Over-milked franchises: Why do publishers do it?

[Tizona]

SmokedHostage said:

They do it because customers still buy it. If a franchise should end or change, it's more reflective in sales than anything else.  If customers keep buying, they're obviously still entertained.  It's not like food where you can't live without it.

Mostly this.

It's up to us, not the developers. As long as we keep buying, it would make no sense for a developer to stop churning them out. It's funny, cause it's just like movies, where people decry the sequels and lack of original ideas.....and then we'll go spend 3/4billion dollars on Transformers 3 later this year.

I guess, as long as the games still have a micron of quality and aren't broken, it's all good.