General News - 5 RPGs that destroyed their Franchise

Originally Posted by HiddenX
Click4Gameplay have collected some RPG franchise killers:

More information.

The only and first thing i thought of is Fallout …..

Originally Posted by JFarrell71
Good choice, though I think it died (or at least stuck the knife in) with VIII. I vividly remember reading an article with some quotes around the time VIII was released which more or less had the tone of I know you all liked the games we've been making and characters like Dupre, Shamino and Iolo, but that's all old hat and dumb and we're going to do something totally different now.

U9 should have saved the franchise after the debacle of Ultima VII and Ultima Online with its launch problems, PVP griefing, and performance issues - all things that pioneered with the game.

But U9 also had the same issues as Ultima 6, 7 and UU in that it pushed the boundaries to the point where most computers couldn't play it - which is ironic because U3 through 5 used systems to allow them to be played under the limitations of PC's at the time.

EA really holds the biggest blame in it though as they pulled people off the original Ultima 9 for work on UO then ordered the release of the game in the state that it was in instead of giving the team the time they needed due to internal policies. The original U9 looks like it could have played something like Baldur's Gate.

U9 holds the distinction as the first forum to get wiped in an attempt to cover up bad news.

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Its odd in Video Games, one bad game can kill a franchise for a long time. But most can be resurrected. Look at Tomb Raider for example.

Originally Posted by Lucky Day
Its odd in Video Games, one bad game can kill a franchise for a long time. But most can be resurrected. Look at Tomb Raider for example.

What happened in the Tomb Rider franchise?
I only played the first two and already didn't like them much. The German press was pretty happy about it. I think they started with the 3rd game to get bored which seemed to start a decline. But I am unaware of a horrible part in the series.

Originally Posted by Kordanor
Might and Magic was mentioned a couple of time. M9 was apparently quite bad (never played it). MMX was quite good, yes it was different than 9. But 9 was different to 6,7,8 and 6,7,8 were different to 3,4,5 which were different to 1,2, so what…
MMX was not a financial success, otherwise there would have been a successor. At least it sounded that way from the MMX Developers back then.
So…for me M9 did not ruin the franchise as I liked MMX.

MM1-8 all have John Van Caneghem, the original creator of the series, on board. MMIX and MMX did not. The difference is extremely telling. I'm not disagreeing with you, as this is all opinion, but this is a big reason why those games just aren't might and magic to me, but something that stole the name and made their own thing.

Most franchise restarts fail horribly with Fallout 3 being an exception as a game that massively increased the popularity of the series it resurrected; albeit in an unrecognizable form

Originally Posted by crpgnut
MM1-8 all have John Van Caneghem, the original creator of the series, on board. MMIX and MMX did not. The difference is extremely telling. I'm not disagreeing with you, as this is all opinion, but this is a big reason why those games just aren't might and magic to me, but something that stole the name and made their own thing.

Most franchise restarts fail horribly with Fallout 3 being an exception as a game that massively increased the popularity of the series it resurrected; albeit in an unrecognizable form

They under-delivered on their promises with MM X. We barely got any DLC and support was dropped from the game like a hot potato. I am glad the game was difficult and mostly bug free since I supported it.
By the end of the game I felt like I was on rails and the outcome of the game had no variance in ending or even consequence on the game world and story.

Originally Posted by Kordanor
What happened in the Tomb Rider franchise?
I only played the first two and already didn't like them much. The German press was pretty happy about it. I think they started with the 3rd game to get bored which seemed to start a decline. But I am unaware of a horrible part in the series.

Its hard to remember - FPS were not my thing. I seem to recall they had either one bad game or just too much of the same.

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I think you can also something has been killed if it continues to have sequels but they're bad - just cashing in on a name, or trying to revive it and failing.

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Recall that Might and Magic 9 could destroy your operating system. Remember the week it came out it was the best selling game with numbers through the roof. The next week it was the most returned and failed to make the top 10 for the year.