Overly Positive

Today I was going through my usual round of reading over rss when I happened upon an article over at Destructoid by Samit Sarkar about the upcoming Lego Rock Band, which should be hitting stores in the holidays.

Now, Beatles Rock Band literally just came out a month ago, so to hear that a new Rock Band was already on its way, even though it was in development before Beatles Rock Band, was surprising to say the least. The various folks around the ‘Net have offered their usual opinions on this, from excitement to bewilderment, and just plain exasperation. It’s the last feeling that I think  I’d like to introduce my own little brand of optimism to.

The majority of exasperation over this title might come from the fact that it’s another title in a growing franchise – or in this case, a francheese – that seeks to use whatever means necessary to milk it for all of its success. While there appear to be some interesting changes – such as the way in which “cash” is earned in Lego Rock Band, a few people might be getting tired of the rhythm band franchise in general.

It might seem a bit disjointed, maybe even greedy to make your franchise more about cheesy, focused side stories that not many people may be interested in, but I dunno. I think that part of the reason why people buy into a francheese is that, well, people literally buy into the francheese. For every person who is exasperated and tired of a particular bunch of titles under the same umbrella there are a bunch of others who are interested and genuinely excited to get something new. Mechanics that work, and sell well, should sell until they are completely used up, if for nothing else to validate the power of fleshing out and evolving your (profitable) game mechanics.

Two other franchises that come to mind are 3D-Final-Fight-style beat em up Dynasty Warriors and a series that needs no introduction, Final Fantasy. Dynasty Warriors has had tons of titles, offshoots and side stories, and more, and the core gameplay still stays (mostly) the same. Final Fantasy is one of the best-known RPG series of all time, and has hardly been final for a number of years. Both of these get some grief but not as much as rhythm games might have, due to the high novelty those titles espouse.  Both franchises have also evolved their gameplay, adding, tweaking, and modifying core elements to create a mix of new innovations and tried-and-true trademarks.

Honestly though, the reason why developers haven’t stopped francheesing it up is because people haven’t spoken with their wallets. Sales are still solid enough for a profit on many franchises that some consider to be overdone and long since milked of any worth.  People like me, who appreciate having gameplay that is enjoyable even though it is repackaged, are more numerous than you might think. I think eventually, develoeprs realize that enough is enough when it comes to their franchises – but I don’t think it’s a big deal that it might take them 15 titles to get there.

I, for one, think Legos playing Fisher-Price instruments in Cartoon-Network-like environments is going to be hilarious.