I think Devs and publishers are afraid of making new IP

[FakeSympathy]

With the huge number of remasters, continuation of a series, reboots, and definitive edition ports (I believe there is a difference between remasters and DE, but that's a discussion for another time), it makes you wonder; With the both PS4 and XB1 been released for around 4 years, why don't the devs/pubs try to make new ips? If the gamers are complaining about releasing same shit (we all know the ONE pub that does this), why don't they try to make new IPs?

The answer that I came up with; They are scared. They are scared that the fans who were suckered in with the trailer would be disappointed with the final product.

Let's take an example of some of failed new IPs since 2013 when the PS4 and Xb1 were launched:

No man's Sky. Hyped and failed
Order 1886. Hyped and failed
Destiny. Hyped and mediocre
Watch_Dogs. Hyped, downgraded, mediocre, and worsened the sequel sales
Re:Core. Mediocre
Quantum Break. Mediocre
Rainbow Six Siege. Hyped and Mediocre
Division. Hyped, downgraded, and mediocre

And I can go on forever. Of course, there are some good new IPs that haven been released. Darkest Dungeon, Nier, Nioh, Banner Saga, etc. But these IPs are outnumbered by all the crappy new IPs.

Ultimately, it's playing safe vs trying something new. However, trying something new is a real hit-or-miss, so the makers are taking the risk-free route.

 

[Zhukov]

Um... yeah, no shit?

It's been that way for nearly a decade now.

However, I should point out that The Division actually sold like hot cakes (as did Wildlands). Destiny had some struggles but sold well, eventually stabilized, established a solid base and is getting a sequel. I'm given to understand that Rainbow Six Siege got its shit sorted out too, although I'm not as certain about that one.

 

[Redryhno]

And of all those games, look at why they failed. Had nothing to do with being a new IP, and everything to do with fucking it up somewhere.

No Man's Lie, hyped and failed because it was shallow and didn't have half the content that was promised at launch, not to mention you had people finishing it within a day. A game that was marketed as "we don't expect to see anyone hit the end for at least two weeks after launch" had people finishing it.

Order 1886, decent movie, bad game. Game was a tech demo, little else.

Destiny and Division, both looter shooters that had less depth than fucking Borderlands.

Quantum Break...I'll admit, I've never heard of it.

Re:Core just got shafted by when it launched. You had remastered Bioshock and Deadrising, a fucking Telltale game, and the Witness on the same day. Darkest Dungeon, Pheonix Wright, Killer Instinct remastered(I think), and Xcom2 all a week on either side. These are all games that had solid footholds in the market, and gaming is one of those things that has people buy 3 games a month on average. And it's sorta hard to compete with those things. No matter how great of a 3-d Mega-Man spiritual successor it was.

Rainbow Six I still see people playing pretty often on my friend's list, and I don't know many FPS players, so it has to be something that is good enough to keep people coming back. Can't agree on it being mediocre. Also not a new IP.

Trying something new is not the problem, it's that nobody tries anything new competently most of the time. Nioh was successful for two reasons, it filled the gap of Dark Souls players looking for new content essentially, while actually being its own thing, and had a Monster Hunter-feel to it in many ways. Nothing about it was new, but it was a new blend and that was the hook.

Dark Souls itself was nothing new, Epic Name Bro had like four streams of like 5 hours each where he was talking with chat about how little about the games he made his stream on are really not all that new. Every mechanic can be found somewhere else, sometimes done better, sometimes worse.

Nier was successful because Yoko Taro is a fucking great storyteller, even if his games have had roadbumps to gigantic never-ending pits of horribleness when it comes to gameplay. It is the one thing you will hear about the guy besides his love of women.

Banner Saga and Darkest Dungeon are both decent and amazing turn-based strategy games, respectively.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

Obviously, known IPs are safer whether we're talking video games or any medium. They're safer for the publisher and safer for the consumer as well. You always need a balance of known IPs and new IPs because people tire of things or a property has just basically came to an end, thus you need something to replace the aging and diminishing IPs. Not to mention those IPs bringing in truckloads of cash were new IPs at one point. It's more so publishers that are afraid of new things than devs, some devs can't even have the protagonist they want; even Naughty Dog had to fight with Sony (perhaps the best publisher with regards to new IPs) to put Ellie on the cover of TLoU.

Also, quite a few of the games you listed as failures were very very successful like No Man's Sky, Destiny, Watch Dogs, and The Division. Really only No Man's Sky is tainted for sequels, but the game itself made lots of money. I'd say Rainbow Six Siege was a word of mouth success and has grown slowly in popularity. Also, how is a game with "Rainbow Six" in the title a new IP? That's like saying Ghost Recon Wildlands is a new IP. Lastly, Nier sold very poorly, although the sequel Automata has sold much much better already.

Horizon Zero Dawn is huge success story for Sony and a new IP. Prey looks to be a really good game and is basically a new IP as the series isn't really something most gamers remember plus the new game has nothing in common with the old game.

