Successful Franchises Dead!

[mailman187666]

And whilst we're on the topic of Sega, who seem content to let their best franchises play tennis with each other and ride around in techno hover-whatsit-ma-crafts, how about a new Eternal Champions game? And ChuChuRocket on XBLA whilst you're at it.

I bought the Sega Saturn system about a year or so after it was released specifically to play the new eternal champions game that was comming out for it. They even went as far to list the game, with a picture, on the side of the box for the system. I was very let down when they cancelled the game. After the Sega CD version and all its hidden content, I dreamed about the possibilities for a saturn version. Luckily I still liked the other games I had for the system when I was younger.

-Panzer Dragoon (re-release, sequel, shooter, RPG anything will do)
-Guardian Heroes (I know it got a re-release on XBLA and there was a GBA sequel, but I want a true console sequel)
-Ghouls N' Ghosts (the Ipod ones are ok but I need a d-pad)
-2D metroid (3DS could make for some awesome visuals)
-Star Tropics (also would be great on 3ds and could make for a visually stunning beach atmosphere after seeing how well some of the landscapes looked in the beggining stages of Kid Icarus: Uprising).

[Aussie2B]

Of course I'm not that desperate to see franchises continue to release new sequels every few years, I'd rather they stop making them before people start hating them.

Same. There have been very, very few instances in which I really wanted a game to get a sequel. I mean, there's no knowing if a sequel would be any good, so I'm just happy with what I do enjoy. If more games come out that I enjoy, great. If bad games come out and sour the franchise for me a bit, that sucks. And if the series sees no new games, that's fine. I'll just look elsewhere for games to enjoy. Even if every game in a franchise is good, there's still definitely such a thing as too much of a good thing. I wouldn't want a series I like to get totally milked, to the point that I get burnt out and sick of it, even if it's still technically good. Unless the sequels are COMPLETELY unrelated, which would defeat the purpose of a sequel, they're going to start to feel derivative at some point. It's like with the Katamari games. The games past We <3 Katamari are decent fun, but they don't have the same magic as the original (and the sequel to a slightly lesser degree) because they're just not treading any new ground.

[The 1 2 P]

-Panzer Dragoon (re-release, sequel, shooter, RPG anything will do)
.

How about a spiritual sequel? It looks like it a Panzer Dragoon sequel in everything but name, like the Contra-less Hard Corps released last year by Konami. It wasn't called Contra but we knew it was Contra.

[Griking]

It seems that a few left for dead PC franchises may be resurrected via Kick starter campaigns over the next year or so but I don't know if the same can be done with console games.

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

Kickstarter could be a game changer (pun intended) when it comes to bringing back dead franchises.

[frogofdeath]

How 'bout a new Killer Instinct? That franchise has been dead for 15 years now and needs an updated sequel.

[kupomogli]

There's a really good version of Pong on LBP2. It's multiplayer as well, although sometimes screws up when playing online.

[Collector_Gaming]

How 'bout a new Killer Instinct? That franchise has been dead for 15 years now and needs an updated sequel.

and if there is anything that was learned in Killer Instinct is that when a girl with unrealistically large/perky breasts flashes you when you are weak... You die no matter what.

[Ryudo]

Castlevania is far from dead

LOS was great. CCoD was actually pretty good as well. The Hand Held games have all been amazing.
Only real bad game it had was on 64. The rest range from good to great

[wiggyx]

GBA/DS titles, good times.

All the 3D titles, pretty much crap.

We need a good non-portable Castlevania, preferably 2D.

[Darth Binks]

Castlevania is far from dead

LOS was great. CCoD was actually pretty good as well. The Hand Held games have all been amazing.
Only real bad game it had was on 64. The rest range from good to great

I'm sorry to admit it, but I enjoyed Castlevania on the N64. That said, here is my list:

1. I wish that Resident Evil would return to its roots, tank controls, fixed cameras, and all.
2. I would like to see a good Indiana Jones game. Uncharted does it right and I think a good Indy game would be awesome.
3. A good Bomberman game.
4. A good TMNT game would be cool before Michael Bay ruins them.
5. Eternal Darkness, a sequel could be amazing.

[Griking]

Games I'd like to see;

Ultima: But only if Richard Garriott is involved.
Unreal Tournament - I'd like to see a remake of the original before they started adding vehicles.
Another Warcraft Strategy Game
A New Wizardry RPG (Who owns the rights to this franchise nowadays?)
Age of Empires 4

[Tron 2.0]

4. A good TMNT game would be cool before Michael Bay ruins them.

I like to see a new tmnt gane done right to but the problem is ubisoft still has the rights.

