Franchises that need to die, and those that will last forever

[Kakashi]

This started as a simple discussion of game franchises reaching the end of their days(See original below). However, more questions have been raised, such as; what makes a franchise last? What makes a "Classic" game?

Mario has been stomping on gumbas for nearly 2 decades now, and yet we still pick up and play the games whenever they're released. Interestingly enough, the originals, now ages old, are still fun to play. Other games, take Quake, for example, are fun while they last but die out quickly.

An apt comparison for this phenomenon is Classic Literature. Though it's quite a stretch to compare Super Mario 64 to, say Dickens' "Great Expectations," it is a nice example. The reason books like Great Expectations, written years ago, are still thought in classrooms today is because regardless of historical context, the themes of the novel still apply.

Mario 64 was a launch title for the N64, yet it is still easily playable and fun today. This is one of the reasons i rank it as one of the best games ever made, as Great Expectations is often thought of as the greatest novel.

If Mario is Great Expectations, then is Halo Harry Potter? the Da Vinci Code? a page-turning. . . game. Its wildly popular, fun while it lasts, but is at its core only above average.

So What makes a franchise last forever? Nostalgia, simple gameplay, memorable characters?

Discuss!

 

[Voodoo_Chile]

Though its dead and buried 3DRealms have got to stop with this Duke Nukem Forever bullshit. I mean a good chunk of the younger gamers won't even know who or what duke nukem is,While older gamers may no longer be satisfied by pressing the use button on some pixilated strippers.

So yes,Duke Nukem must die!

 

[Warbie]

If the games are good the franchise will last, which is why Sonic needs to die!

 

[Gargantou]

Warbie, so you consider EA sports games like NHL 2007 good?>_>

Anyway, I know one 'game' series(actually manga, anime with games spun off frmo it), NARUTO!

God I hate that little ugly blonde kid with hyperactivity disorder, I wish he'd just die already!

 

[Stigmata]

Sonic
Any game developed by or published under EA Sports
Quake

 

[Jintor]

The only franchise I really want to see stopped is Sonic, merely because of how convulted the damn thing is.

 

[Stigmata]

I'd also like to add Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon, and Splinter Cell to the list, but they still have a small glimmer of hope left in them.

 

[15357]

Warbie, so you consider EA sports games like NHL 2007 good?>_>

Anyway, I know one 'game' series(actually manga, anime with games spun off frmo it), NARUTO!

God I hate that little ugly blonde kid with hyperactivity disorder, I wish he'd just die already!

I concur fullheartedly with the above post.

 

[Dumb Dude]

Sadly, Sonic has to stop now before they make him look like a bigger fool. Poor guy, and he used to be so awesome. I mean, he still is, just not his games.

Oh, and they have GOT to stop milking Mario by making him play all types of sports and board games. What are they up to now with Mario Party, like 19?

 

[Vegeta897]

Mario Party ****ing owns you, man. Get some friends.

 

[Darkside55]

I have more than a literal score of friends and we're all sick and tired of Mario's parties. Dude needs to get a job and stop partying all the goddamned time.

Sonic must stop. He still has enough dignity left to end on a high note.

Metal Gear must end. Let Guns of the Patriots be the last.

 

[Narvi]

Metal Gear? Mwah? That's not a franchise which releases crap all the time.

 

[Darkside55]

It's always better to end ahead than behind. How much further can the series go?

 

[Jintor]

Metal Gear 6! Solid Snake's old-man beard's clone which is the younger fights Revolver Ocelot inside a giant nuclear-powered mech powered by the cut-off eyelash of Solidius Snake! D:

 

[Pulse]

The Sims.

I can't believe this hasn't been mentioned yet.

 

[Lt. Drebin]

Metal Gear? Mwah? That's not a franchise which releases crap all the time.

Didn't Kujeamitbsiyfhsuh (sp??) say that MGS4 is the last in the actual series??

Something that terribly pains me to say, but if Konami can't Silent Hill back on track with 5, it's probably time to call it quits, for a while at the very least. 4 was terrible and I'm not going to get into why Silent Hill does not work in a portable form.

 

[Raxxman]

As to why things are classic, it's usually a combination of class and timing. A really good book/game/film coming out at the right time becomes timeless.

 

[AiM]

Didn't Kujeamitbsiyfhsuh (sp??) say that MGS4 is the last in the actual series??

Something that terribly pains me to say, but if Konami can't Silent Hill back on track with 5, it's probably time to call it quits, for a while at the very least. 4 was terrible and I'm not going to get into why Silent Hill does not work in a portable form.

Hideo Kojima...

He's mentioned about ending the series a few times already before MGS4 ever came about. However, with Snake seemingly dying due to *cough*, MGS4 actually has the potential to be the last in the series. But who knows, the series rakes in a shit-ton of sales and is arguably one of (if not the) most popular PS franchise ever.

Ending the series would be a shame though, not because I want it to go on forever but it's that the new IP's released under Hideo's watch aren't anywhere near the quality of the MGS games. Don't get me wrong, I like ZoE 1 & 2, but compared to the MGS series, well it really doesn't hold a candle to it.

 

[Jintor]

And that would depressing.

At least they won't let Uwe Bolle anywhere near it.

 

[Eejit]

I can imagine C&C lasting a good while longer.

 

[Avoidist]

I'm going to play the highly controversial card here:

Half-Life. Valve have shown they can do even better than the best as is shown by TF2 and Portal. As much as I ridiculously love the games and the story, if they wrapped it up and announced another promising project (after Episode Three) I would side with them completely.

 

[Jintor]

I wouldn't mind too much. I trust them to wrap it up... well.

 

[Eejit]

Is that good or bad, in your eyes? Tiberium Wars is an excellent game.

