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Should game franchises live forever?

Should franchises live forever?

  • Yes, developers should do all they can to keep ips alive forever

    Votes: 15 20.5%
  • No, new ips should periodically appear and take over

    Votes: 37 50.7%
  • I don't know

    Votes: 3 4.1%
  • I don't care, whatever the market decides

    Votes: 18 24.7%

  • Total voters
    73
Doom. Mario. Dragon Quest. Final Fantasy. All from the 90s/80s. All have had several games. All will almost definitely still have games released in the next few decades.
Should franchises die out/be replaced at some point?

The answer would be: "As long as there's demand, it shouldn't matter"
Right?
But personally would you like to see, 40 years from now, that COD is still the best military shooter out there? That Mario is still king of platformers? Or another Far Cry with some more towers, enemy camps, crafting, skinning, outposts, rural setting and slightly unhinged antagonist? (last one is unlikely, but still)

Yeah, technology will change. VR and AR versions of games will probably be more prominent. And yeah, even if live service delivery becomes the norm and we don't see sequential releases anymore, would you want the same ips to be leading gaming?

I don't know. It's a little weird that developers and publishers will have no reason to ever stop using these ips. Kinda like bond movies or justice league comics.


edit: removed pretentious bioshock quote

and since the use of "forever" seems to be an issue for some people:
Video gaming is a relatively new pastime. What 50, 60 years old? Probably won't last another 60 years if we're being honest. "Forever" was implied to be within the context of that time span
 
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fart town usa

Gold Member
Depends, sometimes they lose the plot. I really wish that game studios would be brave and just kill our beloved characters.

For instance, nothing would make me happier than to see Leon, Chris, Jill, Claire get killed off in a future RE title. I loved all those characters but they've been dragged through the mud and are just complete jokes now.

However, Chris in Village wasn't too bad. If Capcom really does remake RE4, I can only hope that it's to retcon Leon as a character and make him more believable. I'd love for Capcom to remake CVX/4/5/6 with more realistic character portrayals and link the story to RE7. RE 4/5/6 really took the series down an awful path.

RE has 2 narrative styles, Western 1980s Horror with RE1,2,3, REmake 2, REmake 3, RE7. Then there's Eastern anime type horror, CVX, RE4, RE5, RE6. Not sure where Village falls into that, almost a mixture of the two.

I feel like RE is better when it has a more Western style horror and if they start encroaching on elements of 4/5/6, I'd rather just have the series be put to rest.
 

Meesh

Member
Its a muddy issue for me. On the business side it makes sense to push our favorite ftanchises every gen, sometimes with 2 releases every "cycle" so long as there is demand.
Personally I feel demand could be higher though if sequels were spread further apart and if creatively they were made with meaningful changes and advancements. There have been times I've played through a game in a series where I felt it was less impactful than some of its counterparts. Creating a game in a series for the sake of sales with less polish on new ideas and direction is how I feel the business goes sometimes... like there's a fatigue omong the developers.
Take just a little more time is my take.
 

Javthusiast

Banned
If it has continuous story, then it needs to end at some point but if similar to Final Fantasy, each game has it own story and world then it can still exists as long as it wants.

Reaction GIF by MOODMAN
 
That's one thing I like about Sony. They do a few games they will do over and over but will also add new IPS during a generation. Some they will stop after a few games when they go to another generation like infamous and supposedly uncharted and give new ones like ghost of Tsushima and the last of us. By next gen I expect those to finish and we will have some new Ip's again. Good mix of old and new.
 

Banjo64

cumsessed
Depends, Mario, Mario Kart and Zelda are evergreen. Pretty much everything else has a shelf life in my opinion.
 

Ceadeus

Member
Yes and it's the reason why I feel like gaming has gotten stale. It's the same experience over and over zzz
 

German Hops

GAF's Nicest Lunch Thief
Oy, I'm good with IP perpetuity.

In particular, I'm looking forward to one day playing Final Fantasy XXX:

final_fantasy_xxx_by_hangmansj0ke_d1u6bnm-fullview.jpg
 
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Ozrimandias

Member
My son loves Mario.
When I was a kid, Super Mario Bros was not the first videogame that I played, but certainly was the one that gave me more entertainment and was the more fun to play when I was a kid, around the same age that my son has now. He asks me if I can play with him. Mario is a way to connect with my son in a very special way....when we play my inner child plays with him.