 

[Saelune]

Rainbow Six isnt a new IP.


Personally, I think new IPs are overrated, or rather sequels are openly underrated (the idea of them) though I think most people prefer what they already like versus new. Particularly when that new thing is really just a derivative anyways.

I think the real problem is that sequels arent pushed to their full potential. They are either suffer from being lesser versions of the previous game, or turned into something else that leaves old fans wanting.

 

[JohnnyDelRay]

Apart from Woe Fans Cry and Order 1886, I don't think the games you mentioned there did all too badly. Even One Man's Sly did quite alright, from the hype alone, and people seem to never learn from this kind of shit.

Having said that, new IPs are never given quite the budget or attention to make a solid product out of the gate, so (in my eyes) they are celebrated as a bigger success when they actually do well. It's a hard market to pinpoint, and real gems like Minecraft don't come by too often. The serialized yearly releases are always a much safer bet, and the bigger the company is, the harder it is to make gambles.

I hope this doesn't continue, the trend has fallen due to the Indie market getting stupendously clouded by garbage in the last 2 years, so it's harder to find said gem. With more rules applies, and some decent moderation in places like Steam greenlight, it could go either way really.

 

[pookie101]

from a business perspective its not that they are afraid, its that a new IP is a significant risk. with an established franchise you already have a fan base that you can milk.. sorry expect to buy most if not all the games.

take the new andromeda if that was the start of a new IP the series MIGHT get a sequel but i doubt it. the only reason it sold well is because its a mass effect game

as others have mentioned rainbow six isnt new.. man i miss rogue spear, now that was a brutal game, more puzzle than fps

for new IP you have to go to smaller developers and publishers.. people like paradox and obsidian for example

 

[Bilious Green_v1legacy]

It's more that new IPs are a risk (that sometimes pays off), but sequels to existing franchises with existing audiences are easy money. Why take big risks on new IPs, when you can just push out a sequel that will guarantee a solid RoI? It's sensible business to bet most of your money on reliable franchises, and only make the odd risky investment here and there.

 

[Rangaman]

New IPs are always a big risk in the eyes of the publisher. Why make something new (that's not necessarily guaranteed success) when you can make another sequel to a reliably bankable property?

To put it another way: ME Andromeda is going to make EA fuckloads of money, regardless of its quality. And now I'm depressed.

 

[Wrex Brogan]

Was Re-Core a mediocre game? I've heard that it wasn't actually that bad (a solid 6/10) it just came out at the wrong time and faced a lot of stiff competition (as well as it's sand-box elements being a little draining given the sheer glut of sandboxes we're dealing with).

Also wasn't Rainbow Six Siege... well received? Since unlike every other Ubisoft game it was supported post-launch with updates and content? I've heard very few negative things about Siege outside some issues with it's launch (but what AAA game doesn't have a poor launch these days).

Like, I mean, you're not wrong that Publishers are afraid of making new IPs *cough* Mass Effect Andromeda *cough* but these don't really feel like the things to be pointed at. Especially considering Destiny is getting a sequel that everyone is excited about...

 

[B-Cell_v1legacy]

I do want new ips sure but i think reboots are doing best this gen.

Doom reboot and hitman reboots are amazing. and soon to be Prey reboot and system shock reboot too.

 

[stroopwafel]

I think there have been quite a few new IPs recently that did pretty well(both critically and commercially). Like Horizon and Nioh just in the first few months alone. Then 'underdog' games selling well like Nier, Yakuza and (espescially) Persona. Sequels are often the 'safer' bet b/c of name recognition but this can also potentially bite a franchise in the ass. Like, a developer makes a shit game and then any future title in that franchise(no matter how good) could definitely have a decline in sales b/c of that. Like with Mass Effect I won't be surprised if that franchise is irreversibly damaged b/c Andromeda was such a shit game. Name recognition only works for the benefit of sales if fans of an existing franchise enjoy what they get and are eager to buy a new game in that franchise. Sequels I think are actually harder to make b/c you always have to keep a certain standard and must be able to meet(often unrealistic) fan expectations. New IPs don't have that baggage. Though if sales are high and demand is high it only makes sense for any company to make a sequel.

Games falling on the sword of their own hype; that's a whole different issue altogether.

 

[sXeth]

Out of that list, Rainbow Six isn't a new IP. Most of them have done reasonably well (and some exceptionally well) sales wise). And only The Order and No Mans Sky have really been been heavily blasted to a basically unsalvageable level. Watch_Dogs is probably the main valid case, as there's demonstrably a slump down on Watch_Dogs 2.

Evolve and Battleborn. Thats some new IPs that fell straight on their face. And even Evolve salvaged its sales before sputtering to death and becoming a sample case for how to **** up on an epic level.

Meanwhile, Overwatch, Rocket League, Horizon, Undertale, Bloodborne (questionable as "New"), Outlast and Splatoon have all popped out as fairly runaway successes despite being new IP.

