This is a topic I think about often, mostly due to the EA Sports and 2K Sports franchises, but also extends into the FPS and other markets. Most recently, it also impacted me with the Assassin's Creed franchise.
It's obviously becoming more and more popular for developers to milk a franchise or IP to death. Each year, they make the same game with a new story and (maybe) a couple of new features added in. Each year gamers spend $60 on yet another disk for the franchise.
Arguably, after the 2nd or 3rd installment of a game, there's really nothing left to say. There are obviously exceptions to this rule, but I'm in the same mindset as Yahtzee in regards to sequels. IMPO, it's true for a lot of genres, including FPS games.
Now, we're seeing ramps ups for Halo 4, more installations for Call of Duty, and so forth. Even new games seem to clone these existing franchises, leaving little to no innovations (Homefront, I'm looking at you).
The milking of these franchises, IMPO, not only bankrupts the franchise itself, but the game industry in general. Instead of creating innovation, everyone leaps onto the bandwagon so they can ride the cash wave for all it's worth. Instead of seeing new gameplay mechanics or new storytelling elements, we get another generic cover-based shooter with instantly forgettable stories and the same multiplayer experience we've seen in the five FPS games before it.
As for sports franchises, it's even worse, since there's no story to tell except for how the RL season played out (and trying to re-enact it or telling one's own version) and the athletes themselves. It would be easy to set up a DLC with athlete roster updates, as opposed to making a whole new disk that needs to be printed and distributed. But companies like EA Games and 2K Games would make far less money this way.
Obviously, game companies make more money selling a $60 disk as opposed to a $10 or $20 DLC update. It's better business to make a new disk every year because there's more profit in it. This is where my "dirty hippie" side kicks in.
Consider how many disks are sold every year for yet another iteration with a few minor changes within a franchise. Hundreds of thousands on the low end, but usually millions. How much plastic is that, for both the disk and the jewel case? How much paper is used for the disk sleeve and manual? How much cardboard is used for shipping? Biodegradable paper products aside, how much pollution was created to make all of these disks, many of which will just end up in landfill in 6-12 months after the ADD gamer has tired of it and moved onto another game, creating even more pollution?
These are two big problems with franchises that figuratively keep me up at nights. It's made me more stringent with my gaming dollars, made me consider how many disks I buy, and evaluate the overall value of my gaming experience. With some exceptions, it's turned me off to the FPS genre, and made me think about some franchises that appear to now be stringing me along for who knows how many iterations.
Thoughts?
PS: I think I'd have far fewer problems with bankrupt franchises if more games were digitally distributed, instead of being printed on plastic disks and chucked into landfills after their usefulness had expired.
It's obviously becoming more and more popular for developers to milk a franchise or IP to death. Each year, they make the same game with a new story and (maybe) a couple of new features added in. Each year gamers spend $60 on yet another disk for the franchise.
Arguably, after the 2nd or 3rd installment of a game, there's really nothing left to say. There are obviously exceptions to this rule, but I'm in the same mindset as Yahtzee in regards to sequels. IMPO, it's true for a lot of genres, including FPS games.
Now, we're seeing ramps ups for Halo 4, more installations for Call of Duty, and so forth. Even new games seem to clone these existing franchises, leaving little to no innovations (Homefront, I'm looking at you).
The milking of these franchises, IMPO, not only bankrupts the franchise itself, but the game industry in general. Instead of creating innovation, everyone leaps onto the bandwagon so they can ride the cash wave for all it's worth. Instead of seeing new gameplay mechanics or new storytelling elements, we get another generic cover-based shooter with instantly forgettable stories and the same multiplayer experience we've seen in the five FPS games before it.
As for sports franchises, it's even worse, since there's no story to tell except for how the RL season played out (and trying to re-enact it or telling one's own version) and the athletes themselves. It would be easy to set up a DLC with athlete roster updates, as opposed to making a whole new disk that needs to be printed and distributed. But companies like EA Games and 2K Games would make far less money this way.
Obviously, game companies make more money selling a $60 disk as opposed to a $10 or $20 DLC update. It's better business to make a new disk every year because there's more profit in it. This is where my "dirty hippie" side kicks in.
Consider how many disks are sold every year for yet another iteration with a few minor changes within a franchise. Hundreds of thousands on the low end, but usually millions. How much plastic is that, for both the disk and the jewel case? How much paper is used for the disk sleeve and manual? How much cardboard is used for shipping? Biodegradable paper products aside, how much pollution was created to make all of these disks, many of which will just end up in landfill in 6-12 months after the ADD gamer has tired of it and moved onto another game, creating even more pollution?
These are two big problems with franchises that figuratively keep me up at nights. It's made me more stringent with my gaming dollars, made me consider how many disks I buy, and evaluate the overall value of my gaming experience. With some exceptions, it's turned me off to the FPS genre, and made me think about some franchises that appear to now be stringing me along for who knows how many iterations.
Thoughts?
PS: I think I'd have far fewer problems with bankrupt franchises if more games were digitally distributed, instead of being printed on plastic disks and chucked into landfills after their usefulness had expired.
