{"id":3493,"date":"2015-02-04T13:02:14","date_gmt":"2015-02-04T13:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/192.168.3.178\/?p=3493"},"modified":"2016-02-29T13:18:54","modified_gmt":"2016-02-29T13:18:54","slug":"10-video-game-franchises-that-will-never-ever-die","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/2015\/02\/04\/10-video-game-franchises-that-will-never-ever-die\/","title":{"rendered":"10 video game franchises that will never, ever die"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">Super Mario<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IQHa4qindfE\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>As long as video games exist, so will Mario. The little Italian plumber has starred in over 200 games (this article from 2012 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gamesradar.com\/ask-gr-anything-how-many-games-has-mario-been\/\">suggests he was at 188<\/a>), appearing in 6 last year and a whopping 9 in 2013. He\u2019s already down for 3 games this year!<\/p>\n<p>So why is he so popular? Simple: he\u2019s never, ever starred in a bad game. Seriously, try and think of one. We can\u2019t!<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">Call of Duty<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sFu5qXMuaJU\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><i>Call of Duty<\/i> is a money-making machine, generating <a title=\"over $10 billion in revenue since it began in 2003\" href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/2014\/11\/20\/7253589\/call-of-duty-franchise-tops-10-billion-advanced-warfare-sales-not\">over $10 billion in revenue since it began back in 2003<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Scarily, it\u2019s showing no sign of slowing down anytime soon either: last year\u2019s <a title=\"Advanced Warfare outsells Ghosts\" href=\"https:\/\/uk.ign.com\/articles\/2014\/11\/10\/call-of-duty-advanced-warfare-outsells-ghosts-in-uk\"><i>Advanced Warfare<\/i> outsold the previous year\u2019s <i>Ghosts <\/i>in the UK<\/a>. The only way the <i>Call of Duty<\/i> franchise will ever end is if we all collectively agree not to buy the next one, and we all know that won\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">Pac-Man<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uswzriFIf_k\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Everyone\u2019s favourite ghost-gobbling yellow blob is 35 years old this year but still going strong. He\u2019s starred in 2 games over the past 2 years (<i>Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 1 <\/i>&amp; <i>2<\/i>) and his appearance in <a title=\"Budweiser's Super Bowl commercial this year\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/mc-video-budweisers-2015-pac-man-super-bowl-commercial-20150130-embeddedvideo.html\">Budweiser\u2019s Super Bowl commercial this year<\/a> suggests his hunger for dubious yellow pills has yet to be fully satisfied.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">Sonic the Hedgehog<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/r-X3Q2bC4LY\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Poor old Sonic has fallen from grace since his debut 23 years ago, with most of his modern games met with poor reviews and falling sales.<\/p>\n<p>And yet, the games keep on coming. Over the past 10 years, Sonic has starred in 31 games. Even last year\u2019s <i>Sonic Boom: The Rise of Lyric<\/i>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.videogamer.com\/wiiu\/sonic_boom\/news\/sonic_boom_bombs_in_the_uk.html\">which apparently sold poorly<\/a>, might not end Sonic\u2019s prolific streak, with a number of mobile games planned.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">Space Invaders<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/192.168.3.178\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/space-invaders.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3494\" src=\"http:\/\/192.168.3.178\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/space-invaders.jpg\" alt=\"Space Invaders\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/space-invaders.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/space-invaders-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>6 years have passed since the last <i>Space Invaders <\/i>game but there have been hints of a revival brewing. Apparently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/2014\/7\/18\/5916977\/space-invaders-movie-warner-bros\">a movie is on the horizon<\/a>, which is almost bound to have a spin-off, and the game is 40 in 2018, which will definitely lead to another game. And then we\u2019ll get one at 50, and 60 and&#8230;well, you can see where we\u2019re going with this.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">The Sims<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/H6UHmDPZ3eQ\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><i>The Sims<\/i> franchise has sold over 175 million copies in total. We wonder how many people who bought one of those copies ended up killing their sim in a fire and feeling really weird about it for a couple of days after. Just us? Okay then..<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">Tetris<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9Fv5cuYZFC0\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Only two things can survive a nuclear explosions: cockroaches and <i>Tetris<\/i>. 4 versions of the legendary puzzler were released last year, with over 140 million copies sold over since the game was first launched in 1984.<\/p>\n<p>With <a title=\"a Tetris movie on the way\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/entertainment-arts-29443728\">a <i>Tetris <\/i>movie on the way<\/a>, our favourite blocks will be with us for a while yet.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">FIFA<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/192.168.3.178\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/fifa-15-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1995\" src=\"http:\/\/192.168.3.178\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/fifa-15-2.jpg\" alt=\"FIFA 15\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/fifa-15-2.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/fifa-15-2-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><i>FIFA 15<\/i> was the biggest selling video game in the UK last year, <a title=\"shifting over 2 million copies\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gamesindustry.biz\/articles\/2015-01-05-fifa-15-was-the-best-selling-game-in-the-uk-in-2014\">shifting over 2 million copies<\/a>. That\u2019s some feat consider it was only released in September!<\/p>\n<p>The only way EA\u2019s monster football franchise will lose its popularity is if a) EA lose all the licenses they\u2019ve gathered over the years or b) everyone collectively decides they hate football. Both seem hugely unlikely.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">Just Dance<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RNv9ekQfHxM\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s a fun fact for you: the <i>Just Dance <\/i>franchise has sold 59 million copies in total, more than the <i>Pac-Man<\/i>, <i>Tomb Raider<\/i> and <i>Tekken <\/i>franchises. Apparently nothing shifts games quite like giving people the opportunity to embarrass themselves to <i>Gangnam Style<\/i>.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">Mortal Kombat<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jSi2LDkyKmI\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><i>Mortal Kombat<\/i> has survived numerous controversies, a couple of bans and a few genuinely terrible films to become one of the biggest fighting game franchises ever (only <i>Tekken<\/i> is bigger).<\/p>\n<p>A new game is being released this year because no matter what the year is, people will never, ever get sick of unspeakable violence.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/192.168.3.178\/start-selling\/basket-media\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3496 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/192.168.3.178\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Sell-Games-Button.png\" alt=\"Sell Games\" width=\"299\" height=\"50\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Super Mario As long as video games exist, so will Mario. The little Italian plumber has starred in over 200 games (this article from 2012 suggests he was at 188), appearing in 6 last year and a whopping 9 in 2013. He\u2019s already down for 3 games this year! So &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":3494,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[593],"tags":[1561,1585],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3493"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3493"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3503,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3493\/revisions\/3503"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}