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Milking: Sony is as guilty as anyone

All over this site you will see people continuously bash Microsoft for not having any "exclusives". Whenever a new Fable or Forza comes they say "not another one! How much can you milk it?" The same applies to Halo. And even Rare's own games.

Yet whenever Sony are rumoured to be making a sequel, it is very different. When Killzone 4 and God of War 4 are rumoured they take it on the chin and shrug it off. Some may say this Halo Remake is just a port. So what does that make the Sly, Ico and God Of War collections?

Some continuously banter about how Microsoft needs new IPs. How many new IPs are ever as popular as existing IPs? Mario is one of the most popular icons of the industry and no single new IP this generation has surpassed him in popularity. Besides that Microsoft have had new IPs. Viva Pinata is an example. And regardless of what "critics" say, I base my opinion on actually playing the game. I like Viva Pinata and think its a good 360 alternative to Nintendo's Animal Crossing.

Have you ever asked yourself why Nintendo and Microsoft have official mascots and Sony doesn't? Gran Turismo is the biggest game series Sony have. A car simply does not suffice to represent a console. Master Chief and Mario are mascots because they are so popular and have face enough to represent their consoles.

And yet they continue at it. Having 3 of Uncharted, God of War and Killzone isn't milking. But Naughty Dog have said that Uncharted can continue, Killzone 4 is being thought about right after Killzone 3 hit and if GOW 4 is in development after only a year then Sony are hardly innocent of milking it are they?

Microsoft could easily announce any game series by Rare this year. None of these games are milked. And Rare have a lot of games. People really need to wait and see on these things. Its obvious Microsoft will have casual stuff at E3 for Kinect but they could surprise you with core games.

Kingdoms and Gears of war 3 are core games. The thing is people assume that is all they have. They will most certainly have a Halo remake but they may have other stuff which could surprise you. What if a new Crackdown comes? Is that milked too, even though its only the third game?

Nate-Dog5576d ago (Edited 5576d ago )

Well it's not just Sony, I mean Sony aren't the ones that will develop and make Killzone 4 or God of War 4 if it comes to that and I don't think they have the power to order Santa Monica studios or Guerilla to make those games against their will and their own wishes. I'm not saying I disagree with you, Sony do milk it with certain things such as HD collections (which of course have their plus sides, except for the major fact that all PS3s should be backwards compatible and that Sony decided to take that out of any models made after the initial versions for various reasons). But saying that, I dunno, Sly 4 being made or that an announcement of Infamous 3 shortly after Infamous 2 is released is all because Sony are milking it isn't correct.

tehpees35576d ago

Exactly. its the companies' choice. unfortunately all M$ devs want to do is milk Halo, gears and fable up the a$$

Nate-Dog5576d ago

You've just completely contradicted your own agreement with me. :S

pixelsword5575d ago (Edited 5575d ago )

I think the difference is the number of exclusives: getting more of three or four AAA games that people would love to get their hands on

(Halo, Forza, Gears, and... there more by opinion, but from there these are the three big ones to be honest)

and part two games people would like

(Too Human, Alan Wake, Slypheed)

versus a bunch of games spaced out

(Ratchet, Infamous, MGS, Gran Turismo, Killzone, SOCOM, GoW, Ico, Yakuza, Twisted Metal, Motorstorm, Resistance, Uncharted, Warhawk, etc...,)

an the games people want to see a part two of
(Heavenly Sword, Afrika, Folklore, Jax, The Getway, Lair, Sly, etc.)

it can *seem* like Microsoft is packing them in because there's only a few, and the quality is great, so people are waiting for another great game to match it's quality until the next one, and sometimes the multiplat games aren't hitting that quality, so people end up getting the next out of the series, which can make it a little tedious.

Just a guess, though.

jadenkorri5575d ago

just ignore the ps3/360 fanboys, their so annoying with lack of intelligence. Any company gonna milk a franchise if it sells, isn't it what its all about, making money. If your gonna complain about Halo, you really should look at Mario.

