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Oldest game franchises that still release new games


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Was interested to know what the oldest retro game franchises were that still release new games to this day. Some examples I found include:

 

Pac-Man:

Pac-Man (1980) - Pac-Man 99 (2021)

 

Mario:

Donkey Kong (1981) - Mario Party Superstars (2021)

 

Wolfenstein:

Castle Wolfenstein (1981) - Wolfenstein: Youngblood (2019)

 

BurgerTime:

BurgerTime (1982) - BurgerTime Party! (2019)

 

Bomberman:

Bomber Man (1983) - Super Bomberman R Online (2021)

 

Tetris:

Tetris (1984) - Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 (2020)

 

A-Train:

A-Train (1985) - A-Train All Aboard! Tourism (2021)

 

Ghosts 'n Goblins:

Ghosts 'n Goblins (1985) - Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection (2021)

 

Bubble Bobble:

Bubble Bobble (1986) - Bubble Bobble 4 Friends (2019)

 

Dragon Quest:

Dragon Quest (1986) - Dragon Quest Builders 2 (2018)

 

The Legend of Zelda:

The Legend of Zelda (1986) - Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (2020)

 

Metroid:

Metroid (1986) - Metroid Dread (2021)

 

Contra:

Contra (1987) - Contra: Rogue Corps (2019)

 

Final Fantasy:

Final Fantasy (1987) - Final Fantasy VII Remake (2020)

 

Mega Man:

Mega Man (1987) - Mega Man 11 (2018)

 

Megami Tensei:

Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei (1987) - Shin Megami Tensei V (2021)

 

Metal Gear:

Metal Gear (1987) - Metal Gear Survive (2018)

 

Street Fighter:

Street Fighter (1987) - Street Fighter V: Champion Edition (2020)

 

Test Drive:

Test Drive (1987) - Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown (2022)

 

Ys:

Ys: Ancient Ys Vanished (1987) - Ys IX: Monstrum Nox (2019)

 

Blaster Master:

Blaster Master (1988) - Blaster Master Zero 3 (2021)

 

Madden NFL:

John Madden Football (1988) - Madden NFL 22 (2021)

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11 minutes ago, Rhomaios said:

You're off by almost a decade. Pong (1972) and Pong Quest (2020). This has to be the actual longest.

Wasn't sure about Pong since the number of new Pong games surprisingly seems infrequent. The only other new release that I know of is Pong: The Next Level from 1999:

 

1072-front.jpg

Edited by electricmastro
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There is a basic but quite filled list on Wikipedia for anyone interested, but I think there should be some accountability for number of games released and actual sales as well as when the first and last of a series is. Games like burgertime while having a few ports over the years has not got a long list of 'sequels'. Games like space Invaders, pac man, Mario, tetris etc have gone through various innovations and is more worthy of their titles. 

 

I'm also more impressed when games stay with their original developers. Big names like Shining Force are developed to the lowest bidder these days instead of their original developers. I think this steals some of the excitement of a long running series when money can push sequels out regardless of other factors. 

 

It also doesn't account for when a company has completely ballsed up a series. Metal Gear might well be long running, but Konami forced Hideo Kojima to bleed that series dry. Survive may well yet be the last in the series even though I quite liked it hahahhaaha. 

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2 hours ago, Mikebloke said:

Games like burgertime while having a few ports over the years has not got a long list of 'sequels'.

Dunno, while I admit there could be more follow-ups, I felt that the series was consistent enough in its follow-up releases to the point of not being too dormant, which is probably still a lot more attention given to it compared to a lot of other series which originated in the 1980s:

 

1987:

 

1987.png

 

1990:

 

1990.png

 

1991:

 

1991.png

 

2000:

 

2000.png

 

2011:

 

2011.jpg

 

2018:

 

2018.png

 

2019:

 

2019.png

 

Edited by electricmastro
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1 hour ago, Mikebloke said:

Wow that is a lot more burgertimes than I thought! 

