Videogame Franchises that outstayed their welcome?

[Yaramaki]

Probably a fun one to discuss yes or no? As topic title says what videogame franchises outstayed their welcome and should be put on hold indefinitely. Where and why did they go downhill?

Let's just avoid the usual suspects like call of duty, fifa, madden and what have you as those are offcourse the more obvious ones. I'll start with my picks :

Sonic -> Yes sonic, i'm kinda ashamed to put it in my list as a sega fan but clearly apart from the brilliant sonic mania plus, sega just doesen't know what to do with franchise anymore and they keep pumping out mediocre game one after the other. With a bunch of remasters in between nobody was waiting for and with the upcoming sonic frontiers game that is already getting slammed  by the general public, i'd say it's time to give the blue hedgehog a well deserved rest. 

Warriors/Musou games -> Where to even start with this, there are just so many of them out there and pretty much a new one wheter it's a spin off or main game comes out every couple of months it's impossible to keep up with them. Offcourse recent entries may be more varied then previous ones but doesen't take away the series should be given some time off, because they all play the same anyway. If Dynasty warriors 9 has proven one thing by going open world is that omega force doesen't really know what to do with it anymore to keep it interesting for more then a couple of hours. 

Final Fantasy -> I'm not 100% sure myself wheter or not i should include it here but goddamn square enix has been milking the final fantasy dry all they can the past few years, like how many spin offs do we even have now, it's damn near impossible to list em all, like Final Fantasy Tactics, Dissidia: Final Fantasy and the recent released Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin coulden't be further away from the traditional jrpg roots of the series. I get it anything final fantasy is likely going to sell better but come on squar enix it's time you make the fantasy final for once and for all. Just start naming your games something different. 

Need for speed -> A no brainer to include Need for speed as Ea themselves doesen't really know what to do with the franchise either, ghost studios clearly isen't capable of delivering a good racing game. Well maybe Rivals can be classified as good but eh ever since the 2015 reboot which imo has one the worst car handlings in any game and on top of that the cheesy live clips in between that are supposed to tell a story eh no thanks. Later games are a tad bit better but the whole you vs the cops or vice versa it's getting old and in this day and age i think nobody is waiting for another need for speed, now that ea bought codemasters i don't really see much reasons to keep need for speed alive for much longer. Let's just say need for speed is a series that is living of it's past glory and imo should be put on hold for a atleast a couple of years. We can only hope the new need for speed by criterion is going to be better then previous entries but if it fails i'm afraid for the series future.

I know i could go on and on but i've got to respect other people their free time, others i would have included are Halo, Gears of war, God of war and Resident Evil.

[Techno]

COD, they've made around 20 games. It's no longer interesting or unique. I just want them to stop. Especially with WW2, it's been done to death.

[Kane99]

I'd have to say Duke Nukem. A game featuring him today would not fly. His humor is dated and I don't think we'll ever see a new game with him. 

Unless they make a new game with old Duke Nukem. Where he has to fit in to society and change his ways. But he has to come out of retirement to kill aliens or some shit. I think it could work. I think that's the only way a duke Nukem game could work. He could still be a creep, but they'd have to tone him down a lot I would imagine. 

[Withywarlock]

2 hours ago, Techno said:

COD, they've made around 20 games. It's no longer interesting or unique. I just want them to stop. Especially with WW2, it's been done to death.

Though I enjoy the multiplayer aspects of the games still to this day they would stand up on their own without constant sequels, especially sequels that are off-putting due to the progression systems not carrying over particularly well. With Warzone 2 coming out, and none of the old material carrying over it's hard for me to justify playing newer installments when the old ones have active (if often sweaty) playerbases.

42 minutes ago, Kane99 said:

I'd have to say Duke Nukem. A game featuring him today would not fly. His humor is dated and I don't think we'll ever see a new game with him. 

Unless they make a new game with old Duke Nukem. Where he has to fit in to society and change his ways. But he has to come out of retirement to kill aliens or some shit. I think it could work. I think that's the only way a duke Nukem game could work. He could still be a creep, but they'd have to tone him down a lot I would imagine. 