AGamerOfConsoles5575d ago

jadenkorri couldn't have said it better myself.

Props to you man. Every company milks their games to some extent and neither MS nor Sony are as innocent. Fanboys are just biased and believe the companies can do no wrong.

Even though, no matter if its Nintendo, Microsoft or Sony, its all about money. Thats all any want at the end of the day.

Tachyon_Nova5575d ago (Edited 5575d ago )

@ pixelsword - I agree with what you are saying but not all Playstation games are that spaced out.

Look at Ratchet and Clank. Since it's first game back in 2002 a new game has been released every year, with this year marking the 10th game in the series.

Uncharted was released in 2007, UC2 in 2009, UC3 in 2011, UC NGP in 2012 (probably) and no doubt UC4 in 2013. Thats 5 games in 8 years.

Resistance was released at the end of 2006. In 2008 we got R2, 2009 we saw Retribution, 2011 we'll get R3 and either at the end of this year or in 2012 we will get Resistance NGP

Killzone in 2004, Liberation in 2006, KZ2 in 2009, KZ3 in 2011, KZ NGP in 2011/2012. This isn't that bad I'll admit

Gran Turismo and God of War are true examples of games being appropriately spaced out.

jams_shop5575d ago

@Tachyon_Nova

In my opinion they haven't milked Gran Turismo as much as they should have(based on it being Sony's biggest IP). I mean 6 full games on 4 different consoles over the last 15 years.

PS1: GT1 1997, GT2 1999
PS2: GT3 2001, GT4 2005
PSP: GT PSP 2009
PS3: GT5 2010

I pretty we have seen others released a new entry to their franchise more then 6 times over the last 15 years. *Hint; Sonic*

Jinxstar5574d ago

I think the main problem is people are confusing "milking" with "Sequels" or "Remakes". Does everyone here understand what milking is? Milking is when you take an IP and whore it out until it's meaning is no longer relevant to fans but to everyone. Look at star wars. That is an IP that has been milked to no end. 6 movies total. 3 of which were just plain bad-meh. T shirts, Action figures, Lunch Pails, tents, sleeping bags, sheets, replicas, shower curtains, slippers, mugs, spin off tv shows, about a million comics and books, tv shows, Video games, board games... You can keep going on and on for days. That is what you call a "Milked" franchise. Does that make it bad? No. Just main stream and some people hate that.

Now in regards to sony vs ms vs nintendo... Or just games in general. COD is a Milked franchise. Yearly releases, shirts, comics, fan movies, spin offs, hats, masks, those insanely priced Collector editions... Also very little innovation or changes in the game since 4.

Now you want to talk Sony's God of War? My favorite franchise of all time so I will defend it tooth and nail so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

1. The game is not released on a schedule. The dev's are given time and money to make it the best they can and it shows.

2. Innovation in scale, scope, gameplay, story and characters. The art is simply amazing. The games are polished to no end.

3. Very few spin offs. There are a couple stand alone PSP games which are awesome. A 6 comic series and a book. No anime's. No tv shows. No lunch boxes. No commercially available toys (What I mean by this is you can't walk into toys r' us and buy a Kratos action figure. You gotta look for it) The only other thing I can thing of was during the release window they had a deal going along with 7-11 for some cups and maybe a Dr. Pepper deal or something but thats more hype then milk...

Now lets take a look at MS's flagship as I feel sony's is GOW.

Halo.

Since the 360 has released there has been 4 halo games released on it with around 8 or 9 different retail versions available. I just did a amazon search and I found on page 1. Halo Risk board game. 4 novels. action figures and a halo encyclopedia. the next few pages has graphic novels, some kind of lego dropship, tons of toys and action figures ala warhammer, master chief gloves... It goes on and on...

