Ending the franchises past the 2nd title...? Fuck no, what would happen to Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy, Tekken, Street Fighter, Virtua Fighter, Ninja Gaiden, among bucketloads of other titles that have been succeeding with their titles since the second title. (best example is probably Final Fantasy)
There's nothing wrong with seeing what a game has wrong and trying to fix it with a sequel. I mean, look at the sports games series that come out each year! FIFA 10 is almost coming out, so is Pro Evolution Soccer 2010. Madden NFL 2010, NBA Live 10, among lots of other games.
Now, if a game is polished (by that I mean bug ridden, and enjoyable), such as Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, you should either give the fans a new sequel which lives up to the original, or just go for something completely different, which they did with the earlier games, (Prince of Persia to Prince of Persia 3D, completely changing the gameplay) because there wasn't that much content to polish. (Remember, games were smaller back then, and probably less bugged. Less data, less mistakes can be made, I'd think.)
The problem is not all developers do that. A lot just make the sequel to leech out more money with the same game with more features or different levels of the same theme.
I personally started hating the Halo series as soon as the second one came about because one try on it told me that it was the same thing repackaged with a few extra tidbits. It may maintain a loyal fanbase, but some players want a new experience, or at least a new storyline, to make the games interesting and not just varying degrees of copy paste.
The problem is not all developers do that. A lot just make the sequel to leech out more money with the same game with more features or different levels of the same theme.
I personally started hating the Halo series as soon as the second one came about because one try on it told me that it was the same thing repackaged with a few extra tidbits. It may maintain a loyal fanbase, but some players want a new experience, or at least a new storyline, to make the games interesting and not just varying degrees of copy paste.
well, I agree that halo 2 storyline doesn't change but the multiplayer paid up for that. try saying that to the millions people still logging in to halo 2. Changing the gameplay and storyline can also really shit-it-fy a series. Take a look at the Sonic series, beloved, simple, fun. then they added new characters, storylines, gameplay and he has become a living joke. Fortunately
they are making a new HD 2D sonic. Will it be good? only time will tell.
speaking of changing gameplay, look at mario. sure the gameplay might be a little different, but it's still all the same. The storyline is kept easy and sweet and it keeps selling like a bazillion copies, Same with the Legend Of Zelda series. they just gave him a new look and sent him on his way. the games rock, but it's the same format just with new abilities.
Games are hard to make and harder to please the audience with. It's not all that simple.