Games That Come Out Every Year

[Franchize1990]

I was recently on the EA Sports forum for NCAA Football 2012 (coming out July 15th for those that don't know. Make sure to get your copy as soon as possible *shameless plug* ) and most of the threads were/are pretty negative about some of the features that have been announced on the game. I thought that some of the comments were unwarranted to say, especially before the game actually comes out but, seeing that message board and some others for games that come out every year (i.e. Madden, SVR, etc.) got me thinking:

Are there any games that come out on a yearly basis that are basically universally loved?

Maybe it's a thing that only comes from the hardcore gamers but I always get the feeling that there is a rather large group of people that dislike/hate the game. So my questions to you are:

Why do you think games that come out every year get so much criticism?

What are your favorite yearly games?

 

[Sean Valjean]

I think people dislike annually released games is because they feel like nothing more than quick cash-ins. They are seen as being same game as the year before with a few tweaks and improvements. And that's the reality of quite a few games that are released yearly. A year isn't a lot of time to provide anything new or innovative. Why shell out another 60 bucks for mostly updated rosters or modes? Could the same improvements not be done through DLC/updates? I think those are some of the questions critics ask of a yearly series.

Call of Duty and Madden are probably the poster children for this perception, as they constantly criticized for merely re-skinning all their games. Considering their success, it's hard to blame them for sticking with what works as even without doing too much to it, people will still buy their games. Even the so-called critics that complain about it are most likely putting in their pre-orders for next entry. But some gamers tend to get burned out purchasing and playing a game that changes little so frequently.

As for your second question, my favorite yearly series is Assassin's Creed. The series just started to follow the yearly release pattern, but things are looking good so far. Despite releasing only a year after AC II, Brotherhood had a number of significant additions including an entire new city, the ability to form and control your own Assassin's order, a huge multiplayer mode. I'm still a bit wary about the yearly release plan, but if they can continue add that much improvement and polish in AC: Revelations and beyond, then keep em' coming.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I think the reason these games get so much criticism is because they are often nearly identical to the previous entry only the roster changed and perhaps one or two gameplay elements may have been changed or added. That does tend to get annoying. Even with Smackdown VS Raw, it would take more than an upgraded roster for me to want to get the next version if I was still enjoying the current one. I would then get disappointed when it would be worse than the older one(s) and almost felt like a waste of money. That being said, the SVR series was by far my favorite series of games that had an annual upgrade. It was always fun to see those games reflecting what was going on in WWE at the time.

 

[lenguy]

There was really only one yearly franchise that I was willing to buy year in and year out and those were the Smackdown games and later Smackdown vs Raw titles. I was a wrestling video game addict in those days, my friends and I would waste hours playing those games. But once 2007 came out, I was started to be strung by the exhaustion by which the pace of releases these titles were coming out. So I decided to rent 07 instead of rushing out and buying it on release day. I was glad I did because I did not like the new direction they took with it,I hated the ultimate control moves and stuck with playing 06. So I skipped 07,08 and 09 and I bought 2010 figuring that THQ might have done something new and refreshing after 3 titles. Well, I do enjoy the game and I love the create a finisher feature but overall I feel the franchise as a whole really hasn't come a long way. I love that at the very core of the game it still feels similar but at the same time I wish they would take a chance and experiment a little more.

This is why I largely steer away from yearly franchises because I feel for the full price tag of $60 all you're really getting is a slightly modified version of last years title with a few new features. Call of Duty all you really get is a new campaign with the same dried out gameplay mechanics, it hardly seems worth the $60 investment.

Releasing the same franchise games every year is a great way to over saturate the market with your product and you run the risk of player burn-out. A perfect example would be Guitar Hero. The same basic game year in and year out with just new songs or a different theme. Since 2005 there have been 22 Guitar Hero titles available on every major home platform or handheld device and even mobile devices. Talk about driving a franchise straight into the ground. Since then Activision has axed the franchise because of dropped sales due of a lethal combination of genre fatigue and product over saturation.

I'm not saying flushing out yearly franchises are the wrong way to go. If that's what people enjoy then you can't really stop them. Developers need to find the proper balance to keep up with the annual schedule. To release a game that feels similar but different enough to feel fresh. Which can be a might daunting task with the annual time constraints but you can only keep the gamers interest for so long before they start to look else where. As for me I can only play the same copy and paste game for so long before I must move on. It's just my gaming ethic and I know I'm not alone.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I buy the Smackdown franchise every year and have done since the very first WWF Smackdown! game on the PS1, I absolutely love them. I like getting the new roster, the new match types and going the the RTWM modes and story modes.

However, every year there are features that need to be fixed and arent, and things taken out without any reason. GM mode and many of the moves being an example of this. Come on THQ, this is an X-BOX-360, there is more than enough memory, so just put EVERYTHING into it, take a year off if you need to and then come back with the ultimate game.

Rant over...and I will still get WWE 2012 when it comes out, on the day of release lol

I also buy a football game every year, usually Pro Evo, as I prefer the game play. I do not know why I really bother, and I may not do this year as there is not that much different at all, the graphics dont usually improve and the gameplay is always the same, as is Master League. I may save my money this time round...

 

[Trill Co$by]

Madden isn't as stale as people make it out to be. They're still really great to play and worth picking up every year. The only problem is that when EA got exclusive rights to the game, that took away 2kSports' rights to create GameDay and to be honest, without the competition between the two franchises, it only seems to be stale because players don't have an alternate choice.

Personally, I love yearly installments because the minor tweaks that they make only seem to be minor. But I would hate to use an outdated roster and forget about the new jerseys for teams. I happen to love how Madden and NBA 2K11 are always molding into bigger and better games.