There's a reason why franchises get milked though. People are still willing to buy them. But it makes me wonder if people truly do want a new product or if they've just been conditioned to expect a new one every so often.

Number 1 should have been Capcom for Mega Man AND Street Fighter.

NFS has had some bad games but it has also had some great games the latest one done by burnout devs was a great game

Tome raider reboot looks/plays great for what we have seen, has the last few games been great NO but they have not been bad either. And this new one looks to go back to its original roots

FF series well there you have a legit point SE has messed up with FF series for a long time. Problem is we all complain about COD series yet look at how many FF games appear in the market whether they are on home consoles or portable ones. AND I KNOW SOMEONE WILL REPLY TO ME AND TELL ME HOW WRONG I AM AND WHY FF IS DIFFERENT THAN ANY OTHER IP THAT'S BEING MILKED

I think we are done with POP series for a while AC series is the new POP till it also dies a slow death of a release every year.

we all hate on COD one way or another but fact is each release sets a new record sales wise and all the DLC sells extremely well too so i doubt activision cares about the small number of haters because their install base earns them BILLIONS yes i said BILLIONS on yearly bases

FACE is if we like a series we consider it not being milked and if we are not into a series and it gets hyped we just turn on it. I have never bought a COD game NEW, i have played some after getting them used or rentals but not a big fan of FPS yet i respect the fact what COD means to gaming community

Nintendo has been releasing the same games for over 2 decades why do they get a free pass? mario,zelda,metroid,DK,animal crossing etc,,,,

MS gets a free pass even though they have 3 or 4 IP and they keep on releasing them fable,halo,gears and forza

sony also has done the same in some ways with GT,GOW,syphon filter,ratchet,sly etc,,,,

i am not trying to hate on any company fact is if something sells and your install base is willing to buy it again and again why would you change?

sony does take few risks in this gen like uncharted,heavy rain,mag etc,,,,

but end of the day we are gamers but they are in this business to make money and i am sure we all want new IP's yet FACT IS we buy MORE SEQUELS than NEW IPs

ICo
alan wake
metro 2033
sotc

some of the games that were above average yet their sales were not. If we as gaming community want only sequels than don't blame any company for making same games over and over its smart business with no risk

and that just my humble opinion

These guys milk so much cows are going on strike. moooo!

I really don't understand the hate for POP Forgotten Sands. Imo it's the best in the series along with Sands of time. Awesome game in my book.

Also, the latest Tomb Raider games have been of good quality (the XBLA/PSN title is amazing) and the upcoming game looks really good.

I don't view it as milking when the publisher keeps putting out great titles. To me it's when they constantly rush things out it that it becomes milking (see NFS).

1 and 2 are straight up correct.

Capcom NEEDS to be on this as number 3.

The rest I don't agree with.
Prince of Persia? No way! If anything Assassins Creed is creeping up there.

Tomb Raider was milked, BUT they stopped and refocused and it looks like they are headed in the right direction.

NFS was milked but the same applies here as well, EA did what Activision took forever to understand, stop putting out shit and take a hard look at what you are doing.
NFS is stronger than ever now.

Also, if there was no NFS we would have like zero arcade racers, FURTHER NARROWING our gaming variety.

i would think nintendo would be number 1, they havnt really been focusing on new ips for a long time, just reusing old ips that are already 20 years old.

sure cod is milked, but its nothing compared to the way nintendo milks their ips.

Dynasty Warriors
King of Fighters
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Monster Rancher
Dragon Quests
Pokemon

Umad? I can keep on going. Let's face it, milking is one way to make money and that's how the game publishers roll. Got a problem? Tell it them in term of money. I'm sure they'll consider it. /sarcasm.

Milking = More sequels to same old IPs

Comparing the current gen with the PS2 days there were definitely a wide variety of innovative games and gaming experiences in the past gen.

PS2 is the Best gaming console till date - Games made it great (Huge library).
We want new IPs like Heavy Rain and Mirrors edge.

I can say EA is milking is NFS but i dont think it would any valid point.Just because i didnt like any of their NFS games after underground 2 (i have although finished all the games that came after those until shift 2)doesnt mean it was milked or bad after that.

My list:

1. Activision = COD
2. Nintendo = Mario
3. CAPCOM = RE series
4. EA = NFS series
5. MS = HALO

I actually looking forward to the new reboot Lara Croft adventure.

there is always something different in terms of graphics and gameplay in the need for speed and prince of persia games.!!!!!

