Now that E3 has come & gone, I'd like to point out the staggering proportion of sequels to new IP (or intellectual property for the layman). On IGN's site of games announced which you can find here http://www.ign.com/wikis/e3/Big_Games_at_E3_2013 quite a fair share of sequels or dated games make the list. This phenomena both helps and hinders developers and gamers alike for multiple reasons.
For some game series, multiple games are needed as they are planned. This happens rarely I have found in earlier years, but seems to be more and more common with the larger developers that can afford to do so. Most games (especially in earlier years) never had their sequels planned out. If it made money and the gamers clamored for more, it happened. Games like Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross are great examples here. Chrono Cross is considered an Indirect sequel so as not to rehash the story & mechanics and to let people enjoy the story regardless if the had played Trigger before. This was during the highlight of the Square days as well, so Cross was able to come out rather quickly compared to some other sequels.
Undoubtedly one of the best game series I have ever played (Their soundtracks are top notch as well if you haven't heard them).
Another issue is simply the piggybacking method, notably used in any Madden game or any other sport game that revolves around the actual IRL comparison of players and their game counterparts. Essentially the same game every year but with changed rosters and better graphics, games like Madden ride on the popularity of outside factors and rehash them,selves year after year for a nice and steady tribute of $60.00+ from their fans that happen to own consoles. I have nothing against this from a fan's point of view (though I have never owned one of these sports game I understand the fan dynamic of wanting to support something, whether it be a team, a fashion, or some other hobby). But the issue is that such games lack substance and tend to bled into the notion of "what games are" in the public's eye. This can be detrimental if one of these games are the few bits of exposure that someone gets from what a video game "is" to them simply because there is so much more out there than the pixel count of Brett Farve's muscles.
I think I see a pattern here...
The other issue of piggybacking in respect to more traditional games can be highlighted by series such as Shadow Hearts. The story essentially takes place over two games, yet we have a 3rd installment entitled Shadow Hearts: From the Brave New World. It is set in the same universe much like Chrono Cross is to Chrono Trigger, yet is playing on the previous popularity and fame of the previous two games.
Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to play it, but from my understanding I feel that I need to play it simply because it is related to that universe rather than on its own merit. This is exactly what has stopped me from playing it so far even though I do mean to play it at some point. I've even heard that the game was subpar in comparison (though I leave my own judgement for later on that) yet I know I will still play it regardless. Such a conscious compulsion however doesn't make many gamers happy as it gives a "have to" rather than "want to" mentality.
This type of piggybacking goes hand in hand with the simple notion that sequels are SAFE. The first one made money, so why shouldn't the second albeit repackaged a little differently work the same? It's why we see so many movies doing the same (Does Hangover really need a 2nd and 3rd installment? No. It was a standalone movie that the producers wanted more from). Games that have no business having added storyline then can get considerably ruined from having sequels in this way. Characters that had developed empathy and character suddenly forget all they have learned in the first game and must again slay some evil that eerily seems like their last encounter. Such sequels invalidate the worth of the first games as such and it pulls at my heart to see them treated so. One of the games getting redone is FFX-2. All that Yuna did and sacrificed so you could dress her Rikku & Paine in different outfits as she looks for Tidus seems rather coarse towards what they all went through in the original FFX http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Dressphere. I like that it's getting the HD treatment along with FFX at least, but X-2 is not the game that FFX is. Others may disagree with this specifically and that's ok, but you cannot deny that this rough treatment has been done to other great game franchises.
You rock it ladies
Obviously then as mentioned in my last post you have the issue of games not fitting into any sequential order or subverting themsleves in between published game timelines. Games such as these cannot be grouped together with other direct sequels because they are not trying to be direct sequels. Lots of racing games or series that have established universes if not characters that a player are tied to fit this bill. These type of sequels usually don't have the same numbering system as well tending to have subheadings. Take the Need for Speed series. EA has produced a plethora of these, most having their subheading and sometimes even a second one to denote the particular version that it's compatible on. With the onset of mobile and tablet devices taking wing over the past few years each installment has more freedom to focus on a particular feature or mechanic. Better graphics and new choices in cars is considered standard for them much like the sports games as they are dependent on cars in real life, yet they are not trying to be as realistic as a football player in that sense (Play some Gran Turismo instead if you want that) which grants them a much greater amount of freedom. As long as it continues to make money then, such a model seems like the way to go.
This doesn't usually work for more story driven games however. It's why I believe Biohazard/Resident Evil 6 flopped so hard. Games trying to reboot themselves need to take much greater care when trying to recreate themselves as they have an established fan base and particular character personalities that they need to work around. Games like Prince of Persia were able to do this fantastically as they were able to create a character for the Prince, while Games Like Fallout focused on the player and the choices that the player makes themselves to liven up the series. Unfortunately, if a company deviates too much from a pre established character however, such reboots are usually left in the dust for not being able to bridge such a connection between the player and the original game.
From this...
To this.
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