Some franchise IPs have fallen down on their face too. Assassins Creed finally got forced to take a year off after dipping. Star Wars & Battlefields merged child fell flat incredibly fast. Mass Effect and Dragon Age have both had severe fall offs (though still successful on a sales standpoint). People barely remember LittleBigPlanet 3 came out and it ended up being the first AAA tier game given away on PS4plus.

Other then first iteration system seller (or attempts thereof) stuff on NES, Sega, PS1, Xbox, I'd wager its not a terribly different mix then usual. Just you forget all the throwaway IPs that didn't make it on the systems of yesteryears. I don't even remember Xbox having any new IP to it other then Halo (Gears was Xbox 360 I think?), though it probably had a decent chunk of new IPs exclusive to it to try and sell it.

 

[bjj hero]

There have been some really good recent IPs so I think youre overstating your case.

Horizon zero dawn has rave reviews (I dont have a ps4 though)
Overwatch is massive and is probably my most played game right now.
Titanfall is recent and has a good player base, doing things a little different than COD.
Even Nintendo, who will milk their IPs to death before releasing something new have released Splatoon during the last cycle.
I hear good things about about Nioh.
Destiny has a huge player base so must be doing something right, I think it was a victim of its scale of ambition initially

Finally, take a look on PC, there are new IPs out all of the time.

All I see from the OP are games with a few flaws.

 

[Guffe]

There's also more work in making a new IP.
You have to make completely new characters, design them and create them, and come up with a new story in stead of continuing on an already existing one. If you have something to continue on, you may also have some of the settings done from before so that's a huge save in time and money.

 

[Vigormortis]

snip

Um...some of those titles were a mixture of fairly to very successful. Some made quite a lot of money, even.

Just because you and some others thought some of them were "mediocre" doesn't mean those titles "failed" nor does it mean they are among the reasons publishers and developers are supposedly "afraid" to make new IP.

Secondly, of course some big publishers are "afraid" of making new IPs. They've built their empires on a business model that emulates the film industry. An industry whose larger production companies have convinced themselves that non-franchise films just don't sell on average. (and, thanks in large part to the viewing public, they're not entirely wrong)

Thirdly, you're cherry picking to make a point. There have been a LOT of new IPs, in and out of the triple-A industry, that have been very successful over the last half decade or more. Hell, thirteen of the top thirty most-played games on Steam right now are original IPs not part of any established franchise. And just thinking on some of the more successful and/or critically praised games from the last few years yields an extensive list that includes (but isn't limited to) Titanfall, Overwatch, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Outlast, Undertale, Bloodborne, Rocket League, etc.

So, sure, some of the bigger publishers are afraid to venture outside the realm of established IPs, but it's not a systemic issue for the entire industry.

Also:

And I can go on forever. Of course, there are some good new IPs that haven been released. Darkest Dungeon, Nier, Nioh, Banner Saga, etc. But these IPs are outnumbered by all the crappy new IPs.

Welcome to the world of entertainment media. This has been true since the dawn of the medium. It's been true of every year entertainment is produced, regardless of the medium. The garbage outnumbers the quality titles. This is no more an 'issue' with the current gaming industry than it has been for the very essence of making entertainment media from the dawn of time.

 

[CaitSeith]

I would had agreed with you some time ago, but recently there have been much better and/or more successful new IPs than the ones in your list.

 

[Yoshi178]

Well making a new IP is always a big financial risk. Why else do you think Nintendo keeps reusing their own IPs like Mario and Zelda?


Whenever they make a new IP, it will either take off and do really well in sales like Splatoon did. Or it will flop hard and Nintendo would have wasted their time developing it in the first place like what happened with Codename STEAM which flopped real hard

 

[Amigastar]

To me Quantum Break was one of the best games of the last years. But saying that i have to say i don't mind remasters at all like the upcoming Starcraft BW Remaster.

 

[sXeth]

from a business perspective its not that they are afraid, its that a new IP is a significant risk. with an established franchise you already have a fan base that you can milk.. sorry expect to buy most if not all the games.

take the new andromeda if that was the start of a new IP the series MIGHT get a sequel but i doubt it. the only reason it sold well is because its a mass effect game

as others have mentioned rainbow six isnt new.. man i miss rogue spear, now that was a brutal game, more puzzle than fps

for new IP you have to go to smaller developers and publishers.. people like paradox and obsidian for example

That kind of brings up a question of what you consider a proper new IP too.

Jedi Knight or KotOR were Star Wars, but they weren't really associated with the mainstream IP in anything but broad strokes.

Fallout 3, New Vegas, and 4 all sort of act as soft reboots by shifting around settings. Of the 3, New Vegas is probably the closest to a sequel, since it directly references and succeeds events of Fallout 1 & 2.

World of Warcraft is complete gameplay shift out of its predecessors, and in terms of lore, the series had a very loose sense until then as it was window dressing to the strategy games.

Might & Magic has had multiple hard or soft reboots. And shifted between a party based dungeon crawler, a turn based strategy/civ management game, and a brawler/FPS game.