Yep, BurgerTime turned out to be the most long-lasting out of all the franchises Data East created, even beyond long after they went defunct. Rather impressive how Peter Pepper has managed to stick around for as long as he has, all things considered.

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48 minutes ago, Lostdragon said:

Battlezone now in hands of Rebellion, revamped for Playstation VR in 2016

Battlezone seems a little too infrequent to the point that it makes me wonder if more new games in the series will be released:

 

Battlezone (1980)

 

Battlezone 2000 (1994)

 

Battlezone (1998)

 

BattleZone (2006)

 

Battlezone (2016)

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1 hour ago, electricmastro said:

Battlezone seems a little too infrequent to the point that it makes me wonder if more new games in the series will be released:

 

Battlezone (1980)

 

Battlezone 2000 (1994)

 

Battlezone (1998)

 

BattleZone (2006)

 

Battlezone (2016)

Really hard to say, especially with it in Rebellions hands now. 

 

They acquired the Bitmap Bros Portfolio, but I don't expect to see another Chaos Engine, Speedball or Xenon. 

 

But they must have plans otherwise why buy the portfolio to start with? 

 

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1 hour ago, Lostdragon said:

Really hard to say, especially with it in Rebellions hands now. 

 

They acquired the Bitmap Bros Portfolio, but I don't expect to see another Chaos Engine, Speedball or Xenon. 

 

But they must have plans otherwise why buy the portfolio to start with? 

 

I felt similarly with Centipede, Qix, and Tempest as well:

 

Centipede:

 

Centipede (1981)

 

Millipede (1982)

 

Centipede (1998)

 

Centipede: Infestation (2011)

 

Qix:

 

Qix (1981)

 

Qix II: Tournament (1981)

 

Super Qix (1987)

 

Volfied (1989)

 

Qix Adventure (1999)

 

Qix Neo (2001)

 

Qix++ (2009)

 

Tempest:

 

Tempest (1981)

 

Tempest 2000 (1994)

 

Tempest X3 (1996)

 

Tempest 3000 (2000)

 

Tempest 4000 (2018)

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I'm not really sure how to phrase this, but it seems like there should be some sort of distinction between the Mario series (which regularly releases new titles) and, say, Pong / Pong Quest.

 

Maybe something like "what is the oldest series to consistently release" or something like that...

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15 minutes ago, DavidD said:

I'm not really sure how to phrase this, but it seems like there should be some sort of distinction between the Mario series (which regularly releases new titles) and, say, Pong / Pong Quest.

 

Maybe something like "what is the oldest series to consistently release" or something like that...

Yeah, though then it would be needed to determine what consistent really is. Maybe no more than 10 or so years in-between releases?

Edited by electricmastro
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2 hours ago, DavidD said:

I'm not really sure how to phrase this, but it seems like there should be some sort of distinction between the Mario series (which regularly releases new titles) and, say, Pong / Pong Quest.

 

Maybe something like "what is the oldest series to consistently release" or something like that...

Any period of time in between releases is just going to be arbitrary. Pong does though have a more thorough release history:

 

From Wikipedia:

 

Quote

Atari remade the game on numerous platforms. In 1977, Pong and several variants of the game were featured in Video Olympics, one of the original release titles for the Atari 2600. Pong has also been included in several Atari compilations on platforms including the Sega Genesis, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, and personal computer.[62][63][64][65][66] Through an agreement with Atari, Bally Gaming and Systems developed a slot machine version of the game.[67] The Atari published TD Overdrive includes Pong as an extra game which is played during the loading screen.[68][69] A 3D platform game with puzzle and shooter elements was reportedly in development by Atari Corporation for the Atari Jaguar in September 1995 under the title Pong 2000, as part of their series of arcade game updates for the system and was set to have an original storyline for it,[70][71][72] but it was never released. In 1999, the game was remade for home computers and the PlayStation with 3D graphics and power-ups.[73][74] In 2012, Atari celebrated the 40th anniversary of Pong by releasing Pong World.[75] In 2020, they released Pong Quest for Steam, later releasing on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.[76] A remake of the game has been announced for release exclusively for the Intellivision Amico.[77]

 

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17 hours ago, electricmastro said:

Yep, BurgerTime turned out to be the most long-lasting out of all the franchises Data East created, even beyond long after they went defunct. Rather impressive how Peter Pepper has managed to stick around for as long as he has, all things considered.