It should be EA for FIFA...

games like madden, fifa, pga, cod, nba etc are the most milked games!!!!! nobody seem to mention them!!!

-
4 Uncharted games in 5 years!
-Uncharted
-Uncharted 2
-Uncharted 3
-Uncharted: Golden Abyss
-plus a motion comic prequel to U2, Uncharted: Eye of Indra....

same awful character models with different clothes, same gameplay and same story formula...

YUCK!

Nintendo....That dead horse laying in the middle of it's developer studio should be nothing more than powder after 28 years of beatings.

@sasuke99

do you know ANYTHING about Uncharted???
better LEARN before saying SH*T!!!!

I'm glad Final Fantasy is there. They've milked those games sooo bad releasing them on every single platform possible. Just wait until Vita hits, they'll probably re-release all of them all over again.

@FlashXIII
dude 1st of all, its "Vita" not "Viva"...
2nd...i said about FIFA only because its coming every year which defines milking.
is it wrong?

Halo should be on that list. The 1st one was great but every Halo after that got worse with little improvement.

I'd replace Tomb Raider with Sports games or Madden specifically, the roster updates could easily be dlc and there are very little new features added each year.

I only clicked on the article because it said "milking" and that chick has a great set of tatas...

Ratchet & Clank 2002
Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando 2003
Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal 2004
Ratchet: Deadlocked 2005
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters 2007
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction 2007
Secret Agent Clank 2008 (only spin-off)
Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty 2008
Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time 2009
Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One 2011

And people say Mario is milked

nintendo LOL
there must be 2 or 300 "mario" games
talk about watered down LOL

Who was this website made by?

looks like it was designed with a potato

I'm Lactose intolerant

How has no one mentioned Assassin's Creed?
Guitar Hero and other Hero games? (At least Activision stopped that for a while)

And Starcraft. 2 games in 14 years? Talk about milked... /S

I wouldn't mind milking the picture in this article.

Bad list, where is Metal Gear, God Of War and Ratchet And Clank? Those are some of the most milked franchises in recent memory.

I get tired of people lumping COD into the same pile, I consider Modern Warfare to be different then the other COD's. The Modern Warfare games are on the same development cycle as Uncharted. We get the 3rd MW game this year, we get the 3rd Uncharted game this year. So which one is milked?

Ya, I know...what a logical thought on my part right?

bu..bu.....bu......but ...ya

I think the point of the article is not really which franchises have been milked (because Nintendo would win that one), but which have been milked to the point that they have ruined the whole thing - they become stale, boring.

In my opinion, Nintendo couldn't top that list, because almost with each release, they bring something new, and the games are almost always fun.

COD has become a stale franchise, Tomb Raider has become stale and has been 'rebooted' a couple of times. Final Fantasy has also become stale.

Assassin's Creed has been getting better with each release, so I don't think it should be classed as stale or boring.

Street Fighter is another milked franchise that has run out of ideas.

No mention of Nintendo and Capcom?

Mario has to be the most milked character

Is this guy serious?what kind of list is this.Every first part Nintendo game should be up there along with dynasty warriors.And no mention of capcom.

How could they forget Capcom. All the street fighter games or just fighting games in general.

I'm on the east coast of the US and the ad that came up was blocked as a virus. Just letting you know.

Nintendo should be number 1 with Pokemon @ number 2 and Mario @ number 1...

Nice try haters.

Man, Need for Speed Underground 1 & 2 were 2 of the best, if not THE best Need for Speed games in the series.

couldn't agree more, man oh man has CoD been milked. It doesn't help that a lot of mainstream shooters have become all about online, and less and less about story. We need more titles like Vanquish, Uncharted and Battlefield.

Dont get me wrong before I start, I love Halo, but this game is being milked to desert dry. The anniversary is music to my ears but if you love it and its the only game you play then I see why you would not grow tired of the ODST WARS and 3 all at the same time... along with knowing a 4,5,6 were coming... (dont forget your 9 lines of toy products beer mugs and pillows)

Everyone knows mario is Nintendo's favorite cow. What matters is what (variety of) cereal the milk used with. ^_^

EA! EA! EA! Screw Activision! Righteous!

EA, and Microsoft rules! Righteous!

It's funny to listen to some of these fanboys and their double standards.....