They have released 4 games in 6 years for the 360 and sony has released 1 gow. There is even a Halo rts whoch only sold because of the name(yes it was decent but anyone would admit sales would have been horrible without halo in the name)

Jinxstar5574d ago

They gave you ODST for full price. That was a 4 hour campaign and the multiplayer from halo 3... Oh and horde mode... That is what you call milked.

GOW3 was about 10 hours with a ton of replayability (To me at least) Loads of extras and challenge modes. Also amazing innovation and graphics to go along with the story and art. Never have I seen such scale in a game before. Jaw dropping roller coaster.

Milking is what it is. i.e. Constantly going back and putting out the same thing over and over and making profit off it everytime. GOW3 didn't make a ton of money(Comparatively anyway) even with all it's pluses. Halo ODST as an example or even Wars made a ton of money... Even though as gamers I believe everyone should have spoken with their wallets and demanded more...

Nintendo do milk mario. There is soooo much merch and everything but the thing they do right is innovate properly with mario. Mario Kart, Mario Party, Mario tennis, Mario Golf, Mario RPG, Mario world, Mario 64, Mario Galaxy, New super mario... all very different and most are fun. Not rehashes and they sell to the audience they are intended for. Just like pokemon or coach hand bags.

Anyway thats my 2 cents. also re releasing games with updates at discounted prices so people who didn't get a chance to play them before can play them now is not milking. Thats a service to gamers...

malamdra5574d ago

the difference is that since Sony has like 20 different franchises to milk from it doesn't really comes off as milking

Microsoft on the other hand has only a couple of franchise so they when they milk then is clear as day

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 5574d ago
HolyOrangeCows5575d ago (Edited 5575d ago )

Yes, Sony is a business. But the author's examples...

"Yet whenever Sony are rumoured to be making a sequel, it is very different. When Killzone 4 and God of War 4 are rumoured they take it on the chin and shrug it off. Some may say this Halo Remake is just a port. So what does that make the Sly, Ico and God Of War collections?"
-
Halo is an awful comparison to some HD collections. Halo had ODST (reselling of multiplayer, short campaign) and Wars (A decent - but nothing spectacular - RTS game, praised thanks to its IP name). And now they're wasting time on remaking Halo 1? It's not like HD collections where little companies port it. When Killzone Kart releases, we'll talk. But so far, we've only had one new GOW, two Killzones, and no ICOs.

"Besides that Microsoft have had new IPs. Viva Pinata is an example"
-
Whoopee?

"Have you ever asked yourself why Nintendo and Microsoft have official mascots and Sony doesn't? Gran Turismo is the biggest game series Sony have. A car simply does not suffice to represent a console. Master Chief and Mario are mascots because they are so popular and have face enough to represent their consoles"
-
So....what's even your point? MS and Nintendo have the right to abuse IPs and take advantage of gamers because they have a mascot? I mean, obviously it makes sense in marketing, but then don't defend a corporation screwing you over with IP abuse.

INehalemEXI5575d ago

When Sony have such a wide variety of 1st , 2nd and 3rd party kick arse games a lil milk is fine.

Malice-Flare5575d ago

but i think the main complaint with Microsoft is that they have lots of IP from Perfect Dark to Blinx to Killer Instinct and they haven't offered any new game based on these franchises to alternate with Halo, Fable and Forza (only Alan Wake, Viva Pinata and Banjo-Kazooie are the exceptions). plus, they released or shut down plenty of their big name studios, and the studios they contract to make the new franchise games still aren't tested...

plus, on third-party exclusives, only Gears of War is the sure-fire seller. nobody can say whether Kingdoms will be good until the game is unveiled. the rest are multi-platform...

maybe it's just me, but your post seems to be a reaction against fanboys, and the writing is all over the place:

what does having a popular mascot have to do with your point that Sony does milking as well?

what does liking Viva Pinata have to do with your point?

please organise your thoughts more before writing your post, it took me a while to process it...