Not really, it's there most known and popular IP.

 

No one who has their IP now is going to bring back Dunk Dream or Fighters history.

 

 

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If you're looking at just major titles that werent basic like pong or similar, the oldest for Japan would be Pacman (1980) while the rest of the world it would be Battlezone (1980) since the latter predated the former outside Japan.

 

Both with several sequels, ports, and remakes, along with very recent newer entries.

 

The whole thing sadly makes me realize how long it's been since EA killed Ultima, and have done no new entries for decades.

Edited by Leeroy ST
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4 hours ago, Rhomaios said:

Any period of time in between releases is just going to be arbitrary. Pong does though have a more thorough release history

 

... tied to that, it also seems like there should be a distinction between re-releasing a title and a new entry in a series.  Now, granted, that can be a hard thing to determine at times, but most (?) of those Pong entries are, literally, the same game again and again.  Arguably, the only "unique" pong entries would be Pong, the early arcade sequels (Double Pong, etc.) with new gameplay elements, the 1999/2000 Pong remake (with power-ups), and Pong Quest.  All the other releases are either emulations of earlier titles or simulations of them.

 

I mean, there's Space Invaders... there are a lot of releases of that (emulated, simulated, and ports), but only a few "unique" versions.

 

The Dr. Mario and Tetris games are somewhat the same -- there are a few releases with unique aspects, but it's quite possible to argue that many versions are the same game with a new layer of paint.

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3 hours ago, roadrunner said:

How about games based on movie franchises?
Star Wars, James Bond, Ghostbusters

I left off games based on media like movies and TV shows for the sake of organization, but I guess I might as well list some early examples of them here too:

 

Star Trek (1971)

 

Jaws (1975)

 

Superman (1978)

 

Dracula (1979)

 

Mickey Mouse (1981)

 

Alien (1982)

 

Dungeons & Dragons (1982)

 

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

 

James Bond (1982)
 

The Lord of the Rings (1982)

 

The Smurfs (1982)

 

Spider-Man (1982)

 

Star Wars (1982)

 

Tron (1982)

 

Doraemon (1983)

 

Flash Gordon (1983)

 

G. I. Joe (1983)

 

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983)

 

The Muppets (1983)

 

Paddington Bear (1983)

 

Peanuts (1983)

 

Rocky (1983)

 

Scooby-Doo (1983)

 

Scrabble (1983)

 

Sesame Street (1983)

 

Strawberry Shortcake (1983)

 

Taz (1983)

 

Trivial Pursuit (1983)

Edited by electricmastro
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7 hours ago, electricmastro said:

Well, there was Ultima Online.

That came out in 97 though. So wow, 24 years ago?

 

And EA never thought to use a now ex-major rpg franchise? I'm sure there's a petty personal reason why they shelved it as EA heads and Garriott had mixed relations, but nothing new released for 24 years? That's crazy.

 

At least Wizardry has a more understandable (but not good) excuse, being that the brand is being tossed around like a basketball. So a proper new game is near impossible 

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9 hours ago, Leeroy ST said:

That came out in 97 though. So wow, 24 years ago?

 

And EA never thought to use a now ex-major rpg franchise? I'm sure there's a petty personal reason why they shelved it as EA heads and Garriott had mixed relations, but nothing new released for 24 years? That's crazy.

 

At least Wizardry has a more understandable (but not good) excuse, being that the brand is being tossed around like a basketball. So a proper new game is near impossible 

There were expansions being released for it as late as 2015, at least some of which are physical releases. There was also a remake of Ultima IV in 2013.

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