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Thread: Games that killed Franchises?

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    Default Games that killed Franchises?

    I was sitting here thinking about the rare sequels that managed to kill franchises. I don't mean franchises that kind of tapered off in quality, or games that killed a franchise for you. I mean games that you can point to and say "Yep, that was the end of that,"

    For instance: After years of begging from gamers NiGHTS on the Saturn finally got a sequel. A sequel so terrible, I no longer hear any talk of NiGHTS at all. At this point, for all intents, the franchise is dead.

    The Saturn actually had a few. Clockwork Knight 2 and Bug 2 strike me as games that killed the franchises, but they were middling in the first place and unworthy of a sequel.

    Perhaps Bloody Roar 4? Dino Crisis 3? Alone in the Dark?
    Can you think of any others?

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    Toe Jam & Earl 2. I know they made a third game that was closer to the original, but the second one just killed the series for me. Of course the third game actually did kill the franchise which is sad because it had potential.
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    Earthworm Jim 3D was so poorly received it completely obliterated an otherwise very popular 16-bit series that had even spawned it's own cartoon. It's only recently people are talking about it again thanks to the HD remake.

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    By the looks of things NiGHTS isn't entirely dead. Sega has said a NiGHTS 3 is a possibility and it strongly looks like the original is going to be ported to HD consoles. Perhaps if it sells remarkably well N3 will get greenlighted.

    Sonic the Hedghehog (2006) tried it's hardest to kill of the blue hedgehog...

    Banjo: Nuts & Bolts may have very well killed off B&K.
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    PSO pretty much put the nail in the coffin of the original Phantasy Star series. Not because it's a bad game or whatever (maybe it is, I don't know, never played it, don't care about online) but just because it showed they no longer had any interest in the turn based single player franchise.

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    Shining Force Neo killed the "real" Shining Force series.

    And let's not forget Ultima IX.

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    If I remember correctly, didn't the Guitar Hero series get the off-switch not too long ago along with Tony Hawk?


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    Quote Originally Posted by j_factor View Post
    And let's not forget Ultima IX.
    Ultima IX may have been the death itself (because it was the literal "end"), but the death knell was Ultima VIII, which was rushed, had none of the best features of its predecessors, was boring, and IMO "killed" the series.
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    Quote Originally Posted by TonyTheTiger View Post
    Earthworm Jim 3D was so poorly received it completely obliterated an otherwise very popular 16-bit series that had even spawned it's own cartoon. It's only recently people are talking about it again thanks to the HD remake.
    Speaking of poor 3D games, what about Bubsy 3D? I've been playing both and well, they really are as bad as people say.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Swamperon View Post
    By the looks of things NiGHTS isn't entirely dead. Sega has said a NiGHTS 3 is a possibility and it strongly looks like the original is going to be ported to HD consoles. Perhaps if it sells remarkably well N3 will get greenlighted.

    Sonic the Hedghehog (2006) tried it's hardest to kill of the blue hedgehog...

    Banjo: Nuts & Bolts may have very well killed off B&K.
    Nah Sonic Colors was great and Sonic Gen looks great as well. Sonic 2006 really begane with Sonic Heroes. Gimmick after gimmick.
    Series is finally back on track



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    There are also franchises that are dead to some people and not others, like Final Fantasy. Final Fantasy VII was the beginning of the end for the "Final Fantasy ended at VI" crowd. Obviously not for most people, though.

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    NOTHING can kill Sonic, which is a bummer. He'll be sucking it up until everything is a free to play Facebook game. Annually.

    I guess it all depends on what you consider a dead franchise, because there's no longer any such thing. Game franchises don't die; they hibernate until nostalgia makes them ripe for exploitation again. We haven't seen a Myth game in a while, or a Q-Bert, but its only a matter of time. I mean, we've seen a new Sparkster for Christs sakes, and there's some kind of free to play Zork revival out there. Anything is possible.

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    Quote Originally Posted by BlastProcessing402 View Post
    PSO pretty much put the nail in the coffin of the original Phantasy Star series. Not because it's a bad game or whatever (maybe it is, I don't know, never played it, don't care about online) but just because it showed they no longer had any interest in the turn based single player franchise.
    I had a long thoughtful response written out and then the forum ate it


    Basically while PSO was indeed a departure from the original series it was by no means unsuccessful (critically or financially) and still has a fanbase today. Its success simply encouraged SEGA to keep it in the direction that it was moving rather than where it came. I don't think that it quite fits the theme of the thread although it may feel like it killed the franchise to you personally. In fact since I started the series with PSO it seems like that game marked the birth of the series.

