Weekly Manifesto Thread!

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danielrbischoff

danielrbischoff

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So again, this is experimental. I withhold the right to completely scrap this endeavor at my own discretion. Nevertheless, I think this will be a lot of fun!

I'll bump this thread if it dies prematurely and this first edition might be a little quiet, but the whole point is to have people checking out the manifesto register and join in the next weekly thread.

Yearly installments of games? Good or bad? Call of Duty, Assassin's Creed.... What do annual entries in video game series mean to you?
 
Series of a game can be a good and bad thing. If the previous game ended with cliff hangers, the fans will be dying to know what happens next. It's good players will see what happens next, but sometimes series can be a bad thing
Games like the Madden series I feel are bad, the only thing improving slightly is the graphics. Installments like the Madden series should just have updated content, rather a new game.

I also said before in the past, many gamers are too jaded to trying something new.
 
It really depends on two things: what they do to improve the series and whether they're singleplayer of multiplayer based.

Singleplayer games that offer a new, improved experience with each game, IE Assassin's Creed, are good. Multiplayer games that offer the same game as the previous ones, IE Call of Duty, are bad. Although it's hard to even count Assassin's Creed as an example, since Brotherhood is more an extension of 2 than a true sequel, and there's a big difference there.

Recently, there have been few to no good games that have had a release in the series every year. All the best series release a new game every two years or so, and that tends to give them plenty of time to properly produce the game rather than just rehashing the previous game.
 
Anymore, it's mostly just publishers cashing in on a franchise that has proven in the past to be a big ticket profit maker. Usually yearly installments don't add enough to a game to warrant a new game in the first place too - Keep the same game play mechanics, maybe tweak a few minor things, and throw together a new campaign, boom profit. Casual gamers aren't as willing to try out new IPs when the old tried and true games come out once a year and the casual gamer doesn't have to learn anything, just pop in the game and feel like a pro. This, to me, is one of the biggest detriments that yearly games bring to the table, with yearly installments of CoD, Halo, Madden, NCAA, insert any other title here, the majority of gamers won't ever try out the diamonds in the rough or little indie games which can sometimes be better than these AAA titles.

While Assassin's Creed 1 and 2 were both great games, I really don't see the need to push out a new one already, and I think they just announced another one for next year. Madden is pushed out mainly for roster updates, which doesn't seem necessary anymore since people can update rosters and share them, but it won't stop. Halo started out as a noble title by Bungie, but the cash cow is getting fatter and fatter. And while I, personally, feel the Call of Duty franchise is the best of the annual titles, I almost think even a biannual development cycle would help out the game's polish and bugs (maybe they can learn how to develop games for the PC along the way).

Anyways, yeah...For the most part annual game releases aren't a good idea, just a way to milk a market for all its got.
 
Annual games are an interesting bunch to decipher. Many people feel that Annual games are too much on their wallets, especially in the terms of sports game like Madden and other EA-endorsed sports games. It gives off the vibe that "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." and continue to reap the benefits of players wanting the next big game.

But there are some games that pull off additional content and a way to make the game even more fun to play, instead of a copy-paste game. Games like this are few and far between.
 
Sport games are the ones I mostly avoid. I always get them every 2 or 3 years. Apart from Tiger Woods PGA Tour...I get that every year simply because I love the game!
But Fifa 10 and fifa 11 have almost NO difference, and I know a friend of mine who buys them every year, and I always think - whats the point?! It's the same!
Saying that COULD make me a hypocrite, but at least tiger Woods has a different style of single player every year, fifa is just the same!

Things like CoD and Assassin's Creed I dont mind at all. In fact, I welcome it. They're great games, and the more often they get released - the better.
 
I think its a good thing. I don't see how 60 bucks a year to get a refresh of a series you really enjoy can put a strain on your wallet. Using call of duty as an example, the differences of black ops arnt huge, but I love the games and I can afford to spend 60 a year for some fresh content. And I can certainly save up another 60 over a year to get the next one.

If the series is good I don't need them to make drastic changes for me to buy the games yearly. Saving 5 bucks a month towards a yearly release shouldn't be a strain on anyone who has chosen gaming as their hobby.

