Thoughts On:

Spin-offs, Acceptable or Insulting?

By Brandon Sultana June 27, 2015

 

With Nintendo’s E3 conference now over, and the dust finally settling, I thought it’d be a good idea to talk about spin-offs, which were very prominent during their showing. Many were disappointed by what they saw at the conference, with games from the Zelda, Animal Crossing, and Metroid franchises getting spin-offs, as opposed to brand new entries in the core series (Although we know Zelda Wii U is on the way). Spin-offs are such common-place in the industry, especially with Nintendo, so it’s worth looking at why there was such a huge negative reaction to them this year.

 

Sales vs. Praise

Spin-offs are simultaneously very dangerous, and quite safe to pursue. On one hand, it allows developers to try new things, while still keeping the brand recognition of the franchise to ensure profitability. This is especially notable in the Pokemon franchise, that pumps out tons of spin-offs, most of which would likely flop horribly in the market if they didn’t hold the Pokemon name. On the other hand, spin-offs can alienate fans who are looking for the next “true” entry in their beloved series. Take the newly announced Metroid game, which has had one of the most negative reactions to any game I’ve seen, to the point that there is a massive petition advocating for the game's outright cancellation. It's a balancing act. Release them too frequently, and you begin to tarnish the brand of the franchise (Pokemon suffers from this in my opinion). Release them too rarely, and the core franchise might begin to grow stale. So when does it become acceptable to make them?

 

It’s all about timing

Really, it boils down to the status of the series. Pokemon pumps out spin-offs all the time, but no one complains because they also make installments in the main series very frequently. Metroid hasn’t had a main installment in 5 years, and many would argue that there hasn’t been a real installment in 10 years, due to Other M’s standing in the Metroid fan-base. While I’m not vying for the cancellation of this game, I could totally sympathise with fans. If I had been waiting for a sequel to Pikmin 2 (my favorite game ever) for so long, but instead of Pikmin 3, Miyamoto announced Pikmin: Tower Defense, I’d have been outraged. Similarly, had people known about a brand new Animal Crossing on the horizon, the reception to Happy Home Designer, and Amiibo Festival, would have been toned back considerably. Spin-offs really are only acceptable when the franchise is alive and well. Releasing a totally unrelated game bearing the franchise name when there hasn't been a game in a few years will undoubtedly cause anger in the hard-core fans of the franchise.

 

Conclusion

Spin-offs can provide fresh experiences to series that need a breath of fresh air. But developers should always remember that people play a certain franchise for the core values of the series. It’s perfectly reasonable to deviate from that from time to time, but only when the next installment is right around the corner, or was just released. No one cared when they made Metroid Prime: Pinball, because it was released during what could be considered the franchise’s Golden Age. But a spin-off should never be used when the fans crave the next big game. It’s honestly insulting, and causes huge backlash in the community. They should be about “Hey this game seems like a neat take on a franchise I love”, rather than “Looks like this is my only option”. While it’s nice that Nintendo is showing us that the franchise isn’t dead, this is not the way to do it. Spin-offs are all about options, and should never take priority over the next installment.