Entertainment Reboots

[A Link In Time]

As we all know, eventually series either stop succeeding critically or financially as they once did or disappear for a long time and eventually are rebooted. The question I'd like to pose is when you deem such a move is necessary. I'd like to offer two recent examples-one which recently released in the videogame division and another forthcoming in movies.

Rayman Origins​

The Rayman franchise experienced its high noon during the N64/PS1 generation with Rayman 2, which received nearly unanimous praise as one of the best in its genre for its particular time. Unfortunately, from there the series went downhill and never quite recovered...until now. Enter 2011. Rayman Origins was praised for its colorful design, great multiplayer, and a return to form for the franchise. In fact, the game was rated higher than all of Nintendo's 2D Wii platforming endeavors.

[video=youtube;nF6G72Z0Rw0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nF6G72Z0Rw0[/video]

The Amazing Spider-Man​

Spider-Man has always been a cherished franchise since the moment the spider hero first started doing acrobatics and attacking criminals over half a century ago. In recent years, a trilogy was released with the hero fighting such evil forces as the Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Venom, Sandman, and more. Unfortunately, the last of these was perceived as an incredible low point, which overemphasized action and had too dim-witted a story to tell. This year's reboot by Sony Colombia Pictures aims to change that with some scenes resembling the game Mirror's Edge as well as a dynamic and refreshing villain in the form of Lizard. The story also appears to be far more engrossing.

[video=youtube;TJIZUjaNL8E]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJIZUjaNL8E[/video]​

My question to you today is when are reboots needed? How long after the last release in an entertainment franchise should a reboot be initiated? What declining or vanished series would you next like to see rebooted?

 

[guapo2003]

That's a very interesting question. Because we are the fans are usually the ones who entice companies to reboot the series hoping to re-establish a certain game or franchise. I believe you should reboot a series when it has pretty much stopped selling and when people either forget about said game or series. But only if the original game or series was popular enough that people bought it. Because if you try and reboot something that never made any money or people didn't care for, then it's going to be a bust and people will be dissapointed. But if you reboot a game or series that was once popular and people forgot about, then when it gets released people are going to scour to the stores to buy it for either nostaligic purposes or to replay a game they once loved. And don't forget, companies will sometimes reboot a game or series so in hopes that the newer generations will have a feel of a game they pehaps would no way of knowing was any good unless they have been told about it before. So I believe that only certain games or series should be rebooted, but there's always a catch and the company needs to do their research before they release an older game or series.

 

[Krazy4Krash]

Look at my avatar. One of my favourite series is Crash Bandicoot. I feel like you're insulting me personally.
Just Kidding.

But seriously, the Crash Bandicoot series REQUIRES a reboot. The series went from platforming perfection in the playstation era to some solid xbox and ps2 games. From there, we got a crappy DS game and two (somewhat) cool 360/wii games. Asides from some decent iphone racing games, the last game was in 2008. Four years ago. It's time for a reboot.

 

[shogun_zidane]

Well there are some series or games that didn't sell well what so ever but still have a pretty big fanbase or some form of following. I feel like and this is my opinion that sometimes they reboot the wrong things for the wrong reasons or reboot the right things but fail miserably.

 

[A Link In Time]

Look at my avatar. One of my favourite series is Crash Bandicoot. I feel like you're insulting me personally.
Just Kidding.

But seriously, the Crash Bandicoot series REQUIRES a reboot. The series went from platforming perfection in the playstation era to some solid xbox and ps2 games. From there, we got a crappy DS game and two (somewhat) cool 360/wii games. Asides from some decent iphone racing games, the last game was in 2008. Four years ago. It's time for a reboot.

I think the fact that Sony chose to include the original Crash Bandicoot as a preloaded game on the Xperia Play phone is proof that they are gearing towards a reboot. The next logical step would be to follow in the steps of an HD collection in the vein of what has already been done for numerous franchises including Sly Cooper and Jak & Daxter. and yes, by this I mean that the series found greatest success on Playstation consoles and should continue to flourish on those platforms.

 

[Ronin]

I'm so glad they're bringing Spyro back. The previous installment (the Legend of Spyro trilogy) was epic, despite the gameplay that I felt was repetitive in some areas. But I loved the elemental upgrades to Spyro's and Cynder's special breath attacks. The series wouldn't be the same without those. I hope to see the same characters with the reboot of Spyro, and a new, invigorating story altogether.

 

[Wolf Sage]

I'm in favor of reboots, just so long as they're done right. Many reboots result in some of our old favorites becoming completely new, sometimes unrecognizable, games. Great examples of the positive outcomes resulting from reboots are Metroid (Prime) and Castlevania, both of which made huge leaps from the realm of 2D to 3D, along with a change in many other aspects, while sticking firmly to their core formulas. Negatives to reboots include the aforementioned overly-revamped games that become something completely different from their predecessors in ways that are very disappointing to veterans and newcomers alike - in other words, detriments to their respective series. Examples of such include Banjo-Kazooie and Sonic the Hedgehog. Need I go into detail about the crapfest that are these two series' reboots? In any event, a pro to reboots is that said games introduce new players to old series, and that is usually a good thing. After all, new school gamers will play just about anything. (jk...kinda)

I personally would like to see a reboot to the Killer Instinct series, but it could be a very risky endeavor adapting it to today's consoles (graphics, controls, etc.), and not to mention the whole debacle with Rare. I'm sure it could be done, but I'd hate to imagine what'd happened if such a reboot to such a gem failed.

 

[TF/HH]

Reboots are needed when a company has run out of ideas. When they reboot their series, they don't have to spend time thinking of something new. A reboot should be initiated 7-10 years after disappearance. I want to see Bubsy and Alex Kidd rebooted, even though the franchises' last games were complete failures. :bleh:

 

[A Link In Time]

I'm in favor of reboots, just so long as they're done right. Many reboots result in some of our old favorites becoming completely new, sometimes unrecognizable, games. Great examples of the positive outcomes resulting from reboots are Metroid (Prime) and Castlevania, both of which made huge leaps from the realm of 2D to 3D, along with a change in many other aspects, while sticking firmly to their core formulas.

Not entirely sure about Castlevania, however, Metroid Prime was definitely a reboot for the ages.

and Sonic the Hedgehog.

Colors and Generations really tried. Critics seems to flat-out despise Sonic in the contemporary world.

Reboots are needed when a company has run out of ideas.

Excellent. :yes:

A reboot should be initiated 7-10 years after disappearance.

Seems a bit long to me. 3-5 years is more reasonable.