Game Franchises That Need A Breather

A while back I wrote about game franchises that have been long neglected. What about those franchises that have become a bit too oversaturated? It’s time they laid low for a few years. Absence does make the heart grow fonder.

In no particular order, game franchises that need an extended break:

1. Halo. With Halo 3, Halo Wars, Halo 3: ODST and Halo Reach all released in rapid-fire succession over the past four years, it is time for Master Chief and company to take a breather. One thing that Microsoft could do to appease fans, is to release Halo 1 and 2 in HD, with Halo 2 getting renewed Xbox Live support on the current-gen 360.

2. Final Fantasy. While Square Enix has released a modest 7 FF games (FFVII-FFXIII) over a period of 13 years, the franchise has seen a dirth of remakes and ports. The recent failure of FFXIII should be enough indication that the cash cow needs a rest, and should not return without some innovation. The highly clamored-for remake of FFVII may be the jump-start the franchise needs.

3. Tony Hawk and Skate. EA’s John Riccitiello was correct in saying the skateboard games have hit the wall. Unless you can create a new experience with the genre (like with Kinect), there is not much you can do to advance these games. Sony has been releasing HD collections, and Tony Hawk 1-4 would make a great collection for nostalgics. Skate is a solid franchise that took the torch from Tony Hawk, but they hit the ceiling with the genre.

4. Sports games. With DLC becoming so prevalent, I fail to see why a new iteration of NHL/Madden needs to come out every year. Give these games a 2 or 3 year lifespan, supported by paid content.

5. Battlefield. I love Dice, but the Battlefield brand seems to be everywhere. There are 2 free-to-play games, the Bad Company franchise, and the regular Battlefield PC games (BF 1942, 2, and 2142 still being played) including a BF 3 on the horizon. These are all excellent games, but there needs to be a stronger partition in the brand identity, otherwise it feels like the market is crowded with Battlefield.

6. Rock Band/Guitar Hero. I’ve said plenty on these! Time to hit the showers.

Honorable Mention:

Call of Duty. These come out on a yearly cycle now, but at least they change things up quite a bit, in terms of era (WWII/Modern/Cold War) and gameplay. The next few CoD games will indicate if the franchise’s is overstaying its welcome.

Need For Speed. This franchise has just righted the ship, thanks to Criterion Games’ Hot Pursuit. Though with 5 releases in 3 years (Shift, Nitro, World, Hot Pursuit, and Unleashed) the NFS franchise may suddenly find itself oversaturating the market.