The Evolution of the Franchise.

Everyone has to of played a “franchise” game. The majority of games released in modern day are what I consider to be continuations of franchise games. Call of Duty, Assassin's Creed, Halo, Zelda and GTA are just a few off the top of my head. Games like Call of Duty tend to centralise around different events in their set of games. Others like The Legend of Zelda follow timelines and evolve around a set of characters that appear in each game.

I often hear games referred too as trilogy's, sequels and so on. So what justifies a set of games being a franchise?

“A form of business organization in which a firm which already has a successful product or service (the franchisor) enters into a continuing contractual relationship with other businesses (franchisees) operating under the franchisor's trade name and usually with the franchisor's guidance, in exchange for a fee.”

Quoted from investorwords.com.

Now, you may think games are totally unrelated to the above quote but the fact stands that the companies that make these games still produce other games not within those franchises. Sega haven't only made Sonic games (even though Sega are not what they used to be). Ubisoft haven't only created the Assassin's Creed series, they have multiple titles that belong to a series – Rayman being one example.

But does the repetition of releasing franchise games ruin the gaming industry? There are definitely positives that come from a series of games. Even when an older game is brought back to life, the sense of familiarity with the game already is a huge selling point. Tomb Raider being a perfect example of how a franchise can evolve.

The above image is the evolution of Lara Croft, the main protagonist throughout the Tomb Raider series (franchise). It's a game that's been released on multiple consoles and on the PC. For myself, I do enjoy Tomb Raider.

The newer game being far more advanced and a completely different style of game play to the first and majority. It's definitely an open world action adventure game, even though you do have a set storyline there are multiple things you can do besides that. The fact they re-released the game only a year a so later in HD – The Definitive Edition made the graphics even better, and very similar to real life.

Tomb Raider The Definitive Edition

With the older Tomb Raider games, the majority were platform. Lara Croft could unlock other guns as you progressed, mainly stronger Uzi's and the Shotgun, throughout the game but there was never any customisation to her character, you couldn't improve any skills unlike the Lara we know today.

Yet each game had it's own storyline, artefacts and other extras (health packs, flares, ammo) for Lara to find in each level much like the 2013 and HD remakes too. The pointy angles of the graphics are quite amusing and look very bland in todays gaming age, but the games are still worth playing for the narrative and the action alone.

Tomb Raider I

Another gaming franchise that has been on multiple consoles and has been around for decades is Grand Theft Auto, or commonly known as GTA. The first GTA was released in 1997 and on PC (DOS) then PlaystationOne. Your main protagonist was viewed from a birds eye view, same as the cars and the buildings.

GTA 1's birds-eye view.

You had a wide variety of weapons as well as your basic body armour. The police would still chase you for killing people and generally disturbing the peace but in my opinion were quite hard to shake off, especially with a five star wanted level. The missions were usually quite humorous but always involved you driving around the different islands, performing various jobs for the big men such as Bubba, what a name!

There were more Grand Theft Auto's where the player viewed the game in birds eye view. Grand Theft Auto 2, GTA London being the other two. However, in comparison to GTA 5... Well, the game has come a very long way to say the least. GTA 5 has to be one of my all time favourite games, and I've loved a fair few Grand Theft Auto games.

And also. In 2014 we were treated to a HD remake (see the pattern here), The graphics were vastly improved, anyone that says otherwise hasn't played the Xbox 360/PS3 versions. The storyline in GTA centralises around 3 main protagonists. Michael, Trevor and Franklin. A big change from the other games where you mainly played as one character. GTA online has also been released and is a big success currently.

Trevor left, Michael middle, Franklin right.

There are different ways to play GTA 5. You can just play the game simply for the storyline, progressing through each characters story and watching how they all link together. Then there are side quests, so to speak. Collecting space ship parts, submarine parts (underwater, its very tricky), hidden packages, stunt jumps and so on. Grand Theft Auto games usually have some sort of collectibles to gather!

Then there's one of my favourite aspects of the game, the stock market! Depending on how you play the game, you can become a millionaire pretty quickly. By investing in shares and attacking their rivals, it boosts you're share's amount – giving you more money to play around with.

Purchasing property is a big thing also in the game (especially if you like collecting Achievements/Trophies) but it's a very expensive market. Not forgetting GTA 3, Vice City or San Andreas either because they were all individually fantastic games, but 5 is definitely a successful instalment of the franchise.

However, due to the amount of franchises around, are they overshadowing games that are equally just as good in storyline and graphics, but not as well known? Shenmue, to me, comes under that category. Released at a time before the PS2 was released and due to very bad indirect marketing... Shenmue only had two instalments. Shenmue had the potential to be a brilliant trilogy, even more. It could even be a competing franchise title with todays games. The irony in that!

But back to my main point, franchises have existed for years. Mario, Tetris, Pokemon, Kirby, Pac-Man, Super Smash Bro's even Mario and Sonic at the olympic games etc. And there will always be franchises around but is there any need to focus the majority of interest there way? If you are a dedicated fan to a series, even a TV series, you are going to continue playing or watching it.