[Manhattan Sports Club]

Games I'd like to see;

Ultima: But only if Richard Garriott is involved.
Unreal Tournament - I'd like to see a remake of the original before they started adding vehicles.
Another Warcraft Strategy Game
A New Wizardry RPG (Who owns the rights to this franchise nowadays?)
Age of Empires 4

There are still new Wizardry games coming out in Japan.

[Compute]

Road Rash
River Raid
Desert Strike
Off Road/Indy Heat (I know this isn't technically a franchise, but it's two games that play exactly the same and run on the same hardware)

[treismac]

3. A good Bomberman game.

With all due respect to the Bee, Hudson truly whored out this game way too many times. Konami would have to do something amazing with Bomberman to get my interest.

[Robocop2]

Second TJ&E I know the 3rd was kind of lackluster but I still enjoyed it. Honestly those games are more fun 2 player than they are single player in general and with the expanded online presence these days I could see some sort of online co-op being a nice addition to the series.

I'd also personally like to see a return of the Godzilla fighting game series. Honestly, not alot one could do with it that hasn't already been done and the last one was kind of a stinker but I've always enjoyed them and actually DAMM was one of the primary reasons I bought an Xbox.

Also, Stubbs the Zombie. If you could call one game a franchise which I believe is kind of broad but still I"d love to see another one of these.

[Glitch695]

My favorite series of all time, the Ogre Battle series from Quest, has been dead in the water for years. The first game was episode 5, OB64 was 6, Tactics Ogre was episode 7, and the rest were, I believe, side stories.
I had hoped for a revival of sorts whent he PSP remake of TO was released, but nothing else ever happened, and since Square owns the property now, I expected DS/ PSP remakes of all of them, as is their style. Plus, the Neo Geo Pocket Color release was never ported over, so it's not like they'd even have to develop that game, just translate it.
I miss the Quest team, they had a gold track record in my eyes.

[Peonpiate]

Kid Icarus.

What ever happened to that series ?

[o.pwuaioc]

Kid Icarus.

What ever happened to that series ?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kid_Icarus:_Uprising

It was long considered dead, though, until it came out this year.

[Andy]

How about Ikari Warriors? Maybe I missed it but it seems like it's been a while since we got one of those and I remember playing the hell out of that game (and Heavy Barrel) with my friends back in the day.

[Captain_N77]

Some of these selections are odd. Releases that did poorly or things that could barely even be considered a franchise (Tapper for example, it was a single game until a poorly done cell phone game was programmed... and the person that listed it said that doesn't count). And when was Conker ever a successful franchise?

You have a mediocre GBC release, a late N64 release that was a sales failure, and a Xbox rerelease that was meant to give the title a second chance (It was believed that the late release it had on the N64 was why it wasn't selling) that sold even worse.

I think Half-Life is a prime example for this thread. A very successful series with plenty of demand for a sequel that has been left lying dormant (From a public's point of view at least) for years.

When I said Tapper World Tour didn't count, that was obviously my comment on the abysmal quality of the game. Tapper qualifies as a gaming franchise, and at one time was quite successful with various ports and re-brandings of the original. Yes, World Tour is a part of the Tapper franchise, but not anything near being a worthy successor to the classic game.

And you are really stretching by saying Conker doesn't belong. The N64 release was not the blockbuster they had hoped for, but it sold a decent amount. The XBX release sold a similar amount. And how does a mediocre GBC release help disqualify Conker from being a franchise that's had some (admittedly) modest success? Just for the record, I never enjoyed CBFD for the 64, but I believe it fits the bill for this thread.

[Greg2600]

2. I would like to see a good Indiana Jones game.

I would point to the same issue as with Star Wars games. LucasArts really doesn't make games anymore, they're now licensing them out. Which of course makes you wonder why they haven't been contact for an Indy license? Indiana Jones has had TWO really exciting games canceled. First was the follow up to Emporer's Tomb back in the prev. generation, which would have been a game based on the trilogy and looked very fun. Instead we eventually got a LEGO game. The second of course was the Staff Of Kings PS3/X360 version, canceled because it couldn't come out in time for Crystal Skull. Instead we got the Wii/PS2 version, which both stunk.

Road Rash
River Raid
Desert Strike
Off Road/Indy Heat (I know this isn't technically a franchise, but it's two games that play exactly the same and run on the same hardware)

Desert Strike and River Raid would be easily to make, if they stuck with simplistic overheard 2D and not go overboard. The Off Road/Indy Heat games, spiritual successors to Super Sprint, like those, would be more suited for phones and hand helds than consoles.