Mario games should live forever.
 
My son loves Mario.
When I was a kid, Super Mario Bros was not the first videogame that I played, but certainly was the one that gave me more entertainment and was the more fun to play when I was a kid, around the same age that my son has now. He asks me if I can play with him. Mario is a way to connect with my son in a very special way....when we play my inner child plays with him.

Mario games should live forever.
Hopefully, they stay at a quality where this remains true. Unfortunately, Miyamoto can't live forever.
 

arvfab

Banned
If it has continuous story, then it needs to end at some point but if similar to Final Fantasy, each game has it own story and world then it can still exists as long as it wants.

This.

And would like to add, that even for sequels, if they manage to find a purpose for the story to continue and keep the gameplay fresh, then it might also be ok for a while.

God of War is a good example for this. Story could have been done after 3. But they managed to find a good reason for a sequel, while also taking the gameplay in a new direction.

I have mixed feelings in regard to Resident Evil as I love the franchise, but they found ways for the story to continue which feels a bit forced. Everything after 3 could have been completely new games, with no need to keep the name other than use familiar characters and to ride on the popularity of the franchise.
 
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GymWolf

Member
If they are all quality titles with something new for every game i don't see why not.

Of course you have to stop when the plot\characters have nothing more to say if the brand is heavy on the story.
 

skit_data

Member
There’s nothing wrong with rejuvenating dormant franchises every now and then, but I prefer new, fresh IPs rather than endless iterations of the same IP.
 

Mr Branding

Member
As with everything, it’s about perspective.
I hope they bring back Legacy of Kain and Castlevania in a big way.
Hope they let AC sleep for a couple years, the franchise was at its strongest when it was fresh.
 

JimmyRustler

Gold Member
No , as much as I like a few series there hasn't bee na sigle one who managed to keep a well written story for longer than a few years. Better make an outline, tell the story in a few games and then move on to something else.
The way it is now it mostly get so shitty that they have to drop it at some point. It does not have to get to that point.
 

Shubh_C63

Member
Every franchise should end with 3 entries, atmost 4.

Their spiritual successor then should carry the mantle infusing new bold ideas which long time fans will be less hostile against.
 

Nico_D

Member
I don't think franchise itself is the problem but not knowing what to do with it and where to take it.

Like AC, for example. If they had come up with a new story after Desmond, it would've been better than what followed. Now the franchise doesn't really have an identity.

To survive a franchise has to have good story arcs or good enough individual stories (FF, Splinter Cell). Otherwise it is just new skin over gameplay mechanics.
 

junguler

Banned
nothing lasts forever, everything that was born will die some day but i do believe there would be those franchises that outlive all of us and be still relevant a few decades into the future.
 

Arcadialane

Member
Thy should eventually evolve through innovation into new ips. Like how assassin's creed is just a continuation of prince of Persia for example.
 
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ZywyPL

Banned
As always - depends. Some games are so damn good they deserve to be remade/remastered every few decades IMO, so that newer generations can experience them with up-to-date visuals and mechanics. But I don't believe in particular franchise being continued over and over and over for decades, let alone forever, as every universe, plot, gameplay mechanics etc. has its expiration date, it's better to end something with a bang so that people will be talking about the game for decades and will want a remaster/remake, and move onto something new, with new ideas and no legacy limitations of an old franchise, instead of milking an IP to the point it reaches irrelevancy and nobody even remembers anymore how amazing it was at the beginning.
 
Depends on what the series is going for. Something like Mario can go on. Something like Assassin's Creed which was meant to be a trilogy, could've ended way sooner and on a higher note.
 

ZoukGalaxy

Member
Old IP and New IP are not incompatible, like alternatively, an answer is definitely missing in your poll :(
 
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BlackTron

Member
Gaming IP should last as long as they can deliver a good experience with it. It's better to let it die than to ruin a legacy. This is especially true of very old IP with a strong reputation. Konami needs a stern talking-to.
 

MiguelItUp

Member
It depends. I mean, with some IPs and how they're built, they technically could go on "forever". But there are other ones that are so story built that they should find a stopping point when it feels "right" and stick to it IMO.
 
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