Sequelitis strikes again!

If you took a look at what the main complaints are from gamers regarding the videogame industry, I'd say an easy, obvious candidate for the top 3 would be sequelitis. That problem is a symptom of other problems within the industry, but lets forget about the others and focus on this. It's no secret that alot of the popular games out there are sequels to already established gaming franchises. That's not necessarily a bad thing (depends alot on whether or not you're a fan of a given series), but it makes it easy for gamers to complain about "lack of originality" in the gaming industry.

If you look at all the games that came out last year, Katamari Damacy stood out as a truly unique and original game. Alot of the things that made the game fun had to do with what made it stand out as its own experience too. The music, the simplistic controls, the overall presentation, it all combined to make a game that felt like a breath of fresh air. Of course, being fond of Japanese culture obviously helps one appreciate the game more.

I bought We Love Katamari afew weeks ago. It's definitely a great game, but it got me thinking as early as when the game was announced, "How many Katamari sequels would it take before teenage gamers started whining about the series getting stale?" So far I have to say Namco's done a fine job of adding some fresh new ideas that will add variety to all the things you've done in Katamari Damacy, but still remain faithful to the Katamari way. My favorite stage so far is Katamari racing. By the end of the race, you're the only one left on the track. :oD

The story of the Katamari games reveal an intrinsic problem that will always be a part of the game industry/game consumer relationship: No matter how loud gamers scream for innovative new ideas, they'll never escape the woes of sequelitis, because even the new ideas will themselves generate sequels if they work. This isn't a good thing, nor a bad thing. It's just a part of being somehow related to the field of electronic entertainment. This only applies to the kinds of games that are typically found in retail stores. Online games are another issue.