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Do gamers really want more sequels?
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A short while back, Games.net posted and interesting list for The 49 Best Sequel-less Games. While well written, the list evokes a certain nostalgia that's, in some ways, troubling for the video game industry.
The first problem with such a list is that it includes a few suspect games that weren't all that financially successful or critically well-received in the first place. For example, the inclusion of titles like Forsaken and Advent Rising on the list is curious to say the least. Their simple mention suggests that the writer Kyle Ackerman (while considerably talented) is perhaps waxing nostalgically more than making a solid case for the proliferation of sequels.
But let's not digress. This list does include it's fair share of one-off gems. Psychonauts was great in its day despite its lackluster reception from the mass market. Alien Hominid was an excellent indie title turned mainstream success story. Ikaruga is heralded, alongside it's Radiant Silvergun brethren, as one of the finest shmups ever made.
However, the list brings up an even more important question: do any of these games actually need a sequel? In an industry that has become over dependant on sequels, it's odd to see nostalgic rhetoric begging for more sequels, even for the most brilliant of games. Today even highly rated game franchises are often creticized for suffering from sequelitis. Perhaps what makes a lot of the games on this particular list so good is that they were, at the end of the day, brilliant stand alone games that captured the hearts and minds of gamers. Many of game on this particular list were so immaculately produced that they were able to convey a particular experience in a single cohesive title.
One must also question if there is even a need to replicate the experience that niche masterpieces like Killer 7 provide. Many of these games are quite unique and game development, like all artistic endeavors, is often dependant on getting the right group of minds together at the right time under the right conditions to produce genius. Development studios who can retain such talent often go to make successful sequels, hence the current trend of introducing and luanching game franchises in the form of trilogies (i.e. Bioshock and Gears of War). But most studios see brilliant artists, writers, and programmers move on to other dev houses, which in itself is a blessing to the industry. It allows these talented folks to meld their creative impetus with other brilliant minds to produce new ventures. Thus, instead of a Killer 7 sequel, producer Suda51 gave the world No More Heroes. No wonder Hideo Kojima wants to leave the Metal Gear series once and for all. Undoubtedly the man has a million ideas in his head that could potentially surpass his success with Metal Gear. Kojima is certainly trying his damndest to spread out and he only has one lifetime to achieve it.
Now let's consider the #2 ranked game on the list: Grim Fandango. If Grim Fandango's creative visionary Tim Schafer devoted his time to a sequel, the world may never have seen the #1 ranked title on the list: Psychonauts. It's here that the list disproves itself. Now, we have to ask ourselves, would the gaming world really be better off with a Psychonauts sequel than it would with Tim Shafer's upcoming Brutal Legend? Weren't the folks at Behemoth better off developing Castle Crashers than an Alien Hominid sequel? And isn't Ikaruga somewhat of a spiritual successor to Radiant Silvergun anyways? Aren't gamers better off with Shadow of the Colossus than a direct Ico sequel? Forget the sequels, we just need good games. If they happen to be sequels, great, but should we really be asking for sequels in this industry? We're often better off looking forward, not back. The game industry needs more 'sequel-less' games.
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