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Forums - Gaming - What is considered "milking" a franchise?

 

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TheLastStarFighter on 06 March 2013

I think milking is either annual releases, re-used assets or just slapping a name on something and calling it a day.

So, COD is milked, AC is being milked and Guitar Hero was milked till it died. Final Fantasy milked FFXIII by making little-effort sequels, kind of like X and X-2. Mario as a character is milked by throwing his name on Mario Golf, Mario Soccer, Mario Mario... His games aren't milked though. I actually wish they made more 2D and 3D Mario games.. 1 or 2 per generation isn't enough. Same with Zelda. Just stop the side branding. There was a time when Nintendo made NHL Hockey or K.Griffey Baseball. Now it's just Mario everything.

Games that put out a sequel every 2 or 3 years isn't milking. GTA, Uncharted, GoW, Halo, NSMB, 3DMario, Zelda, GT, ... why not have these games every so often. They're great. I like a healthy dose of stuff I like every now and then.

The worst offenders are probably EA's sports games. Usually the only thing your getting for your money is a roster update. Pretty weak.



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JWeinCom on 06 March 2013

It depends. If it's a franchise you like, it could have ten releases a year and it's not milked. If its a franchise you don't like, it could have 1 game every 10 years and its milked.

/topic



Corey on 06 March 2013

Taking a series way beyond it's natural life and releasing far too many games in quick succession.

Assassin's Creed and Call of Duty come to mind.



TruckOSaurus on 06 March 2013
JWeinCom said:
It depends. If it's a franchise you like, it could have ten releases a year and it's not milked. If its a franchise you don't like, it could have 1 game every 10 years and its milked.

/topic

I think that's the most sensible and accurate definition in this thread.



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PlaystaionGamer on 06 March 2013

Assassins Creed: 6

Halo: 6 (includes Remake)

Ratchet and Clank: 6 + 3 HD collection

+ Call of Duty, Need for Speed and other crappy games. 

 

 



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Paquito on 06 March 2013

Mario is GOD



Tachikoma on 06 March 2013
PlaystaionGamer said:

Assassins Creed: 6

Halo: 6 (includes Remake)

Ratchet and Clank: 6 + 3 HD collection

+ Call of Duty, Need for Speed and other crappy games. 

 

 

Halo 1, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 4, Halo ODST, Halo Wars, Halo remake = 7



Michael-5 on 06 March 2013
Veknoid_Outcast said:
Well, I don't think "milking" has to be a pejorative, unless of course it's used to mean exploitative.

If a formula or model works, and people love it, why not "milk" it?

Some of the best video game series of all time have recycled a basic formula again and again: Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Street Fighter, Castlevania, Halo, Call of Duty, Final Fantasy, God of War, etc. Honestly, I'm glad the development teams stay true to each series' formula, because it produces great games.

I would add also that revolutionary, mold-breaking games are few and far between, and are very much the exception to the rule. For every Resident Evil 4 and Grand Theft Auto III there are dozens of games that rely on (and profit from) established norms.

That's not 100% true, every Zelda, Final Fantasy, etc, add to the game prior, and rarely are two games the same in most of those franchises. Can you honestly say Wind Waker is like Twilight Princess, which is like Skyward Sword? The core gameplay, and game design aren't too different, but the games themselves are very different. Plus they only release a new Zelda every 3 or 4 years.

God of War I might consider milked, but the game doesn't release frequently enough, and I'm sure the fans see changes with each game.



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Michael-5 on 06 March 2013
Tachikoma said:
Michael-5 said:

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).


So wait, assassins creed is milked because they made 3 games, 2 interlude games and now a fourth, but mario isn't milked despite various 'genres' of mario games, with as much difference in them as the assassins creed games, have in most areas, a lot more than 4 (or 6), itterations?, eg, Mario Kart 7, super mario series being in excess of 10?, sure you may argue "but theyre quality games", but fans of AC would argue the same about AC, so really, saying mario games (as a franchise, and as a character) isn't milked just doesn't make any sense, they are very much milked.

The mere fact Nintendo relies on the character and series so much for it's popularity is clear and solid proof of it being milked, yes he's more or less nintendos mascot, but look towards the future, if things don't change from the past 30 years, in 30 years time you'll be looking at games like 'Even newer super duper mario bro's 8, WiiThem' or something.

The mere thought of a nintendo console releasing and not relying on mario to sell the brand just doesn't seem possible, so in that respect, unless Nintendo manage to introduce a new game series that's so popular that people accept it fully, Nintendo consoles will forever be tied down to Mario titles (even if theyre good games, it's going to get old sooner or later, and already has for many)

Yes, there are dozens of different Mario franchises, but they are all very different games. You don't get bored if you buy Mario Kart, and then Super Mario Galaxy a few months later. While they are both Mario, they are different franchises, and you don't have to be a fan of both to enjoy a good Mario game.

Assassin's Creed is 1 series, with a chronological order. You have to buy a game every year to get the full story, and this is suppose to be a trilogy (not a pentology) with a natural end in 2012, but now we see a 2013 iteration.

Mario is a Brand, but you are confusing using brand power and milking a franchise. People who like Mario, don't go and buy out every single Mario franchise (Kart, Party, Tennis, etc), but they stick with the franchises they like. When you look at individual franchises, Mario isn't milked. There is only ever 1 Mario Kart per system, 1 or 2 Super Mario Platformers per system, and there was what a 9 year gap between Mario Tennis for 3DS and GBA.

Some Mario franchises are milked, I will agree with you on that, but not Mario in general. Mario Party has seen a huge drop in quality since the N64 era, and because Party games were so popular on the Wii, MP8 and 9 saw record sales for the franchise despite being nowhere nearly as good as the N64 iterations. New Super Mario Bros saw two games within 3 months of each other last year, and compared to the Super Mario games on the NES and SNES, not much is changing between these iterations. No new suits, or world, no new characters (Yoshi), etc.

----

So yes, Assassin's Creed is milked, Mario Party is Milked, Mario in general though.... not milked.



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Veknoid_Outcast on 06 March 2013
Michael-5 said:
Veknoid_Outcast said:
[...]

That's not 100% true, every Zelda, Final Fantasy, etc, add to the game prior, and rarely are two games the same in most of those franchises. Can you honestly say Wind Waker is like Twilight Princess, which is like Skyward Sword? The core gameplay, and game design aren't too different, but the games themselves are very different. Plus they only release a new Zelda every 3 or 4 years.

God of War I might consider milked, but the game doesn't release frequently enough, and I'm sure the fans see changes with each game.

Hey, you're preaching to the converted :)

I love Zelda, more than anything in the video game world. And I do think it refreshes the formula with each title.

I guess I was just saying that sequels rarely produce anything radically different from the original source material. More often than not, we as players are experiencing variations on a theme. But there's nothing wrong with that. Metroid Prime, for example, is essentially Super Metroid with an added dimension, yet both are outstanding examples of game design, presentation, and play control.