Nintendo milks games because we had 2 DK on 20 years but 5 UNCharted games in 4 years with the exact same game play is innovation. It's jsut silly and really stupid. Of course MArio has been in a ton of games..

They were around for 10 years or more in gaming before any current hardware maker even entered the market. Of coure their franchises are going to have more games.

helll just look at the Ratchet and CLank example. Yet Sony fanboys claim each game innovates... YEs kids all MArio games are exactly the same. Galay,MArio KArt and NSMBWii are all the exact same game to the very same fanboys that think 10 titles in 9 years is okay as long as its a Sony IP, but 3 Mario games that are completely different in 7 years is just too much... I love some of the excuses too. Oh that game doesnt count cause it wasnt part of the main series... Yes MArio being the ref in Punch Out counts as a Mario game. Just completely ignorant but thats kids today.

More people buy Call of Duty then anything so the milking will continue until it stops. Which it won't at this point.

Okay guys I want you all to seriously consider this...How in the world would this be considered news??

A PERSON'S OPINION CANNOT BE LABELED AS NEWS. News it about new information, and the discussion of that information. Ughh, these articles are getting annoying and they need to stop being given the attention that they receive. Seriously.

Capcom not on that list with..everything the touch.

Ok is it still milking if the games are good?

Call of Duty.

FF is an interesting one. They are almost all different games: unlike CoD, NFS, Tomb Raider & PoP which are mostly the same and often attempt to continue a story but do it badly.

Secondly, considering the number of games they remained fresh and exciting for a lot more titles than other milked franchises.

Today, they are being milked simply for the name that used to resemble good games - but I heard people saying the brand was milked even when FF8 was coming out: and that game was a masterpiece to nearly as much of a degree as the masterpieces before it - then FF10 was also amazing. I would also say that FF12 is a great game but in a different way (also the characters were mostly bad) - I liked the monster hunter ripoff parts :P People used to just say it was milked because they didn't play the games and classed the high sequel number as a reason to justify milkage.

If the next FF is not vastly better than FF13 - then yes, the franchise has been severely milked. Personally, I am expecting Versus to be bad because all the FF games have been bad since they lost a few key members of staff (those who set up Mistwalker and eventually made Lost Odyssey which I call FF13 because it could be called FF13 and would fit the job far better than the real FF13 - if you like FF and havn't played it then you MUST, even if you don't have a 360 - get one just for LO).

For now, I would replace Square Enix with Crapcom (monster hunter, resi, street fighter of which there are like 3 new ones every year or something, and loads more).

Nintendo almost make the list too - but they develop first party titles and they do very regularly have a refreshing twist for the new platforms at hand. They always make something that appeals to hardcore gamers or fans of the older games quite well - better than Crapcom do.

Also, Activision are not a developer anymore - at least not since they started destroying good developers' good franchises with severe over milkage.

Anyone else feel that WoW is also milked? Oh... but I blame Activision for that too :P

Ubisoft should be in there with assassins creed

The moment this list failed was the moment I realized they left Nintendo and Mario off the list. And the fact that they chose Need for Speed from EA over Madden... ridiculous.

guys.. as long as you buy these games, why not? carry on..

A developer and publisher is not the same thing at all.

Lactose intolerant bastards lolz

I accept the milking of anything Mario or Zelda. Great games everytime IMO.

To the idiots implying Halo is 'milked': Give me ONE Halo title under the score of 80%. That franchise is one of the best FPS IP ever created and there isn't another exclusive FPS that comes close. Each Halo title released has seen critical success and has established legions of fans. If that is milking, then give me more. If that is milking, MGS, God of War, Uncharted and a slew of other titles are equally guilty. As gamers we should be thankful that these companies can provide title after title that deliver consistent quality. This bitching about milking is really the product of fanboys--hypocritical nonsense. Uncharted for example has had 4 titles release in 5 years--thats faster than the Halo franchise. Are they good games? Damn right they are, that's why they pump them out. So long as the quality is there, why complain? So fanboys, please skip this article as you can't utter a word without sounding like an idiot. Come to think of it, when are the times you can...

Nintendo/Mario should def be number 1 on the list,

how is Madden not on the list or Guitar Hero

CoD does not deserve the #1 spot that is easily Mario

Am I the only one that clicked on this solely for her boobs?

List sucks. Square never milked Tomb Raider and FF isn't milked. Not yet at least.

