Zoned in
May 29, 2009
Sequelitis
By
Dakota Grabowski
Sequel after sequel, our industry is degrading into an area of predictability.
This is the time of the year that publishers gear up to announce their epic sequels of their best selling franchises. From the typical Madden installment to the sequel that no one saw coming such as Red Dead Redemption, the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is a breeding ground for countless sequels that rule the video-game industry.
Is this necessarily a good thing?
Year in and year out, the industry that we passionately adore continues to ride the wave of safety. Even if it means sacrificing quality, many sequels are rushed out the doors in effort to hit their target date of the holidays.
If you have missed out on the recent announcements of E3 lineups and it’s plethora of sequels, here’s a quick rundown of what we are looking at off the top of my head.
First off, Electronic Arts is bringing forth Mass Effect 2, Army of Two: The 40th Day, – a title that critically underperformed – Fight Night Round 4, Need for Speed Shift, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, and of course sequels to all of their sports licenses. Nothing surprising here, although Electronic Arts has been doing a better job securing new titles including: Dead Space, Left 4 Dead and Rage.
On the other hand, Activision Blizzard is out to break the banks of gamers who can now expect yearly installments of many of their franchises with additions to the sequel library such as: Modern Warfare 2, Guitar Hero 5, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, and a new Tony Hawk. If you thought EA was bad a few years ago, just wait until you have a selection of three new Guitar Hero’s to choose from, and of course, all of it’s competition from its rivals.
Never wanting to lag behind, 2K Games is showcasing Bioshock 2, Mafia II, The Bigs 2, and, almost a guarantee every year, their sports titles to compete against Electronic Arts. Personally, a sequel to Bioshock 2 seems to be too early as I’m still taking in the wonderful experience that the original gave.
As you can see, that’s an enormous amount of sequels just from three publishers. Looking out side of those three, you can expect Capcom to bring forth Lost Planet 2 and Dead Rising 2; Microsoft with Forza Motorsport 3, Halo 3: ODST, and Ninety-Nine Nights II; Sega with Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games and another Sonic installment with his magical friends; and much more. Will this madness ever end?
The question: Is there a potential cure to this craze that publishers keep shoving down our throats? The answer: Perhaps it’s our own doing with begging them for sequels, but there should be a better future for video-games than routine installments that drag a franchise into monotony. For proof, check out Sega’s attempt to keep Sonic relevant with poor 3D platformers – it’s not working!
Even with several titles that are set to be showcased at E3 this year that aren’t sequels, there’s a high chance that the publishers will set them on the path to sequel city if they sell well enough. Titles such as Bayonetta, Heavy Rain, Singularity, Brutal Legend, Dragon Age: Origins, The Conduit and Dante’s Inferno all scream for sequels, so it wouldn’t be a shocker if we start to hear that all of the titles are planned for the standard trilogy route that every publisher dreams of producing.
So what can one expect from E3 2009? A tremendous amount of sequels – some that’ll have you scratching your head – and very little originality when it comes to developing fresh and interesting properties. There’s no denying that money does the talking in this industry – and even if we do band together to stop the never-ending cycle of sequels and spin-offs (i.e. Guitar Hero and Dance Dance Revolution), the publishers will eventually turn to the next best thing to serialize and put into their sequel rotation.
Here’s hoping that one day, in the near future, our precious video game industry grows up a little and starts looking at our medium more so as an art rather than strictly as a form of entertaining escapism.
For now, we can only sit back and use our wallets wisely.
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