Its incredibly rare for a great video game to not receive a sequel. Success invariably breeds franchising. Now thats not always a bad thing. Some of the best video games in history have been sequels; from Mass Effect 2 to Grand Theft Auto V, gaming sequels are often revered, and have the luxury of not carrying the same inherently negative baggage that often burdens movie franchises or book series. But there is dark side to this; when a well-known game becomes too popular it tends to promote some, lets say, questionable business decisions, and it seems that no mainstream franchise can escape the pratfalls of commercialisation and brand expansion that completely dilute what the product originally stood for. You see it all the time, whether it's bringing back Dungeon Keeper or Goldeneye to bank on the franchise's past glory, publishers have a tendency to cash-in on well-known and well-loved IPs just to make quick buck off their name recognition without having to do all of that hard work nonsense to earn the respect of players. But because these half-hearted attempts at video games can rake in just as much money, players live in a world where sport spin-offs and basic mobile versions of popular shooter franchises dominate the sales every once in a while. These titles usually occupy every bargain bin within a 50 mile radius a few weeks after release and can be some of the most soulless, sterile, and completely disastrous attempts at video game development the industry has ever seen...
Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked full time as a content producer at WhatCulture for nine years. In that time he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple channels, specialising in subjects such as gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 most listened to gaming podcast in the UK that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, covered breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.