I didn't read the whole thing b/c this guy's site is a joke and a mess, but I see Prince of Persia from ubisoft but no Assassins creed? Same game every year now since it's release?

Wow what a shock COD is first. Honestly Final Fantasy is milked just as much. There's one new COD coming we are getting 3 new FF's from what I know, Versus, 13-2, Type 0 ( not sure if that's already out) FF games are great but people can't go on about COD been the worst when FF is just as bad.

Activision: CoD
EA: Madden:
Square enix: Final fantasy / Dragon Quest
Bungie: Halo
Nintendo: Everything

No particular order.

Poorly written article...this person milks the hell out of the word "miserably"

halo is milked

Whatt!

The Guitar Hero series should be up there... how many are there now 7?!

Way to go Activision.

What about Tony Hawk? Does anyone even buy his games any more?

thing is this whole milking thing should be viewed two ways.if devs are not making money they close down thats called business,so if a dev is just releasing the same ip's every year and banking the cash thats milking or taking the piss as we say in ireland here's looking at you infinity ward,bungie.but if a dev is bringing out the same ip's every year but investing those profits back into new ip's or taking a chance on trying something new well then they should be exempt from this list because when we buy one of their games we basically are investing in the future of gaming not lining some fatcats pocket

5 companies I haven't bought a game from this generation.

Prnce of Persia 2008 wasn't that bad....I liked the selfish ending and even the DLC ended on a cliffhanger....yet still we wait.

But they ruined the Sands of Time trilogy by adding the Forgotten sands....it dosen't even look like him and the story was pointless. It was just to go along with the Moive coming out at the time.

Worst article ever. Tomb raider and PoP dont even deserve to be on that list and no Nintendo games. Mario and Pokemon easily milk more that anything ever

Next person to talk dirt at cod will die very early in their life

Call of Duty needs to come of the list and replaced with Mario. The thing will all the franchises listed is they get less popular and less successful than previous games. The opposite is true with Call of Duty, it continues to become more popular and sell more. Until it slows down it hasn't been milked enough unless you just an anti-cod person.

Oh great another Obligatory "milked" franchise article, incredibly pointless.

Nintendo should own the #1 spot: Mario and Zelda are two of the most milked franchises there are!

Should have been a longer list.... just sayin...

Square hasn't milked anything lol what is this nonsense

Nintendo have several Horses that they've cloned for the sole purpose of flogging repeatedly till death..... then flogged again just to be sure.

you missed sonic and mario

you could have easily made this a top 10

Top 3 ways to generate heat on N4G

1) pointless lists
2) trolling fanboys
3) tits

i dont agree with final fantasy though, yes the layout and format of the game is the same yet each game has a different storyline and character set

"The concept of milking game franchise to dryness cannot be discussed without the inclusion of the ever popular, multi-million selling Activision franchise, Call of Duty"

Saying that would mean that CoD sales were going down, but they're only selling more and more.

I can't believe Rock Band and Guitar Hero haven't been mentioned.

Games are kind of like the movies now days in the fact that stuff coming out is just remakes/sequels or so close of concepts that it's not really different anymore...

There is a growing trend in games as movies with originality further more dwindeing...

But in all fairness there IS only so far you can go before it becomes the same if not similar...

Hell, music has even becoming bland generic crap...

Where is Bungie and Halo???

How pathetic.

[Message Deleted by User]

This is a trash article. All those who commented and obliged to agree are also all trash. This is not milking, this is simply BUSINESS.

Gotta admit, CoD was the first thing that popped into My head after reading the title.

Hmmmm. I think there are developers/series that are FAR worse offenders, but none on this list are innocent.

Street Fighter - nuff said.

No Capcom?

The number 1 milked title should've been...

1) Guitar Hero - Activision

Seriously... 21 different variations of the game in five years not including the fact that certain titles were also rebooted for mobile devices. Not to mention the fact that the game is "on hiatus" through 2011, so we can see another crap reboot coming in 2012. That by far is the definition of milking.

Their Money *Beep*!!!

Why wouldn't you keep milking the cow if ppl keep coming back?

World of warcraft series,ratchet & clank series,madden series,mega man series,halo series ect... so lots of the publishers are milking the hell out popular game series there's a pattern trend going on here obviously!

P.S...Man oh man did nintendo ever nail it on the head when they said everything that's old is new again lol!

Cheers Gamers & Happy Gaming!

developers or publishers????