    Also, I am a fairly big fan of PSO and I never even played it online. I only played it offline with a buddy, developing my character and hunting for rare items. It is outdated by today's standards but if you have a buddy I would suggest giving the game a try, the true sequel is coming out fairly soon

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    I think there's a difference between a series that just simply ran its course and no longer has new entries and a series that came to an abrupt halt because of a very bad or poorly received entry.

    For instance, we aren't getting a Shenmue III any time soon but I'm not sure it's fair to say Shenmue II "killed" the series. Same with Killer Instinct.

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    Quote Originally Posted by G-Boobie View Post
    NOTHING can kill Sonic, which is a bummer. He'll be sucking it up until everything is a free to play Facebook game. Annually.

    I guess it all depends on what you consider a dead franchise, because there's no longer any such thing. Game franchises don't die; they hibernate until nostalgia makes them ripe for exploitation again. We haven't seen a Myth game in a while, or a Q-Bert, but its only a matter of time. I mean, we've seen a new Sparkster for Christs sakes, and there's some kind of free to play Zork revival out there. Anything is possible.
    I really don't get the hate for Sonic. Have you played Sonic Colors? It's fantastic. They are done with gimmicks. Not to mention they got some solid voice acting. It's Story light gameplay heavy with some real good level design. Instead of pushing forward it does something genesis games used to. Platforming. I was really down on sonic since Heroes til I played colors. Many seem to overlook it on wii



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    Yeha, I mean, Toejam & Earl 2 wasn't bad, nor was 3. Quite frankly with how many Sega franchises skipped the Saturn it's not a shock.

    Nights 2 was fine outside of the levels with the kids, and there comparatively weren't that many.


    The recent Shining Force games, though? Sega should not be proud of those abominations.
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    Quote Originally Posted by TonyTheTiger View Post
    I think there's a difference between a series that just simply ran its course and no longer has new entries and a series that came to an abrupt halt because of a very bad or poorly received entry.

    For instance, we aren't getting a Shenmue III any time soon but I'm not sure it's fair to say Shenmue II "killed" the series. Same with Killer Instinct.
    That's what I'm talking about, the first example. Series will run their course, some stick along longer than they should.

    I'm interested in the ones that imploded upon themselves. I think EWJ 3D is a great example. A winning franchise toppled in one swoop.

    I'm not sure about the Tony Hawk Franchise, or the Guitar Hero, that seems to be a developer hitting the well one too many times. (or in the case of Tony Hawk, desperately tacking on something new).

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    Quote Originally Posted by crazyjackcsa View Post
    I'm not sure about the Tony Hawk Franchise, or the Guitar Hero, that seems to be a developer hitting the well one too many times. (or in the case of Tony Hawk, desperately tacking on something new).
    Yeah, I would consider Tony Hawk more along the lines of Army Men. A series that just simply ran dry for people over the course of many games.

    There are actually very few examples I can think of in which a bad entry flat out ruined the franchise. Usually when you see franchises falter they have enough juice in them to still move forward.

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    I would say Crash Bandicoot died for home consoles (but not handhelds) after the party game. Spyro killed itself after the 3rd game as well.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ryudo View Post
    I really don't get the hate for Sonic. Have you played Sonic Colors? It's fantastic. They are done with gimmicks. Not to mention they got some solid voice acting. It's Story light gameplay heavy with some real good level design. Instead of pushing forward it does something genesis games used to. Platforming. I was really down on sonic since Heroes til I played colors. Many seem to overlook it on wii
    Nope. Because I spent some time with Unleashed and Shadow, effectively killing the franchise for me. Colors might be great; the decade of garbage that preceded it means I'll never know. And this is why the question of dead franchises gets weird, because I'll never touch a Sonic or Soul Calibur again, my brother thinks Final Fantasy died at XIII, my friend thinks that Street Fighter died after Third Strike, and my girlfriend refuses to acknowledge a Silent Hill game after three.

    With X-Com and Syndicate being rebooted, and Tomb Raider, Sonic and Ridge Racer marching on, we also know that no franchise really dies anymore. It just might take twenty years for a new game to be revealed. Or to show up on Facebook or as a downloadable game.

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