Raven_Nomad5574d ago

I just thought I'd throw out the point that when Microsoft shuts down a studio, they usually hire the most talented members from said studio and they just merge into "Microsoft Game Studios".

So it's not like they are completely without talent to make games.

In fact a lot of people at 343 studios are former Bungie and former original Bungie members.

majiebeast5575d ago

Lets see how many new IP's sony has introduced in 5 years then looks at what microsoft has.

nightmarex1215575d ago (Edited 5575d ago )

Milking to me means bring out games just to get more money b/c they can and they know it will sell, halo, guitar hero and cod those are milking franchises. Killzone 3 can't be consider milking because it doesnt even sell that much copies. When you see like halo wars yeah that's milking it. Halo 3, halo odst, halo wars, halo reach and now halo hd thats milking it that's all in the same generation. Games don't have to be a trilogy thats why they thinking about making another game. Also those are just all rumors okay if you want to go there then halo mmorpg when it got leak they were freakin thinking about making an halo mmorpg are you fucking serious.

Takoulya5575d ago

I agree with CoD and GH being milked, but Halo is a class franchise. I really enjoyed Halo wars, as it wasn't spectacular, but added a nice variety to the RTS genre. In fact, Wars wasn't even made by Bungie. Halo ODST had a great SP, but I agree that it should have been $40 at most, with $30 being optimal. I still don't understand the Halo 1 HD milking concept, as it's already been explained that Sony has been making HD remakes of games, while being guilty of taking out PS2 B/C. Either way, I know I can't take away from the MS vs Sony bias, but at least I can try...

AGamerOfConsoles5575d ago

My point exactly. While Microsoft seem to release more frequent titles Sony are certainly more frequent with HD remakes. Which is what I mean when I say both are as bad as each other.

I don't see any point defending any company. When a Halo remake gets rumoured people come in saying its milked but then what does that say for all the collections Sony put out?

redDevil875575d ago (Edited 5575d ago )

I'm sorry but your definition of milking isn't correct. Some of those games you've listed are far from being milked.

Killzone, God of War, Uncharted are terrible examples.

Also the reason Sony doesn't have a mascot is BECAUSE they don't milk franshises. Have you ever thought of that? Sony continue to always create new IPs, therefore creating new characters all the time. When this happens its hard to have a single mascot.

AGamerOfConsoles5575d ago

What exactly is the definition of milking? I believe that Sony is no more innocent then Microsoft nor is Microsoft more innocent then Sony.

Both only want one thing: $$$$$

redDevil875575d ago

People have already explained my point above, no point of repeating what everyone else has already said

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70°

Microsoft Gaming Revenue Drops 7% Year-on-Year, Content and Services Down 5%, Xbox Hardware Down 33%

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Jin_Sakai62d ago (Edited 62d ago )

Not looking good. Hopefully Asha Sharma is able to turn Phil’s disaster around.

dveio62d ago

To me it's still quite remarkable how they can cash-in 5.3bn in revenue in a single quarter, since their hardware is basically dead.

Jingsing62d ago

The stock mark is what makes Microsoft remarkable, They have convinced every institutional and retail investor to just keep piling money into them. Like many big tech giants they are just a big growing pyramid scheme. As long as people keep dropping money into ETF's that cover the market Microsoft will always be liquid. At the same time it is completely stifling innovation and competition. People need to start being more discreet in how they invest their money as it's killing the system.

Tanktopmaster9262d ago

Once they re-evaluate exclusive all will be fine….

S2Killinit62d ago

Riiiiight because people will just flock back to them for one or two games per year.

Jingsing62d ago

15+ years of bad performance is what they call irreparable in business. It is time for them to sell off the assets and get out of entertainment.

Tanktopmaster9261d ago

These declines are on the back of extra revenue received from releasing games like Forza horizon 5 on PlayStation. So I’m being sarcastic here when I said they should go back to exclusives. Killing off a revenue stream from Ps5 sales will only make things worse

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