How To Save A Dying Video Game Franchise
1. But Remember, Not All Franchises Can Be Saved
The simple truth is that not all video game franchises were meant to last forever, and sometimes a series has its time in the sun before it runs out of steam and disappears into the ether.
Some franchises simply don't have the staying power to endure in perpetuity: take Duke Nukem, which attempted to will itself back to life with 2011's long-delayed Duke Nukem Forever, yet was met with critical failure and commercial mediocrity.
Elsewhere the Alone in the Dark series has had more retoolings than most people have had hot dinners, with 2015's Alone in the Dark: Illumination receiving near-universal critical disdain, enough that some reviewers believed it to be the death knell for the survival horror series.
Then there's Medal of Honor, which has similarly made several unremarkable attempts to restore its former FPS glory, yet hasn't felt truly relevant or worthwhile in around 15 years.
Though the upcoming VR game, Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond, looks pretty fun, its niche appeal should prevent it from breathing too much life back into the series.
These three franchises all have one thing in common: they've all failed to reinvent themselves in clever or creative ways as the gaming world has moved around them. And in some cases that isn't worth shedding tears over.
Occasionally, however, there are games fans absolutely want to see resurrected, but legal red tape simply prevents it from ever happening - take TimeSplitters, for example.
Sad as it is when a classic video game IP gets put out to pasture, sometimes it's just the natural course of things. Not every video game franchise actually needs, even deserves to be saved.