Ben 'Yahtzee' Croshaw was involved in some of the initial drafts for what would become Duke Nukem: Forever. His pitch was an ironic take on the character: people not glorifying his deeds; acknowledging his attitude doesn't fly by today's standards; and he's too unfit to be as outrageous as he once was. But he admits himself it wasn't a very interesting story to tell, or in my opinion, via a video game. As a webcoming, a short animation or blog post, I'd welcome it.

I don't think Duke Nukem should come back primarily because of what you go on to say: "they'd have to tone him down a lot." If you make him too offensive he'll just add another sentence to his sad footnote on games history because that'll go down worse than DN:Forever; if you tone it down he's Matt Hazard minus the satire.

~

Most of my choices would be 'put on hold until diverted to their original purpose' which Tomb Raider and Assassin's Creed fall snugly into, but that's not the question at hand. The problem is I don't really want any games to go away if people enjoy them, even if I don't get or dislike them myself. I agree with the OP's choice of Halo: anything that's doing the novels have done better by miles, if a friend's back-to-back revision of them is anything to go by. 343i haven't a clue where they want Infinite to go, and a sequel's prospects look worse each passing update.

Sonic's definitely the big choice for me. He's resistant to my earlier proposed treatment of Duke Nukem given he's a very charming character with a lot of nostalgia value. Even the films were halfway decent (the fan service being my favourite things about them are not glowing praise, I realise). Not to mention I saw how Banjo & Kazooie were treated in Nuts 'n' Bolts: it's a fantastical game in its own right but it spends so much energy taking the piss out of itself that it feels abusive more than it does a parody. I'd rather Sonic be retired than see a game where his ankles are too swollen to fit into his iconic running shoes.

[kingpotato]

I agree COD they have been releasing the same game for more than a decade now.

At one point Assasins creed had the same problem but after origins it kinda reinvented itself.

2d Kirby games also had the same problem, they are all good but if you play one you have played them all

Pokemon games, I love pokemon but before Arceus every single game was basically the same formula.

Any sports game, god I hate those yearly releases

[Empire]

DmC was like that for me. I could've gone with maybe around 5~ more missions, but the amount I played was very enjoyable, the combat was awesome and the story was decent. I enjoyed the boss fights and even the normal combat, and was genuinely happy with the purchase and length, if not left very slightly wanting for more.

On the opposite end of the spectrum there are quite a few games that I really enjoy playing a relentless amount, like Dark Souls or Monster Hunter(hundreds of hours invested across them and could still play them even after "finishing" them).

[Kane99]

On 7/11/2022 at 3:55 PM, Withywarlock said:

Though I enjoy the multiplayer aspects of the games still to this day they would stand up on their own without constant sequels, especially sequels that are off-putting due to the progression systems not carrying over particularly well. With Warzone 2 coming out, and none of the old material carrying over it's hard for me to justify playing newer installments when the old ones have active (if often sweaty) playerbases.

Ben 'Yahtzee' Croshaw was involved in some of the initial drafts for what would become Duke Nukem: Forever. His pitch was an ironic take on the character: people not glorifying his deeds; acknowledging his attitude doesn't fly by today's standards; and he's too unfit to be as outrageous as he once was. But he admits himself it wasn't a very interesting story to tell, or in my opinion, via a video game. As a webcoming, a short animation or blog post, I'd welcome it.

I don't think Duke Nukem should come back primarily because of what you go on to say: "they'd have to tone him down a lot." If you make him too offensive he'll just add another sentence to his sad footnote on games history because that'll go down worse than DN:Forever; if you tone it down he's Matt Hazard minus the satire.

~

Most of my choices would be 'put on hold until diverted to their original purpose' which Tomb Raider and Assassin's Creed fall snugly into, but that's not the question at hand. The problem is I don't really want any games to go away if people enjoy them, even if I don't get or dislike them myself. I agree with the OP's choice of Halo: anything that's doing the novels have done better by miles, if a friend's back-to-back revision of them is anything to go by. 343i haven't a clue where they want Infinite to go, and a sequel's prospects look worse each passing update.

