Why does Sony fail at making another mega franchise?

[Michael-5]

Joelcool7 said:

Sony doesn't invest enough in franchise development. Look at the PSOne Sony created two very big franchises Crash and Spyro, both franchises rivaled Sonic and even Mario. But Sony didn't expand them, sure their was a Crash racing game but what about spin-offs, TV shows , Card games , action figures. None Sony just doesn't build big IP's comparing Sony to Nintendo and Sega they do not know how to build a big IP, even Microsoft doesn't really have the hang of it.

Why did KillZone2 fail to compete with Halo? Easy Halo gave gamers online gameplay and vehicle combat in an FPS. Two things that had pretty much never been done before. While KillZone really offered nothing new, KillZone2 for example was very beautiful best looking shooter I've seen to date but playing it I realized it was just a typical shooter. So why does Halo continue to outpace KillZone despite no longer offering much new? Because you only have to make one big hit title in an IP to make a successful franchise. Why? because people love to buy titles they know and once one title makes it big the rest of the franchises titles will follow to a degree.

Why didn't LBP become huge? It sorta did by Sony standards. But why not as big as mario? First the quality just wasn't their the game was great but physics were off. LBP pioneered four player co-op on a platformer and level design it had a ton of potential, so why didn't it become a hit. Two reasons, One the console has a very small platformer demographic all the platforming fans are on the Wii. Two Sony didn't push the title as much as they could have, no spin-offs planned no cartoon no toys (Other then found on Amazon).

In the end if Sony expanded its franchises they could succeed. LBP is one of the most promising IP's I've seen in a while it has a lot of potential but can Sony build the franchise. I think Sony needs to sit down and build a franchise from scratch. Sony needs to launch the title with a TV show, card game and action figures invest alot in the franchise from the get go, then of course have the title pioneer something, something Nintendo and Microsoft aren't doing. I bet Sony could succeed in creating a new mega IP!

I agree with you, but I would also like to add to why Halo became so successful. On the X-Box it pioneered online multiplayer, and vehicle combat. It was also a very thouroughly developed game, weapons were very balanced, physics were polished and rarely glitchy, and the story itself was one of the best for an FPS. Bungie has not only kept that level of quality up, but it has expanded on it. They made a huge IP by making a great game and introducing two large aspects of gaming. It became "the" x-box game, and as the X-Box console became more popular so did the Halo franchise. Now it has established itself as one of the best FPS franchises, so when even an average title is released (like ODST), it still sells well.

If only Gears of War had as polished and glitch free of an engine, and as balanced multiplayer.