Time incessantly rolls on. It's a fact that cannot be denied in real life no matter how much wish fulfillment we get from other games that might let us control, manipulate or otherwise alter the flow. With that in mind, it has been fascinating to watch how both game franchises and game developers have aged. There seem to be three options that come to mind as I observed the choices of companies as we raced passed the millennium mark and on to the 21rst century proper.
1. FAIL: Some companies have failed or been devoured into larger giants. Clover Studios, the maker of our favorite reincarnated sun goddess is no more. Disney interactive has recently been incorporated into (cringe) EA. SEGA, the makers of Sonic, probably the second most recognized video game character ever stopped making consoles and its own games in 2001, currently pairing with other 3rd party developers. While the majority of people that were the creative cogs have moved on or been encompassed into these other companies, it bears reminding some of the groundbreaking games that these now ghostly logos have been a part of making into video game history.
2. Linear Love: While others may fall, many are still growing strong. What is interesting to examine though is exactly how games and developers have let their games "grow up" with the players. Obviously this is much easier with T or M rated games as there is more room for content and complexity within a narrative as well as graphics to support any more vivid imagery. In addition, there could be a complete division in either graphics or story, even across mediums. Sonic the Hedgehog, while not a game takes on a darker theme of a war torn world set after an apocalypse. That seems to be a bit headier than the simple antics of foiling Dr. Robotnic/Eggman in a desert while eating chili cheese dogs. Jak & Daxter, seems to grow with the player as well (just looking at the box art says much to that end). And in a special place in everyone's hearts, what was a spin off of a spin off, Conker's Bad fur day, one of the few M rated N64 games and Rare's last game for the console gave Conker a completely new personality, making him a far cry from his persona in Diddy Kong Racing. Whether this is good or bad really depends on a few factors of course. Companies want to make money. If their target audience grows up they can either follow them and claim some of that cradle to grave brand loyalty that's all the rage with those Baby Boomers or they can try and keep recreating the past with the current formula and world that they've created for their characters. In creating older more adult games, players might be too young to play later incarnations at first. This could alienate some players who are impatient, yet overall I don't believe this to be too much of an issue given that many customers (of which many are parents) are unaware of the ratings system.
3. Pick & Choose: Lastly, and what seems to be the most common with target audiences that pander to the younger crowd (I'm looking at you Nintendo) tend to stick to non linear sequels, or sets (such as the Paper Mario series within the larger Super Mario series). These then keep their target audience to s specific age group that is usually more family friendly and accessible to all ages. Some exceptions are made of course (Twilight Princess and some of the issues in Wind Waker are decidedly more complex and existential issues such as rebuilding a culture after a devastating flood that killed most of a country's population, or the repercussions of the execution of Ganondorf from "The Hero is Triumphant" timeline as mentioned in Hyrule Historia, page 69). Series such as the Star Wars' franchise benefit greatly as they can simultaneously integrate non Canon story into new games like that with Force Unleashed, or expand on other areas that only briefly were described in the movies or books. These games and developers tend to be more widely accepted and known for the larger set target group, yet if not carefully groomed or rehashed one too many times (Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix?! a hd version of essentially two reduxes of the original KH game). This could be for many reasons such as the issues with FF XIII Versus and Kingdom Hearts III or the disbanding of former contributers. It can even come down to issues with voice actors. Kevin Conroy for example will not be voicing our beloved dark knight in Batman: Arkham Origins as well as Mark Hamill for the Joker, which is a shame really.
What each of these companies and series must ultimately ask themselves is how they want to adapt to the ever changing environment. More and more people are aware of games and play them at at least a casual level. Many of us gamers that are growing up or have grown up now have their own children to introduce to the wonderful world of video games. Yet gaming will never again be like it was in the 80's 90's or 2000's. I find that being able to play a franchise as it came out is vastly different and rewarding in some different and pivotal ways from being able to instantly access (provided I have the hardware or emulator or credits on the estore) a series. Both have their merits, and though the pick and choose companies have circumvented the lack of hardware issue by lettings older games be accessed through an estore, all of these companies must be vigilant in their assessment of themselves in their mutability in the market. Unfortunately it all comes down to money yet with the advent of emulators, even if you've never gotten the chance to play Chrono Trigger on the SNES, you can still do it on your gameboy or on your computer.
Guess which one is which!
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