Creating a new Intellectual Property is often a big gamble for publishers. The success of a new IP can often hinge on a few review scores and if enough buzz is created from the advertising campaign. For example, Assassin’s Creed became a triple A title simply from amazing trailers and an add campaign that was quite successfully marketed. When publishers hit on these IP’s that are successful it is no wonder that they can be iterated on so constantly that any waft of creativity is lost behind the innumerable stench of cashed in sequels.

It is truly unbearable when a singularly creative idea is not only iterated on by the original publisher, but also cashed in on by other publishers as a way to increase their bottom line. Currently I see the biggest offenders of this in the way that the Cooking Mama franchise has spawned quite a number of sequels as well as cheap rip-offs pushed out by other developers. The risk that Majesco took by publishing Cooking Mama, especially after the botched launch of the critical darling Psychonauts, was one that paid off big. It is an improbable success that could probably be attributed to Nintendo’s genius marketing strategy, that everyone could enjoy gaming.

Much like any game, once a successful strategy is found, imitation is the sincerest way to cheaply make money off a competitor’s product. Although releasing a slew of games in the Cooking Mama universe (a sequel on DS, as well as an enhanced port of the first game, and a planned sequel for Wii), it is really the games that have capitalized on the success at the sales counter that truly shows how stagnant the creativity of the industry has become.

I suppose this industry practice has been in place since the beginnings, but if the video game industry continues to want to grow beyond the core audience, I think it would be in the best interest of Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo to control the quality of games being released on their systems. Unfortunately it is in none of the big three’s interest to control the quality of releases, as any release is one more game and one more licensing fee paid to them.

With the console manufacturers not caring about quality, I make a call to hardcore gamers everywhere; Next time you see someone (specifically a confused Mom in a video game section) just go up politely and ask if she wants any suggestions. Only through grassroots efforts will we be able to not only affect the sales of these cheap cash in games, but with unsold stock the shelf space in retailers will hopefully be instead filled with games with innovative ideas like Zack and Wiki, Boom Blox, or Little Big Planet.

With the Wii Virtual Console, Xbox live Arcade, and the PSN Store each of the console manufacturers has a way to put out content to Joe Consumer. Which means there is still a place for developers to push out certain games at a more attractive price point to consumers, allowing the ever sought after retail space to remain open for games with a little more substance. My one hope for the future is that good games are given the chance to succeed, fostering great memories in the people that play them so they continue buying games and expanding the industry as a whole.

-Eric Wall

Tags: cooking games, Cooking Mama, Game Design, Game Industry, Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, Xbox 360

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