3rd May 2004, 8:40 AM
Bean, it's not just because it's easier to throw existing characters in to something. It's actually easier to make up new characters that can be as shallow/deep as you need them to be for the single game. It all comes down to marketability of the game. When Sony wanted something to combat Mario Kart 64 they created Crash Racing where you could play as different Crash Bandicoot characters, trying to sell a game to people who are already familiar with the bandicoot series.
Unfortunately even the Bandicoot series was called kiddie by the kids who played PSX exclusively for its mature content. Sony realized later that a kart game with mature content, like a Twisted Metal kart would have done alot better but failed to capatilize on it. Instead, Sony completely abondoned the idea of a kart game, leaving it for Nintendo to soak it up in a genre-monopoly. XBox wont ever see a kart game because they think it will fail on their system for the demographics. 'Halo Kart' (with tiny military vehicles) would do really really well on the XBox, but you'll never see it because of Sony's failure to capatilize on a huge genre that equals alot of money and because Halo is a valuable liscense, if the Halo Kart game wasn't made really well, it would alienate the fans and lower their expectations of the Halo liscense, making it less popular which kills the rate of the game's shelf life between sequels.
Alot of companies are extremely jealous that Mario can be in any genre and it will sell extremely well on any system. Mario the Golfer (hand held or console), Mario the Kart racer (3-D, 2-D), Mario the Tennis player (pick a version), Mario the puzzle game Doctor, Mario the figting game, Mario the 3-D platformer, Mario the 2-D side scroller, Mario the 2-D mini games, Mario Paint, Mario the Role Playing Game, Mario ANYTHING you can imagine. You'll never see Sonic Golf, Jak and Dexter Tennis or Tomb Raider RPG, it just wont ever happen, and it's all because those companies live in fear of the cool factor and the marketability of their valued characters; They take no chances.
Banjo~Kazooie is making the leap to a new genre for the first time with Banjo Pilot. DKR was a cast of many Rare characters in a different land with a new arch nemises and a story that has nothing to do with any of the characters. But Banjo Pilot takes place in the world of B~K and uses B~K characters exclusively so if it does well we might see Banjo~Kazooie trying another genre a few years from now.
Unfortunately even the Bandicoot series was called kiddie by the kids who played PSX exclusively for its mature content. Sony realized later that a kart game with mature content, like a Twisted Metal kart would have done alot better but failed to capatilize on it. Instead, Sony completely abondoned the idea of a kart game, leaving it for Nintendo to soak it up in a genre-monopoly. XBox wont ever see a kart game because they think it will fail on their system for the demographics. 'Halo Kart' (with tiny military vehicles) would do really really well on the XBox, but you'll never see it because of Sony's failure to capatilize on a huge genre that equals alot of money and because Halo is a valuable liscense, if the Halo Kart game wasn't made really well, it would alienate the fans and lower their expectations of the Halo liscense, making it less popular which kills the rate of the game's shelf life between sequels.
Alot of companies are extremely jealous that Mario can be in any genre and it will sell extremely well on any system. Mario the Golfer (hand held or console), Mario the Kart racer (3-D, 2-D), Mario the Tennis player (pick a version), Mario the puzzle game Doctor, Mario the figting game, Mario the 3-D platformer, Mario the 2-D side scroller, Mario the 2-D mini games, Mario Paint, Mario the Role Playing Game, Mario ANYTHING you can imagine. You'll never see Sonic Golf, Jak and Dexter Tennis or Tomb Raider RPG, it just wont ever happen, and it's all because those companies live in fear of the cool factor and the marketability of their valued characters; They take no chances.
Banjo~Kazooie is making the leap to a new genre for the first time with Banjo Pilot. DKR was a cast of many Rare characters in a different land with a new arch nemises and a story that has nothing to do with any of the characters. But Banjo Pilot takes place in the world of B~K and uses B~K characters exclusively so if it does well we might see Banjo~Kazooie trying another genre a few years from now.