Pokemon Soul Silver Japanese DS Box

But is there a lack of creativity amongst these companies? Or is the franchise all about profit? Is the consumer the one being ripped off in the end? Assassins Creed Unity is a recently released game, also part of a franchise. They had a season pass which completely failed, resulting in Ubisoft giving away a free game from their titles as compensation, which was a very nice thing for them to do, however by doing this, you agree to not suing them regards to their failure in bringing their consumers what they advertised.

Call of Duty – Advanced Warfare's Havoc DLC seems to not have a hardcore setting. Sledgehammer have been quoted saying “there are hardcore playlists” but the fans are not satisfied. There are even complaints that on the 360 version, the zombie levels aren't working.

So is it all hype? Are we expecting too much from companies due to next gen gaming? We want the best graphics, the smoothest gameplay, and great multiplayer functionality and we expect the companies that have previously delivered to continue doing so.

  

But it's not all doom and gloom. There are the 

generic franchise games such as FIFA, Pro Evo, Need for Speed, NFL, WWE etc. that will always be renewed, especially the sport based ones due to the fact they are based on actual people and events. They can be fun, especially when there are multiple players.

Just like Mario Kart, Tekken, Mortal Kombat and other competitive games. Gaming is meant to be fun and creative, competing against other players can show yourself as well as others how good you are at a specific game.

Most games focus on Online multiplayer in todays gaming world. The majority announced for 2015 centralise on working as a team. Lets hope the rest of the world can cooperate as well as you think you can.

One thing that I do know though is that the gaming industry is potentially the biggest industry going. The children you see today playing games, whether its touch screen or controller are developing this extra use for the thumb that we do not have. The universal index finger is slowly becoming the thumb, studies have shown kids that participate in gaming tend to point with they're thumbs instead of finger. How bizarre is that?

Mobile Gaming - Easy Access and Highly Addictive Gaming In The Palm Of Your Hand.

Mobile gaming has come a long way since the days of Snake on our old reliable Nokia's. For example now, we can play Playstation 2 games on our iPhones and Android devices. Imagine hearing that when you were trying to beat your friends accidental high score on Snake?

As with console gaming, handheld gaming such as the PSP/DS and of course PC gaming, mobile gaming is forever evolving. With phones, everyone wants the latest model. And with the latest model will come the current market's best processors, hard drives, cameras, and all the other functions modern day phones can do. Bigger screens are also creating a demand for HD gaming on these devices.

Game developers are noticing this trend, so now they integrate their games with a mobile phone app. You normally have to sync your mobile game with a console/PC game first, but after that you have a series of quests and items to collect on your phone, away from the console (which is handy if you work long hours). And when you connect back to your original game, you would have received experience points, money or something along those lines.

Social networking is also a big aspect when it comes to these mobile games. Farmville 2 mainly relies on your Facebook friends gifting you items to progress. Without any friends to help, progress can often be slow, causing a loss of interest rather soon.

Farmville 2 Screenshot

In Japan, the most successful sector of gaming happens to be Mobile. They are often lovers of all things small, so what better than gaming on a smaller screen? And with the accessibility, it's soon to spread globally. Its becoming more acceptable to be seen on your phone, playing a game. At family dinners and occasions you will always find more than one person “just checking their farm” or some other equivalent.

But is this a future we would want? The majority of mobile games lack storyline, they are more focused on levelling up and generating money (another aspect I've left out for now). The general missions on Farmville 2 alone are the best thing you are going to get in terms of a story. However, with all this new technology, mobile gaming could outshine console and pc gaming anytime soon.

Lets look at the statistics. PS4 has currently sold 13.5 million consoles to date (of course this will change, its January 2015). They (Sony) are the market leaders and boast about this figure. However, when the iPhone 6 was launched last year, Apple sold a 10 million units in a weekend. Samsung boast ridiculous profits due to how many products they sell, and so on.

So why do we love playing games on our phones so much? It can't be all about accessibility, can it?

One of my favourite games, Minecraft, released a Pocket Edition specifically for mobiles and tablets. I was already addicted to it beforehand, now I can play it anywhere. And the funny thing? The Pocket Edition is more updated and advanced than any console version to date.

The one thing you can do whilst playing a mobile game is to either watch a film or television show. This is another advantage to game developers and mobile phone companies. There is potentially more time to play a mobile game over a console game, couples can sit together and do two different things. Instead of getting annoyed at each others game preference, they can watch something together, whilst individually playing their own game of choice (something ALL handhelds are great for).

Tiny Tower has its own social network - Bitbook

And of course, like previously mentioned, social networking can also play vital roles in the success of a game. They software developers can make more money in game from consumers, especially from consumers that do not have patience to level up gradually, or with the assistance of Facebook and even Twitter friends.

Another thing I use my android tablet for is Emulation. Older consoles emulators run rather smoothly on my Nexus 7. You can, with ease, mix past gaming with current gaming day to day. So do I see mobile gaming becoming more normal than console gaming? Look around you. It already is. There are televised adverts for games such as Candy Crush Saga popping up when you are sat eating dinner.

