As I watch the game world go through this generation of consoles, it’s interesting to watch the flow of game releases from year to year.   I got into gaming back in the days of the NES, but I was never an avid follower until I could actually afford my own games, which was around the time of the N64.   I feel like there’s this new trend that’s starting to occur in the market, and it’s one that I feel is stifling the creative minds of the industry and holding back innovation.   That trend, my friends, is the sequal.

Now, before I go too far, do not misunderstand me here.   I love many sequals just as much as the next guy.   Call of Duty is my favorite franchise, and I buy Infinity Ward’s release every time.   I probably won’t any more, but that’s just an example.   I can’t wait for Darksiders 2, either.   That isn’t the point of this, though.   My problems stem from the idea that these companies are now scheduling bi-annual releases of sequals, almost as if by clockwork.   That’s perfectly fine for some games, such as any sports franchise ever, but when it comes to certain games (the ones that need large changes to stay fresh), this kind of schedule crushes the series.

Take, for instance, the Call of Duty franchise.   As I’ve stated, I do love this franchise, but holy hell has it gotten dull over the years.   They just keep creating minor tweaks to the game mechanics, switch out the guns, and possibly add one other way to play; alright, brand new game, ship it out the door!   I was on board with that idea from MW1 to MW2, but then came black ops and MW3.   It was just more of the same, and the amount I played those two games every day decreased rapidly until they just begin collecting dust.   It’s just not the amazing new, innovative quality that it used to be.   It’s not just CoD, either.   First Person Shooters are notorious for this.   Just look at Gears of War and Halo.   Both go through the same itteration cycle that CoD does, and it bores me to tears.

It isn’t even constrained to shooters, either.   The Legend of Zelda is going through the same thing.   I really try to pick up Zelda games, but as soon as I get started, my mind just says, “Yep, it’s a Zelda Game.”   I turn it off after about an hour and give it back.   More examples:   Pokemon, Assassin’s Creed, Battlefield, Resident Evil, and the list goes on.

Now, I may be the only one on the planet who thinks this is a bad thing.   I feel that the creativity and ability of the company placed to make these sequals is getting completely wasted.   Infinity Ward was so innovative with the first Modern Warfare.   I mean that game revolutionized today’s FPS market.   Then they had to make a sequal.   After that was greatly successful, they had to make another.   What if they had spent those years creating something not related to the CoD franchise?   There were some great minds in that office.   They may have created another groundbreaker for us to all marvel at.

I know that sequals are just easy moneymakers since most of the properties and items have already been developed.   I’d just rather see more original products.   I’d like to see people push forward the envelope that is the gaming world.   I’d like to see new ideas for how we can play an old genre.   Instead, the market gets set in its ways, and we get similar products time and again.

Now, I’m no expert and these are just my opinions.   I would love to hear your opinions, though, if you actually made it through this rant.   Thanks GB community for listening.
 
Until Next Time,
Brian Stas