Sonic's definitely the big choice for me. He's resistant to my earlier proposed treatment of Duke Nukem given he's a very charming character with a lot of nostalgia value. Even the films were halfway decent (the fan service being my favourite things about them are not glowing praise, I realise). Not to mention I saw how Banjo & Kazooie were treated in Nuts 'n' Bolts: it's a fantastical game in its own right but it spends so much energy taking the piss out of itself that it feels abusive more than it does a parody. I'd rather Sonic be retired than see a game where his ankles are too swollen to fit into his iconic running shoes.

Yeah, which is why I don't see it happening. To be possible, they'd have to tame it up a lot. And I don't think fans would want to see that. I mean I would, but I'm not the biggest nuke fan anyway. But I know fans love him for his humor and style. It may have aged poorly, but he still has a place in gaming history. 

[Heatman]

I would go with Resident Evil franchise. A total of 32 games or more have been released on the game so far and I think that Capcom have milked the game enough and I'm not seeing it ending anytime soon. They have Resident Evil 4 Remake coming up soon and it's definitely not ending there. 

[Kane99]

13 hours ago, Heatman said:

I would go with Resident Evil franchise. A total of 32 games or more have been released on the game so far and I think that Capcom have milked the game enough and I'm not seeing it ending anytime soon. They have Resident Evil 4 Remake coming up soon and it's definitely not ending there. 

I have to disagree. They may have some stinkers in their history, but they've made a somewhat decent comeback since RE7 and 8 came out. I believe they have done enough to kind of give fans some hope for the future. Because after RE6, I think people expected the worst to come. But they kinda rebounded and are doing much better these days. Plus with their recent remasters becoming fan favorites, it seems as if they can do no wrong. 

[Justin11]

Square Enix aren't just ready to change from F.F, they love such video game franchise series name. And they want to keep milking from the series as long as nature permits. 

[killamch89]

Sonic is a definite offender here - I also think Fifa and NBA 2k have also overstayed their welcomes by over a decade. All they keep doing is publishing the same game every year with slight graphical improvements.

[Heatman]

9 hours ago, Kane99 said:

I have to disagree. They may have some stinkers in their history, but they've made a somewhat decent comeback since RE7 and 8 came out. I believe they have done enough to kind of give fans some hope for the future. Because after RE6, I think people expected the worst to come. But they kinda rebounded and are doing much better these days. Plus with their recent remasters becoming fan favorites, it seems as if they can do no wrong. 

You have a good point there and I kind of agree with the most part of it especially with Resident Evil 8, they did good with that one particularly. I'm still going to keep my fingers crossed for their upcoming Resident Evil 4 Remake, if they do justice with it, then they are getting a good thumbs up from me. 

[Yaramaki]

I think another franchise that fits the bill is Harvest moon not the original series that are now called Story of seasons but the ones Natsume has been making themselves over the past few years. Games like harvest moon skythree village, harvest moon light of hope, harvest moon one world and let's not forget the absolute dogshite of a puzzle game Harvest moon mad dash. Ever since the name dispute between marvelous and natsume, natsume has been milking the Harvest moon name dry for all they can with utter boring, uninspired and just plain ugly Harvest moon games. 

It's actually a shame because Natsume inc was once upon time a publisher that brought over quite a few good japanese games to the west. Maybe they should just stick to being a publisher again because clearly they can't develop a good game themselves anymore.

[Clasher]

Up until now I didn't know they are individuals who are feed up with resident evil.

Well, I still enjoy the franchise and if more unique contents would be released I am still going to purchase it and play it.

I agree with COD I think they've done their bit and any other they release would just be repetitive, I love the franchise but I think we've had enough for a decades worth.

[Heatman]

2 hours ago, Clasher said:

Up until now I didn't know they are individuals who are feed up with resident evil.

Well, I still enjoy the franchise and if more unique contents would be released I am still going to purchase it and play it.

I agree with COD I think they've done their bit and any other they release would just be repetitive, I love the franchise but I think we've had enough for a decades worth.

With Call of Duty franchise, I think Microsoft after they acquired the ownership of Activision Blizzard, had announced that the game would no longer be released yearly. I'm not sure how far they plan on stretching it out but I think it's going to be good for the game's development going forward.