Unlike Movie-Goers, Gamers Love Sequels?

Thanks to EvilAvatar for pointing to a Seattle Post-Intelligencer article discussing how gaming sequels tower above most movie sequels in terms of desirability and quality. The piece argues of movies: "Sequels suck, right? For every 'Godfather 2' and 'Aliens' there are hundreds of horrendous rehashes clogging the video store shelves. Hollywood wants your money; quality control be damned", before contrasting them with games: "Fans chomp at the bit for a few screenshots from the next installment of beloved games such as 'Half-Life' and 'Halo.' When the games arrive they rarely disappoint. Gaming franchises get better and better while their celluloid cousins go straight to video." Valve's Gabe Newell also comments on feedback for sequels: "We are super-involved in the community that has sprung up around our games. Whether through e-mail, the forums, the fan sites, or calling my house at 3 a.m. in the morning, we have a pretty good idea what they are thinking. And it absolutely factors into our decisions."

Comments

Re:And then there's the Gaming Sequels Rule of 3.

[edwdig]

That's not how it goes. The second game diverges greatly from the first, then the third goes back to the original formula.

Look at all the old NES games that followed that model. Super Mario Bros and The Legend of Zelda are the most glaring series to do it.

SMB didn't do that in Japan.

[Pluvius]

The SMB2 in America isn't an SMB at all, but rather a hack of Doki Doki Panic. The real SMB2 is almost exactly like the first one (which, incidentally, is why Nintendo was afraid of releasing it over here).

Rob

Re:SMB didn't do that in Japan.

[BackwardEngineer]

Actually they thought that the SMB2j too difficult for us "stupid" Americans. Same goes for why Final Fantasy Mystic Quest was released here. (It's called Final Fantasy USA in Japan)