[IGN] ‘Half-Sequels’ Like Uncharted Lost Legacy Are The Future

[Gizmo_Duck]

I’ve been saying this for a while. These smaller bite sized games like Lost Legacy, Left Behind, Miles Morales, First Light, etc. are the future of at least what sony first party is. They are essentially replacing what the traditional sequel is. Instead of getting Uncharted 1 & 2, you get Uncharted 4 and Lost Legacy soon after. Not much change but you get a new story and some new mechanics, basically what game sequels used to be, instead of people expecting completely revamped experiences and huge maps.

Essentially 10 hour stand-alone follow ups to bigger games.

Standalone Expansions, half-sequels, glorified DLC… whatever you want to call it, I'm a fan of these kinds of not-quite-full game, not-quite-DLC experiences. And with AAA game development now expected to take longer than ever, these half-sequels might be a way to address a potential new release shortage. So far nobody has done them better than PlayStation.

However, one thing that isn't a personal preference is that game development times are becoming much, much longer. It's been happening slowly, and we should only whisper it for now, but the biggest AAA games are taking almost a decade to come out. Literally, who knows if and when we'll see Ghost of Tsushima 2? Could be 2026 — could be 2036. Either way, we shouldn't treat expansions as appetizers when they might be the only major release we'll see from a studio in years.

Something is going to change in AAA game development, it has to. But until then, I think we should appreciate the standalone expansions especially as they deliver full-length quality experiences without the decade-long wait.

‘Half-Sequels’ Like Uncharted Lost Legacy Are The Future - IGN

The standalone expansion or 'half-sequel' has been derided as glorified DLC, but as games take longer to develop, they could be the future of AAA game releases.

www.ign.com

 

[Neuromancer]

So basically DLC's like MK 11 Aftermath?

 

[Diondon]

Well, head Xbot says he prefers shorter games. Crazy times.

 

[Gizmo_Duck]

So basically DLC's like MK 11 Aftermath?

Uh…maybe? Isn’t it still a fighting game?

I guess I mean more so a new stand alone experience where you play as a completely new character with their own story

 

[Gizmo_Duck]

Well, head Xbot says he prefers shorter games. Crazy times.

The industry is going to go back to accommodating these shorter AAA games made from larger games assets. The reason why its probably not worth it for them to make completely original IP that short is because of the amount of R&D it takes to get these games out of predevelopment, but to spin it off from a bigger series is a no brainer.

It probably only cost Ubisoft a fraction of what it usually does to put that game out. Same with something like Phantom Liberty, it cost them 60 million to put out a 10 hour DLC

 

[Umoja]

Been saying for time that it needs to be more common.

I don't understand spending so much money designing a game and then starting from the bottom up for the next title.

 

[Pressure]

And I'll continue to wait until the price drops. I'm not paying 70 dollars for a 10 hour game.

 

[Gizmo_Duck]

Been saying for time that it needs to be more common.

I don't understand spending so much money designing a game and then starting from the bottom up for the next title.

I think the problem is the perception, people see it as “DLC” or “lazy cash grab” instead of exactly the type of games we used to get in the ps2 and ps3 era. Uncharted 1-3 wasn’t entirely different games, but people didn’t really care they were minor iterative sequels with new stories and a lick of polish.

People see something like Miles and Lost Legacy as dlc and they score them accordingly and they don’t sell as much. Which is funny because a lot of the consensus around those games is that they are better than their full length predecessors

 

[Gizmo_Duck]

And I'll continue to wait until the price drops. I'm not paying 70 dollars for a 10 hour game.

Most of them don’t cost 70 dollars though, all those games including the new assassins creed are 50

 

[Jaguar93]

Make sense…these big AAA games takes time/money to cook. And gamers are asking for less dry spills. A 8-12 hours experience for a new ip, or an expansion of an already established ip. Sounds good in my book.

 

[Umoja]

I think the problem is the perception, people see it as “DLC” or “lazy cash grab” instead of exactly the type of games we used to get in the ps2 and ps3 era. Uncharted 1-3 wasn’t entirely different games, but people didn’t really care they were minor iterative sequels with new stories and a lick of polish.

People see something like Miles and Lost Legacy as dlc and they score them accordingly and they don’t sell as much. Which is funny because a lot of the consensus around those games is that they are better than their full length predecessors

Unfortunate as that's my biggest issue with this generation.

Look at GTA III. We got Vice City and Sandraes out of it. DMC had DMC 3. On the PS1, you had Crash 1,2 and 3.

Generations had a feeling of being complete. By the end of the cycle, they really sharpened the original concept and I didn't mind that.

There's a part of me that thinks some gamers are just full of shyt and don't really know what they want. They bash expanded content because they too stupid to separate the different types of DLC.

 

[Gizmo_Duck]

Make sense…these big AAA games takes time/money to cook. And gamers are asking for less dry spills. A 8-12 hours experience for a new ip, or an expansion of an already established ip. Sounds good in my book.

This is why development time and budgets are crazy now, one of these games is a full game and one of them is a 1.5 sequel lol

 

[The Mad Titan]

Now triple A games were never reasonable


Stony stans have a new narrative every quarter

 

[Rekkapryde]

Well, head Xbot says he prefers shorter games. Crazy times.

*awaits juelzing*

 

[Gizmo_Duck]

*awaits juelzing*