inFamous? I don't we can make any classification of that series yet.

Because people want them to..

Yes they are and I can't wait for the next one.

People vote with there wallets,plain and simple. I personally don't think it's bad if they release atlot of games in the same franchise,as long as they make sure the quality is top-notch. If they put out alot of games in the same franchise just to put it out there,then that's when you run into problems.

Isn't the answer obvious?

No matter how crappy a game is, if it's a big franchise, some idiots will always buy it. In fact, millions of idiots will buy it. The fanboy effect is very strong. Just look at all of the people who moaned about FF13, said it was going to be crap and still bought it. That's the power of a franchise. Long-serving fans just can't bring themselves to leave their favourite franchise's games on the shelf, even if they think the game will be a let-down. Publishers know this and milk it for all its worth.

Some people say that gamers should vote with their wallets, but a lot of gamers seem psychologically incapable of doing so.

Whatsmore, if a game is part of a big franchise, you can expect an extra 10-20% from most reviewers. You see, reviewers are afraid of giving really bad reviews to big name games, for two reasons. The first is that big publishers hold a lot of sway in some quarters (some magazines need those exclusives, so they have to play along and keep everyone happy), and the second is that they assume that a big franchise game should be good and this affects the way that they perceive its faults. If they're expecting the game to be good, they're likely to not trust their own judgement; they think that they must just be having a hard time getting into it rather than assuming its terrible and therefore let the game off lightly.

Have you ever noticed that an 8/10 review score is seen as pretty bad for a game from a big franchise? and 7/10 is seen as terrible? That's because a big franchise game has to be abysmal to get a 7/10 (a non-big name game of the same quality would get a five) and profoundly mediocre to get an 8/10. Reviewers see 9/10 as average for a big franchise game and rate accordingly. Reviewers who don't do this stick out like a sore thumb and get a bad reputation. They're seen as rebels who just hate anything that's popular. See the outraged reaction to Edge's review of FF13 to see what happens when a reviewer steps out of line.

Quite simply, putting a big franchise name on the cover of a rushed, lacklustre game will guarantee it sales and review scores far better than it deserves.

Because they're stupid and only think of short term success?

is this a joke thread i would milk the shit out of something like cod aswell if it sold 20 million every year anyone would if something sells lots and you bring them out regurlaly and they still make profit then your going to do it as much as you can until it stops making profit then think of something new

Because there's nothing wrong with "milking". Lots of people may cry in their beds about the ridiculous number of Mario games released, but if quality remains great and they sell a ton, both fans and Nintendo are content. You used Pokemon as an example, which is just plain daft of you since the games still sell in excess of 15 million. If you have a great franchise and don't end up making crap games, "milking" is a non-issue.

Final Fantasy - Seriously, in the last 2 generations, the number of games has jumped from about 30 on the NES/SNES/PSX to over 80 games all named 'Final Fantasy'.  They're milking their sequels/prequels and re-releases worse than Disney.

Pokemon - Sorry but, there's already been 4 versions of Pokemon just this gen, not counting the spin-off games.  That's roughly once every year and a half.  And if this was a different JRPG, it probably wouldn't be a problem.  But these games are massive with development teams in the hundreds and expected to create an entire new world and Pokemon each game.  And worse, each game we have to play the same 50-70 hour main game just to get to the actual bulk of the game.  I know many people who are just like me, we've given up on the series because we're tired of having to spend MMO level hours doing the same thing over and over.

Tales - Its just my opinion, but this series is getting overdone.  And each game has seen almost a 50% drop off in sales as its predecessor.  Expectations are very low for the next two Tales games in development that it'll even sell over 300,000.  Its going to become the next Suikoden, except Suikoden didn't have the advertising Tales has.

Halo - This one is getting the the point where its sales are going down and even fans are kinda tired of it.  But its MS bread and butter so expect another soon.

Sonic - Nothing needs to be said about this one.

Castlevania - Many people will argue with this.  But just look at the games that have come out in the last 2 gens.  Nearly all of them are SotN clones with little change.  Heck, now there's a straight side scrolling brawler on XBOXLive which is literally just ripped sprites from all the past Metrovanias and made into a 4 player game.  Even the bosses are ripped from past games.  This series has gone well downhill from its predecessors on the NES/SNES/PC-Engine which rivaled other major series in innovation in graphics and gameplay.  Not to mention having some of the Konami's best teams working on it.  Hopefully Lord of Shadows will change this trend.  But considering it didn't sell much more than the past metrovania titles, I doubt it.

The Sims - Really, they've milked this series so much they have to start focusing on other time periods.  I think that speaks for itself.  What's the point in having a reality simulator when now you can be in the 14th century?

I also argue these series are not over-milked and have not shown a significant drop in quality:

Mario - Some of the best Mario games came out this gen.  If its being milked, its being milked in a good way.

Assassins Creed - Why do people keep complaining about this series?  Its doing quite well.  Each game is reviewed just as high as the last and millions bought Brotherhood.  And they'll buy Revelations as well.

All of this.