Fanboy-ism aside, I think everyone can admit that some major triple “A” franchises have jumped the shark, and just don’t know it. Yeah, I know that this article might be controversial, even among my fellow writers here at GrE. That being said, let’s discuss some of the franchises that have fallen from grace and possibly why.
1. Sonic
There are some easy ones that I can start off with, like Sonic. Back when SEGA was still touting its “Blast Processing” this game was THE GAME to have if you owned a Genesis. It was fun, it was fast, and it was simple and easy to pick up and play. Nothing complicated about a run right game.
As the series progressed, they started to add more and more characters into the mix, as well as changing Dr. Robotnik to “The Eggman” for some insane reason. Now the series has been on just about every console, and has had more rebirths than John Travolta. Mention this franchise today and everyone talks about the games that were, and less about the games that will be. Quite frankly, this is because no one cares anymore.
2. Tony Hawk
Tony Hawk games; Just the mention of it now will garner snickers and all out belly laughs. Sure, when the first game hit the shelves it was fresh with new mechanics, and a unique approach to skating (remember 720°, or Skate or Die?) on the console. You were given a wide variety of locations as well as tasks to accomplish during your skate session. It was also complimented by a great soundtrack.
As time wore on, the franchise would implement different modifications to the skate system, adding things like manuals, transitions and later, focus tricks much like “bullet time.” These however were just the life support for a dying franchise. The latest attempt to get “Tony” back in the fans good graces — after the release of the critically acclaimed “Skate” from EA– was to add the skateboard peripheral. *sigh* Just what we need as gamers, another chunk of plastic in our collection. Critics and gamers alike panned this latest attempt to breathe new life into the series. I even heard tell of someone witnessing a kid during winter “skating” on his Tony Hawk controller down a snow-covered sidewalk. Ouch!
3. Guitar Hero
Guitar Hero games… ugh, where to begin… When the franchise took off on the PS2 it was a MEGA hit. Hell, professional athletes were injuring themselves before world series games whilst playing it. As the popularity started to build, so did demand. Flash forward a bit and demand begets over saturation. Flash forward a bit more and over saturation begets market, as well as profit drop off. It’s so bad now that almost every Gamestop that you go into not only has enough plastic guitars to line the walls, but they won’t even allow you to trade them in because they can’t sell the crap anymore.
Greed is to blame here. When they came out with the more specific band centric titles, it was all down hill from there. Aerosmith, Metallica, and Van Halen: all wanted a slice of that pie, but by the end, they found out the flavor was humble. Even Rock Band has started to fall into this trap with the release of AC/DC, Beatles, and soon GreenDay versions of their software. It’s all just to damn much. We don’t have anymore room in our houses for more plastic instruments. Carbon footprint indeed.
4. Final Fantasy
Next on the hit list is Final Fantasy. — Clutch the pearls! He said what? — Yes… Final Fantasy. I can say this because I have been a FF fan since the NES days. I have owned just about all versions of it up until Final Fantasy XII. My all time favorite game is Final Fantasy VI (III here). I have played through that game multiple times and still enjoy playing it to this day. However, I think the Final Fantasy series or Franchise is slowly starting to suffocate underneath its ever expanding, constantly rehashing, and reissuing of previous games. You can at this very moment buy Final Fantasy I on at least six different systems, and they are all the same game. This isn’t an issue normally because they will release big titles on multiple platforms all the time. Just usually at once, not a drip feed over the course of 15 years. Honestly, if SquareEnix announces that they are bringing Final Fantasy to platform “X” and it just turns out to be yet ANOTHER re-issue of Final Fantasy I, I am out completely.
Another factor that is contributing to the downfall of the majestic series is the simple fact that it is no longer a “Fantasy” based game. No more are you really dealing with knights, dragons, and wizards. Now it’s all technophiles, gadgets, and the future. Gimme a good battle against a towering red dragon any day over fighting machines and robots. If nothing else, split the audience and make two different series about the two genres. It wouldn’t be that hard to do, honestly.
I only recently realized that I have had FFXIII since day one and haven’t played it in at least a month. I was enjoying my time with the game, but other games that have come out since have been more exciting. Back in the day, you wouldn’t have been able to tear me away from the TV let alone get me to play a different game. I think I have been fooling myself into thinking that the latest was the greatest.
5. Duke Nukem
Probably the most egregious of them all has to be Duke Nukem. Back when Duke Nukem 3D was released it was the hit of the party. Everyone loved the first person shooter that was basically DOOM with an attitude. I mean you were an unstoppable shit talker that spit one liners from Ash in Army of Darkness, and paid strippers to dance for him. What gamer doesn’t hear his voice when you think of the line “It’s time to kick ass, and chew bubblegum… and I’m all outta gum.” Classic Duke.
Back in 1996 when DN3D was released, you were hard pressed to find a FPS fan out there that hadn’t played it, or at the very least hadn’t heard of the game. The same could be said for the more recent (never to be released) Duke Nukem Forever, but not quite in the same light. Most gamers, and non-gamers for that matter, have heard of DNF. It has become one of, if not THE biggest joke in game development. Anytime a game is late to release or has been canceled, gamers are quick to throw it under the bus with Duke. Announced in April of 1997, it has been in development hell ever since. As recent as December of 2009 there have been fights for this game to “get finished” though many gamers, developers, producers, marketing people, local bus boys, and your grandma are all pretty sure that it will never happen. Especially now, considering that 3D Realms has fired pretty much everyone connected to the game. Though they did go on record as saying that “yes, we released the internal team, but that doesn’t correlate to the demise of the project.” This project will become the D.B. Cooper of video games, and if you don’t know who that is, gooooooogle it.
Of course it goes without saying that this is subject to personal taste as well as what you get out of each game. However, I think we can mostly all agree that there are many game franchises out there (including these) that are in dire need of some sort of revitalization. The unfortunate thing is that most of the big developers like EA, Activision, and SquareEnix won’t see the error of their ways until their big franchises have been driven into the ground. Only then will they wake up and take note of the dipping profits. I give all the credit in the world to Tony Hawk, Activision, and Neversoft for saying they would take some time off and rethink where they want their game to go. That’s the first step in the right direction. As for the rest, well… only time will tell I guess, who will learn their lesson before it is to late and all the fans have long since given up.
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