher level literary readers need not rely on damn, sneaky numbers for basic chronological recognition.

 

[New Troll]

Because a non-sequential title might still sell to someone even though they hated the book before if they don't realize it's the sequel.

 

[Flying Dagger]

Probably because authorship (rightly) draws a stronger following than a director, or an actor.
It's a side effect of having a team of people working on a movie, compared to a single author works on a book.

most of the time you know if you like his other books, you'll like the one by him you are thinking of purchasing. With movies, the commitment to one director just isn't as strong, you may be more likely to go and see it if you know you already like the film.
Films also often require snappier titles than books, as people who buy books are often more reserved. (think about number of people who always schedule movie night, do they also have buy a book night?)

 

[Pedgeth]

Technically Harry Potter is numbered. The binding has the school year that the characters are currently in on it, which coincides with the number in the series.

Not in the English editions