As for sports games, there really isn't enough they can change anymore. All they really need is a yearly roster update dlc, which I would gladly pay for, but not $60.
 
My primary concern with yearly installments is the stagnation it brings. I wrote a while ago in my letter to Bobby Kotick that focusing on sequels and yearly releases of games can saturate the market and bleed those franchises dry. It happened to Splinter Cell, Prince of Persia, Tony Hawk, Guitar Hero, and Medal of Honor, and is beginning to happen to Call of Duty.

Now take a model like Gears of War, or Halo, or Zelda. The installments come every so often, 2-3 years after the first game. It gives the developers time to work on the game, to make (hopefully at least) improvements and become more familiar with the technology, and gives gamers a chance to breathe, which is most important. Gamers get bored and jump around from game to game a lot, at least from my own experience. Few gamers stick to one game for an extended period of time unless if they addicted or dedicated to it, like WoW players for example. Allowing gamers to take a break and get excited for a new installment makes more sense from a marketing standpoint and a consumer standpoint. Shoveling it down each year does not.

So for me, they should not be yearly, but instead be done when they are done. A great game builds anticipation if it has a sequel, if it's released yearly, you lose that edge quickly and the flaws of the game are more apparant.
 
I_Hate_MGS said:
I think its a good thing. I don't see how 60 bucks a year to get a refresh of a series you really enjoy can put a strain on your wallet. Using call of duty as an example, the differences of black ops arnt huge, but I love the games and I can afford to spend 60 a year for some fresh content. And I can certainly save up another 60 over a year to get the next one.

If the series is good I don't need them to make drastic changes for me to buy the games yearly. Saving 5 bucks a month towards a yearly release shouldn't be a strain on anyone who has chosen gaming as their hobby.

As for sports games, there really isn't enough they can change anymore. All they really need is a yearly roster update dlc, which I would gladly pay for, but not $60.
Click to expand...

This post sucks and you are a fucking gay guy because of this faggot post.
 
Here's for a little bump in the conversation:

How important is a narrative in a yearly-published game series? Continuative like Assassin's Creed? Separate stories like (most of) Call of Duty? Madden... the story of yearly football?
 
You better have an amazing narrative or a major gameplay addition of change up. If it's just a couple of tweaks then it just feels like you're paying full price for an update or DLC. Take sports games for instance.

I could care less if it's a continuation or separate.
 
Yeah, I agree with Bret. The story has to be strong in order for it to be a buy for me. Whether it's continuative or separate doesnt matter too much. Although I prefer continuative simply because I like the idea that it's part of a bigger plot.
I haven't bought any CoDs since 3. If the last 4 CoD releases had all been part of a massive plot rather than all being separate (MW excluded), I probably would've bought them all.

Single player is important ESPECIALLY for me, since my internet doesnt work on my 360 for some reason, so I'm reliant entirely on the campaigns. I'm sure there must be others in my position.
 
MattAY said:
Single player is important ESPECIALLY for me, since my internet doesnt work on my 360 for some reason, so I'm reliant entirely on the campaigns. I'm sure there must be others in my position.
Click to expand...
Nope. No idea what you're talking about. I ONLY play online.

Seriously, though, the singleplayer and story portions of the game are crucial, especially in yearly releases. Mostly because the gameplay and multiplayer is 90% the same to the previous game, so why bother paying full price for a game you already own 90% of beforehand. Unless you only buy one game a year and/or are a casual, there's little buyer's logic behind it.
 
Shameless Bump, but this is a reminder that this thread's topic will go live on Monday. Any other thoughts on yearly releases? I've always been perplexed by people who buy Madden or any sports game year to year. Have any of you bought a sports title on back to back years?
 
The only sports games I buy anymore are 2 or 3 years old and $5 at Gamestop. Although I'm sure some people buy them yearly just for the easy 1000 gamerscore....
 
I rarely buy sports game year to year. I made an exception for UFC 2009 Undisputed, and UFC Undisputed 2010.
 
I did for Madden 2007 and 2008, just because '07 was for the Xbox, and '08 was for 360. I dont think I would buy back to back sports games; or really, anything made by EA, for the same system.
 
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