Gaming Franchising

[Shinmaru]

Just for the record, I decided to put this in the Sony forum (rather than the Nintendo forum where I usually post), because I've seen this happen on the Sony consoles the most (though, it happens on all consoles quite a bit).

Tomb Raider. Army Men. These are just two of the most extreme examples of horrible franchising that occur in video gaming. You know the type of game: games that have mediocre gameplay, bad graphics and controls, etc. yet manage to sell well enough to warrant sequels being made and released.

My question is why do people buy this junk? Why do these games continue to be bought despite bad reviews by nearly every single respectable gaming magazine and website in the world? EGM did a fantastic article a few months ago on why bad games turn out the way they do (if I can find the issue number, i'll edit it into my post - it's a very good read), but how can these games sell well enough for this to be justified? I have a few thoughts of my own, but I'll wait to get a few responses before I post my thoughts on this subject.

EDIT: Added my old response to Cereal's post to this post, so I don't have a double post.

That may be a valid point, but if people wanted something to distract them for a few seconds, then they could easily rent these games. What I want to know is how these games continually get bought time and time again. In the case of licenced video games, usually the popularity of whatever the game is based on dictates how well the game will sell (although, this isn't true all of the time). Also, there are probably parents who just don't know better and buy these games for their kids. But I know that these can't be the only reasons.

[Ogki]

( I accidently deleted my post mirai_torankusu did NOT double post )

I belive my original post said something along the lines of "Some people just want something to distract them for a few minutes". I tried to edit and eloaborate on this, but I accidently deleted it.

When I said that, I meant that most people aren't "gamers". They don't take games seriously, as long as there is some sort of a fun factor. Army Men, for the most part, is some good clean fun. They aren't annoyed by the music or the controls. It's just something to do when you are bored.

As for Tomb Raider, the series started out great. Eidos just milked it dry, similar to what Midway did with Mortal Kombat. Midway realised that they were idiots and completly revamped the game. Sure enough, it is one of the best games Midway has put out in a [i]long[/i] time. The same thing is going on with the Tomb Raider series, and hopefully it will be restored to it's original glory.

[Shinmaru]

Yeah, I think the major problem with this is the somewhat greedy companies who take advantage of the people who don't know better or who just buy these games and milk the series dry. Tomb Raider started out good and Mortal Kombat was okay (even though I never really liked the series - overrated in my opinion). I guess you can't really fault the consumers - after all, it is their money. But you can fault the companies for rushing the developers and putting out horrible games just so that they can come out during the holiday season. But, to be fair, sometimes companies don't have a choice. Most companies don't have the name recognition of a Nintendo, Capcom, or Sony. There are a lot of companies that have to rush their games and end up with low-quality games just because they have to get them out during the holiday season and that's quite sad.

[Ogki]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by mirai_torankusu [/i]
[B]Capcom[/B][/QUOTE]

You sir, have my respect. ^______________^ *is Capcom's #1 Fan* :p

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by mirai_torankusu [/i]
[B]There are a lot of companies that have to rush their games and end up with low-quality games just because they have to get them out during the holiday season and that's quite sad. [/B][/QUOTE]

That is a really good point, but there is another side to this. Really, on this front, companies can't win. If a highly anticipated game is delayed, they are [i]flooded[/i] with [u]hate[/u] e-mails. If they release it on time (when it isn't completed/polished) fans say it was rushed. It's a lose, lose situation. :p

[Shinmaru]

I'd rather be flooded with hate e-mail by releasing a very good game late, than release a bad game that was rushed. Of course, I am a staunch Nintendo fan, so I'm used to dealing with things like that and it no longer affects me when Nintendo delays their games (it just increases my anticipation - you should've seen me whe Perfect Dark finally came out lol).