Franchises come and go and that is becoming more apparent in recent times as old game series you may or may not have heard of are reborn in the new generation. With that though, new series arise, but do they have what it takes to compete with more well known games? This year in gaming is likely to be seen as a year of continuation as far as series are concerned, but how long can this last?

With a new Halo game, a second Super Mario Galaxy rumored to be in production, the explosion of fighting game releases (such as Soulcalibur IV and Street Fighter IV), and two new Sonic games, just to name a few it’s apparent that sequels and continuations are the current trend for the next year. Popularity of a series always depends on sales, if it does not sell well, a sequel will more then likely never see the light of day. What makes a series great depends mostly on who the game is marketed towards, but there is always one thing all these series have in common, innovation. No matter how small of a change, if the change is well received, popularity is inevitable.

What of series revivals though? How does a company know to bring something back from the “dead”? Usually the focus is on just how much people still talk about the game, polls are taken, and in the end if the numbers are right a classic game may be reborn. Such is the case with Bionic Commando. Bionic Commando Rearmed, a remake of the original game on the NES (available on Xbox Live, PSN, and PC), and Bionic Commando (working title) a sequel to the original (for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC) were put into motion after rigorous market testing and polls. A Wii version of the game may also be put into production; this is pending the fans of the series expressing a desire for it.

Series die and live on depending on reputation, fan reception, and overall sales. Who will be next to fall into obscurity? Who is the next face of fame? Even more pressing is who from the past may return on the current generation of consoles, will your favorite make a comeback?