Sequels has been to me at least one of the biggest thing Nintendo has done right with MS a close second and SONY third.  Quite frankly as much as people like to argue that we need innovation and new IP's etc it is the sequels that many times keep gamers happy because they know what they are playing, they enjoy it and quite frankly just want more of it such as more levels, features etc to the same great game. 

In terms of Nintendo as much as people praise and attribute the success of the Wii to Wii sports it is the fact that they had a new Zelda game ready at launch that showed to me Nintendo was on the right patch to success.  Yes Wii sports/play etc have brought in tons of new people to gaming but for us who have been gaming for ages it is nice to have a game like Zelda to play on our own when everyone have left the house after playing wii sports etc.  It also gives Nintendo a chance to exposed all those new people to their great franchises which have always been fun and easy to pick and play.  Resident evil 4 is another great example though is more of a port it gives all these new people a great game to play.  Soon we will have smash brothers and mario kart to continue the trend of great sequels like metroid and mario galaxy which have just gotten better and better.

In terms of MS they have created a number of new IP's since they didn't have a big library of great games on the Xbox unique to them they still depended quite a bit on sequels like Call of Duty 2, Perfect Dark, Project Gotham and so on.  They may not have been the greatest games of all time but they where very good games available right away for people to play.  They have done a good job with sequels like Forza 2, Halo 3 and call of duty 4.  They should continue this year with Ninja Gaiden 2, Gears 2, fable 2 etc so plenty of sequels that again expand on the original hopefully.

 In terms of the PS3 they have really screwed up on this department though to be fair it could be because of the PS2.  Unlike Nintendo which had all their franchises in development to come out on the Wii or MS which flat out just killed the xbox it seems the PS3 decided to wait longer to release some of their sequels on the PS3 focusing more on new IP's.  I think having so many of their top games on the PS2 be from 3rd party hurt them they still had many 1st/2nd party games on the PS2 that should have been ready or close to ready to be available with the PS3.  The only good sequels in 2007 not available to other platforms was Ratchet and Crank and Warhawk which is was just too low if you ask me for a whole year.  Everything else was really a new IP or multiplatform with the new IP's being a mix bag.  Basically  yes I am stating the obvious the PS3 needed more games but more importantly as it relates to this thread more sequels. 

Again basically as much as people want new IP's and innovation etc it is the sequels that really drive gamers with a sprinkle of new IP's here and there that turn out to be great and then those become sequels LOL.  The top games people want on the PS3,360 and Wii are for the most part sequels so lets stop putting them down and work on making them even better!

Well I agree with sequels being amazing :D But I wouldn't put Sony on the bottom of the list ^^ Maybe THIS generation SO FAR, but as a whole Sony generates ton's of money from sequels, also note they have far more in-house dev teams than both Nintendo and Microsoft :)

Sony likes to show off a new console with some different idea's, then when the user base grows a tad, they can lower the cost and hit the audience with it's big hooks, I'm actually almost sensing a repeat strategy with another Metal Gear title almost on the way :P

I'm the type of guy that really likes to get into a particular story or author, and when I play a game I REALLY like, I'd expect and want to see a continuation of the piece down the road.

Sequels generate a lot more revenue on games that are certain to sell. Final Fantasy series Grand Theft Auto series, Devil May Cry series, Guitar hero series, etc. By releasing a new installment its basically a guaranteed success because there is a fan base.
With a new project in a new series its always a gamble a hit or miss. You never know how an original game will be received. Some of the best games ever made have not had sequels made.

Yes Nintendo is first with sequels. They've had the same IPs for twenty years.

I agree with you.

But--did you just count Call of Duty 4 on the 360 but not the PS3?

Call of Duty 4 in 16 weeks has sold over 7.5 million on XBox 360 and PS3 combined. Well done.

The blockbuster PS3 sequels are hitting later than compared to Nintendo (which IMO mainly has Mario Kart left as proven exclusive blockbuster franchise for this year) and Microsoft (having already launched all major sequels, but had success with introducing Gears which will see a sequel this year).

Sony mainly experiemented with new franchices up until now and companies released lesser anticipated exclusive sequels. However they are about to arrive across 2008/2009.

The way I see it any PS3 sold this year is more profitable (or less loss giving) than a PS3 console sold around launch or last year, high profile exclusive sequels may also hurt not yet established franchices somewhat and 3rd party efforts. So this may well be somewhat intentional, getting production costs down and providing some extra time to polish the big guns.

Call of Duty 4 will reach over a combined total of 10 million sold on PS3 and XBox 360. GTA 4 is expected to follow this trend and should reach 10 million sold by end of the year.

Sorry I meant to edit Call of Duty 4 out since I figured people would say something about it being on the PS3. In the end is just another example of great sequels. Overral MS has had more sequels then SONY which is why I put them in third at least for now.

 Holy mother of god, that is some excellent spin. They got production costs down by selling less consoles and they sent the new IP's out to die while providing extra time to polish the big guns. And of course they sold as few Blu-Ray players as possible... only just enough to beat HD-DVD. What a goddamn awesome plan, and it all came together perfectly!