When will it finally implode?

[SammiYin]

I like franchises. The Cod, Halo, Gears, Assassin's Creed etc. all are fantastic quality games, and say what you like about "risks", but they play waaaay better than some indie game made in a basement, and I would rather play MW17 then say, a "supah risky game" that makes you control the working of bowel movements or something. Just because something hasn't been done doesn't make it good or even worth trying.

Refinement people, that's what sequels are [usually]

 

[Vault101]

eh not worht stressing over IMO...just vote with your wallet and enjoy what you can

seaqules have been around for ever anyway

 

[TheMagicIndian]

Contemplate this.... on the TREE OF WOE
(crucify him)

Conan reference. . . I like you.

OT: Won't implode anytime soon. People stick to tried and true methods because they make money. The fresh and new minds that are bursting with ideas all end up being hired on to dev. teams and make the AAA titles until they lose their originality and just go with the flow. Or they develop games for iPhone and such. Check the indie titles if you want original games that can be quite good or quite shit.

 

[Sangnz]

]When?!? In the Atari 2600 days? What bloody time was there when sequels were a big deal that isn't just you replacing reality with your nostalgia?

Depending on how far back you want me to go.
Elite was a huge hit in 1984 (yes I actually played this about 2 years after its release I am that old), its sequel in 1993 was a very big deal for a lot of gamers.
More recent gaming history would be Homeworld in 1999 which had an expansion and then finally Homeworld 2 released in 2003, again it was a big deal.
A more popular one to point out would be Diablo in 1996, Diablo 2 was massively anticipated when it was announced and finally released in 2001.
These are 3 are of the top of my head but I could come up with quite a few more if you want.

You may also want to notice the time separation as well, sequels were frequently 3+ years between, these days 2 years is fairly standard, unless you're blizzard, or you are putting expansions between your sequels.
This tends to show a lot in corners being often cut to speed up the process, Dragon Age: Origins to Dragon Age 2 is a good example of this, 2 years between them and DA2 had so much copy and paste it was insulting. But such is the apparent sacrifice we make to corporate methods in order to pump out more games faster.

 

[For.I.Am.Mad]

How the hell are sequels going to cause the next game crash? This whole sequel argument is bullshit because Some People don't like that MW is on top.

You know what will really cause the next game crash if it happens. The price point, especially with smart phone games costing around a dollar, or the market being flooded with really bad games. Which caused the first crash and is happening in the movie industry right now with all the 'sad sack' crap their putting out.

 

[WaruTaru]

I think somebody has been wearing their rose coloured glasses a little to much. Remember mario, sonic, crach banicoot, zelda, medal of honor, syphon filter, need for speed, tony hawk, suikoden, megaman, army men, arc the lad, final fantasy, breath of fire, command & conquer, cool boarders, Dance Dance Revolution, Dragon Quest, Fifa 96, GTA, Maddel NFL 97, MLB 98, Mortal Kombat, Nascar 98, NBA Live, NBA in the Zone, NCAA Football & Basketball, NHL 96, Rayman, Rockman, Tekken, Tales of series and probably many others. These games are just a quick list one ones off the PS1 that had multiple sequals on that system alone. Some of these series are still around today and have 15+ installments and many others started before the ps1 as well.

So what was that you were saying about not many games with sequels?

^ Truth.

Sequels are created because there is a fanbase for said series. The fanbase alone could keep the series alive indefinitely. And if they decide to stop making sequels? Merely re-releasing older sequels is sufficient to keep the new fans happy and dump cash into the series. There is no shortage of new fans so long as the series remains in circulation and update itself with a new sequel from time to time.

 

[Neverhoodian]

Previously sequels where a big deal when they happened and it was more common to see lists of new game IPs with a sprinkling of sequels, these days its a huge dollop of sequels with a smattering of new IPs, hell without the sudden growth of the indie scene thanks to PSN/XBLA/Steam it would look even worse.

I think someone's suffering from a bad case of nostalgia goggles:

Spoiler

The industry has always been dominated by big franchises and their sequels. Like it or not, that's what the public often demands. It's second nature for people to stick with the familiar because it's "safer" (no doubt an early survival trait that we haven't let go of yet).

Also is it like this because publishers are scared of investing in potentially unprofitable games so they just stick to the tried and true instead of looking for the next big thing? I know I cannot deny the positive aspects the big publishers such as EA/Activision/THQ have had on the industry allowing bigger and bigger budgets but I also feel it has stifled the creativity of game development which seems to be falling to indie devs to pick up and run with.

Again, this has always been the case. There was an absolute glut of "me too" 2-D platformers back in the 80's and 90's because games like Super Mario Bros. made the genre such a smash hit. It's just that hardly anyone remembers them anymore because of their generally mediocre status. I'm sure fifteen years from now future gamers will be just as unfamiliar with titles like Blacksite: Area 51 as current ones are with Bubsy or Awesome Possum.

 

[B4DD]

Oh no! Corporations are crushing creativity and there is no end in sight! The consumerist masses are only adding to the problem, oh woe as me, this is truly the end of creativity in gaming!

*Ahem* Sorry, got a bit alarmist there. Anywho, I can't provide a solid date for when or how this trend will end, but I'm sure it will. Things change. Things changed from being new IP's with just a smattering of sequels to largely sequels. Things will change and most likely in an unforeseeable way.

Also, don't generalize all sequels as being bad. While I hate stupid cash ins as much as the next guy, some great games warrant a sequel. In fact, many users on this website are practically begging for the next Half Life game.

I see where many of you are coming from, but you don't need to be so alarmist, or take the snobby high ground. Cash in sequels are a problem, but they are just a logical conclusion in a capitalist system (not saying that capitalism is bad).

So to answer the actual question: I have no clue, but I do know that while it may not completely end, it will become a different situation in time.

 

[Captain Pancake]

When the desires of the consumers change; the current trend is science fiction and space marines. Even when a developer gets bored of a series (Halo), the publisher still wants to milk it. When the desires change, the market will be forced to adapt and more original titles will flow in.