Good. For now.

Tiberium worries me. Even if it's a poor FPS it can still sell decently thanks to the IP, and might lead to further poor installments.
I still hope it'll be decent though.

 

[el Chi]

Medal of Honour. ALL WW2 games must end. Altogether.
And the Star Wars cash-cow.

 

[Cormeh]

Medal of Honour. ALL WW2 games must end. Altogether.
And the Star Wars cash-cow.

True enough regarding WW2, but I'm looking forward to Force Unleashed. D:

 

[TheDude]

The Half Life series. Its so old and worn that no one wants to play it. Oh and if they make a portal sequel I'll shoot myself. /sarcasm. But cereal now folks. I would like to see the Need For Speed series thrown to the grave as well as some of the final Fantasy stuff. Oh and pokemon.

 

[Kadayi]

The Sims.

I think all the cashin expansions are annoying, but I wouldn't say it's run it's course. I'm pretty interested to see what they do with Sims 3. Naturally I expect a big graphical update, but I'm hoping they add more complexity to the Sims themselves in terms of motivations. I think it's an easy target because of it's popularity. What the sims lacks for is competition from another developer. It's a genre & a franchise of itself.

Anyhows franchises I think are done:-

Unreal tournament. It's about time this 'Tom from Finland' inspired FPS just crawled down into the sewer once and for all. The gameplay was great 5 years ago, but much like Duke Nukem it was of it's time and the lacklustre sales it's latest incarnation bear witness to that.

Half-life. I loved EP2, but I think that after EP3 the format of Silent Gordon and the ability to carry 10 different guns at once is going to be very long in the tooth now (see above). I'd rather they ended on a high with EP3 than tried to carry it on. Time to put Gordon to rest and develop a more expansive franchise.

 

[Kakashi]

We've heard a few franchises that should end, such as The Sims, which I think is a huge cash cow. They have more then 10 expansions and "stuff" packs which I think is ridiculous. But I do agree that it hasn't gone it full course yet.

But now, which franchises do you think will live on forever to take on everlasting glory?

 

[soulslicer]

I have to agree that the unreal franchise has gotten old. Seriously, you can't go any further with that series, the graphics are pretty much maxed out, the core gameplay has remained the same and the only thing that can happen is that new maps and mods are created.

Also agrees with HL series ending with a bang and being ended completely. Also, I hope Valve creates a powerful new and epic franchise of an FPS game and blows us away all over again.

 

[AiM]

I'm sorry, what? Half Life is definitely not a "franchise that needs to die". There's been what, 2 full games and 2 episodes? It's not like Half Life is overstaying it's welcome here, nor do their games lack quality. If anything, they're releasing their episodes too slow. You could argue that they could probably tinker around more to add more innovativeness to it's core gameplay, but I'll be damned if HL is a series that deserves to die while EA is churning out Roster-update-200x every year.

edit: Franchises that live forever:

Basically every flagship Nintendo title (Mario, Donkey Kong, Metroid...)
Final Fantasy
Metal Gear
Tomb Raider
EA Sports Franchise (Tiger Woods, Madden, etc etc.)
BattleField
Medal of Honor
Blizzards triumvirate (Diablo / WarCraft / StarCraft)
Tom Clancy's [insert title]

 

[Operational]

Half-Life.

Half-life.

Also agrees with HL series ending with a bang and being ended completely.

I've said before that I believe that Gordon Freeman's adventures are over half way finished but the Half-Life universe will continue on in other ways, with Portal being the first example who knows what's to come?
Having said that I'm happy for Valve to continue with Gordon for longer but if they said that after Ep3 they'll work on something different and come back to him later (as I don't think Ep3 is the end for Gordon) it would be fine with me.

 

[Krynn72]

Half life does not need to die. Its one of the few franchises that actually push the bar with every release, rather than cash in on their previous successes.

 

[Eejit]

The Half-Life Universe definitely has a lot of life left in it. A change of character (Adrian Shephard lol) and perhaps some shift in gameplay after Episode 3 wouldn't hurt though.

 

[Warbie]

Warbie, so you consider EA sports games like NHL 2007 good?>_>

They aren't bad games. Not great, barely different from the previous year's, but not bad. Recent Sonic games have been utter shite. It could be argued that EAs footy series is currently the best around at the moment, even more than the mighty PES.

I know it's cool to hate EA these days, but they've been getting much recently.

 

[Acepilotf14]

The Saw series.
Mcdonalds. [It IS a franchise.]
Both will star forever.

 

[redruM]

edit: Franchises that live forever:

Blizzards triumvirate (Diablo / WarCraft / StarCraft)

Diablo is not dead?

Has any new info been released on a sequel recently? If so, please tell me as it is one of my favorite series but I kinda doubt there being a comeback even though it is one of the best if not THE best RPG series ever made.

Also, wtf at Half-Life needing to die? It barely has 3 games in the series unlike more repetitive series like MOH which has I dunno how many but at least half of them suck. And at least it has an excellent story with great gameplay, which is a combination most FPS games lack. So even if Gordon's story ends with Ep3, I see no reason why the series cannot continue with a different story arc.

 

[Sheepo]

Series that should DIE: Final Fantasy

 

[redruM]

Plus, tons of people are still playing Diablo II, so there's no rush.

[/QUOTE]

Yeah including me. I just hope there will be a sequel. Enough of Warcraft and Starcraft, it's time Blizzard returned to their greatest creation yet ( at least for me)

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

Final Fantasy, I haven't played through one since FFX, I'm so sick of whiny cookie cutter orphan protagonists and their equally whiny 'atypical' princesses I could barf.

*hides from relentless fanboys*

 

[<RJMC>]

halo

I think just those classic ones will last forever

time is the ultimate test