What is considered "milking" a franchise?

[Michael-5]

Oh gosh Lasagna? really? With Obesity rates so high, I think people really need to cut down on their cheese intake. However I am glad hot dogs lost.

oh wait......

I agree with you, not on number of games, but when new iterations bring very little to the franchise.

To me a game is milked when new iterations add very little to the game and when a franchise doesn't see a natural conclusion.

So a game like Assassin's Creed is milked because the trilogy was suppose to end in 2012, with the Mayan Calendar predicting the end of the world, but we saw two interlude games, and now there is an Assassin's Creed IV coming out. However, in comparision Mass Effect isn;t milked because Sheppards story does conclude with Mass Effect 3, and the next Mass Effect is not Mass Effect 4 (Bioware has been very clear on this).

As for Mario.....I wouldn't say it's milked, but the brand is abused. New Mario games do expand upon old iterations, Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 are largely considered the best platformers for the 7th generation, and I think Mario Platformers are typically the top of the ball. It's just the Mario Spinoffs come out as either excellent or crap, and that's where the brand gets abused. So while Mario Kart is a great game, and adds to Nintendo's Portfollio, I feel games like Mario Sports Mix are a cash grab. However I will admit that the "New" Super Mario Bros games, an excellent idea at first, are starting to feel milked.

I don't think Halo is milked so much as the brand is abused (ODST & Wars) because mainline Halo games only release once every 2-3 years, and usually add to the franchise (Halo 4 I feel is the exception). GT and GTA I agree are also not milked, and as for Call of Duty, I dunno. I wouldn't say it's milked, it's just become an annual game like FIFA or Madden, the plots in each game generally do close well, and feel satisfying.

To me, the only franchises which are truely milked are Assassin's Creed, BioShock, Dead Space, Army of Two, Tom Clancy Games, and soon Forza might join the list (Forza 4 didn't add anything to the franchise).