Sequel Mania

I'm sure a lot of people have touched on this before, but is it not getting slightly ridiculous how many new releases are sequels? I understand the incentive behind developing a sequel: it's proven successful in the past so it will have a following, and it's much less risky in financial terms, especially in difficult economic times. But, honestly, look at how many of them there are! If you go to GameSpot and look at the top XBox360 games by rating this year, the first 10 on the list are ALL sequels. I'm sure we're all guilty of highly anticipating sequels (Diablo 3, FF13 for myself) but after thinking on it for a while, it has been quite a long time since a truly NEW game has won me over. Part of this is due to my laziness as a gamer, but it's also due to developers playing it safe.

So that's how I feel: we need to see some new franchises pop up (especially from you Nintendo). But what can really be done about it? Consumers have the power, but they will continue to come out in droves for Halo 3½, New New Super Mario Bros., and whatever else comes out. It's tough to think about because I completely understand their position: games cost hard earned money, and people don't want to take chances unless they are fairly certain that they will like a game. It's because of the fact that it's advantageous for both gamers and developers to continue with sequels that I don't expect to see any surge in creativity anytime soon.

I guess the bright side is that the emergence of demos on the consoles could potentially lead to more gamers getting a chance to try new things cost free. And, although I'd prefer to see more new games, it's not as if the sequels aren't fun too; I'm just throwing my thoughts out there. What about you? :)