Ubisoft released its own Assassins Creed Unity app, which helps progress within the game when it comes to “Nomad chests”. Rockstar games released the iFruit. An app that, in GTA 5 you can walk Chop the dog, upgrade your car at Los Santos Autos and more. In fact, on apple and most other devices you can purchase most GTA games, if not all (apart from GTA 5..)

Assassin's Creed Unity App

The iFruit app has many screens, here's a few (a screen where you can download the other GTA games as well as the LS Auto's screen. 

The future of gaming is small, the future of gaming is mobile! Whether we like it or not, its time to embrace it if you haven't already.

Maybe us console gamers will be known as Specialist gamers? Seeing as mobile gaming is now the casual type of gaming.

The relevance of Shenmue.

Gaming is an industry that's forever evolving. Gamer's across the globe now look forward to advanced graphics, with little story-line. But what about games in the past? I'm thinking about one game in particular. 

We are going to travel back to 1999. An era where free-roam gaming was just becoming significant. It was an advanced idea, way ahead of its time.

The Dreamcast was a console released by SEGA, the console that currently is SEGA's last. And the game, well. 

That game is Shenmue. This game has been an obsession since I first played it. And I'm not the only one it has controlled.

We begin in a Japanese village called Yamonose, with Ryo Hazuki, the main protagonist, seeking revenge after we first witness the murder of his father, Iwao. Sounds cliche? The game is literally an experience.

Shenmue centralises around finding the murderers of Ryo's father. Lan Di (as pictured below and to the right) and his fellow black suited associates are still in Japan, so the search is on. Lan Di, as we later learn, belongs to the Chi You Men. They are a Chinese cartel, lead by other leaders (including Lan Di) who Ryo will  meet throughout the Saga.

Lan Di top, Chai left, Terry far left, Dou Niu right, Yuan far 

right, Iwao centre, Nozomi centre left, Joy far centre left,

 Shenhua centre right, Xiuying far centre right, Ryo bottom 

centre, Ren bottom left and Guizhang bottom right. 

 

During the game, you interact with the towns people, such as bar owners, shop keepers, sailors, drunken men in the street and a loads more. 

Ryo discovers Lan Di stole a Dragon mirror, and meets Master Chen who instructs him to find the second one, a Phoenix mirror, that his father also possessed. The Phoenix mirror plays a vital part throughout Shenmue, as when combined with the Dragon mirror, "the gates of heaven and earth will open. And Chiyou will resurrect itself on Earth." Shenmue 2 is where we learn more about these mirrors.

And also there's an arcade. You Arcade, where you can play Yu Suziki's,the creator of Shenmue, classics. Hang on, Space Harrier, Darts, QTE games such as boxing and ExciteQTE. This was one of the places where I wasted so much game play.

QTE Boxing at YOU arcade.

QTE's were a new-ish thing when this game was first released. QTE means Quick Time Event. It's basically when a combination of buttons come on the screen and you have to perform the combination to continue. It's quite a common thing in gaming now...

Oh, and one more thing. Ryo has practiced Jujitsu his whole life, well after all he does live in a dojo and his father was a sensei, so fighting is a key element within Shenmue, it's not just a beat 'em up though. You can purchase new moves from the Antique store as well as learn new ones as the game continues. 

In order to progress you have to do things at certain times, which is what makes the free roam aspect so fantastic in Shenmue. Other characters are living their own lives as you move throughout the game.

The last part of the game, when we finally see Ryo leave for Hong Kong, leads us to Yokosuka Harbour. Ryo gets a job as a fork lift truck driver. He earns money per crate moved from warehouse to warehouse. Throughout the working days, the storyline with The Mad Angels (harbour gang connected to The Chi You Men) as well as all the harbour workers, Master Chen, Guizhang and so on. Its my favourite part of the game. 

Eventually, Ryo departs, after defeating Chai, a crazy man that resembles Gollum from Lord of the rings who is attempting to steal the Phoenix Mirror, once again so he can take it back to Lan Di. 

This is not the whole game summed up. This is just the basics of the game, as years have gone on, more theories have surfaced and so have more fans. At just 11 years old, this game engrossed me. It still does. I'm new to blogging, but I'm an avid gamer. And if it wasn't for this game, and games like Zelda, Broken Sword, Syberia etc, I wouldn't be the type of gamer I am today. But games like Shenmue do not exist anymore. 

This leads to me the fans. There is such a vast community that want to see HD versions of Shenmue and then maybe, maybe Shenmue 3. We've been waiting over a decade to see this saga completed. 

www.facebook.com/groups/Shenmue500k

Shenmue500k is a community on Facebook and Twitter where Shenmue fans from all over the globe discuss and try to promote this game. We have a monthly twitterthon thats been very successful and has been for years, its on the 3rd and we tweet to #saveshenmue. Voice actor Corey Marshall who voices Ryo has even showed his support for what the fans are trying to achieve. 

As this is my first blog post, I thought I would blog about a huge aspect in my life. Shenmue will always be a huge influence in my life, and like I've said previously, I'm not the only one.

Ironically, its been fourteen years to the day that Shenmue was first released to Europe and North America. One day, we will #SaveShenmue. 

HevzyB :)